
Google Pixel Watch 4 may skip the price hike many were expecting
While there's no confirmation yet on US pricing, history suggests parity. Last year's Pixel Watch 3 started at $349 for the 41mm Wi-Fi model, going up to $399 for LTE. The 45mm model was $399 for Wi-Fi and $449 for LTE. With minimal hardware changes this year, it would not be surprising if Google decided to keep prices unchanged.
Leaked CAD render of the Pixel Watch 4. | Image credit — @Onleaks/@91Mobiles
Rumors suggest the Pixel Watch 4 will retain the same Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 processor used in the previous generation. This suggests that the internal upgrades are more modest than transformative. However, leaked specs suggest larger battery capacities, potentially faster charging, and a new co-processor designed to help with AI-powered tasks. One practical improvement may come in the form of better repairability. While Google has not officially confirmed this, reports hint at a slightly more modular design. Safety also appears to be a theme, with possible additions like Breathing Emergency alerts and support for satellite-based connectivity in case of poor network coverage.Still, there are lingering questions about external factors that could impact final pricing. Some Pixel devices are still assembled in China, and recent shifts in US trade policy could introduce tariffs or added costs for Google. While this remains speculative, it is something to watch ahead of the official launch.
Google is expected to announce the Pixel Watch 4 at its Made by Google event on August 20. Until then, the pricing leak at least offers some reassurance for fans hoping that Google's next wearable won't carry a steeper price tag.
I think keeping prices steady in a year of modest upgrades could be a smart move. It signals stability while giving Google time to prepare for a more substantial update in future models. Still, whether that's enough to compete with Samsung's Watch 8 or Apple's expected Series 10 redesign remains to be seen.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Phone Arena
6 minutes ago
- Phone Arena
Huawei Pura 80 Ultra vs Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra: Camera battles
Mobile photography is getting more and more popular nowadays, as the camera systems of modern smartphones are able to challenge even dedicated digital cameras. The Huawei Pura 80 Ultra is one such model, and with its 1-inch main sensor and innovative telephoto camera, it aims to take the "camera phone" crown."Not so fast," we can almost audibly hear the Galaxy S25 Ultra exclaim—Samsung's ultra-premium flagship features one of the most complete camera systems on the market. Today we're going to pit the two against each other, and let's not forget that a smartphone is much more than just a camera. We're going to explore all the important parts of the smartphone experience equation and give you a definitive answer—which one of these two is better and in which particular areas. Strap in, we're off! £775 at Amazon Huawei Pura 80 Ultra vs Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra differences: Table of Contents: Design Display Performance Camera Battery Specs Summary These two look radically different, in the constraints of modern smartphone design, of course. The Huawei Pura 80 Ultra utilizes a quad-curved design, a very popular approach a couple of years ago. The front and back of the phone are slightly curved on all sides, giving a premium and edge-to-edge feel. However, the industry has moved toward flatter designs, and the Galaxy S25 Ultra is a clear shape is much more rectangular, the sides are flatter, and the screen is no longer curved. It's down to personal preference, and to be fair, the Huawei Pura 80 Ultra sits a tad more comfortably in the hand. The camera housings are also completely different—the Galaxy S25 Ultra uses separate cutouts for each of the cameras, while the Huawei Pura 80 Ultra has an enormous camera bump. One that protrudes quite a lot and almost doubles the thickness of the phone. Size-wise, the Pura 80 Ultra is a tad taller but also narrower, thanks to the curved display. The big 1-inch sensor and all the optics have contributed to the weight of the phone, however. The Pura is quite heavy at 233.5 grams, while the shorter and wider Galaxy S25 Ultra is also a bit lighter at 218 grams. When it comes to materials, the Galaxy S25 Ultra has an advantage, it uses titanium and our favorite anti-reflective coating