Exclusive: Google Pixel Watch 4 to use the same processor as Pixel Watch 2 and 3
Both 41mm and 45mm models should receive slightly larger batteries.
As we approach Google's 2025 Pixel event, we already know almost everything about its next generation of phones, but the same can't be said about the upcoming Pixel Watch 4. Other than some renders and a color options leak, there's been nothing concrete said about the new smartwatches. We heard some info about a custom SoC coming to the 2026 model, but we still had no idea about the one coming in about a month.
That is, until now. Thanks to a source inside Google, Android Authority has learned some previously unknown information about the specs of the upcoming Pixel Watch 4, and it's bad news if you were hoping for a performance boost.
You're reading an Authority Insights story. Discover Authority Insights for more exclusive reports, app teardowns, leaks, and in-depth tech coverage you won't find anywhere else. These reports reflect developments at the time of writing. Some features or details uncovered in leaks may change before official release.
Kaitlyn Cimino / Android Authority
Unsurprisingly, Google appears to be preparing two sizes of the Pixel Watch 4, just like for the current-gen model. The bigger of the two (the 45mm model) is codenamed 'kenari' (or FK23), and the smaller (41mm) model is 'meridian' (FME23). Both of these codenames are names of planets in Star Wars, for those of you wondering (which is quite a big departure from deity names Google used for its previous watches). Both of the watches come in LTE and Wi-Fi only variants, as usual.
But the most important thing we've learned is that Google is keeping the same Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 platform for the third year in a row, dating back to the Pixel Watch 2. As much as that sounds like a disappointment, it's probably the best play right now.
The Pixel Watch 4 isn't expected to get an SoC upgrade, but that's probably the best play right now.
While Qualcomm is working on its next-gen 'sw6100' wear platform with some really welcome upgrades, it's not quite ready just yet. The only other option would be going with an Exynos chip, but that solution has its problems. First, Google might be switching to its own wearable chip next year, which might make putting all the work to switch back to Exynos simply not worth it. Additionally, it's unclear whether the Exynos W series chips are available to companies other than Samsung, as nobody else has made a device using one since Google's first-gen Pixel Watch.
While this could be seen as somewhat of a letdown, the Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 really isn't a bad platform. It's pretty quick, provides about as good of a battery life baseline as is achievable in Wear OS smartwatches right now without some display trickery like the OnePlus Watch series, and Google has already figured out how to utilize it well.
41 mm model 45 mm model
Pixel Watch
41 mm model
294 mAh
45 mm model
N/A
Pixel Watch 2
41 mm model
306 mAh (+4%)
45 mm model
N/A
Pixel Watch 3
41 mm model
307 mAh (+0%)
45 mm model
420 mAh
Pixel Watch 4
41 mm model
327 mAh (+7%)
45 mm model
459 mAh (+9%)
One way Google is gearing up to improve the next-gen watches, however, is by adding larger batteries. The 41mm model is getting bumped to 327mAh from 307mAh (~7% improvement), while the larger 45mm model goes from 420mAh to 459mAh (~9% bump). Charging speeds are also set to be faster, but we don't have any concrete figures there just yet. I've compiled a table of the battery sizes over generations in the table above.
Even though the Pixel Watch 4 doesn't appear to deliver any fundamental specification changes, I wouldn't write it off just yet. The previous generation, Pixel Watch 3, also had the same SoC as the year before, and we named it the best smartwatch for Android and scored it very highly in our testing.
There's a good chance Google will deliver again with the fourth generation, even if the upgrades feel a little more incremental. The Pixel Watch 4 is likely to launch next month, together with the Pixel 10 series.
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