How the Pixel Watch 4’s charging contacts look on every color [Gallery]

Ben Schoon | Aug 21 2025 - 4:30 am PT

One of the distinct new elements of the Pixel Watch 4 is its new charging dock, which also has new charging contacts found on the side of the watch. These exposed “pins” disrupt the look we’ve been used to for a while, but they’re not nearly as bad in person as I had personally feared. Here’s a quick look at what they look like on each color variant of the Pixel Watch 4.

Google’s Pixel Watch series is now on its third new charging system in four generations. The original watch utilized a Qi-based wireless charging puck which was then swapped out for a pin-based system on Pixel Watch 2 with a significant speed boost. That system stuck around on Pixel Watch 3, but now it’s being replaced yet again.

The new charger for Pixel Watch 4 has contacts on the side of the watch rather than underneath. Since these are used for charging, they’re all the same silver/gold color. But they’re all surrounded by a black border, meaning they never truly hide.

On the gold Pixel Watch 4 case, the pins don’t grab attention, but you also can’t miss them thanks to that black border. If anything, that border means they blend in a bit better on the black case, at least when viewing it from the side.

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The “Moonstone” and silver cases look similar to the gold case, where the black border is more noticeable than the contacts. That’s just when looking from the side, though. When the watch is actually on your wrist, the contacts aren’t super noticeable.

That’s something I’m glad about, because this had the potential to look like a gross eyesore on Google’s otherwise unique and striking design. The other thing at play here is that the domed Actua 360 display on Pixel Watch 4 is such an attention-grabber that the contacts just fade into the background by comparison.

But what do you think?