on its screen. Huawei has evolved its Kunlun Glass and it's the second iteration protecting the screen of the Pura 80 Ultra. No anti-reflective coating here, and no titanium for the frame, just good old aluminum. Another key design element of the Galaxy S25 Ultra is the integrated S Pen. Even though rumors suggest that Samsung will abandon the S Pen in the Galaxy S26 Ultra, it's still alive and kicking in this version of the phone. Both phones sport IP68 water and dust resistance, a standard among modern flagships. Let's check out all available colors. You already saw the Titanium Silverblue of the Galaxy S25 Ultra versus the Golden Black of the Pura 80 Ultra in our hands-on comparison above, but here's some additional visual material covering the other hues. Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra available colors | Image by Samsung The Pura 80 Ultra is much more modest with just two color options, albeit quite stylish ones. Our Golden Black model has ceramic feel to it, and the Prestige gold looks very classy as well. Huawei Pura 80 Ultra color options | Image by Huawei Display Differences The Huawei Pura 80 Ultra comes equipped with a 6.8-inch AMOLED panel. The resolution is 1276 x 2848 pixels, resulting in around 459 PPI pixel density, and the display also uses LTPO tech, meaning it can dynamically change its refresh rate up to 120 Hz. Huawei cites 3000 nits of peak brightness, but we'll check this one out during our display test. The Galaxy S25 Ultra comes with a similar panel, albeit a tad larger at 6.9 inches. The resolution is 1440 x 3120 pixels, giving the Samsung flagship a higher pixel density of 498 PPI. This LTPO panel can go from 1 to 120 Hz dynamically, and the cited brightness is 2600 nits peak. Time for our display test! Let's see some hard numbers! When it comes to display tech, Samsung excels! It's not surprising that most big smartphone manufacturers use Samsung panels for their smartphones. Compared to the Huawei Pura 80 Ultra, the Galaxy S25 Ultra outputs more nits of brightness, it can go dimmer at night, and the color temperature is also better. The Pura 80 Ultra is not that far off, and in fact, the phone manages to win in the color accuracy area. Subjectively, both displays look stunning—bright, vivid, and sharp. Even though the Huawei goes only up to around 1000 nits (both at 20% APL and 100% APL), the UI remains visible even in direct sunlight. Sadly, the US ban has hit Huawei hardest in the hardware department (what a tongue-twister). The Kirin 9020 chipset uses old 7nm technology and it is no match for modern Snapdragon silicon (or even Tensor for that matter). The Galaxy S25 Ultra utilizes Samsung's partnership with Qualcomm and comes equipped with a slightly overclocked version of the Snapdragon 8 Elite. It's a powerhouse and currently one of the fastest (if not the fastest) on the market. In terms of RAM and storage, the Huawei Pura 80 Ultra kind of has an advantage in sporting more RAM at 16GB. It comes with only two storage configurations - 512GB and 1TB. The Galaxy S25 Ultra has 12GB of RAM and you can get it with 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB of onboard storage. Time for some benchmarks! The numbers speak quite categorically. The Snapdragon 8 Elite is almost three times faster in single-core performance and two times faster in the multi-core test compared to the Kirin. In all fairness, there's no lag or perceivable UI speed problems on the Huawei, but as far as synthetic benchmarks go, the S25 Ultra is the clear winner. The same effect is observed in the 3DMark test, and here the difference is even more striking. Not only does the Pura 80 Ultra lag behind substantially in the first pass, but it also thermal throttles quite a lot. Which brings us to the software part, another disappointment for Huawei and the Pura 80 Ultra. The Samsung flagship comes with Android 15 and One UI 7, upgradable to Android 16, and there's a bunch of really useful Galaxy AI tools on board as well. The Huawei Pura 80 Ultra, on the other hand, runs EMUI 15 outside China. It's based on Android 12 and quite outdated. There are some AI tricks present, but nowhere near as refined and comprehensive as the Galaxy AI system. The Galaxy S25 Ultra will be supported for seven long years, while the Huawei Pura 80 Ultra will most likely get one or two updates (there's no official information on that), but it doesn't matter all that much because EMUI is a dead-end OS deemed to be abandoned