Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
Yes, the Pixel Watch 3 Windows project was real—but it did not turn the watch into a miniature Windows PC. Gustave Monce, an engineer and PhD student known for Windows on ARM work, got Windows Preinstallation Environment (WinPE) to boot on the watch. The April 1, 2025 timing made the announcement look like an April Fools’ joke; Monce later clarified that the experiment was genuine. What appeared was a technical proof of concept, not a practical smartwatch replacement.
What Windows on the Pixel Watch 3 actually did
The watch booted WinPE, a lightweight Windows environment intended for tasks such as installing, deploying, recovering, and troubleshooting Windows. It is not the same as a complete Windows 10 or Windows 11 desktop installation.
Reports describe a Windows-style boot environment and limited USB functionality, including mass-storage behavior. They do not establish that the watch could run ordinary Windows applications or work as a finished smartwatch. Under the experiment, it could not even display the time as a normal watch would. Monce’s project post and coverage by Android Authority and Android Headlines describe a boot milestone, not a usable Windows watch.
Who made the port—and why it matters
Gustave Monce is associated with the Windows on ARM (WOA) Project, which works on bringing Windows to devices that were not designed to ship with it. His previous work included Windows projects for devices such as the Lumia 950 family and Microsoft Surface Duo. The Pixel Watch experiment extends that firmware and operating-system work to a tightly integrated wearable; it was not an official Google or Microsoft feature. The WOA platform repository documents the watch-specific project.
PC Slower Than It Used to Be?
A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11Outdated Drivers Are Slowing You Down
One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware match#1 Best Overall
- The Google Pixel Watch 3 is designed for performance, with advanced fitness from Fitbit[1,2]; the 45mm screen is twice as bright and 40% larger than before, making it easier to see your stats and info[1]
- Maximize your performance with advanced running features; build custom run workouts and get real-time guidance and advanced form tracking[3]
- Enhance your run routine with Fitbit Premium; Google AI uses your goals, past runs, and readiness to power personalized run recommendations[3]
- Know what your body is ready for each day with readiness; it uses sleep, resting heart rate, and heart rate variability to show if you’re ready to take on a workout or prioritize recovery[3]
- Cardio load measures how hard your heart works so you can see how hard you’ve pushed; compare trends to see if you’re under- or over-training[3]
How the watch reached WinPE
A processor using ARM cores is only one ingredient in booting Windows. The operating system also needs a firmware path to start and a description of the device’s hardware. Monce’s work involved adapting the boot chain and preparing the watch for Windows’ expectations.
- UEFI: Firmware software that initializes hardware and launches an operating system.
- ACPI: Tables that describe hardware and power-management information to an operating system.
- WinPE: A minimal Windows environment, rather than a full consumer desktop installation.
- Windows on ARM: Windows built for ARM processors; ARM compatibility alone does not supply device drivers.
Technical coverage reports changes involving the stock boot image, UEFI, ACPI tables, configuration and kernel-related files, followed by loading WinPE. The path was not static: an Android 15 update disrupted an earlier loading method, and Monce made further boot and kernel-image changes to reach WinPE again. That episode illustrates why a method for one software state may not survive a system update. See Android Authority’s technical report and IT之家’s coverage.
Which Pixel Watch 3 is involved?
The WOA repository identifies the supported platform names as Selene and Luna, associated with 2024-generation Pixel Watch hardware. The published guide and secondary reporting point to a particular larger LTE configuration; the available reporting is not consistent enough to treat every Pixel Watch 3 model as interchangeable. In particular, do not assume that a 41mm or Wi-Fi model is compatible just because it is also called a Pixel Watch 3. Check the exact model against the project’s current documentation before considering any modification.
