Google Pixel Watch 4 vs Google Pixel Watch 5

Google changed almost nothing you can see or touch. Pixel Watch 4 was announced on 20 August 2025 and reached stores on 9 October 2025. Pixel Watch 5 followed a year later, in August 2026, with the same two case sizes and weights, the same screen and the same battery ratings. What changed is mostly inside: software, storage and the chip, plus health features that were still on the way at launch.

Pixel Watch 4 and 5 side by side

Spec	Google Pixel Watch 4	Google Pixel Watch 5
Released	Announced 20 August 2025; in stores 9 October 2025	August 2026
Software	Wear OS 6.0	Wear OS 7.0
Chip	Snapdragon W5 Gen 2, Cortex-M55 coprocessor	Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 Accelerated, Cortex-M55 coprocessor
Storage and RAM	32GB; 2GB SDRAM	64GB; RAM not published
Battery cells	325 mAh (41mm), 455 mAh (45mm)	332 mAh (41mm), 465 mAh (45mm)
Always-on battery	Up to 30 hours (41mm), 40 hours (45mm)	Same
Battery Saver	Up to 48 hours (41mm), 72 hours (45mm)	Same
Case	41mm or 45mm recycled aluminum, 12.3mm thick	Same
Weight, no band	31.0 g (41mm), 36.7 g (45mm)	Same
Screen	Actua 360 AMOLED, 320 ppi, up to 3,000 nits	Same
GPS	Dual-frequency: GPS, Galileo, GLONASS	Same in the US; adds BeiDou and QZSS elsewhere
Satellite SOS	Yes	Yes
Phone needed	Android 11.0 or newer	Android 12.0 or newer, not Android Go
US launch price	From $349	From $399.99

Software, storage and the chip are the upgrade

Watch 5 moves from Wear OS 6.0 to Wear OS 7.0 and from the Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 to the W5 Gen 2 Accelerated, keeps the Cortex-M55 coprocessor, and doubles storage from 32GB of eMMC to 64GB (before formatting). Google calls it 20 percent faster without saying what it’s faster than. A year earlier, Google said Watch 4’s machine-learning coprocessor was 25 percent faster at half the power. The two percentages come from different comparisons, so don’t add them together.

Watch 5 also adds touchless gestures for one-handed use, and it has a microphone and speaker. Both have a side button, a haptic crown and Gen 3 haptics, and both have raise-to-talk Gemini.

The phone requirement got stricter. Pixel Watch 4 works with most phones on Android 11.0 or newer, with a Google Account and the Pixel Watch app. Pixel Watch 5 needs Android 12.0 or newer and won’t work with Android Go phones. If your phone is stuck on Android 11, Watch 4 is the one that pairs. With only an iPhone, neither does.

Battery: bigger cells, same hours

Watch 5’s cells are a few milliamp-hours bigger, but Google kept the ratings: up to 30 or 40 hours with always-on, and 48 or 72 hours in Battery Saver. When Google advertises 40 hours, that’s the 45mm with always-on. Its Watch 5 figures come from 2025 tests of pre-production units in California, using a median user’s mix. When Watch 4 launched, Google said its battery lasted 25 percent longer than the previous Pixel Watch’s and described the Battery Saver figures as two days and three days.

Charging didn’t change either. On the Quick Charge Dock, both reach about 50 percent in 15 minutes, 80 percent in 25 and 100 percent in 45 on the 41mm, or 15, 30 and 60 minutes on the 45mm. Google said Watch 4 charged 25 percent faster than before, 0 to 50 percent in 15 minutes, and it advertises 15 hours of use from a 15-minute charge on Watch 5. Neither box has a wall adapter: Watch 5 needs a USB-C one of at least 7.5 watts, and Watch 4’s box holds the watch, both band sizes, the dock and a quick-start guide.

