A mobile-connected smartwatch is usually a arduous promote as an improve, since most of its functionality comes from a direct connection to your cellphone. However Google is sweetening the deal for the LTE model of the Pixel Watch 3 with two years of free information on the Google Fi community. Is it definitely worth the $100 improve over the Wi-Fi- model? Possibly, however you’ll need to look arduous on the high quality print.
In keeping with the Google Retailer, if you happen to purchase a brand new LTE-equipped Pixel Watch 3 in both the 41mm or 45mm dimension, they’ll throw in a two years of free information service on Google Fi for the watch. Notably this promotion doesn’t say something about needing to be an present Google Fi buyer, so presumably you will get LTE service on the watch it doesn’t matter what provider you’re at the moment utilizing in your cellphone.
It appears like this promotion is just out there in the USA. That is smart, as a result of Google Fi solely sells service within the US, regardless of providing worldwide roaming. However that’s solely the primary potential gotcha. First, this free connection received’t help LTE calls to your cellphone. Texting and data-driven apps like Google Maps ought to nonetheless work, assuming you will get service on the considerably shaky LTE community nowadays.
However there are extra limits. You’ll solely get 4G/LTE speeds on the primary 500 megabytes of information each month. After that it’ll gradual to an absolute crawl, simply 256kbps — the form of connection that was thought-about “gradual” on the unique iPhone. After you hit that threshold the watch will just about solely be good for texting. There’s additionally a tough cap at one gigabyte of complete information per 30 days, and it received’t work internationally in any respect.
Must you get it? I’d say it’s a pleasant perk if 1) you’re certain you need an LTE watch, 2) you’re additionally certain you don’t must make calls with out your cellphone round, and three) your present provider doesn’t embrace add-on watch service without cost. However talking as somebody who purchased the unique Pixel Watch with LTE and by no means used it as soon as, I don’t suppose the improve is critical, and this freebie positively received’t sway me for an additional hundred bucks.
The LTE model of the Pixel Watch 3 may be extra interesting if you happen to’re already a Google Fi subscriber, since a watch connection is thrown in together with your smartphone line. The Google Fi pre-order promotion — totally different from the Google Retailer promo that provides Fi service on the watch — is knocking $100 off the worth of the Pixel Watch 3 LTE, successfully making it the identical value because the Wi-Fi version.