Google Pixel Watch to get fewer updates than Galaxy Watch 5 and Apple Watch

The Google Pixel Watch has plenty going for it, but the new Wear OS device looks set to lose out in the longevity department. 

In a recent interview with Wired (opens in new tab), Google’s director of product management for Wear OS, Björn Kilburn, revealed that the Pixel Watch is on course to receive three years’ worth of software updates – Samsung, in contrast, plans to maintain the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 for at least four years. 

Three years’ worth of support is also one fewer than Apple gave to the Apple Watch 3, suggesting newer variants like the Apple Watch 7 are likewise in line for at least four years of continued maintenance.  

Why, then, is Google’s recently-released Pixel Watch taking a longevity hit against Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 5, when both devices share the same Wear OS 3 platform? 

The discrepancy comes because Google is no longer responsible for updating wearables that it doesn’t manufacture – meaning Samsung is, in turn, no longer beholden to Google’s comparatively stingy update cycle. 

Clearly, Google is only willing to commit to three years’ worth of major OS updates for its in-house Pixel Watch, while Samsung – and, evidently, Apple – has the ability to maintain its latest wearable for a longer period of time. 

The news isn’t all bad for new and prospective Pixel Watch owners, mind. Google has committed to rolling out firmware updates for the Pixel Watch “in a similar fashion to mobile”, with quarterly updates also coming to bring “new experiences” to users throughout the year, in between those more substantial annual updates.

What’s more, on a hardware level, our early impressions of the Google Pixel Watch are good. During our limited time spent handling the device post-launch, we were impressed by its sleek design, intuitive interface and industry-leading integration with Fitbit. 

Whether Google’s first foray into the wearable space has the internal chops to truly challenge comparable devices from Samsung and Apple remains to be seen. We’ll be publishing a full review of the Pixel Watch soon, so stay tuned to TechRadar for this and more on the very best smartwatches money can buy.