Google Pixel Watch 2
A cleaner Android smartwatch experience
The Google Pixel Watch 2 expands on Google’s smartwatch offering by adding in even more Fitbit features. It ships with Wear OS 4, adding even more compatibility with Android apps. The pebble-style display offers a unique design that helps it stand out among other smartwatch offerings.
Fossil Gen 6
An aging smartwatch that still has something to offer
The Fossil Gen 6 offers a solid smartwatch design with a great display. The update to Wear OS 3 made it better, bringing Google Assistant and other features to the wearable. It isn’t the best option, but if you want a wearable made by someone other than Google or Samsung, it’s still a decent option, especially on sale.
TheGoogle Pixel Watch 2is a front-runner for the most striking Wear OS watch you can get, and there are plenty of good reasons to pick one up besides its looks, too. It’s one of thebest Android smartwatchesyou can buy — but is the olderFossil Gen 6still a solid choice? Here’s how the two smartwatches stack up side-by-side.
Price, specs & availability
To fully compare these two devices, we’ve first got to take a look at the bread and butter of each one — the on-paper specs. Overall, both of these devices are solid in their design, and while the Pixel Watch 2 offers a more unique look and newer hardware, the Fossil Gen 6 isn’t exactly a relic just yet.
Further, both devices are easy to get your hands on, with the Pixel Watch 2 being readily available from the Google Store, Amazon, Best Buy, and other third-party retailers. The Fossil Gen 6 is a little bit older, but you can still get your hands on it from Amazon and Best Buy, where it’s available for $300 and oftentimes even cheaper on sale.
Comparatively, the Pixel Watch 2 is slightly more expensive, retailing for $350 in most cases, though it’s already been on sale a handful of times. We don’t expect significant discounts in the near future, as the watch is still quite new. While it might be tempting to go with the Fossil Gen 6 because of its cheaper price point, Fossil’s is also an older device, so you’re looking at an older operating system and hardware. In most cases, spending the extra $50 for the Pixel Watch 2 is going to be worth it for the upgraded OS and hardware alone.
The design of your smartwatch can help you stand out, depending on your style, and both the Pixel Watch 2 and Fossil Gen 6 look incredibly different.
The Pixel Watch 2 features a smaller, more pebble-like display, which offers rounded edges all around the device. It’s a solid design that has helped Google’s smartwatch offering stand out, and it comes with an aluminum body that is both lightweight and fairly durable. The Pixel Watch 2 also offers a digital crown on the side, as well as an easy-to-use button that lets you navigate menus easily throughout the device. The Pixel Watch is available in a single size of 41mm, and it features a back-mounted charger that uses charging connector pins, which allow it to connect to a proprietary charger.
Looking at these two side-by-side, they couldn’t appear much more different than they do. The Fossil Gen 6 is more akin to a traditional sports watch, featuring a large display and a bulky stainless steel frame with three different buttons situated on the right side of the device. It’s available in both a 42mm and a 44mm size, which means users who prefer a larger device may like the design of the Fossil Gen 6 more.
While both devices feature great displays, there are some minor differences here, too. The Pixel Watch 2 features a 1.2-inch AMOLED display at 450 x 450 pixels, while the slightly larger display of the Fossil Gen 6 is 1.28 inches and 416 x 416 pixels. That slight bump in resolution on the Pixel Watch means slightly crispier visuals, though it isn’t something you’re going to notice a huge difference in most of the time.
Ultimately, the stainless steel frame of the Fossil Gen 6 is going to be slightly more durable than the Pixel Watch 2’s aluminum frame. However, the trade-off here is that the Fossil Gen 6 will feel slightly heavier on your wrist, and it won’t offer quite as crisp of a display as the Pixel Watch 2.
Software is another place where you’re going to see huge differences between the Pixel Watch 2 and the Fossil Gen 6. The age of the Fossil Gen 6 means that you’ll be rocking an older version of Wear OS: in this case, the most recent update that Fossil offers is to Wear OS 3, while the Pixel Watch 2 ships with Wear OS 4 and will continue to receive software updates for years to come.
