A smartwatch from Google seems like a no brainer considering so many Apple Watch rivals on the market run on the firm’s current Wear OS software. Here we take a look at the possible Pixel Watch release details and hardware.
Google has seen some success with its Pixel smartphones and also makes various other pieces of technology, such as the Nest Hub 2 smart display and Pixelbook Go laptop.
So why has Google never made its own smartwatch? It’s a great question with no simple answer but there are signs that, after all this time, one might finally be coming to market.
When does the Pixel Watch launch?
A bit like the OnePlus Watch (which is finally a reality), it feels like we’ve been waiting forever for Google to release an own-brand smartwatch.
It was way back in 2018 when it was confirmed Google was definitely working on a Pixel Watch but in an interview with Tom’s Guide, Google’s director of engineering for Wear OS, Miles Barr, said it wasn’t quite ready for primetime just yet.
Barr told the site, “to think of a one-size-fits-all watch, I don’t think we’re there yet. Our focus is on our partners for now.”
That clearly went further than the back-burner but new leaks for the Pixel Watch suggest it might be on its way soon.
Jon Prosser might normally report on Apple leaks but has shared an image of the supposed Pixel Watch, showing an extreme closeup of the watch face, with a physical crown in the background.
? pic.twitter.com/Gi3ThvgF5D
— Jon Prosser (@jon_prosser)
April 8, 2021
Since this initial leak, Prosser has posted a fairly substantial follow-up featuring the Pixel Watch (see below). Codenamed ‘rohan’ internally, it’s expected to arrive “sometime in October” but it may be pushed back.
If it doesn’t get delayed, then we expect it to arrive with the Pixel 6. Sadly, it looks like the Pixel 5a is cancelled everywhere apart from US and Japan, due to chip shortages.
There is a potential fly in the above ointment, based on a post issued to Google’s Wear OS support forums in late July, suggesting that the forthcoming release of Wear OS 3 will “roll out the system update starting in mid to second half of 2022.”
If the Pixel Watch were to launch on Google’s overhauled Wear OS 3 user experience, then this post suggests that the timepiece won’t arrive until the software does, later into next year.
What are the Pixel Watch’s specifications?
Previous rumours included murmurings of three different models, 1GB of RAM and support for 4G LTE on one of the variants.
Although Prosser didn’t have details on the specs, he put out some renders based on images sent to him, against the sender’s wishes. However, the renders by Ian Zelbo modelled after said pictures – which Prosser said are some of the best he’s ever seen – show a possible Pixel Watch design and also hint at some specs.
It really does look stunning with a completely circular screen (no flat tyre section, like some), plus minimal bezel; with marketing materials describing it as “round bezel-less, bringing unity to software and hardware”.
We can also see a crown and on the opposite side what looks like a small hole for a microphone, along with a slit, likely for a speaker. While it looks incredibly thin, Zelbo replied to a comment on Twitter saying “It looks to be the same thickness as the Apple Watch but the angles I chose make it thinner than it is (like all marketing material).”
The images also appear to show a proprietary strap system that slides in and out from the side (similar to the Apple Watch) and a silicone strap with ridges on the inside to allow a sort of locking system. The source says there will be around 20 different bands.
Prosser says that it’s often just the hardware that’s real but here the software is also based on the real thing with “WearOS getting a facelift” so that watch face is likely an official one. The official marketing contains things like “Your world at a glance”, “Your health at a glance” and “Your agenda at a glance”.
On the subject of Wear OS, during Google I/O 2021, Google and Samsung announced an official partnership that sees Wear OS and Tizen OS fuse to become a new wearables platform, boasting improved performance (up to 30% faster app load time), better battery longevity and new functionality, including Fitbit-powered fitness and wellness capabilities.
An official name wasn’t mentioned at I/O or by Google’s or Samsung’s press releases on the subject but “Wear” seemed to be a working title and “Wear OS 3” now looks like the most likely candidate, based on the official Google help forum post about updates to existing Wear OS watches.
We don’t get to see the back of the Pixel Watch but it will have a heart rate monitor and, presumably, wireless charging, like its rivals.
We’ll have to wait for some specs like screen size, resolution and what connectivity the Pixel Watch will have but Prosser says “it might be fair to assume that this might be part of Google’s in house silicon”, referring to the software and hardware unity mentioned earlier.
You can see the full video with animated renders here:
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