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The Pixel Watch 5 isn’t much at a glance, until you get to ‘At a Glance’ [Hands-on]
![The Pixel Watch 5 isn’t much at a glance, until you get to ‘At a Glance’ [Hands-on]](https://9to5google.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/08/Pixel-Watch-5-family-1.jpg?quality=82&strip=all&w=1600)
At Made by Google 2026, Google has announced the Pixel Watch 5. This Wear OS device is visually identical to last year’s model, but sees a handful of internal hardware upgrades in service of more proactive help and health tracking. However, it’s the software refinements, led by At a Glance, that stand out to me.
The Pixel Watch 5 has the same domed Actua 360 display protected by “custom” 3D Corning Gorilla Glass 5. It’s still a 320 PPI AMOLED LTPO screen with up to 3,000 nits of peak brightness.
The 12.3mm thickness between the 41 and 45mm cases is unchanged from last year, while the batteries are 7-10 mAh larger but do not improve Google’s battery estimate of 30 hours with always-on display on the smaller device and 40 hours on the bigger unit.
That said, the Pixel Watch 5 is now powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 Accelerated chip. This variant has a 12% boost in CPU processing power, while RAM jumps from 2 to 3 GB. These upgrades, along with the dual-chip (M55 co-processor) architecture, make the device 20% faster. Google said that translates to app launch and scrolling improvements, but we didn’t notice anything in our brief hands-on. The Pixel Watch 5 also doubles the storage to 64 GB, with all this helping power new on-device AI features.
There’s also a 2nd-generation Active Band made from Hydrogenated Nitrile Butadiene Rubber (HNBR) with a soft-touch coating instead of fluoroelastomer.
Gemini Intelligence on the Pixel Watch 5 starts with Proactive Suggestions (previously Magic Cue) that can appear in the Google Messages app and its notifications as one-tap actions. For example, if someone asks you for a new phone number or location, that information will appear as a reply you can immediately send. Behind-the-scenes, your phone is responsible for generating insights and they are then bridged to the watch.
Additionally, the on-device smart replies now show three possible options instead of one, with responses appearing 50% faster.
Meanwhile, you’ll see updates for task automation right on your watch face. This lets you start a task on your phone and check the status from your watch. You’ll be notified when it’s time to confirm the prompt.
The Gemini app on Wear OS sees an update with Neural Expressive and Personal Intelligence integration that taps into Gmail, Calendar, Keep and other apps to answer questions from your email or shopping list. It also can use your previous chat history. Finally, the raise-to-talk gesture is also no longer limited to the watch face.
Offline Gemini commands on the Pixel Watch 5 leverage an on-device model when you don’t have your phone or internet to accomplish quick tasks. This includes setting timers and alarms, changing watch settings like brightness and Do Not Disturb, control music, opening apps, and starting workouts.