Google Pixel Watch 3 vs. Samsung Galaxy Watch 7: Fighting for your wrist

The Google Pixel Watch 3 is finally official, along with the rest of the Pixel phones and new earbuds. Google claims the Watch 3 has been "designed for performance inside and out," with a big emphasis on new activity monitoring features and deeper integration with Nest devices. One thing that everyone will care about is that it finally comes in two sizes, so you can pick the one that suits your wrist the best. It's still a premium device, make no mistake about that, and the prices certainly reflect that. 

Samsung has been making pretty successful WearOS watches for a while, and its latest Galaxy Watch 7 brings tangible improvements to health and fitness tracking. It's also quite a bit cheaper, making it one of the best Android smartwatches to buy. While the Pixel Watch 2 is also on that list, is the Watch 7 the better choice when compared to the latest Watch 3? Keep reading, and the answer should be clear soon enough. 

Google Pixel Watch 3 vs. Samsung Galaxy Watch 7: Design 

The Pixel Watch 3 looks nearly the same as the Pixel Watch 2, except that it now comes in a 41mm and 45mm dial sizes. The watch housing is made from 100% recycled aluminum, and features a single side button and a haptic crown like before. The 42mm model has a 1.2-inch AMOLED display while the larger one has a 1.4-inch display.  The bezels are now slimmer, giving you 10% more screen on the smaller one, and 40% more on the large model. The 45mm model can actually show you more menus and information at a time, compared to the 41mm model. This is a smart move as it gives you one more incentive to trade-up to the larger size. 

The Actua displays on the Pixel Watch 3 now come with up to 2,000 nits of peak brightness, and a variable refreh rate of 1Hz to 60Hz. There's also 3D Corning Gorilla Glass 5 for scratch protection. You get two sizes of the watch band in the box. Since Google is using the same mechanism for the watch bands, most of the older bands going back to the first Pixel Watch will be compatible with the 41mm variant of the Watch 3. The Active Band is bundled with the watch, but you can get other finishes separately. Matte Black and Polished Silver are common colors across sizes, while the 41mm also comes in a Champagne Gold and the 45mm in Matte Hazel.

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 also comes in two sizes, a 40mm model with a 1.3-inch Super AMOLED display and a 44mm with a 1.5-inch display. The display sizes are slightly larger than the Pixel Watch 3, as are the resolutions. Samsung uses Sapphire Crystal for scratch protection which has proven to be very effective so far. 

The displays are, in fact, pretty much identical to what was used on the Watch 6, down the peak brightness of up to 2,000 nits. We found the screen to be crisp, punchy, and highly legible under sunlight. Unlike the larger variant of the Pixel Watch, the 44mm Galaxy Watch 7 will display the same amount of information or elements as the 40mm one, only bigger. 

Both sizes of the Galaxy Watch 7 come with a sports band that matches the color of the watch's casing. Green is the default across sizes, but the 40mm comes in Cream while the 44mm comes in Silver. You can unlock plenty more color options and band combinations if you buy it via Samsung's online store. 

Google Pixel Watch 3 vs. Samsung Galaxy Watch 7: Specs and hardware 

The Pixel Watch 3 follows the same premium pricing as the outgoing model. The 41mm variant costs $349 for Wi-Fi only and $449 for LTE. Meanwhile, the new 45mm model is priced at $399, and the LTE variant costs $499. Samsung has taken a more affordable approach, as the 40mm model costs $299.99 and $349.99 (LTE), while the 44mm variant is $329.99 and $379.99 (LTE). 

The Pixel Watch 3 is powered by the same Qualcomm W5 Gen 1 processor and the Cortex M33 co-processor. It runs Wear OS 5 and has 32GB of storage and 2GB of memory. The watch is also waterproof up to 5ATM and carries an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance. All the sensors are similar to the Pixel Watch 2 and allow you to track health readings like SpO2 monitoring and taking an ECG. 

Samsung has made some big upgrades on the inside of the Galaxy Watch 7. It now uses a new Exynos W1000 SoC, which is a more power-efficient chip than the Watch 6. It too, has 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. Both sizes of the Galaxy Watch 7 are lighter than the Pixel Watch. The other big change is in Samsung's BioActive Sensor, which required a redesign of the glass underneath, resulting in a deeper dome shape. The Watch 7 also has 5ATM water resistance and an IP68 rating, but also gets a MIL-STD-810H toughness certification.  

The Watch 7 has a 300mAh or 425mAh battery capacity, depending on which size you pick. WPC-based fast charging is supported. In our testing, the 44mm variant lasted two days with the AOD (always-on display) disabled. Your mileage may vary based on your usage pattern. 

We haven't tested the Watch 3 yet, but Google is claiming 24-hour battery life with AOD enabled and up to 36 hours in Battery Saver mode, and health tracking is still functioning. The 41mm variant of the Watch 3 has the same capacity of 306mAh as the Watch 2, and if we don't adjust for any software improvements, we should expect similar battery life compared to last year's model. The 45mm will definitely do better, thanks to its larger 420mAh battery.

Google Pixel Watch 3 vs. Samsung Galaxy Watch 7: Features 

The Galaxy Watch 7 packs a ton of health and fitness tracking features. Thanks to the new processor, the interface is slick and smooth, and readings are far more accurate than previous models due to the new layout of the sensors. Sleep tracking and SpO2 monitoring work well, but some features like sleep apnea monitoring and ECG require a Samsung Galaxy phone to work. 

We found Samsung's medication reminder to be a useful feature, and activity tracking has always been solid on the Galaxy Watch. Best of all, you can access all these features without having to pay for any sort of subscription. 

The Pixel Watch 3's premium health tracking features are behind a paywall. You get a six-month Fitbit Premium subscription for free, but you'll need to pay after that to continue accessing run and workout recommendations and deeper insights into your health tracking. Thankfully, the readiness score is now available for everyone, even if you don't subscribe. 

Tracking a run is now more comprehensive, and it has the ability to add timed warmups and cooldowns. Morning Brief gives you a summary of how well you slept, the progress of your activity goals, and more. You can also use the Pixel Watch 3 as a viewfinder to control the camera on your Pixel phone, now with the ability to switch camera modes. This way, you can set up the shot and check framing through the watch itself.

Google Pixel Watch 3 vs. Samsung Galaxy Watch 7: Which one should you buy? 

This should come as no surprise, but I would recommend the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 for most users. Whether this is your first smartwatch or you're upgrading from an old one, the new Watch 7 offers excellent features and performance for the price. In fact, the older Watch 6 is a better bargain if you're not too finicky about health tracking and just want a reliable smartwatch for notifications and reminders. 

I'm sure there'll be takers for the Pixel Watch 3 if you have the money to spend. In fact, this might be a good time to try and score a good deal on the Pixel Watch 2 since the hardware is mostly the same, and most of the new software features should eventually come to it. The 45mm Watch 3 is a bit too expensive to recommend, and you should consider it only if you must have a larger dial size.