A mobile-connected smartwatch can be a hard sell as an upgrade, since most of its capability comes from a direct connection to your phone. But Google is sweetening the deal for the LTE version of the Pixel Watch 3 with two years of free data on the Google Fi network. Is it worth the $100 upgrade over the Wi-Fi- version? Maybe, but you’ll have to look hard at the fine print.
According to the Google Store, if you buy a new LTE-equipped Pixel Watch 3 in either the 41mm or 45mm size, they’ll throw in a two years of free data service on Google Fi for the watch. Notably this promotion doesn’t say anything about needing to be an existing Google Fi customer, so presumably you can get LTE service on the watch no matter what carrier you’re currently using for your phone.
It looks like this promotion is only available in the United States. That makes sense, because Google Fi only sells service in the US, despite offering international roaming. But that’s only the first potential gotcha. First, this free connection won’t support LTE calls to your phone. Texting and data-driven apps like Google Maps should still work, assuming you can get service on the somewhat shaky LTE network these days.
But there are more limits. You’ll only get 4G/LTE speeds on the first 500 megabytes of data every month. After that it’ll slow to an absolute crawl, just 256kbps — the kind of connection that was considered “slow” on the original iPhone. After you hit that threshold the watch will pretty much only be good for texting. There’s also a hard cap at one gigabyte of total data per month, and it won’t work internationally at all.
Should you get it? I’d say it’s a nice perk if 1) you’re sure you want an LTE watch, 2) you’re also sure you don’t need to make calls without your phone around, and 3) your current carrier doesn’t include add-on watch service for free. But speaking as someone who bought the original Pixel Watch with LTE and never used it once, I don’t think the upgrade is necessary, and this freebie definitely won’t sway me for an extra hundred bucks.
The LTE version of the Pixel Watch 3 might be more appealing if you’re already a Google Fi subscriber, since a watch connection is thrown in with your smartphone line. The Google Fi pre-order promotion — different from the Google Store promo that offers Fi service on the watch — is knocking $100 off the price of the Pixel Watch 3 LTE, effectively making it the same price as the Wi-Fi edition.
