Galaxy Watch 7 vs Pixel Watch 2: There’s a Clear Winner

Wear OS has seen a revival ever since Google partnered with Samsung. Both companies make their own smartwatches that constitute a significant chunk of the Wear OS market share. While this is a win for consumers, it’s also left us confused on which platform to choose. To help you clear this, I’ve prepared this Galaxy Watch 7 vs Pixel Watch 2 comparison where I’ll talk about each of their strengths, downsides, and which one I prefer overall.

Galaxy Watch 7 vs Pixel Watch 2: Specifications

Before we move on to details, let’s get the specifications of these two watches out of the way.

Galaxy Watch 7 vs Pixel Watch 2: Design and Comfort

Pixel smartphones are unique-looking and easily identifiable thanks to their design, and Google follows the same strategy with its watches. The Pixel Watch 2’s design uniquely screams Pixel thanks to the pebble-like design. It doesn’t look like any other Wear OS smartwatch in the market.

The Galaxy Watch 7, retains the design elements from its predecessors, some even from the Watch 4. It’s undoubtedly a Samsung but not as distinctive as the Pixel Watch 2. Google fixed one of my major complaints with the Pixel Watch 3. As this watch brings a bigger 45 mm variant and slimmer bezels across both 41 and 45 mm variants.

Going back and forth between these watches, the Galaxy Watch makes its presence much more noticeable than the Pixel Watch. The latter is lighter (~ 2 grams) and has a smaller footprint, making it a wear-and-forget kind of device. I’m sure that won’t be the case with the 45 mm Watch 3 because it’s bigger (45x45x 12.3 mm).

One of the other aspects that I like about the design of the Pixel Watch 2 is the rotatable crown. As I was switching to the Watch 7, I genuinely missed the rotatable crown and its function. And while the Watch 7 has a touch bezel, it’s simply not that great compared to having a physical crown.

Summing up, I like the design of the Pixel Watch 2 more than the Galaxy Watch 7. It’s a breath of fresh air and a tad bit more comfortable.

Winner: Pixel Watch 2

Galaxy Watch 7 vs Pixel Watch 2: Fitness and Health

The Galaxy Watch 7 features a BioActive sensor which consists of optical and electric heart rate sensors. Then, there’s Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis which lets you measure your body composition, something that’s unavailable on the Pixel Watch 2. Besides, there’s no support for Sleep Apnea or Snoring Detection on the Pixel. Both features are, however, available on the Galaxy Watch. Both support Blood Oxygen tracking too (*Cough *cough Apple).

One of my biggest complaints with the Pixel Watch 2 and the Fitbit app has to be the features that are locked behind the Fitbit subscription paywall. I mentioned them in my 5 reasons I’m never buying a Pixel Watch list. Things such as readiness score and advanced sleep metrics are available on Samsung Health for free but not on Fitbit. This is not the case with the Pixel Watch 3, but we don’t know if Google will bring it to the Watch 2.

I found the health tracking on both the watches to be on point and accurate. Samsung Health is much more comprehensive in displaying health metrics than Fitbit. This is a bit ironic considering Fitbit is the fitness-centered brand among them. I could go into the specifics of the other advanced values both platforms give you but that’d take forever. The bottom line is, that Samsung Health is just better right now.

The Steps, Sleep, SpO2, and Skin Temperature metrics on both are comparable with a slight difference. That said, I’ve experienced the Galaxy Watches counting false steps and sometimes detecting way less heart rate (38 minimum!). The Pixel Watch 2 has a slightly more accurate step and heart rate tracking.

The other reason why I recommend getting the Galaxy Watch is because Samsung Health feels a bit more personal and serious about your health. It does so by sending you reminders, and notifications on your phone for metrics such as heart rate, sleep, and steps.

The Pixel Watch 2 does remind you to get up and walk. But in the months that I’ve used the watch for, that touch of personal health metrics was always missing. Meanwhile, Samsung Health keeps getting better thanks to one of the most recent additions to the app called AI cards.

Winner: Galaxy Watch 7

Software and Updates

The first to get out of the way here is that the Galaxy Watch 7 already runs on Wear OS 5-based One UI Watch 6. However, the Pixel Watch 2, even though being Google’s own product is yet to get the latest Wear OS update. It’s still running on Wear OS 4 but is set to receive the next version towards the end of this year. You see where we’re going with this, right?