Rank #2
- The Google Pixel Watch 3 is designed for performance, with advanced fitness from Fitbit[1,2]; the 41mm screen is twice as bright and 10% larger than before, making it easier to see your stats and info[1]
- Maximize your performance with advanced running features; build custom run workouts and get real-time guidance and advanced form tracking[3]
- Enhance your run routine with Fitbit Premium; Google AI uses your goals, past runs, and readiness to power personalized run recommendations[3]
- Know what your body is ready for each day with readiness; it uses sleep, resting heart rate, and heart rate variability to show if you’re ready to take on a workout or prioritize recovery[3]
- Cardio load measures how hard your heart works so you can see how hard you’ve pushed; compare trends to see if you’re under- or over-training[3]; and receive a daily target based on cardio load and readiness levels
The 45mm Pixel Watch 3 has a 456 × 456 display, 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, alongside a Qualcomm Snapdragon wearable processor. Those specifications help explain why the experiment is plausible, but they do not establish broad Windows performance or support for the watch’s components. The project’s platform repository emphasizes device-specific support rather than compatibility based on processor family alone.
Recommended Free Tools
What worked—and what remains unproven
| Capability | What is established |
|---|---|
| Booting WinPE | Demonstrated by the project and reported by multiple outlets. |
| Windows-style screen | A Windows boot environment was shown; this is not evidence of a finished desktop. |
| USB | Limited support was reported, including mass storage. Broader peripheral, networking or debugging support is not established. |
| Normal clock display | Not working in the reported experiment. |
| Full Windows desktop and everyday apps | Not demonstrated. |
| Touch input, health sensors, LTE, Bluetooth, GPS, notifications and audio | Working support is not established by the cited reports. |
| Battery-aware operation, stable suspend and daily smartwatch use | Not demonstrated as consumer-ready functionality. |
These are meaningful gaps, not minor polish issues. A wearable operating system must coordinate its screen and input, sensors, wireless radios, power states and services. A boot screen proves that enough of the startup path works to load an environment; it does not prove that the hardware has the drivers and integration needed for a product.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Should you try it?
For most owners, no. Monce described the work as experimental and not suitable for casual users. Modifying a boot image or firmware can leave a watch unable to start, damage or erase partitions, disrupt Wear OS updates, or remove the functions you depend on. The repository warns that the work targets specific Seluna devices and that using it on other hardware can cause problems. Recovery should not be assumed to be easy or guaranteed.
Rank #3
- The Google Pixel Watch 3 is designed for performance, with advanced fitness from Fitbit[1,2]; the 45mm screen is twice as bright and 40% larger than before, making it easier to see your stats and info[1]
- Maximize your performance with advanced running features; build custom run workouts and get real-time guidance and advanced form tracking[3]
- Enhance your run routine with Fitbit Premium; Google AI uses your goals, past runs, and readiness to power personalized run recommendations[3]
- Know what your body is ready for each day with readiness; it uses sleep, resting heart rate, and heart rate variability to show if you’re ready to take on a workout or prioritize recovery[3]
- Cardio load measures how hard your heart works so you can see how hard you’ve pushed; compare trends to see if you’re under- or over-training[3]
- Consider it only if you have the exact supported model, understand boot images, firmware and partitioning, and can work through the project’s current documentation and source code.
- Do not experiment on your daily watch if you rely on it for health or fitness tracking, notifications, payments, emergency calling or other everyday functions.
- Do not follow a generic video or copy build commands as an installation recipe. The repository’s commands build project components; they are not a general end-user flashing procedure.
- Check the live guide first for the device revision, software state, modification steps and recovery instructions. Neither compatibility across models nor reversibility should be presumed.
The WOA Pixel Watch guides and platform repository are the relevant starting points for developers evaluating the project. Their existence does not make the modification low-risk or appropriate for ordinary owners.
Why a nonfunctional watch is still an interesting result
The project’s significance is not that Windows is ready to replace Wear OS. It is that a developer adapted enough of the firmware and hardware-description path for a wearable designed around Wear OS to enter a different operating-system environment. That makes the experiment a clear illustration of the distance between “can boot” and “can serve as a usable product.”
The watch’s ARM hardware is only part of the story. Display, touch, power management, sensors and connectivity all need suitable firmware and driver support. The project is therefore best understood as a boundary-pushing Windows-on-ARM demonstration: real, technically impressive, and far more useful to firmware enthusiasts than to someone looking for a new way to use a smartwatch.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
