Google is finally preparing to launch a smartwatch of its own a year after its Fitbit acquisition closed, and a report from noted leaker Evan Blass gives us a first look at the so-called Pixel Watch. Built for Google’s new Wear OS platform and boasting integration with Fitbit, the Watch is expected to be announced at Google I/O in May.
The render looks similar to ones shared by Jon Prosser a year ago, but show a more final look at what Google could be expected to debut in the weeks to come. The Fitbit icon is shown prominently, The Watch is also reportedly code-named Rohan, and should come with Wear OS 3.1, an as-yet-unannounced variant of Google’s Wear OS.
It was already obvious that a smartwatch from Google would be coming as the company signaled its intent to build one as soon as possible after it closed its Fitbit acquisition in 2021. “We’re confident the combination of Fitbit’s leading technology, product expertise, and health and wellness innovation with the best of Google’s AI, software, and hardware will drive more competition in wearables and make the next generation of devices better and more affordable,” Rick Osterloh, Google’s vice president of devices, said. While we have yet to see the fruits of that acquisition, the time seems to be near
As for the software it’ll be running, Google debuted WearOS 3 with the Galaxy Watch 4 last year, so it’s taken us quite a while to see what Google’s Wear OS would look like without Samsung’s augmentations. Heck, the official Wear OS 3 update rollout hasn’t started yet, despite it being announced at last year’s Google I/O, which was a year ago. There have been a few missed opportunities to showcase it, but it seems we’ll also finally be seeing a take on the smartwatch experience from Google.
Aside from the Pixel Watch, Google is also expected to announce a low-cost Pixel 6a with the same Tensor processor as the flagship Pixel 6 at I/O.
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