Friday October 14, 2022; 8:56 AM EDT
Checking out the watch faces on the Pixel Watch. I am wondering whether we will see new, specific, Pixel Watch faces on the Play store? I expect Google will release new faces over time as part of feature drops, but I wonder whether that will come via the Watch app, watch faces gallery? I did install one of the faces I bought previously and it appears in the Gallery where I then added to the watch. Problem with that particular face is that it is not compatible with the Fitbit fitness tracking items. #- For example, one of my favorite faces through several generations of Wear OS watches is the Minimal & Elegant face. The default face looks pretty nice on the Pixel Watch but the Steps complication only works with Google Fit and not Fitbit, so not an option. #
- One of the "new" features I get with the Pixel Watch are activity reminders. Not sure whether or not I like being nagged and therefore whether I will keep this "feature" enabled.#
- Just checked the battery life, at 1:51 PM there is 70% of life left, so 30% consumed in 5 hours, or about 6% per hour, so I am guessing something like more than ten hours left, which gets me well through the day. I expect a good part of the battery consumption is due to using GPS when I take my walks. I notice there is a Battery Saver option on the watch, but no indication for whether it automatically engages when battery life reaches a certain level, like 20%#
- I use Exist.io to consolidate and track my quantified self and had it set up to pull data from Google Fit. Because I don't want duplicate data, I disconnected Google Fit from Exist.io and connected Fitbit. Fingers crossed that my Fitbit data flows in to Exist, though it should because of course Fitbit is a much more popular fitness tracker than Google Fit. Good news is that the I see activity data from Fitbit flowing in to Exist. #
- The out of box experience and set up was not great. The active pairing process was not seamless like the Pixel Buds, I had pair codes to confirm and needed to restart the process a couple of times. It seemed to have problems with the Bluetooth connection with the Pixel 4a, particularly when setting up Google Assistant. I did shutoff the Mobvoi TicWatch E3 before taking the Pixel Watch out of the box. Right now I still have the Wear OS app and the Google Fit apps on my phone along with the new Google Watch app and the Fitbit app.#
- An observation about the charger, the cable is too short! The fact the charger has a USB-C connection messes me up a bit because I have a nice Anker USB-A charging strip that I use on my desk to charge different devices. Plug in to it is a Lightning to USB-A cable, a USB-C to USB-A cable, a Micro-USB to USBA-cable, and the Mobvoi cable. So far I don't see any alternatives to the standard charger that Google sells. The standard charger does not physically attach to the watch, it would have been great if Google had made this standard Qi charger. #
- FedEx delivered the Pixel Watch to the right address, so Best Buy helped break my curse of Google Product purchases. Today will be the first full day for wearing the watch and working with Fitbit. I put the watch on at 8:40 AM, let's see how well the battery holds out during the day!#
Friday October 14, 2022; 8:56 AM EDT
- Checking out the watch faces on the Pixel Watch. I am wondering whether we will see new, specific, Pixel Watch faces on the Play store? I expect Google will release new faces over time as part of feature drops, but I wonder whether that will come via the Watch app, watch faces gallery? I did install one of the faces I bought previously and it appears in the Gallery where I then added to the watch. Problem with that particular face is that it is not compatible with the Fitbit fitness tracking items. #
- For example, one of my favorite faces through several generations of Wear OS watches is the Minimal & Elegant face. The default face looks pretty nice on the Pixel Watch but the Steps complication only works with Google Fit and not Fitbit, so not an option. #
- One of the "new" features I get with the Pixel Watch are activity reminders. Not sure whether or not I like being nagged and therefore whether I will keep this "feature" enabled.#
- Just checked the battery life, at 1:51 PM there is 70% of life left, so 30% consumed in 5 hours, or about 6% per hour, so I am guessing something like more than ten hours left, which gets me well through the day. I expect a good part of the battery consumption is due to using GPS when I take my walks. I notice there is a Battery Saver option on the watch, but no indication for whether it automatically engages when battery life reaches a certain level, like 20%#
- I use Exist.io to consolidate and track my quantified self and had it set up to pull data from Google Fit. Because I don't want duplicate data, I disconnected Google Fit from Exist.io and connected Fitbit. Fingers crossed that my Fitbit data flows in to Exist, though it should because of course Fitbit is a much more popular fitness tracker than Google Fit. Good news is that the I see activity data from Fitbit flowing in to Exist. #
- The out of box experience and set up was not great. The active pairing process was not seamless like the Pixel Buds, I had pair codes to confirm and needed to restart the process a couple of times. It seemed to have problems with the Bluetooth connection with the Pixel 4a, particularly when setting up Google Assistant. I did shutoff the Mobvoi TicWatch E3 before taking the Pixel Watch out of the box. Right now I still have the Wear OS app and the Google Fit apps on my phone along with the new Google Watch app and the Fitbit app.#
- An observation about the charger, the cable is too short! The fact the charger has a USB-C connection messes me up a bit because I have a nice Anker USB-A charging strip that I use on my desk to charge different devices. Plug in to it is a Lightning to USB-A cable, a USB-C to USB-A cable, a Micro-USB to USBA-cable, and the Mobvoi cable. So far I don't see any alternatives to the standard charger that Google sells. The standard charger does not physically attach to the watch, it would have been great if Google had made this standard Qi charger. #
- FedEx delivered the Pixel Watch to the right address, so Best Buy helped break my curse of Google Product purchases. Today will be the first full day for wearing the watch and working with Fitbit. I put the watch on at 8:40 AM, let's see how well the battery holds out during the day!#