A lot of good stuff happened in the smartwatch world this year, from the Pixel Watch finally getting two sizes to the first Fan Edition of the Galaxy Watch. However, there’s more work to be done and these are my three big wishes.
Better battery life
It’s a wish list item for just about any tech device with a battery, but if smartwatches could last longer that would be much appreciated.
Far too many still last a day or awkwardly into a second and as I found with my Apple Watch Series 10 review. It just means I walk around with a not very good paperweight strapped to my wrist.
OnePlus has proven more impressive battery life can be achieved, primarily due to its innovative dual-engine setup seen on the OnePlus Watch 2R – our favourite smartwatch of 2024. More smartwatch makers should adopt this kind of tech as well as developing other ways of extending battery life.
Whether that’s with more efficient chips, better batteries or better software, or all of the above ideally, I don’t mind.
Mike Sawh
More choice
It’s been improved in 2024 but there’s more work to be done when it comes to choice.
And I primarily mean in sizes, though more colours and materials are always welcome though I understand the more SKUs, the more compliacated manufacturing gets.
Google finally addressed the issue with the Pixel Watch 3 which comes in 41- and 45mm sizes but plenty of smartwatches still just come in one size.
I’m pointing the finger at the likes of OnePlus and even Samsung with certain Galaxy Watch models.
It’s not as critical as getting the correct smart ring size, of course, but different wrist sizes and preferences demand choice. Simple as.
A cheaper Pixel Watch
A more specific request to round off my list is aimed at Google. It’s time to make a budget-friendly smartwatch and give the Pixel Watch the A-series treatment we’ve seen work so well on Pixel phones and earbuds.
Sure, it can have cheaper materials and a cut-down feature list compared to the Pixel Watch 3 and upcoming Pixel Watch 4 but I know plenty of people who are happy to make those compromises.
Not everyone can afford a flagship smartwatch and like the choice of size, consumers deserve to have a choice in price as well, without buying the previous generation and the downsides to doing that.
Read more about why I want Google to make a Pixel Watch A-series. It would also be nice if Motorola got back into the smartwatch game (in the UK).
