Google Pixel Watch 2

The Pixel Watch 2 is what I reach for when I want a watch that feels minimal. The aluminium case and dome glass design reads more as an object than a gadget — understated in a way that scales from workout to dinner without looking out of place in either context.

Fitbit integration gives the health tracking real depth: heart rate, SpO2, sleep, and the electrodermal activity sensor for stress detection. The EDA-based stress sensing was the feature I was most skeptical about and it's turned out to be the most revealing. Learning to correlate the readings with events in the day over a few months builds a useful picture.

Battery is the honest weakness. One day with always-on display, just over a day without. I charge it overnight every night. For a watch used primarily for health tracking during waking hours it's a manageable compromise, but it's a compromise.

The watch face options are better than most Wear OS alternatives. I run a minimal complications face — step count, heart rate, battery, nothing else. At a glance it reads like an analogue watch, which is what I want from something on my wrist.