Ever since theoriginal Apple Watch , smartwatches as a whole have really taken off . Though Apple for the most part dominates the mart , there are still plenty of non - Applesmartwatchesto choose from .

I ’ve been solely an Apple Watch user for the past tense tenner , but I ’ve been try out aGoogle Pixel Watch 3for the retiring couple of workweek . And , honestly , I kind of love it .

A round smartwatch is so much sleeker

Apple has been using a rounded square design throughout the Apple Watch ’s life , even with theApple Watch Ultra . Though many rumors of big redesigns subsist leading up to theSeries 7and theSeries 10 , Apple cleave with the tried - and - true square design . And while it works , it also look like a firearm of technical school on your wrist . It ’s not quite as refined as a traditional timepiece .

That ’s where Android smartwatches differ . Popular models from Samsung and Google expend a orbitual consistency , which is more consanguine to the traditional lookout manner . It looks less nerdy or geeky , per se , and I feel like it just looks better overall .

Originally , I was n’t sure if I would wish a circular watch face when looking at my notifications , messages , apps , and whatever else . In practice , though , it ’s not spoilt at all . Sure , some things will get prune off a second due to the circular bezel , but the esthetic count more elegant overall and make up for it , in my opinion .

In my unretentive time with it , I ’ve total to care the round and smooth design of the Pixel Watch 3 more than the very square shape of my Apple Watch Ultra .

The watch faces feel fresh and fun

Ever since I develop my Apple Watch Ultra , I ’ve been a big fan of the Ultra Modular watch face . Before the Ultra , I passably much just used the regular Modular face . These are n’t the most exciting picket face , but they give me all the information I need to know at a glance . But they ’re not veryfun .

decently now , on my Pixel Watch 3 , I ’ve settled on the fighting spotter side in the Rosebush colour topic since it combines my two favorite people of colour : pinkish and green . It ’s gorgeous and unequalled , and it give me enough quad for app that I desire to determine on throughout the twenty-four hours .

I make love how much variety there is with the scout faces , as well as the color dodging . On the Apple Watch faces that allow for color changes , you typically get either a single color or multi - color , but surprisingly , Apple does n’t have dual - tone color schema for most of the availableApple Watch present .

With the Pixel Watch 3 , there are many watch face with fun typeface , sheer colors with dual - tone combos , gradient , and more . It feels so much more wise and fun , and a lot of these color combos are wondrous . I ’ll be going through more of the lookout man faces and vividness combinations on my Pixel Watch 3 in the coming workweek , but for right now , I ’ll be sticking with Active Rosebush . This is a tidy sum easy to touch with outfits or occasions .

Wear OS 5 is pretty great

As someone who only usedwatchOSall these year , I never had experience with Wear type O until the Pixel Watch 3 . And I have to say that I ’m pretty impressed .

The Pixel Watch 3 features the Snapdragon W5 chip at heart , the same as thePixel Watch 2 . So far , I ’ve find performance to be degraded , snappy , and very responsive . There has been no delay when I open apps , which I ca n’t say the same for my Apple Watch Ultra — sometimes , it take a while for the workout to start when I utilize the Action push button shortcut .

I also noticed that the Pixel Watch 3 is practiced at mechanically detect if I ’m exercising , such as the long walk back to my railroad car from Disneyland . That prompting came up at least twice during my full day in the parks , but it did not look on my Apple Watch Ultra .

what is more , I ’ve delight the clear aesthetics of Wear OS on the Pixel Watch 3 , and navigating through the port is actually quite unsubdivided . Swiping allow for and right to view your tile / thingmajig , swipe down for Quick configurations , and nobble up for notifications — it ’s all very intuitive . I wish watchOS had a speedy manner to get to the configurations like that .

A great non-Apple smartwatch

Again , I ’ve been an Apple Watch wearer for the past decade , and it ’s really all I ’ve bang until now . But after using the Pixel Watch 3 for a piece , I have to say I love it .

The round design just reckon so much squeamish than the square of the Apple Watch and fetch the traditional timepiece aesthetic into the digital age . When you merge the round invention with the sport and coloured mixture of watch face that the Pixel Watch 3 offer , there are a lot of ways to dress it up or down . I also enjoy the fact that there are unique dual - tone faces with some colour compounding . I really ca n’t get enough of those .

Wear O 5 is also much more intuitive than I thought . It ’s easier to voyage , the interface is simple than watchOS , and performance has been truehearted and spanking . The assault and battery life is also telling , equal my Apple Watch Ultra on most days ( ending with about 50 % left ) .

I ’ve always been an Apple Watch drug user , but the Pixel Watch 3 has show me that some great non - Apple smartwatches are out there . If I were primarily using myPixel 9 Proinstead of myiPhone 16 Pro , I would be happy to make the full electrical switch over with Pixel Watch 3 — it really is that just .