Kaitlyn Cimino / Android Authority
Battery life woes were perhaps the biggest crux of the original Google smartwatch. When Google launched the Pixel Watch 2, some of the issues were alleviated with more efficient power usage and a fast charging cable. However, the poorly executed Power Saver mode remained, in my opinion, a flawed feature across both smartwatch generations. Fortunately, the Google Pixel Watch 3 finally fixes it with two important changes: auto-on and auto-off.
Battery Saver on the Pixel Watch 1 and 2
Kaitlyn Cimino / Android Authority
Features like Battery Saver mode should be automatic and seamless, but we found the experience cumbersome on the Pixel Watch 1 and 2 because the mode needed to be enabled manually. When the power gets low enough, you receive a notification that you must actively tap to turn on Battery Saver. Unfortunately, this notification is easy to miss, meaning I was sometimes left with a dead device if I didn’t see my watch’s low-battery alert.
Compounding the uselessness, Battery Saver also doesn’t turn off automatically once the device is charged back up. The watch stays in its lower power mode until manually told otherwise. This means I can easily go a whole day with notifications disabled because I forgot to turn Battery Saver mode off once I charged my watch, which is deeply frustrating, to say the least.
Battery Saver on the Pixel Watch 3
Kaitlyn Cimino / Android Authority
To my delight, the Google Pixel Watch 3 introduces much-needed improvements to Battery Saver mode by adding two new settings, which make it behave more like the Batter Saver mode we know on our phones.
The first setting lets the watch automatically switch into Battery Saver mode when it reaches 15% battery. This is a no-brainer solution that makes the feature much more powerful. I’ve been testing it, and it really gets triggered each time the watch reaches 15%, like clockwork. Of course, you can also manually enable Power Saver mode at any time, even before your watch hits 15%.
- Swipe down to access the Quick settings menu and tap the battery icon.
- Read the details about automatic Battery Saver mode, check the box next to Don’t show me again, and tap the check mark.
Secondly, the Pixel Watch 3 also automatically turns off Battery Saver mode after your watch charges back up. The switch to regular mode will occur as soon as your device reaches 25% battery life. Again, in my tests, this worked as expected each time I topped off my watch beyond 25%. You can view and disable this setting under Battery in your settings menu, though I highly recommend leaving it on.
- Open the Settings menu on your Pixel Watch 3 and tap Battery.
- Tap Battery Saver, scroll down, and tap the toggle next to Turn off when charged to disable the setting.
Refinement that counts
Kaitlyn Cimino / Android Authority
Though not every user will find this update groundbreaking, it does exemplify the type of refinement Google continues to bring to its watch line across the board. Now that we are on the third generation, we’re seeing more detail-oriented fixes and upgrades to the overall user experience. These include improvements to battery life, watch faces, Google apps, sensor accuracy, fitness tracking, and much more.
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