Health and safety: same sensors, newer features

Both watches have a multi-path optical heart-rate sensor, electrical sensors for the ECG app, red and infrared sensors for blood oxygen, a skin temperature sensor and a skin-conductance sensor. At Watch 4’s launch, Google called the temperature sensor far-field, said a new sensor flags readings outside your personal range, and claimed its machine-learning sleep tracking was 18 percent more accurate.

Watch 5 tracks sleep stages and breathing regularity, gives you a Sleep Score and a Morning Brief, and can wake you in a window timed to your sleep stage. Google calls it its most accurate sleep tracking. Blood-pressure trends and insulin-resistance tracking were marked “Coming September 2026”, so don’t count on them the day the watch arrives. Google Health Premium is included for three months.

ECG, blood oxygen, temperature and skin conductance aren’t available in every country, ECG is for people 22 and older, and none of these readings is a diagnosis. Google markets Loss of Pulse detection on both. On Watch 5 it says the watch can detect a loss of pulse and prompt an emergency call, alongside Fall Detection, Car Crash Detection, Safety Check and Location Sharing.

At launch, Google listed more than 50 exercise modes for Watch 4, including pickleball and basketball, with automatic activity detection and bike stats sent to the Fitbit app. It also called Watch 4 the first serviceable Pixel Watch, with a replaceable battery and display.

GPS and satellite were already on Watch 4

Pixel Watch 4 has dual-frequency GPS using GPS, Galileo and GLONASS, and Google called its route tracking the most accurate. Watch 5 keeps those three in the US, adds BeiDou and QZSS in the rest of the world, and gets billed as Google’s best GPS, with machine learning behind it. It’s the same kind of claim a year later, not a new feature.

Satellite SOS is on both. Google’s 2025 launch post called the LTE Watch 4 the first smartwatch with standalone emergency satellite communications, built on the W5 Gen 2, though availability varies. For Watch 5, Google says Satellite SOS isn’t offered everywhere, is included for two years after activation, and may share your location and contact details with Google, emergency services and the satellite provider.

LTE models of both use 4G LTE and UMTS and need a plan. Google offers two years of Fi Wireless data with Watch 5 for messaging, navigation and music, but not calls, and the Japanese Watch 5 adds FeliCa. Both have Bluetooth 6.0, Wi-Fi on 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz including 802.11ax, ultra-wideband and NFC. Payments go through Google Wallet rather than Apple Pay, and on Watch 5 your card issuer has to take part.

Same case, same screen

The screen is the same domed Actua 360 AMOLED LTPO panel, with DCI-P3 color under Gorilla Glass 5, dimming to 1 nit with always-on and refreshing at anywhere from 1Hz to 60Hz. Both recycled-aluminum cases are rated 5 ATM and IP68, and Google says neither is waterproof.

Both come with a small and a large band that fit the same wrists: 130–175mm and 165–210mm on the 41mm, and 150–185mm and 165–215mm on the 45mm. Watch 5’s is a second-generation Active Band in HNBR.

The colors changed. Watch 4’s pairings include Polished Silver with Iris, Satin Moonstone, Porcelain, Champagne Gold with Lemongrass, and Matte Black with Obsidian. Watch 5’s 41mm comes in Matte Black with Obsidian, Polished Silver with Fog, Satin Pyrite with Olive and Champagne Gold with Canyon; the 45mm skips Canyon. A US-only Stephen Curry edition pairs Satin Pyrite with a Rye loop.

What they cost

Pixel Watch 4 launched at Pixel Watch 3’s prices: $349 for the 41mm with Wi-Fi and $449 with LTE, and $399 and $499 for the 45mm. Pixel Watch 5 starts at $399.99 for the 41mm on the US Google Store; LTE and the 45mm cost more, and Google doesn’t list the full price grid. Since the battery ratings didn’t move, a Watch 4 well below that price is the better buy unless you want Wear OS 7, 64GB or the new health features. Discounts on last year’s Pixel Watch come and go, so look at the Google Store on the day you buy.