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Everything we've heard so far about the Pixel Watch, the rumored Google smartwatch said to be coming later this year
Everything we've heard so far about the Pixel Watch, the rumored Google smartwatch said to be coming later this year
Avery HartmansJul 1, 2018, 18:30 IST
Hollis Johnson
This may be the year Google finally releases its own smartwatch.
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According to gadget tipster Evan Blass, Google has been working on a lineup of new products, including new Pixel phones, second-generation Pixel Buds, and a new smartwatch that will also fall under the Pixel branding.
This would be a major change for Google. In the past, Google has relied on third-party companies like LG and Fossil Group, and heritage watchmakers like Movado, to incorporate its smartwatch software - recently renamed Wear OS - into their watch designs.
This has been a smart move up until now. Tech companies aren't often known for their fashion sense, and so many smartwatches end up looking cumbersome, outdated, or downright ugly. My view has always been that fashion-focused companies and tech companies should work together to build wearables.
That said, if Google's Pixel phones and Home devices are any indication of its hardware vision, a Google Pixel Watch may not be such a bad thing.
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Here's everything we've heard so far about what to expect from a Google Pixel smartwatch.
That doesn't necessarily mean Google is planning three entirely different watches, however. As CNET points out, it could mean there are three different sizes of the watch. Or, like the Apple Watch Series 3, Google may be creating cellular and non-cellular versions of the watch.
The watches are reportedly powered by the new Qualcomm processor.
For the first time since 2016, Qualcomm is set to release a new chip for Wear OS watches.
In an interview with Wareable last month, Qualcomm's senior director of wearables Pankaj Kedia said that Qualcomm will announce a new processor this fall. The new chipset will debut alongside a "lead smartwatch" — which could be a Pixel Watch — with other partners adding it by the holidays.
In an interview with CNET, Kedia said the new chipset will improve the Google Assistant experience and make it more visually appealing. Dennis Troper, the product director for Wear OS, told CNET that the Assistant will become more personalized and "proactive about information you may want to see," and will have improved fitness functions.
The Pixel Watch will have better battery life than past Wear OS watches.
Qualcomm's Kedia told Wareable that the new chip will give Wear OS watches — and by extension, a Pixel Watch — a "significant" upgrade in battery life.
The Pixel Watch will reportedly have GPS and a heart-rate tracker built in.
According to WinFuture.de, the Pixel watches will have built-in GPS and LTE support, and may also have heart-rate trackers and the ability to track your stress levels.
The Pixel Watch will likely debut in October.
While it's not set in stone, the Pixel Watch will most likely make its debut this fall — the Google Pixel and the Google Pixel 2 were announced in October 2016 and 2017 respectively.