in favor of Harmony OS. And the latter isn't available outside China on Huawei's smartphones. Let's quickly run through the camera specs of both phones. You might've noticed that the Pira 80 Ultra features not one but two periscope zoom systems on board. It's an innovative dual camera system that resides over one sensor. There's a prism that switches which camera focuses on that sensor. When using the 3.7x lens, most of the 50MP is utilized, and when the phone switches to the 10x camera, only 12.5MP are in use. The Galaxy S25 Ultra has something similar but Samsung conventionally slapped two separate sensors for the two telephoto cameras. There's also an advantage in pure resolution for the main camera of the S25 Ultra but, on the other hand, the Huawei Pura 80 Ultra uses a bigger, 1-inch sensor. So, onto the samples! Photos from the main camera are quite comparable, both phones did a great job at capturing a lot of detail. The colors are quite boosted in the Pura 80 Ultra sample, and the exposure is also on the higher side. The Galaxy S25 Ultra sample looks a tad more realistic with darker shadows and the colors are not as saturated. There's a difference in the optical zoom here—the Galaxy S25 Ultra telephoto camera has 3X native optical zoom, while the less powerful lens over the 50MP sensor in the Pura can do 3.7X optical. The same observation from above applies here: the colors are quite saturated in the Pura sample, the contrast is higher, and the tonality is warmer. In terms of quality, both are pretty close. Now here we can compare the 10X mode of the dual periscope system inside the Huawei Pura 80 Ultra to the 10X periscope camera of the S25 Ultra. We like the Pura 80 sample a little better. It's smoother and more realistic, while the S25 Ultra image looks a bit oversharpened and kind of grainy. When it comes to the ultrawide, both phones performed quite similarly, with the Galaxy S25 Ultra doing a tad better job with dynamic range and exposure. Both samples look quite colorful; again, the Huawei is more extreme in that regard. Selfies look good on both phones, but we feel that the S25 Ultra was able to pull off more details from the scene, especially if you take a look at the fabric of the shirt in the photo. The exposure and dynamic range also seem better in the S25 Ultra sample. The Huawei Pura 80 Ultra has two battery capacities. The international version comes with a 5,170 mAh cell on board, while the Chinese version sports a substantially larger 5,700 mAh battery. This suggests that the Far East version is equipped with a silicon-carbon battery, while the International sports a regular lithium-ion cell. The Galaxy S25 Ultra has a 5,000 mAh battery of the conventional variety, so it will be interesting to see which one performs better and lasts longer. Onto the tests! Interestingly enough, the composite result is almost identical between these two—around 8 hours. The Galaxy S25 Ultra does a better job at browsing longevity (probably due to better LTPO tech), while the Pura 80 Ultra is a video marathon runner. When it comes to gaming, the Kirin chipset is not the most efficient one with its 7 nm technology. Moving to charging, the Pura 80 wins with ease. The 100W wired charger fills the battery from zero to full in just 39 minutes. The Galaxy S25 Ultra needs 1 hour and 9 minutes to do so. The wireless charging situation is even more polarized. The Pura manages a full wireless charge in just 55 minutes with Huawei's proprietary charger, while the S25 Ultra needs almost two hours. When it comes to pure mobile photography, these two are pretty close. The Pura 80 Ultra and its quite clever dual periscope system give you a lot of flexibility on the telephoto front. The main 1-inch sensor is quite good, even though processing isn't as good as the software magic on the S25 phones are not only cameras, and the Pura 80 Ultra lags behind in the hardware and software department, and by quite a lot. The Kirin chipset is dated, and the software support is almost nonexistent. Couple this with the lack of Google services and the rather steep price (around 1,220 euros), and you'll arrive at a pretty bleak conclusion regarding the Pura 80 Ultra. As good as it might be as a camera phone, not many people would buy it, most likely. Which is a shame, because there is some quite clever and innovative tech on board of the Pura, and we can only hope other manufacturers will be motivated and come up with something new and cool of their own.


