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Does Pixel 2 Watch record hike route and elevation gain

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I'm considering a Pixel 2 Watch and wondering how the hike tracking (using the walk function on Garmin) compares to my Garmin Vivoactive 4S.  My Garmin is on its last legs, and thinking ahead for a replacement.  I have a Pixel 6 Pro phone, so I'm interested in Pixel Watch.

I can start a hike on my Garmin, and at the end it will show me a map of the route and also elevation gain in feet, in addition to heart rate and speed information.

Does the Fitbit app do this for the Pixel 2 Watch?  I haven't had a Fitbit in many years, but as I recall to get this type of detail, I had to not only start the hike on my Fitbit device, but also on the Fitbit phone app.

Thanks

Also, can I pair a heart rate monitor (such as Polar OH1) to the Pixel 2 Watch? 

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1 REPLY 1

Hi @anitacan.

Honestly I would stick with the Garmin for battery life alone, having to charge this watch every day is a pain. The GPS tracking has been problematic on my PW2 when I did try it (it dropped signal half way through and never reconnected). You would get a map of what it does track, along with the usual metrics, elevation gain being one of them. It's not possible to pair an external HR sensor with the Pixel watch 2 from the Fitbit side. I have read that it's possible with the Google Fit watch app but I haven't tried it as I use Fitbit. It may be possible to sync the workout from Google Fit to Fitbit via Health Connect, but again I haven't tried any of this so cannot confirm it. To me it just sounds like another inconvenience and something that might work or might not work.

These are the steps that I saw posted on Reddit (here). 

I have a Garmin Fenix 7 which I also use and the tracking is a lot more robust. Perhaps I was unlucky with the PW2, as I haven't had chance to test it again. Although I've seen plenty of posts on other forums with users describing the same issue I had. Whether Google can fix this in an update, I'm sure time will tell.

As a smart watch the Pixel watch 2 is great and I'm enjoying my time with it, but the fitness side of it is lacking. Although it's more of a Fitbit issue in general I my opinion. 

Community Council Member

Nathan | UK

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