While Wear OS 3 isn’t terrible, it doesn’t offer the updated support for apps that Wear OS 4 brings. It’s also not as smooth, and buying into a device with an older operating system means you’re going to miss out on important security updates that come later down the line.
These software differences also play into performance, alongside the hardware found in each device. The Pixel Watch 2’s newer software and hardware mean a slicker and more responsive system. The update to Wear OS 3 on the Fossil Gen 6 might have brought back Google Assistant support, but in many cases, it also made the software more sluggish, which means more stuttering and performance issues across every facet of the smartwatch.
Health & fitness
Both the Fossil Gen 6 and Pixel Watch 2 offer more than enough fitness features to entice most average users. However, the Fossil Gen 6 is running on more dated hardware and sensors. Further, the inclusion of additional Fitbit features on the Pixel Watch 2 means you can count on extended support for the various tracking options you have, and that’s nothing to sneeze at.
you’re able to see the full list of the different sensors in both smartwatches above. But, the major differences here are going to come down to continuous support for EDA monitoring on the Pixel Watch 2, as well as the option to monitor your skin temperature. The Pixel Watch 2 also uses a multi-path optical heart rate sensor, which Google says is the most accurate in any Fitbit-branded device to date.
The Fossil Gen 6 is only rated at 3ATM for water resistance, meaning it won’t survive any kind of submersion or swimming. The Pixel Watch 2, on the other hand, is rated at 5ATM and IP68 water-resistant, which means it can withstand pressure equivalent to about 50 meters (164 feet) underwater and can survive being submerged in up to a meter (3.28 feet) of water for a half-hour at a time.
If fitness tracking is your primary goal when picking up a smartwatch, then the Pixel Watch 2 offers more accurate and newer sensors, as well as those additional tracking sensors I mentioned before. An optional Fitbit Premium subscription also unlocks additional functionality, including more detailed sleep analysis and a Daily Readiness Score that gives you a single-number snapshot of how “ready” you are for activity each day.
Battery life
When it comes to battery life, there isn’t much to write home about with either of these devices. However, the Google Pixel Watch 2 manages to beat the Fossil Gen 6’s markedly poor battery life by being merely adequate.
As it stands, the Fossil Gen 6 will only net you around 12-13 hours of battery life based on our tests. That means you’ll be able to get through most of your work day, even if you’re using the daily mode features, which include always-on display. If you want to eke out more battery life, you can get around 18-24 hours by using the Extended battery option. However, this cuts off many of the smartwatch’s enticing features, resulting in a poor user experience.
The Pixel Watch 2, on the other hand, offers more reliable battery life, with it able to offer a full 24 hours of battery life even when using always-on-display. That’s one of the biggest improvements that Google made with the second generation of its smartwatch, and it’s one that we’ve been immensely happy to see. If you care about making the battery life last as long as possible, then the Pixel Watch 2 is the clear winner here.
Which is right for you?
The Fossil Gen 6 isn’t a terrible smartwatch, but when you’re comparing it to the newer, higher-performing Pixel Watch 2, the contest isn’t even close. The Pixel Watch 2 offers newer software and hardware, better performance, more accurate sensors for health tracking, and nearly twice the battery life of the Fossil Gen 6 under similar use cases. If you want a smartwatch that is going to do everything you need it to, and still have some juice left at the end of the day, you’ll want to choose Google.
The Google Pixel Watch offers the best performance, hardware, and fitness features between it and the Fossil Gen 6, as well as the most reliable battery life. It isn’t without its faults, though, as the smaller size might not be for everyone.
Given the state of the Wear OS market right now, it’s not as easy to recommend the Fossil Gen 6. The watch isn’t outright bad in a vacuum, but it can’t compete with newer options from Google or Samsung. Still, the sporty design stainless steel frame might make it a more appealing option for certain buyers. Just, please, don’t pay full price for it.
The older Fossil Gen 6 is still a decent option if you want to avoid Google or Samsung, but its aging hardware and software means you’ll miss out on important future updates. The battery life is also extremely mediocre, lasting just 12-13 hours when interacted with extensively.