Phone Arena
2 hours ago
- Phone Arena
Google wants your smartwatch to prove you're still you
Pixel Watch 3 and Galaxy Watch 7. | Image credit – PhoneArena Google's been steadily tightening the connection between Android phones and Wear OS smartwatches – and the latest hint suggests that bond is about to get a whole lot smarter. To keep things convenient, Identity Check only kicks in when your phone is outside trusted locations like your home or office. That way, you are not constantly battling security prompts in places you've already marked as safe. The goal is to add an extra layer of protection when you are out and about, making it harder for thieves to get into your phone if it's stolen. Now, though, it looks like Google is quietly working on a new upgrade that could take things even further – by using your smartwatch as a signal that you're still the one holding the phone. New code strings found in version 25.29.31 of the Google Play Services beta point to this possible upgrade. They suggest that if your watch is nearby and connected, your phone might take that as a green light – a trust signal that you're still in control – and ease up on the constant biometric checks. Now, this wouldn't get rid of the need for a fingerprint or PIN entirely. But if your smartwatch is already strapped to your wrist and unlocked with a PIN of its own, it could help cut down on all the extra steps. Less friction, same security – that's the goal. With Identity Check you can set up your own trusted places. | Image credit – Google Of course, since this is still in development, there's no guarantee it'll roll out exactly like this – or at all. But as Android's theft protection tools keep evolving, letting a smartwatch act as a trust signal makes a lot of sense… as long as a thief doesn't grab both your phone and your watch. In short, if Google nails this, Android users could get a smoother, smarter way to keep their phones secure without feeling like security slows them down. That's a win for anyone who's ever been frustrated typing in a PIN just to do something simple on their phone. When you switch to Total Wireless, keep your number & grab 3 mo. of 5G We may earn a commission if you make a purchase Check Out The Offer


Phone Arena
2 hours ago
- Phone Arena
Best Pixel 10 deals: pre-order promos to expect
If you're a Google Pixel fan who still hasn't saved August 20 in their calendars — hurry up! In less than a month, Google is set to unveil its latest Pixel 10 series, featuring four new models rumored to be powered by the new Tensor G5 chip This year, we expect the Google Pixel 10, the Pixel 10 Pro, Pixel 10 Pro XL, and the successor to the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. While prices likely won't see a big jump, that doesn't mean you should overlook pre-order deals. Want to know what bargains might pop up once the new phones launch next month? Stick around. Jump to: Pre-order deals at Amazon Pre-order deals at Verizon Pre-order deals at AT&T Pre-order deals to expect at Amazon Judging from what we saw last year, we can expect the entire upcoming lineup to arrive with a gift card during pre-orders. The base Pixel 10 will mostly likely ship with a $100 Amazon Gift Card, while the Pixel 10 Pro and Pro XL could receive a $200 gift card while pre-orders last. What about the Pixel 10 Pro Fold? This one might be coming with a $350 gift card. Pre-order deals to expect at Verizon Of course, pre-order discounts won't go live only at Amazon — carrier bargains should be quite exciting as well. For instance, at Verizon, you might get up to $800 off Pixel 10 models with an eligible trade-in and select plans. New line activations might be required. Aside from the $800 maximum discount, you might also get a free storage upgrade on the entire series. Pre-order deals to expect at AT&T If AT&T is your carrier of choice, you should definitely be on the lookout for pre-order deals on the upcoming Pixel phones. Next month, the smartphones could arrive for FREE with an eligible trade-in from any year and in any condition. This promo will most likely apply to the Pixel 10 Pro and the Pixel 10 Pro XL. As for the base Pixel 10 , this one might ship for $10.99/mo. without any trade-ins. This promo will most likely only work with eligible plans. Also see: Best Pixel 9 deals Best Pixel 9a deals Best Pixel 8 deals