A smartwatch from Google seems like a no brainer considering so many Apple Watch rivals on the market run on the firm’s Wear OS. 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 turned its hand to an own-brand smartwatch? It’s a great question with no simple answer but there are plenty of signs that, after all this time, point to one finally 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 that 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.”
Back in April 2021, Jon Prosser shared an image of the supposed Pixel Watch, showing an extreme closeup of the watch face, with a physical crown in the background. This was later followed up with high res renders showing the watch from various angles (see below). At that point, it was due to launch in October 2021 but got delayed.
Prosser then tweeted to say it is due in Q1 of 2022, and although Insider has published an exclusive report on the Pixel Watch coming in 2022, it doesn’t appear to have any information that wasn’t already known via Prosser.
An actual date has now been revealed, again by Prosser, stating that the launch event will take place on 26 May. This matched up with Max Jambor who says the Pixel 6a, which could well be unveiled at the same event, is scheduled for May.
Pixel Watch 👇
I’m hearing that Google is planning on launching it on Thursday, May 26th — over year since we leaked it.
This is the first we’ve seen a set date on the device behind the scenes.
Google is known for pushing back dates — but if they do, we’ll know 👀 pic.twitter.com/Kk0D4Bom6d
— Jon Prosser (@jon_prosser) January 21, 2022
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.
According to Android Police, the Pixel Watch has been listed on a US network’s backend inventory system under its ‘Rohan’ codename. It reveals that it will ship with 32GB of storage and come in gray, black, and gold.
As well as the Prosser leaks below, 9to5Google has some details on the Pixel Watch, including more signs that it will be called exactly that. The site has spotted updates to a Google app with mentions of “PIXEL_EXPERIENCE_WATCH”.
This is similar to a feature tag Google uses for Android phones suggesting the watch will have exclusive features. This could include on-device processing which 9to5Google for the next-gen Assistant. Images from the Wear OS 3 emulator show what this could look like, although the button highlighted in green has not appeared in leaked renders.
The processor handling this, and other tasks, might be a Samsung Exynos with 9to5 finding references in Wear OS related code. It could be the Exynos W920 used on the Galaxy Watch 4 and wouldn’t be a big surprise considering Google’s recent collaboration with Samsung on Wear OS 3.
Although Prosser didn’t have details on the specs, he did 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 older watches), 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 to combine Wear OS and Tizen OS into a single platform, boasting improved performance (up to 30% faster app load times), 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” (the full explainer of which we linked to earlier in this feature) is now locked it as the official name, 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 offer but Prosser says “it might be fair to assume that this might be part of Google’s in house silicon.”
You can see the full video with animated renders here:
Since the above video, Prosser has posted a new video with some more details. It’s mostly in response to the Insider ‘exclusive’ which really just contains information that Prosser had already brought to light.
Apart from having an understandable pop at the report (and The Verge), Prosser presents some official renders of the Pixel Watch – albeit pretty low resolution. They show a design exactly like the renders above created by Zelbo and specifically mention it as the ‘Pixel Watch’.
You can watch the full video here:
Read next: Best smartwatches you can buy right now