A smartwatch that connects to your phone can be a tough sell as an upgrade, since most of its capabilities come from a direct connection to your phone. But Google has upped the ante for the LTE version of the Pixel Watch 3 by offering two years of free data on the Google Fi network. Is it worth the $100 upgrade over the Wi-Fi version? Maybe, but you’ll have to read the fine print carefully.
According to the Google Store, if you buy a new Pixel Watch 3 with LTE, whether in the 41mm or 45mm size, you’ll get two years of free data service on Google Fi for the watch. Notably, this promotion doesn’t mention the requirement to be an existing Google Fi customer, so you can presumably get LTE service on the watch regardless of which carrier you currently use for your phone.
It looks like this promotion is only available in the US. That makes sense, since Google Fi only sells its service in the US, though it does offer international roaming. But that’s just the first potential problem. First off, this free connection won’t support LTE calls to your phone. Texting and data apps like Google Maps should still work, assuming you can get service on the somewhat unstable LTE network these days.
But there are other limitations. You’ll only get 4G/LTE speeds on the first 500 megabytes of data each month. After that, speeds will slow down to 256 kbps, the kind of connection that was considered “slow” on the original iPhone. Once you hit that threshold, the watch will be practically only This can be useful for texting. There is also a hard limit of one gigabyte of total data per month, and it won’t work internationally at all.
Should you buy it? I’d say it’s a nice perk if 1) you’re sure you want an LTE watch, 2) you’re also sure you don’t need to make calls without your phone nearby, and 3) your current carrier doesn’t include a free add-on watch service. But as someone who bought the original Pixel Watch with LTE and never used it once, I don’t think the upgrade is necessary, and this freebie certainly won’t cost me an extra hundred bucks.
The LTE version of the Pixel Watch 3 might be more appealing if you already have Google Fi, since a tethering to the watch is included with your smartphone line. The Google Fi pre-order promotion, separate from the Google Store promotion that offers Fi service on the watch, knocks $100 off the price of the Pixel Watch 3 LTE, making it the same price as the Wi-Fi edition.
