Technologies
Google Pixel Watch: After 5 Months, Still the Best-Looking Android Watch
The Pixel Watch’s sleek, curved design and variety of Fitbit metrics make it a top choice. But it’s not perfect.
Android fans looking for a smartwatch that’s more stylish than a fitness watch but more functional than a hybrid watch don’t have many options to choose from. But the Pixel Watch manages to check that box, even if it doesn’t get everything else right.
I’ve been revisiting the Pixel Watch roughly five months after its launch, and my first impressions largely remain the same. Aside from its sharp looks, Google’s first smartwatch excels for its easy-to-use software and wide selection of Fitbit health metrics. The same downsides also hold true: The battery life isn’t as long as I would like it to be, and the bezels framing the screen are sometimes too noticeable.
It’s still the best-looking Android Watch, with some caveats
The Pixel Watch’s attractive design continues to be its best attribute. That’s important, because a device that sits on the wrist all day (and night) needs to look and feel like something you actually want to wear. The rounded glass edges, stainless steel materials and soft pebble-like shape give it a more polished look compared to the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 or Fitbit Sense 2. As a person with small wrists, the Pixel Watch looks more natural than most smartwatches I’ve worn.
Google’s Pixel Watch (left) has a more refined design than the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5.
Lexy Savvides/CNETBut those benefits do come with some compromises. The Pixel Watch is only available in one size, which might not be suitable for those with large wrists or people who prefer bigger screens. Even though I like the Pixel Watch’s petite look, I do wish the screen was slightly larger so that it could fit more complications — what watchmakers call the little secondary dials, but on smartwatches are typically things like temperature and activity tracking. I typically wear a 45-millimeter Apple Watch Series 6 when I’m using an iPhone, and that screen can show six complications at once. On my favorite Pixel Watch face, I can only fit three.
The more pressing issue, however, is that the Pixel Watch’s bezels can sometimes distract from the design, as I wrote in my initial review. Most of the time, the software’s dark background blends in well with the watch’s bezels. But you can really see the bezels when using a colorful app or the Photos watch face.
Its battery life is about the same as rivals
Before Google announced the Pixel Watch, I hoped it would inherit Fitbit’s stellar battery life. Unfortunately, that didn’t end up being the case. The Pixel Watch can last for a little more than a day on a single charge in my experience, which roughly matches the battery life on the Apple Watch Series 8 and Samsung Galaxy Watch 5. After about 27 hours of use, for example, my watch had 12% of its battery left.
I had the always-on display turned off and mostly tracked indoor workouts that didn’t require a GPS connection while using the watch, save for logging a few outdoor walks. Both of those features typically drain the battery faster, meaning you’ll get less mileage out of the watch if you use them.
This isn’t a major problem if you intend to charge your watch overnight. But since I’ve been trying to get more sleep lately, I’ve been putting Fitbit’s in-depth sleep tracking to use. This has made it hard to know when I should carve out time to put my Pixel Watch on its charger. I even had to workout without my Pixel Watch while it charged on one occasion, making me feel like I wasn’t getting credit for my indoor cycling session.
Google’s Pixel Watch has noticeable bezels when a photo is on the display.
Andrew Lanxon/CNETThe Pixel Watch works great with non-Pixel Android phones
Google has been positioning the Pixel Watch as a Pixel phone companion, but it works the same with other Android devices. I used the Pixel Watch with a Pixel 7 during my initial October review, but this time around I paired it with a Galaxy S23 Plus and then a Galaxy Z Fold 4. No matter which phone you’re using, you set up and manage the watch through Google’s Watch app, while I relied on the Fitbit app for keeping track of my health statistics.
Getting started with the watch was just as easy on a Samsung phone as it was on the Pixel 7. Since it supports Google’s Fast Pair feature, my Samsung devices were able to detect the Pixel Watch as soon as I brought the watch close to my phone, prompting me to install the Watch app immediately.
The Pixel Watch has been positioned as a Pixel phone companion, but it works great with other Android devices too.
Andrew Lanxon/CNETThat makes the Pixel Watch appealing to a broader audience of Android users, but also means there isn’t necessarily anything about it that hooks users into Google’s specific Pixel ecosystem. Samsung, on the other hand, restricts the Galaxy Watch’s ECG feature to Galaxy phone users only.
