After years of rumors and false starts, it looks like we’re close to finally seeing the Wear OS Pixel Watch.
We’ve heard rumors about the Pixel Watch over the last few months, but what made me think about all of this was a recent leak from Evan Blass. Earlier today, Blas posted a screenshot on Twitter of an interactive tutorial on “Pixel Rohan” running Wear OS 3.1. Blas also tweeted, saying “It won’t be long now” – a hint at the very likely possibility that Google will annoy Pixel Watch on Google I / O next month.
Nothing in this is incredibly surprising if you pay attention. The Pixel Watch has always been likely to work with Wear OS, although there has been brief speculation that Google may choose a digital-to-analog hybrid. However, this relatively small leak confirms that 2022 will be a turning point for Google’s wearable ambitions.
In essence, this is the culmination of at least three years Google is laying the groundwork for a true competitor to the Apple Watch. In early 2019, Google allocated $ 40 million to purchase Fossil smartwatch technology and part of the company’s research and development team. Fossil has long been one of Google’s best-known wearable partners, and at the time, Google said the move was indicative of the company’s commitment to wearables. Later that year, Google focused on a renewed focus on the “environmental calculations” of its Made by Google event before the end of 2019, cutting $ 2.1 billion for Fitbit.
Not much has happened in 2020 when it comes to wearing Google. Fitbit continued to launch products under the Fitbit brand – although its smartwatches received Google Assistant. Similarly, Wear OS continued to see growing updates. However, Google opened the door wide in 2021 to I / O, announcing that it is partnering with Samsung to create a new unified version of its long-term stagnant Wear OS platform. The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 range then debuted with Wear OS 3 in late 2021.
Google is laying the groundwork for an internal smartwatch at least from 2019. Photo by Dieter Bohn / The Verge
This takes us to 2022, the first year that the new Wear OS platform will be available for more than Samsung’s smartwatches. Google said last year that existing Fossil and Mobvoi Wear OS watches would be eligible for upgrades in the second half of this year. Google has also been hinting at future Fitbit integrations for some time, and Fitbit CEO James Park has repeatedly said the Fitbit Wear OS is coming. (Although it’s hard to say when.) Google also recently received FDA approval for passive monitoring of atrial fibrillation on Fitbit devices. Given that Google owns Fitbit, it’s not hard to imagine that it will also benefit from years of research into Fitbit’s advanced health technology features. Qualcomm – whose dirty Snapdragon Wear chipsets have also contributed to Wear OS’s struggle to catch up – is also expected to release a more powerful chip sometime this year.
In principle, all parts come into place. Of course, there are still many questions. Will the Pixel Watch focus primarily on fitness and wellness, or will it include smarter features like LTE connectivity? Will this work equally well with all Android phones or will it give priority to Google’s own Pixel ecosystem? How about iOS? We probably won’t have those answers until the second half of this year. But one thing is for sure. This is a big year for Google’s wearable platform – and completing it with the Pixel Watch would be a hell of a way to make a statement.
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