Pixel Watch 3 leak reveals an update I've wanted since the original Pixel Watch
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Google products seem to be prone to early leaks, and the Pixel Watch 3 is no exception. Thanks to an exclusive leak from Android Headlines, we know almost everything about the upcoming Pixel Watch 3's specs.
In slightly disappointing news, the Pixel Watch 3 will share the same 2GB of SDRAM, 32GB of eMMC storage, and Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 5100 chipset in the Pixel Watch 2. With this lack of improvement in core specs, its starting price will almost certainly remain at $349/$399 for Bluetooth/LTE models, respectively, but that's purely speculation right now.
The 41mm Pixel Watch 3 will keep a very similar 307mAh battery capacity (up very little over its predecessor's 306mAh battery), but the new 45mm model is getting an upgrade I've been hoping for: a larger 420mAh battery.
It's not clear yet how much better the battery life will be, but with a rumored capacity boost of over 35%, I'm hopeful.
Will the Pixel Watch 3 have better battery life?
When the original Pixel Watch launched, one of the most widespread complaints was poor battery life. Our sister site, Tom's Guide, only managed to meet Google's official battery life rating of 24 hours for the Pixel Watch with the always-on display turned off and limited GPS use.
The next iteration, the Pixel Watch 2, came with the same 24-hour rating from Google, but the company said these 24 hours were with the always-on display turned on. So, it was a slight upgrade, but not much.
The 45mm Pixel Watch 3's rumored 420mAh battery capacity will be more in line with the 44mm Samsung Galaxy Watch 7's 425mAh battery and the Apple Watch Ultra 2's 564mAh battery. Both the Galaxy Watch 7 and Watch Ultra 2 can easily last between 30 and 36 hours, depending on use, so hopefully, the Pixel Watch 3 can match this.
In the leak, Android Headlines also revealed that both Pixel Watch 3 models will adopt an adaptive 60Hz refresh rate instead of its predecessor's static 30Hz refresh rate. This means the watch can jump to a smooth 60Hz when viewing active content on the display and drop to 1Hz when only showing the always-on display, contributing to better battery life.
Stay tuned for the Made by Google 2024 event, set to kick off August 13 at 10 a.m. PT, where we expect to see Google officially debut the Pixel Watch 3 alongside the Pixel 9 Series and other Pixel gadgets.
