Google’s upcoming Pixel Watch 3 will run the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 5100 chipset (SW5100) and a Cortex M33 co-processor. These are the same two processors that powered the Pixel Watch 2 last year. It also sports the same 2GB of SDRAM and 32GB of eMMC flash storage, so don’t expect any major differences in performance this year.
The Pixel Watch 3 is keeping a relatively similar battery capacity this year. It did receive a very minor bump up to 307mAh. While the Pixel Watch 2 had a 306mAh capacity battery last year. This explains why the battery life seems about the same, at least so far. On the 45mm Pixel Watch 3, we’re looking at a 420mAh capacity battery. Since this is the first Pixel Watch to come in a 45mm size, we can’t compare it to a predecessor. Both models offer 24 hours of battery life with an Always-on Display—or 36 hours with Battery Saver mode on.
Pixel Watch 3 finally boasts a 60Hz display
This might sound very trivial, but previous Pixel Watches shipped with 30Hz displays, and it was quite noticeable. It made the entire watch look and feel much slower than it was. But with Pixel Watch 3, both models are adopting a 60Hz refresh rate. In fact, it’s a responsive refresh rate that will move from 1 to 60Hz. Basically, it’ll stick to 1Hz for the Always-on Display and jump up to 60Hz when you’re actually using it.
While both Pixel Watch 3 models can reach a peak brightness of 2,000 nits, they can also get very dark. The Pixel Watch 3 can be as dim as 1 nit, which is perfect for sleeping with it on. However, with Sleep Mode, you wouldn’t need to worry about that anyway.
The Pixel Watch 3 is getting some much-needed upgrades, while other parts of the watch are saying the same, sadly. While Google is using a co-processor here, it is still not opting for a dual operating system like what OnePlus is using on its watch.