Unsurprisingly, the Pixel Watch is not compatible with iPhones. But other Wear OS watchmakers like Fossil offer iOS support.
The same downsides still exist, possibly with some new ones
Aside from the battery life and the bezel, there are two shortcomings that might be important to those who regularly use their watch for health and fitness tracking.
First, the Pixel Watch can’t automatically detect and launch a workout while on your wrist or provide notifications for high and low heart rates. That may be important to consider for those who want to keep a closer eye on their cardiac health.
These are drawbacks that existed at launch, but some users have reported new issues since then. A few Pixel Watch owners have said that alarms set on the Pixel Watch have gone off minutes after they were supposed to, as 9to5Google has reported. For what it’s worth, I use the alarm function on the Pixel Watch often and have not experienced this problem. A Google spokesperson said the company will be updating the Pixel Watch’s Clock app through the Play Store in the coming weeks to address these alarm issues.
The Pixel Watch will evolve over time
But perhaps the biggest revelation that’s become clear over the last few months is that the Pixel Watch will continue to evolve over time, much like Google’s Pixel phones. Google has launched a couple of new features, like fall detection and Fitbit’s Sleep Profiles, the latter of which is available only for Fitbit Premium members and provides deeper analysis of your sleeping patterns. However, both features really just bring the Pixel Watch up to speed with other watches from Apple and Fitbit rather than introducing something wholly new.
The bigger takeaway is that companies like Google, Apple and Samsung are all finding new ways to bring compelling features to their respective smartwatches via software updates rather than just hardware. Apple’s WatchOS 9 update last fall, for example, brought better sleep tracking and more metrics for runners. Samsung, meanwhile, brought improved camera remote controls to the Galaxy Watch 5 and will soon launch cycle tracking.
The Pixel Watch’s classy design and Fitbit health tracking still make it a standout choice for Android device owners. It’s far from perfect, but I’m looking forward to seeing where Google takes it next.
Technologies
Pope Francis’ Funeral: How to Stream Live or Watch the Replay
Here’s how to stream the pope’s funeral very early Saturday, and what you can expect to see during the service.
After a week of global mourning for Pope Francis, who died on Monday at age 88, the pope’s funeral will be celebrated on Saturday . Francis’ funeral will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. local time at St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City (which is very, very early if you’re tuning in from the US or Canada), and he will be laid to rest at the Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome.
The Vatican will be livestreaming the papal funeral and procession, though not the burial, on its YouTube channel as it happens. The funeral will also be televised live on CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox, as well as on streaming services like Disney Plus, Hulu, Peacock and Paramount Plus. Due to the time difference, it seems likely that many interested North American viewers will catch it when it’s replayed later on Saturday. Numerous networks will rebroadcast the service later that day.
If you choose to stay up, or get up early, here’s when the live broadcast of the pope’s funeral will air in your time zone in the continental US on April 26:
- ET: 4 a.m.
- CT: 3 a.m.
- MT: 2 a.m.
- PT: 1 a.m.
The papacy of Pope Francis was notable for the progressive reforms he brought to the Roman Catholic Church. He appointed more than half of the current College of Cardinals and attempted to foster more positive attitudes toward members of the LGBT community and migrants worldwide.
What to expect from the funeral
The funeral will follow many rituals, though not all traditional protocols will be followed. Most popes are buried in St. Peter’s Basilica or its grottoes, but the AP reports Francis chose the St. Mary Major Basilica to reflect his veneration of an icon of the Virgin Mary that is located there, the Salus Populi Romani (Salvation of the People of Rome).
His funeral will be less elaborate than those of other popes per his own wishes. Francis simplified papal funeral rites last year, permitting his burial outside the Vatican, and emphasizing his role as a bishop rather than as pope (the pope is also the Bishop of Rome).
Previous popes were buried in three coffins: one of cypress, one of lead and one of oak. Francis requested to be buried in a single wooden, zinc-lined coffin and not to be placed in an elevated bier as other popes were.