If that wasn’t enough, the Galaxy also leads the way in terms of updates. With its latest offering, Samsung has promised 4 years of software support, i.e., until 2028. Considering Google develops Wear OS, it’s ironic that it only provides 3 years of major updates. But since the Watch 2 is already a year old, it will only recieve updates until 2026.

Moving on, choose a device based on the software really depends on the ecosystem you’re in. Both Samsung and Google restrict features unless you use a Samsung or Android smartphone with the respective watch. Samsung tends to mostly restrict on the health tracking front whereas Google restricts software features.

Now, there are ways to unlock all of those health features even if you have a non-Samsung phone but features such as DND and Bedtime Sync won’t be available on both unless you have a Samsung Phone for Galaxy Watch and Pixel for Pixel Watch. The same goes for Watch Unlock which is only available on the Pixel Watch.

As far as UI is concerned, both have some benefits over the other but I tend to like One UI Watch a tad bit more than the Pixel UI. Now, don’t get me wrong, the Pixel UI on the Pixel Watch 2 isn’t bad; I’d argue it’s fluid but One UI has more nifty features that it does the trick for me. Folders, check. Edit QS tiles, check. One UI on Galaxy Watch 7 offers more customization, and I’m all in for the same.

Besides, the Galaxy Watch has Double tap gestures that make it easier for me to answer/dismiss call and invoke an app. The Pixel Watch is lacking in such gestures, and although it’s not a dealbreaker, I’d rather wear the Watch 7 when riding a motorcycle or when I’m extremely busy glancing at my watch. That said, I’ve had issues with tilt-to-wake on both smartwatches. The Samsung is a lot less sensitive while the Pixel is extremely sensitive.

The Pixel Watch 2 lacks contactless payments in several countries including mine. Although Google Wallet was rolled out in the subcontinent earlier this year, it cannot store cards and make payments through NFC. Contactless payments in India are handled by Google Pay instead, and there’s no Google Pay app for Wear OS. Hence, Samsung takes the lead here with Samsung Pay which is available in India on both Samsung and non-Samsung devices.

Winner: Galaxy Watch 7

Galaxy Watch 7 vs Pixel Watch 2: Battery

Neither is a two-day watch and won’t impress you with its battery life. As someone who uses their watch to check notifications or navigate to somewhere on an odd day, both the Pixel Watch 2 and Galaxy Watch 7 last for about 36 hours. The latter sometimes lasted almost 40 hours thanks to its bigger battery and I feel like Samsung could do more in the sleep standby optimization department.

Despite the Pixel Watch sporting an almost 30% smaller battery (306 mAh Vs 425 mAh) and a 4 nm SoC (Vs 3 nm), it manages to pull ahead in sleep standby optimization by a significant margin. The Galaxy Watch 7 sheds around 15-18% battery overnight whereas the Pixel Watch loses only around 5-8%. Wear OS on the Pixel Watch is better optimized. It’s also worth mentioning that the Pixel Watch 2 takes much less time to charge than the Galaxy Watch 7.

Winner: None

Galaxy Watch 7 vs Pixel Watch 2: Verdict

Both Pixel Watch 2 and Galaxy Watch 7 are great smartwatches but the latter is a tad bit better overall. Samsung Health is more comprehensive and completely free whereas Fitbit has fewer features, some of which are locked behind subscriptions. The Pixel Watch is slightly more accurate in terms of tracking, but Samsung Health is not far off and more than makes up with its features.

Hardware-wise, the Galaxy Watch 7 clutches with its BioActive sensor consisting of features like a BIA sensor, and enables other features such as Sleep Apnea and Snoring detection. Besides, the Galaxy Watch is slightly more rugged than the Pixel Watch 2, and arguably more repairable as well. The battery life on both is about the same with Galaxy Watch 7 lasting a few hours more.

Finally, Pixel Watch 2 restricts a lot of features, and while Samsung too has features that work only with Galaxy smartphones, there are workarounds to access restricted health features on a non-Samsung device. Not on the Pixel Watch though.

The final nail in the coffin is software support. The Galaxy Watch is set to get updates until 2028 while the Pixel device only gets two more years of support. While I’d suggest anyone to pick the watch that fits your ecosystem, the Galaxy Watch 7 offers the better package overall.