Rumors suggest Google is working on its own flagship smartwatch to show off Wear OS — here’s what we know so far.
We might sound like a broken record here, but hear us out: the Google Pixel Watch could (finally) launch soon. Google IO 2021 is quickly getting nearer, and the May 18 event is sure to bring us new hardware and software from the company. While there’s no indication the Pixel Watch is coming, we know Wear OS, Google’s smartwatch operating system, is getting some focus at the event, which implies a renewed effort on behalf of the company’s wearable arm. Just like how Pixel phones are a showcase for Android, the Google Pixel Watch is expected to be an example of the full potential fo Wear OS. However the smartwatch has been rumored for years now, and we keep getting our hopes high only for them to be dashed again. It’s hard to be hopeful when multiple rumored launch windows have come and gone. One leak even suggested it would be announced alongside the Google Pixel 4, but that didn’t happen. One report in mid-2018 from reliable Twitter leaker @Evleaks says he had information from a trusted source that a Google Pixel Watch was in development. His source said it would be announced alongside the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, but that — perhaps obviously — didn’t happen either. But the latest leak in April 2021 shows a supposed image of the smartwatch (whether real or render is unclear), suggesting it could be getting ready to release. Yet rumors and evidence of the Google Pixel Watch refuse to disappear, so it could well be in the works. