It’s been 17 months since Google released the first Pixel Watch and 10 months since the Watch 2 followed it, and I can finally say that I love this product. The road has certainly been bumpy, but Google has slowly, very slowly, won me over.

See, since the original Pixel Watch was announced, I’ve kept a list of features and functionality I’d love to see on my wrist, and sure enough, Google has checked off almost every single one of them. Seriously? Yes, seriously. Almost every feature I mentioned in my Wear OS complaints in 2022 list has been implemented – proof that Google is listening and improving, but at its own pace.

I’d like to share these additions with you, how they’ve improved my Pixel Watch experience, and why I’m so excited about the Pixel Watch 3.

In early 2024, Google introduced a major feature for the Pixel Watch 2: syncing Do Not Disturb and Bedtime Mode with Pixel phones. While this may seem like just a nice extra, it has really improved my use of the smartwatch.

Without this sync, I had to remember to manually put my watch into bedtime mode every night or I would be woken up by a notification or bright display. Even without these interruptions, I would lose 30-40% of battery life if I didn’t activate the mode regularly every night. Since this option was introduced, I just plug in my Pixel 8 Pro at night, which automatically activates bedtime mode on the phone (via Digital Wellbeing), thus automatically syncing with bedtime mode on the watch.

The “Do not disturb” synchronization is also practical during meetings, at the cinema or when attending concerts and shows.

I also love the Pixel Watch’s phone unlock feature, which automatically unlocks my Pixel when I’m wearing my already unlocked watch. It’s faster than the phone’s fingerprint sensor, and I don’t have to look directly at the phone to trigger face unlock. Plus, it works with wet fingers, in the dark, or when I’m hiding behind scarves and hoodies in the middle of winter. I don’t think about it anymore, but every time it works, I’m grateful for it.

Google’s smartwatch apps have made great progress

Two years ago, the state of Google’s own apps on Wear OS was pretty ridiculous in my opinion. Many obvious features were missing and many apps were surprisingly absent altogether. But again, update after update, almost every single gap has been closed.

I love the new Google Assistant tile that lets me add two shortcuts to my most used Assistant actions. So when I’m lying in bed and want to sleep, instead of activating Assistant, speaking out loud and waiting for it to analyze my words, I just tap the “Turn off all lights” button and Google does it quickly and silently. I can also activate my “Goodnight” routine in Google Home and have the lights in my bedroom dim to a nice warm color to help me relax before I’m fully ready for sleep.

Speaking of Google Home, the app is still in preview mode but has received many updates, including support for the same favorites I set up on my phone. No more mindless scrolling through dozens of devices; I can quickly find the light or thermostat I want to adjust. Plus, it now has detailed controls for my smart fan and air purifier, lets me choose the colors of my smart lights, and displays all of my routines.

Google has also made an effort to bring a Favorites tile to the watch, but the lack of names makes it less useful if you have multiple lights or thermostats as favorites. There’s also a new Google Home device complication that lets me assign one of my watch face’s buttons or complications to a specific smart home device. Useful for quickly turning on the fan in the summer.

Another Google app that has received a lot of love is the Wallet app. Previously limited to payment cards, but now Wallet also displays my boarding passes and event tickets so I don’t have to take my phone out of my ziplock bag when I go through an airport gate. It also now displays my loyalty cards so I can scan them at the checkout at my favorite supermarket, grocery store, clothing store, etc. without having to stop to take out my phone and incur the wrath of the impatient Parisians behind me in line.

One of my biggest complaints when using my Pixel Watch used to be that I couldn’t tap the address of a calendar event. If I went to the trouble of adding an address to an upcoming meeting or event, I should be able to tap it to navigate there. But that wasn’t possible until the standalone Calendar app was introduced for the Pixel Watch 2. The native app made it easier to manage events, but most importantly, addresses are now tappable, so when I’m walking to the door of a dinner or concert, I can easily get directions on my wrist without having to pass my phone or remember the address first and then enter it into Maps on my watch.

The new native Gmail app is also slick, but I personally don’t use it that much. I can take it or leave it.

After months and months and years of waiting, public transit directions have finally been added to Google Maps on the Pixel Watch. And as someone who doesn’t own a car in Paris and uses public transit everywhere, I can’t tell you how much I’ve wanted this. I’ve been using Citymapper to make up for the lack of public transit directions, but now I can just start a public transit ride from my phone or my wrist and see the directions instantly on my watch. I’m also notified when I need to get off the subway or walk to my final destination.

This ties in very well with the calendar improvement I mentioned above. When I go out, I just look at the calendar on my wrist, tap the location, and start transit navigation. This is the kind of smooth experience and useful help I’ve always wanted on my smartwatch.

It’s been more than a year since Google announced Watch Face Format, its own template for watch faces on Wear OS, but the developer update has been a while in the making. In the last few months, several watch face designers have jumped on board, and there are now tons of excellent watch faces for the Pixel Watch made specifically with Watch Face Format.

These watch faces are lightweight, don’t require a companion app, integrate with the Pixel Watch’s phone app for easy customization on a big screen, and should – technically – use less battery than non-Watch Face format watch faces. So after years of avoiding third-party watch faces due to questionable performance, I can finally personalize my watch with a few different designs.

We know that Watch Face Format will be the only supported watch face format starting with Wear OS 5, so I’m excited to see more and more designers adopt it and optimize their iconic watch faces for it.

At launch, the Watch 2 added autostart, pause, and stop for workout tracking and enabled backups and restores, two features I also lamented on the original Pixel Watch. Charging speed and battery life have also been improved compared to the first watch version. Plus, since the original launched, I’ve seen some of my favorite apps – WhatsApp, AllTrails, Spotify, and Swim.com – appear as native apps on my wrist.

All of this, plus all of the additional features I mentioned earlier, means my Pixel Watch experience is nearly perfect these days. However, nothing is truly absolutely perfect.

On the hardware side, I still want a larger display and narrower bezels. A larger battery and longer battery life would also be more than welcome. Fortunately, the almost-upcoming Pixel Watch 3 is supposed to come out in a larger size and fulfill this wish. That’s why I recommend waiting for the Pixel Watch 3 instead of buying the Watch 2 now.

Software-wise, Google still needs to implement wrist-based music and video controls for my Nest speakers and Chromecasts. I want local and offline Google Assistant actions, like setting timers and alarms, that don’t depend on my phone’s connectivity. Fitbit’s swim tracking, which is nothing more than a timer and doesn’t measure heart rate, also needs an overhaul. Period tracking should also be accessible from my wrist: I should be able to log a new cycle or see my current cycle without taking out my phone.

Also, I really miss the gestures from the old Android Wear days. I used to be able to scroll my screen with a simple motion and turn my wrist to read a notification without tapping my watch. That’s not the case anymore. And with Apple and Samsung adding fingerpinch gestures, this is the kind of simple and smooth control I’d want on my Pixel Watch.

And finally, Google should bring back the most basic feature of all: the notification when the watch is fully charged. For a few months, my Pixel 8 Pro would show a notification every time my Watch 2 was fully charged, reminding me to take it off the charger. That notification no longer works, so I leave my watch on the charger for hours because I’m so forgetful. If I like my watch, let me use it more, Google.

That may be asking too much, but since Google has fulfilled most of my early Pixel Watch wishes, I feel validated in my thinking. I can only hope that these wishes come true soon, too.