The Google Pixel Watch 5 Can Track Two Health Metrics Your Smartwatch Probably Can't

Google announced the Pixel Watch 5 on August 12 at its Made by Google event in New York, alongside the Pixel 11 series, with a strong focus on health. The new smartwatch introduces blood pressure and insulin resistance tracking — two metrics that sit outside what most smartwatches currently measure. However, both features will arrive as a software update in September rather than at launch. Google pairs them with a rebuilt fitness experience built around a daily readiness reading, deeper sleep analysis, and an interface with more Gemini integration.

If you're seeing any of the signs that it's time to replace your smartwatch, the Pixel Watch 5 should be a serious contender. It offers twice the storage of last year's Pixel Watch 4 model, a new band material, a faster chip, and a longer warranty in some regions, too. The Pixel Watch 5 goes on sale on August 20, the same day as the Pixel 11 phones.

The new blood pressure feature is designed to spot patterns over time, flagging the kind of gradual strain on the heart that a single reading might miss. Similarly, insulin resistance tracking follows a trend across the month rather than delivering a single number. Google frames both as wellness tools rather than medical ones, so neither replaces a dedicated monitor. Both sit alongside existing health-tracking features the smartwatch already handles, including atrial fibrillation detection, stress tracking, heart rate and SpO2 monitoring, and breathing rate monitoring.

Workouts now begin with a Readiness Score, calculated from overnight recovery, that suggests whether to train hard or take it easy. If you've used a Whoop tracker or Oura Ring before, this should be familiar. This score appears alongside sleep metrics and the weather forecast in a revamped Morning Brief. From there, the Google Health app lets you build a session across more than 50 tracked exercises, including strength training, HIIT, running, swimming, hiking, basketball, and pickleball.

Custom strength and HIIT circuits with set reps, weights, and rest intervals will arrive in September, in the same update that will deliver the blood pressure and insulin resistance features. Once you start a workout, the watch offers audio and visual cues for every set and rest period and lets you adjust reps or weight mid-session. Outdoor workouts use dual-frequency GPS, which Google says is its most accurate yet at holding a signal on tree-covered trails and between tall buildings. A new Key Metrics view analyzes your performance afterward and tracks how close you are to your next personal best.

Wear OS 7 moves Gemini closer to the center of the Pixel Watch experience. It can now surface information based on the context of a text message. For example, if a friend asks for your babysitter's number, the watch should pull it up automatically. It also pushes flight status and other timely updates to the bottom of the watch face, just like in the latest versions of Apple's watchOS. Gemini on the Pixel Watch can now handle multistep requests like finding a nearby lunch spot with directions when you raise your wrist and ask, and can manage timers, alarms, and workouts by voice even when the watch is offline. This is similar to Magic Cue, the context-aware feature Google introduced on last year's Pixel phones. The Pixel Watch 5 can handle these tasks courtesy of the Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 Accelerated — a faster variant of the same chip that powered its predecessor, with 20% quicker processing.

The Pixel Watch 5 also makes a great case to be among the best wearables for sleep tracking, thanks to a few additions. Bedtime Automations can turn off music and silence notifications automatically as you wind down. A new Sleep Breathing Quality feature, still listed as coming soon, analyzes minute-by-minute changes in blood oxygen overnight and ties breathing patterns to energy, recovery, and heart health. The watch still breaks sleep into Awake, REM, Light, and Deep stages, rolling everything into a Sleep Score that Google says aligns with clinical measurements, while Smart Wake Alarms aim to wake you at the best moment inside a set window.

The Pixel Watch 5 runs Wear OS 7 with twice the storage of last year's Pixel Watch 4. Battery capacity ticks up slightly too, to 465 mAh on the 45mm model and 332 mAh on the 41mm. Google's rated battery life is unchanged from last year, though: up to 40 hours with the always-on display on the larger watch and 30 hours on the smaller one, stretching to 72 and 48 hours, respectively, in Battery Saver mode. The Quick Charge Dock still gets both sizes to 50% in about 15 minutes, with a full charge taking about 60 minutes on the 45mm model and 45 minutes on the 41mm one.

The display — a domed Actua 360 panel with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 and a peak brightness of 3,000 nits — looks unchanged, as do the 5 ATM and IP68 water and dust resistance. The band switches from fluoroelastomer to a material called HNBR with a soft-touch coating. In the UK, the EU, Switzerland, and Australia, Google is also extending the warranty to two years, up from one.

Then, there's satellite SOS for when you're off the grid, Safety Check and Emergency Sharing for solo workouts, Fall Detection and Car Crash Detection for accidents, and Loss of Pulse Detection, which can automatically call emergency services if the watch senses your heart has stopped and you don't respond. When paired with a Pixel phone, the watch can also trigger the camera remotely, lock your phone when you walk away, pull up Google Wallet, display offline Maps for navigation, screen calls, and control a Nest Cam or Doorbell through the Google Home app.

The 45mm case of the Pixel Watch 5 comes in Matte Black, Polished Silver, and a new Satin Pyrite finish paired with an Olive band, while the 41mm adds a fourth color — Champagne Gold — with a Canyon band. Software brings a couple of new watch faces, including an animated design called Weave and a Chronograph face, plus the option to generate custom faces with AI. Google is also releasing a Special Edition built with NBA champion Stephen Curry, featuring an exclusive band and watch face, alongside its usual Active Sport, Metal Links, and leather band options.

The Pixel Watch 5 is available for pre-order and arrives August 20, with pricing unconfirmed for now; we'll update this article once Google shares it. Compared to the Pixel Watch 4, the upgrade comes down to twice the storage, a faster chip, and software that plans your training and screens your heart rather than just recording data.

The watch's fitness coaching features sit behind the Google Health Premium plan, which uses Gemini to turn fitness, sleep, and cycle-tracking data into tailored workout plans and recovery advice. The subscription is included for three months with the watch, comes bundled with Google AI Pro and AI Ultra plans, and otherwise costs $9.99 a month.