I’m about to give the Google Pixel Watch another chance, and it’s all Samsung’s fault.
I’ve never been a fan of the Pixel Watch’s stripped-back design, which takes minimalism to new levels of facelessness. Still, to my surprise, I really like the Galaxy Watch 8’s minimalist shape and how comfortable it is on the wrist.
Perhaps this is evidence of my ever-evolving taste in wristwear, and why I’m ready to give the Pixel Watch 4 a chance, despite never really liking its predecessors.
What’s wrong with the Pixel Watch?
Devoid of design
I consider the Pixel Watch to be the most uninspired smartwatch ever made. This has nothing to do with the functionality and everything to do with the way it looks.
Google took minimalism very seriously with the first Pixel Watch, and it has stuck with the same shape ever since, stopping only to add a second model with a slightly larger case to the range.
Minimalism is extremely hard to get right on a watch.
Dress watches sit on the right side of minimalist, with clean dials, three hands at most, and very little branding.
See the Nomos Glashütte Orion, in silver with a white dial, for a minimalist watch with true wrist appeal. I love how the company describes its intention with the Orion by saying it has “elevated omission to an art form.”
It’s beautiful because it’s so carefully considered. You may glance at the Pixel Watch and think, “That’s basically the same,” but it’s absolutely not.
A round case with a crown stuck on the side does not automatically make an elegant minimalist watch. It makes the smartwatch equivalent of a glass of water.
Watches, even smartwatches, must be desirable as well as functional.
A watch says something about us. Whether that’s through the sportiness of a Garmin or the highly functional simplicity of an Apple Watch, it’s as much a reflection of our personality as any other article of clothing.
Because the Pixel Watch doesn’t have an identity of its own, and I don’t think plain circles are the epitome of minimalist expression, owning it becomes solely about functionality. And that’s just boring.
The Galaxy Watch 8 remains a big surprise
This year’s best smartwatch?
The Galaxy Watch 8 is a desirable minimalist smartwatch.
The circular screen set in the cushion case — as much a reference to 60s Heuer Carrera chronographs and watches like the Breitling Top Time as it is a continuation of the Galaxy Watch Ultra — and the buttons sit flush with the side, while the lug-less strap is integrated into the body for a neat, cohesive finish.
Paired with a no-nonsense watch face and in white, it looks properly sharp on your wrist.
It doesn’t shout and make itself known, particularly if you do the right thing and go for the 40mm version, but it never just shrinks into the background. It’s effortlessly cool, a feat few smartwatches have ever managed to pull off.
It’s easy to dismiss minimalist design as being simple or lacking individual identifying characteristics, but this is not the case at all.
The Galaxy Watch 8 has a minimalist design, but the Pixel Watch is just minimalist.
It’s a crucial difference, and it means one is a smartwatch you’ll choose because of both functionality and looks, while the other you’ll choose because, well, I don’t really know why.
There’s a small chance I’m wrong
But only a small one
Now we get to where I’m all turned around. I’m big enough and ugly enough to admit when I’m (a bit) wrong, and I was half wrong about the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8’s controversial cushion design.
Ahead of launch, I thought the Galaxy Watch 8 was going to be the missplay, but it turns out the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic is Samsung’s ugly duckling.
The Classic takes everything that makes the Watch 8 so aesthetically pleasing and throws it away.
The Pixel Watch pretends to be a minimalist masterpiece through visual tedium, while the Watch 8 Classic pretends to be classy through ill-advised stylistic additions and poor on-wrist balance. I have no wish to wear either. Until now.
I can learn from my mistakes, and I am all set to give the Pixel Watch 4 a chance.
Perhaps it will evolve just enough to become the minimalist winner Google has so far gaslit us into thinking it is?
The many leaks indicate it’s not going to stray far from the five-minute sketch it used for the shape of the original Pixel Watch, though, but there are a few rumors, which gives me some hope.
Small bezels, thinner case?
It needs to be more than just freshened up
Rumors about the Pixel Watch 4’s shape suggest the screen will have smaller bezels, domed glass over it, and a selection of new colors.
I want the case to be slimmer, but I’m not sure if it’s going to happen.
The lozenge-like shape certainly doesn’t need any additional girth, particularly if the glass is going to have a more pronounced dome to it.
The rumored Moonstone color also looks great, and may help jazz up the shape.
Dramatic alterations aren’t on the cards, but like I said, I’m learning from my mistake with the Galaxy Watch 8 and will look forward to putting the Pixel Watch 4 on my wrist at some point.
The Galaxy Watch 8’s minimalist style has completely won me over, so perhaps the Pixel Watch 4 will do the same.
I missed out on using the Pixel Watch 3, so there’s even a decent gap between the last time I tried Google’s smartwatch and today, which may have softened my feelings about it even further.
However, if the Pixel Watch 4 doesn’t end up changing my mind about Google’s smartwatch, I’ll take comfort in knowing the Galaxy Watch 8 exists to satisfy my minimalist design needs.
Because that’s a sentence I never expected to write, I’m actually looking forward to being proven wrong about the Pixel Watch.
