Amongst the many aspects of the Pixel Watch Google didn’t change for the Pixel Watch 5, there was one feature it didn’t need to alter, because it’s still genuinely ahead of the competition.

It’s fast charging, and if getting as much power into your smartwatch’s battery as possible in the shortest amount of time is important, it remains the model to buy.

Pixel Watch 4 started the trend

Ahead of its time back then

Google overhauled the Pixel Watch’s charging with the Pixel Watch 4. It introduced the Quick Charge Dock, a puck that puts the smartwatch in an upright position while on charge, so you can see the time in bedtime mode.

It also introduced fast charging, and it didn’t just call it fast charging either. It really works. In our review, the Pixel Watch 4 zipped to almost 50% in just 15 minutes, which was more than enough energy for a day’s use.

In our review it took about 60 minutes to fully charge, although Google states it can charge faster than this. Either way, a full charge in an hour is still excellent, and getting a day’s worth of power in 15 minutes proved to be transformative.

Charging the Pixel Watch 4 was like charging the Oura Ring 5. I put it on the charger when I showered in the morning, and rarely needed to think about the battery any further. It allowed me to use it during the day, track my sleep, and keep it fully charged.

Pixel Watch 5 charging brings the feature back

No upgrade needed

For the Pixel Watch 5, Google has increased the battery capacity by a nominal amount, but this has not changed its estimate of 30 hours use with the always-on screen active on a single charge for the 41mm model, and 40 hours for the 45mm Pixel Watch 5.

This also suggests the Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 Accelerated processor is no more efficient than the non-accelerated version inside the Pixel Watch 4.

The Quick Charging Dock returns, and once more, the Pixel Watch 5 is expected to reach 50% in 15 minutes, then go on to 100% in 45 minutes.

The full-charge time will depend on various external factors, from the charging block you use to the ambient temperature, but even if it takes up to an hour, it’s still fantastic performance.

Why didn’t Google need to upgrade the charging?

The competition lags behind

Based on my experience with the Pixel Watch 4, I have no reason not to expect the Pixel Watch 5 to meet these charging times. But if it's basically the same as the Pixel Watch 4’s fast charging, why aren’t I mad that it hasn’t been improved this year?

Simply, Google is still far ahead of the competition.

Samsung keeps pretty quiet about how long it takes to charge the Galaxy Watch 9, indicating it will take 80 minutes to reach 100% if you look carefully at its specs, but owners are complaining it takes much longer than this, and some reviews are clocking the recharge time at more than 100 minutes.

When I reviewed the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, it took 90 minutes to fully charge the 800mAh cell, which isn’t bad considering the capacity, but still a lot longer than the Pixel Watch 5. It's also a lot longer than many phones today.

The Apple Watch Series 11 gets close to matching the Pixel Watch 5’s performance. In my tests it fully charged in about 70 minutes, but managed an excellent 80% charge in about 30 minutes. Like the Pixel Watch, I found I could charge it in the same way as the Oura Ring too.

Removing barriers to ownership

Smartwatches need all the help they can get

Smartwatches are having a hard time at the moment. The Fitbit Air and other screen-less trackers, along with the vastly improved hardware of smart rings like the Oura Ring 5, all threaten to take over daily health tracking duties.

Battery life, and by extension, battery charging used to be a serious downside to smartwatch ownership. Battery life has slowly improved, but greater battery charging advancements make up for shortcomings that remain.

No-one wants yet another device to remember to charge, and the Pixel Watch 5’s 15-minute fast charge feature helps stop the smartwatch from contributing to your daily routine.

Pixel Watch 4 owners will already know this, but anyone coming to the Pixel Watch 5 from a Pixel Watch released before it, or another brand’s smartwatch, will find its fast charging feature makes living with it far easier.