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Google just unveiled its latest smartwatch, the Galaxy Watch 5, and the new Android device joins the legion of smart wearables flooding the market this year. Comparing the Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 to the Google Pixel Watch 5 doesn't feel like comparing apples to oranges. Instead, it's more like comparing a Granny Smith to a Honey Crisp: they're both tasty, crunchy fruits with distinct flavors and different uses.
The two watches hail from the Android ecosystem, are powered by Qualcomm processors, and offer around a day and a half of battery life, give or take. Plus, a Samsung watch can be used with a Google phone, and vice versa.
That makes the decision between the two ever more challenging. Luckily, I've tested the new Galaxy Watch 9 out for myself, and I'll be reviewing the Google Pixel Watch 5 in the coming days. Before I have them both in my hands, let's compare the similarities and differences in the specs of the top two Android watches of 2026.
Specifications
| Pixel Watch 5 | Galaxy Watch 9 | |
| Display | AMOLED LTPO, 3,000 nits | Super AMOLED, 3,000 nits |
| Sizes | 41mm/45mm | 40mm/44mm |
| Sensors | Compass, altimeter, red and infrared sensors for SpO2, multipurpose electrical sensors, multi-path optical heart rate sensor, 3-axis accelerometer, gyroscope, ambient light sensor, electrical sensor for body response tracking, skin temperature sensor, barometer, magnetometer | Samsung BioActive Sensor (Optical Bio-signal Sensor + Electrical Heart Signal + Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis), Temperature Sensor, Accelerometer, Barometer, Gyro Sensor, Geomagnetic Sensor, Light Sensor |
| Processor | Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 Accelerated | Snapdragon Wear Elite |
| RAM/Storage | 64 GB storage | 2 GB RAM, 32 GB storage |
| Satellite | Yes with LTE | No |
| Battery | 325mAh/465mAh | 390mAh/445mAh |
| Colorways | 41mm: Matte Black Aluminum Case with Obsidian Active Band, Polished Silver Aluminum Case with Fog Active Band, Satin Pyrite Aluminum Case with Olive Active Band, Champagne Gold Aluminum Case with Canyon Active Band. 45mm: Matte Black Aluminum Case with Obsidian Active Band, Polished Silver Aluminum Case with Fog Active Band, Satin Pyrite Aluminum Case with Olive Active Band, Stephen Curry Special Edition Satin Pyrite Aluminum Case with Rye Performance Loop Band. | Cream, Graphite |
| Pricing | Starting at $399 and $429 | Starting at $379 |
You should buy the Pixel Watch 5 if...
1. You want faster charging
Charging on the Pixel Watch 5 is significantly faster, taking only 60 minutes to fully replenish the battery. This is around 30 minutes faster than the Galaxy Watch 9's charging time.
2. You want a better app interface
These days, smartwatches can monitor every health metric under the sun. This is true for both the Pixel Watch 5 and the Galaxy Watch 9. Google adds a few new metrics to the Pixel Watch 5, including blood pressure patterns (without a blood pressure cuff) and insulin resistance tracking (without a continuous glucose monitor). It can now detect dangerously low blood oxygen levels and alert emergency services, too (only available in the EU).
Also: Are AI health coach subscriptions a scam? My verdict after testing Fitbit's for a month
For a smartwatch to be useful to me, it matters less what the device measures and more how that data is communicated. Google has Samsung beat on the data illustration and communication front. Its app interface feels less overwhelming from the jump, with the home page displaying my daily steps, sleep score, readiness, and weekly cardio load. If I want to explore other metrics, there's another tab for that. This differs from the Samsung Health app's interface, where all health information lives on the main tab.
Google has also beaten Samsung in the AI health coach race by rolling out Google Health Coach, an AI assistant that answers health queries, logs information such as moods, injuries, conditions, and events, and creates personalized training and recovery plans based on user input. The new AI-powered interface, available for an additional $100 annual fee, makes logging anything a whole lot easier. Instead of going into a tab to log a meal or manually change my exercise, I can import screenshots of my workout routine on a different app to log them on the Google Health app, or log a meal by simply taking a photo of it.
Also: Google's Fitbit Air is a $99 screenless wearable that I can actually take seriously
Beyond simplifying mood, habit, or food logging, the AI-powered interface helps you easily contextualize your health stats throughout the day. In the morning, the app notifies you of your sleep. Midday, it tells you how much progress you're making on your exercise goals. At night, it gives you a summary of your stress and activity levels throughout the day and primes you for bedtime. It's calibrated based on your sleep routine. There are fewer numbers to parse and more recommendations and messages to read and act on easily.
3. You want improved running metrics and more exercise tracking updates
The GPS on the Pixel Watch 5 is twice as accurate as other wearables, including the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Garmin Fenix 8 Pro, according to Google. We don't quite know how it stacks up to the Galaxy Watch 9, however, because we haven't tested them side by side, but this improved GPS feature feels unique to the Pixel Watch 5.
Also: I tracked 3,000 steps on my Apple Watch, Google Pixel, and Oura Ring - this one was most accurate
After creating a strength training workout through the Google Health app, you can now follow along on your watch. I got to see a demo of this feature in action, and I can't wait to start using it myself. The watch displays each exercise in your regimen. So if my routine includes three sets of dumbbell squats and 10 reps at 20 pounds, it will display my first set. Once I'm finished with that set, I hit the rest button on my Pixel Watch 5, and a timer displays for the duration of my resting period. Essentially, those workout details that were only available on the phone app are now available on the Pixel Watch 5, too.
You should buy the Galaxy Watch 9 if...
1. You want a more comfortable, flatter fit
If fit and comfort matter more than features, you'll be happier with the Galaxy Watch 9 than the Pixel Watch 5. The Watch 9 is 4.6mm thinner than the Pixel Watch 5.
The watch also sits flatter on my wrist, not demanding any more attention or space than it already occupies. This is distinct from the Pixel Watch, with its bubbly display that tends to get stuck around my sleeve.
Also: Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 review: Health data overload, but built for the future
2. You're a beginning runner
I like running with the Galaxy Watch 9 more than with most smartwatches I've tested because it has more features that are better suited to beginning runners. Take Running Coach, for example. It's a feature that assesses your running level through a quick test and then creates a training regimen for your first (or next) race.
Additionally, a new feature in this year's lineup of Samsung Watches tells you how much water you should replenish after a grueling workout. I've gotten the alert to drink about a cup of water after I've wrapped up my run, and I can see how useful this would be for people out in the sun for hours, racking up marathon miles.
Writer's choice
I prefer the Pixel Watch 5's features to the Galaxy Watch 9's, but like the Galaxy Watch 9's slimmer design to the Pixel Watch 5's. The Pixel Watch 5 delivers information in a more useful, contextual manner that makes me excited to use it, while the Samsung Galaxy Watch has a more passive user interface.