Google says the Pixel Watch 5 can beat Apple and Garmin for GPS accuracy — so I decided to test all three watches myself on the London Marathon course
Can Google's claims of Garmin and Apple-beating GPS really hold water?
Google has made bold claims about its Pixel Watch 5's GPS accuracy, stating it outperforms rivals such as the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Garmin Fenix 8 Pro. To test these claims, I participated in the London Marathon and ran specific segments of the course with all three watches. The Pixel Watch 5, equipped with dual-band GPS technology, uses information from Google Maps and AI to account for signal interference from tall buildings and atmospheric conditions.
Additionally, the watch compresses the captured GPS data and sends it to a server for processing before syncing with the Google Health app.
The results showed that the Pixel Watch 5's GPS tracking closely followed the route, while the Garmin Fenix 8 Pro and Apple Watch Ultra 3 experienced minor drifts in their tracks. Overall, the Pixel Watch 5 recorded similar distances to its competitors but had slightly different average speeds. The dual-band GPS technology, combined with Google Maps data and AI, appears to have contributed to the claimed accuracy, although further testing might be necessary to confirm these findings.
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