For both watches, you need an active carrier plan to access satellites—that is, you must have a separate phone line or a number share for your watch. You must be in a spot with a clear view of the sky, and both the Pixel Watch 4 and the Watch Ultra 3 will patiently guide you to get the best satellite reception. (I like this feature because I often have a hard time finding reception with a regular satellite messenger.)
The Pixel Watch 4 only offers emergency services over satellite—that is, you have to dial 911 and be in an active emergency, and you can only do so in the contiguous US for now. The Watch Ultra 3 lets you send regular texts, like you can with your iPhone. For international travelers, satellite messaging is available for the Watch Ultra 3 in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, the UK, and the US.
Offline maps were the first time I’ve bumped up against the limitations of Apple’s famous walled garden. Apple introduced offline topographic maps with WatchOS 10. I’ve used it before, and it’s fine. You search for the area in Apple Maps, sync with your watch, build your own hiking routes, etc. I like it better than using a Garmin because you don’t have to use dedicated software, nor do you have to subscribe to a platform like AllTrails.
I just didn’t realize how much more often my spouse and I use Google Maps. I made a plan to visit my friend’s cabin and used Google Maps on my laptop to search for directions. I opened Google Maps on my Pixel 9 later on, and there it was. I downloaded the offline maps, zoomed out to include a scenic hike near her house, dropped the Pixel Watch 4 on the charger to sync the maps and top off the battery while I ran around filling a water bottle and grabbing a jacket and a chocolate bar. It was so easy.