The coffin will be taken from St Peter’s Basilica and placed on a dais in St Peter’s Square, where Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re will lead the service. After the service, the coffin will return to St Peter’s Basilica before it is carried across the River Tiber and to the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major for burial. The ceremony is estimated to end around 2 p.m. local time, or four hours after it begins.
Pope Francis’ funeral Mass will be the first of nine Masses held daily at St. Peter’s until May 4. This is an ancient tradition of the Catholic Church that observes nine days of consecutive mourning. According to Vatican News, a different group of mourners will participate each day, though the Eucharistic celebrations are open to everyone.
Who will attend Pope Francis’ funeral?
Hundreds of people, including world leaders and royals, are expected to attend Pope Francis’ funeral.
US president Donald Trump confirmed on his Truth Social Platform that he and first lady Melania Trump will be at the funeral. This will be Trump’s first foreign trip in his second term. He is expected to have a seat in the third row, though the Vatican has yet to release an official seating chart. It is tradition for the first row of seats to go to Catholic royalty, and the second row to non-Catholic royals.
Prince William, who is attending on behalf of King Charles, will sit in the second row, which is reserved for non-Catholic royals. Former president Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, devout Catholics, will also attend the funeral.
Conclave: What happens next to choose the new pope
After Pope Francis’ funeral, the cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church will vote on his successor in an assembly of cardinals known as a conclave.
There are many matters for the cardinals to settle before the conclave begins, but once it does, it can take days or even weeks to conclude. Two-thirds of the cardinals’ votes are required to elect the next pope. The conclave occurs behind closed doors and the vote tally is never made public.
Read more: Where to Watch Conclave, the Vatican Thriller About Electing a New Pope
Look for the white smoke
The ballots are burned after each round, and chemicals are added to the flames to produce black smoke if there’s no majority. When a new pope has been selected, the chemicals will be added to the flames so they produce white smoke. Crowds gather in St. Peter’s Square to watch for the results.
If you’re fascinated by the process, you can watch a dramatized version of the events in 2024 film Conclave.
In the movie, Ralph Fiennes stars as Cardinal Thomas Lawrence, who spearheads the election of the next pope while investigating rumors about potential candidates. The film is based on the 2016 novel by Robert Harris and is completely fictional — though it does represent some of the events of how actual papal conclaves take place. In March, the film won the Academy Award for best adapted screenplay.
You can stream Conclave on Amazon Prime Video, or rent it for $6 on Apple TV, Fandango at Home, YouTube or Google Play Movies.
Technologies
Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for April 26, #685
Hints and answers for Connections for April 26, #685.
Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.
Today’s Connections puzzle features a lot of short words, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. That purple category requires a lot of thinking — probably most people will solve it only by solving the other three and having four words left over. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.
The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.
Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time
Hints for today’s Connections groups
Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.
Yellow group hint: Rainbow.
Green group hint: San Fernando ____.
Blue group hint: Think Robert.
Purple group hint: Mixed-up hue words.
Answers for today’s Connections groups
Yellow group: Tint.
Green group: Valley.
Blue group: Bobs.
Purple group: Color anagrams.
Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words
What are today’s Connections answers?
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is tint. The four answers are color, hue, shade and tone.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is valley. The four answers are dale, dell, glen and hollow.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is Bobs. The four answers are Dole, Hope, Marley and Ross.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is color anagrams. The four answers are Dre (red), Gary (gray), genre (green) and lube (blue).
Technologies
Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for April 26, #215
Hints and answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 215, for Saturday, April 26.
Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.
Connections: Sports Edition is tough today. The purple category theme threw me because of one phrase I didn’t know. And let’s hope you’re familiar with college coach surnames. Read on for hints and the answers.
Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.
Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta
Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.
Yellow group hint: Try to achieve.
Green group hint: Move through it.
Blue group hint: Sideline bosses.
Purple group hint: Like a carton.
Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Yellow group: What one strives for.
Green group: Room to run.
Blue group: College football coaches.
Purple group: Box ____.
Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words
What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is what one strives for. The four answers are aim, goal, objective and target.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is room to run. The four answers are gap, hole, opening and space.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is college football coaches. The four answers are Day, Lanning, Smart and Stoops.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is box ____. The four answers are lacrosse, office, score and seat.
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