Differences Between Pixel Watch 2 and Fitbit Charge 6

Posted on November 7, 2023 by resourcefulman

Now that Google owns Fitbit, buying something like the Charge 6 officially puts you into the company’s ecosystem. But that doesn’t mean the Fitbit Charge 6 is the same as the Pixel Watch 2 . In fact, the experience you get from both these wearables will be completely different. If you’re stuck choosing between one of Google’s latest wearables, it’s important to know the differences so you can make the best decision for you.

Specifications and price

The Fitbit Charge 6 currently sells for $159.95 on Amazon , while the Pixel Watch 2 is relatively more expensive at $399.99 . This might immediately make the Fitbit more attractive, but this price difference also results in some pretty stark differences in specs:

Fitbit Charge 6 Specifications:

Dimensions: 1.52 x 0.73 x 0.46 inches.
Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.0
Compatibility: Android 9.0 or later, iOS 15 or later.
Display: 1.04-inch AMOLED
Battery: Up to 7 days
Sensors: Optical heart rate monitor, 3-axis accelerometer, red and infrared sensors for oxygen saturation (SpO2) monitoring, device temperature sensor, vibration motor, ambient light sensor, multi-function electrical sensors compatible with ECG app and EDA Scan app, atrial fibrillation monitoring arrhythmias, sleep tracking

Google Pixel Watch 2 Specifications:

Dimensions: 41 mm x 12.3 mm.
Weight: 31 grams (without strap)
Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n 2.4 GHz, NFC, LTE
GPS: GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, Quasi-Zenith satellite.
Compatibility: Android 9.0 or later.
Display: AMOLED display with 320 pixels per inch resolution and DCI-P3 color.
Battery life: up to 24 hours with always-on display
Sensors: Compass, altimeter, red and infrared sensors, multi-function electrical sensors, multi-beam optical heart rate sensor, 3-axis accelerometer, gyroscope, ambient light sensor, skin temperature sensor, barometer, magnetometer.

Battery life

This is one of the features of the Fitbit Charge 6, especially compared to the Pixel Watch 2. The Charge 6 may not have as many smartwatch features, but that simplicity helps it deliver up to seven days of battery life on a single charge. You can count on it to keep up with your fitness goals, while also tracking sleep, monitoring atrial fibrillation, and more, all without having to charge it every day.

Unfortunately, the Pixel Watch 2 only offers a maximum battery life of 24 hours when using the smartwatch’s always-on display. This is one of the things I talked about most in my Pixel Watch 2 review , and while it’s a huge improvement over the original Pixel Watch’s battery life, it still means you’ll be charging your smartwatch every day.

Software and Features

I’ve spent a lot of time with the Pixel Watch 2 and the Fitbit Charge 6, and the experiences they offer are vastly different, especially when it comes to operating systems, feel, and their builds.

While the Fitbit Charge 6 does offer more parts of Google’s ecosystem than any other Fitbit before it, these additions mostly revolve around YouTube Music, Google Pay, Google’s Find My Phone system, and Google Maps integration. However, they aren’t as easy to integrate into the Charge 6 as they were into the Pixel Watch 2. For example, the Charge 6 won’t let you activate Google Maps on the device. You first need to activate it on your phone and then it will be transferred to your wearable device. That’s fine, but it takes away the ability to access Maps right on your wrist. When testing the Charge 6, I found it inconvenient to always have my smartphone with me to access all the features Fitbit offers here.

Other Google features like YouTube Music and Google Pay work well on the Charge 6 and don’t require any external interaction with your phone to use them. But that’s basically where the capabilities of the Charge 6 smartwatch end. Sure, it will tell you the time and notify you about things, but other than that you won’t be using other apps like Spotify.

That’s why it’s hard to recommend the Fitbit Charge 6 as the ideal tracker for those who want a true smartwatch experience. The Pixel Watch 2, on the other hand, is a dedicated smartwatch that offers full access to various features of your smartphone, including messaging, phone calls, and more. It does all of this, plus it combines many of Fitbit’s fitness tracking features and options (I think these are benefits of Google owning Fitbit). And since it runs the latest version of WearOS, you can count on a truly fast and responsive system.

Fitness and physique

When it comes to fitness tracking, Fitbit has been in the game longer and the company is known for offering reliable fitness tracking products. Charge 6 offers better fitness tracking capabilities and longer battery life, making it easy to use features like sleep tracking. Otherwise, however, both wearables are fairly equal. (It helps that Google has built a lot of Fitbit features into the Pixel Watch 2.)

Both devices do a great job keeping track of your daily activity, and I’ve never had an issue with either of them tracking my workouts using the workout tracker’s automatic setting. I could leave the system on and just start walking or running without having to worry about my watch not being able to pick up on anything.

Fitbit says the sensors in the Charge 6 are the most accurate the company has ever offered, and that claim definitely holds true. The Pixel Watch 2 comes close too, although I noticed a slight discrepancy between the number of steps my Pixel Watch 2 counted in a day compared to the Charge 6. This could be due to the way those devices track steps, so it’s impossible to tell what could cause a non-conformity. Either way, both devices will offer you accurate and accessible fitness tracking.

Both devices also rely heavily on the Fitbit app to do most of the heavy lifting, so you’ll need the Fitbit Premium if you want access to the most important and useful pieces of information. It’s a bit of a shame for both accounts, but you can always get by and just use the free version if you don’t want to pay. Either way, you’ll still get basic tracking functionality.

Both the Pixel Watch 2 and Charge 6 have a solid build, although it feels like the Charge 6 can stand up to more abuse since you don’t have to worry about the display as much as on the Pixel Watch 2. Neither device, however, feels cheap or weak. and that’s a good thing considering how expensive the Pixel Watch 2 can be.

Smart watch or fitness tracker?

Ultimately it comes down to this: do you want a smartwatch or a fitness tracker?

If you’re looking for a smartwatch that offers more features, as well as the ability to take advantage of Fitbit’s various tracking capabilities, the Pixel Watch 2 is a clear winner. But for a fitness-focused device that offers some smart features, the Fitbit Charge 6 is still a fantastic option. It removes the extra complexity found in most smartwatches and stands out from other fitness trackers released in recent months. A lot of this also depends on how well it incorporates much of Google’s ecosystem into Fitbit’s fabric, which I talked about in more detail in my Charge 6 review .

Regardless of which device you choose, both offer excellent fitness tracking capabilities, as well as access to basic smartwatch features like music controls, GPS, and messages. But if you want more, I suggest spending more on the Pixel Watch 2.

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