Google designed its first-ever smartwatch as a seamless polished dome - no flat edges, no visible seams - with Fitbit's full health platform embedded directly in the OS. It was Google's clearest hardware statement yet. It was also, like every Pixel Watch after it, bound to Android for initial activation. Merge handles the iPhone side permanently after that one session: notifications, health data routing to Apple Health, contacts, music control, and camera control from a watch Google built for a different phone.
What Merge adds for iPhone users
Once paired through Merge, the Pixel Watch delivers real-time iPhone notifications to your wrist - Messages, Mail, WhatsApp, calendar alerts, and anything else that comes through your iPhone. You can dismiss notifications from the watch. Notification control lets you choose which apps forward alerts to the watch, so only what matters reaches your wrist.
On the health side, Merge syncs heart rate, steps, distance, floors climbed, calories, workouts with GPS routes, and pace directly to Apple Health - your iPhone health apps stay current without any manual export. iPhone contacts sync to the watch for quick access from the wrist, music playback and volume controls work from the watch while your iPhone plays, and you can trigger the iPhone camera remotely from the watch when the camera app is open on your phone.
ECG is available on Pixel Watch through the Fitbit iOS app independently - you can run an on-demand heart rhythm check and view results in Fitbit on your iPhone without any additional setup beyond having the Fitbit app installed.
The Fitbit platform features also remain active: Daily Readiness Score and Active Zone Minutes are all accessible on the watch and through the Fitbit app on your iPhone. None of these require an Android phone once initial setup is done.
Android is required for initial setup - once
Google does not provide an iOS activation path for Pixel Watch. The Wear OS by Google app on iPhone does not support Pixel Watch pairing, and there is no standalone Pixel Watch app for iPhone. The first-time setup requires a physical Android phone running Android 8.0 or later - no exceptions.
All it takes is about 10-15 minutes with a borrowed Android phone. Power on the watch, pair it to the Android device via Bluetooth, sign into a Google account when prompted, and wait for the watch to configure itself and pull down its updates. When the home screen appears and setup is finished, the Android phone goes back to its owner. The watch carries its configuration on its own from that point forward.
Tip: Before returning the Android phone, also install the Fitbit app from the Play Store and connect it to the watch. This fully initializes the Fitbit health platform - features like Daily Readiness Score, Active Zone Minutes, and ECG require a Fitbit account to be linked on the watch before they become available. Once that connection is established, the Fitbit app on your iPhone takes over for ongoing use and the Android phone is no longer involved.
Pairing steps
Once Android setup is complete and the watch is on its home screen, pairing with your iPhone takes about two minutes.
- On your iPhone, search the App Store for Merge Watch and download it.
- On the Pixel Watch, open Play Store, search for Merge Watch, and install it.
- Open Merge on your iPhone - approve the Bluetooth permission when prompted, then keep it foregrounded.
- On the Pixel Watch, open Merge and approve the Bluetooth permission when prompted.
- Tap Start Pairing - the watch stays discoverable for five minutes.
- On your iPhone, open Settings → Bluetooth and wait for the watch to appear in the list, then tap it to pair.
- Once paired, your iPhone will appear in Merge on the watch - tap it to complete the connection.
- Set up your Merge subscription via the iPhone app if prompted.
- Grant notification and health permissions on both devices when asked.
Using Pixel Watch day to day with your iPhone
The Pixel Watch's dome shape - 41mm, 12.3mm thick, made from 80% recycled stainless steel - sits comfortably for all-day wear. Notifications arrive in real time through Merge, the watch's health sensors continue running in the background without any phone nearby at all, and the contacts on your wrist come in handy when you want to check a number or name without pulling out your phone. Music control from the dome's small screen is a natural complement to the watch's standalone fitness focus - adjust volume or skip a track without breaking stride.
