Do old Pixel Watch bands work with the new Pixel Watch 2?

The new Pixel Watch 2 is now up for pre-order. Starting at $349, these new wearables bring multiple updates to last year's smartwatches, including better tracking, a new quad-core CPU, and features like Emergency Sharing and mood tracking. The Pixel Watch now also supports more apps, including Gmail, Google Calendar, and Maps.

These new features and upgrades make the Pixel Watch 2 a worthy upgrade. However, if you have shopped for watches before, you will be troubled by band support and which ones to purchase for the new smartwatch.

Let's go over the new bands introduced with the 2023 Pixel Watch and which older options will work with the new smartwatch.

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Google is using a proprietary band connector with the Pixel Watch 2

Most watchmakers like Samsung and Garmin use a generalized band connector. This means you can use any band, either first-party or bought from Amazon, with their smartwatches. However, Google's Pixel Watch uses a proprietary connector that the company designed specifically for its watches. This is what Apple does with its smartwatches as well.

This means any existing bands that you have for watches other than the Pixel Watch won't work with the new Pixel Watch 2. However, the connector on the new watch is the same as the one used on the debut Pixel Watch. Therefore, yes, if you already are a user, all bands compatible with the 2022 Google smartwatch can be used with the new Pixel Watch 2.

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New bands for Google Pixel Watch 2

The new Pixel Watch meta links band (Image via Google)

Google has also launched a bunch of new bands with the new smartwatches. The watch face is now available in polished silver aluminum, matte black aluminum, champagne gold aluminum, and polished silver aluminum colors.

The stock bands match the colorways of the new Pixel 8 smartphones. You can choose one between Porcelain Active, Hazel Active, Obsidian Active, and Bay Active variants.

Besides the stock bands, you can also choose between the following:

1. Active sport band (available in coral, hazel, moondust, obsidian, and porcelain) - $49.99
2. Woven band (available in bay, coral, ivy, sage, and lemongrass) - $59.99
3. Stretch band (available in sage, bay, coral, obsidian, porcelain, linen) - $59.99
4. Crafted leather band (available in moondust, obsidian, and ivy) - $79.99
5. Two-tone leather band (available in porcelain, bay, and charcoal) - $79.99
6. Active band (available in hazel, bay, porcelain, obsidian, lemongrass, charcoal) - $49.99
7. Metal slim band (available in matte black, polished silver, champagne gold) - $179.99
8. Metal mesh band (available in champagne gold, polished silver, matte black) - $129.99
9. Metal links band (available in brushed silver, matte black) - $199.99

These bands are backward compatible with the first Pixel Watch. Since they are sold separately, you can buy one for either last year's smartwatch or the new Pixel Watch 2.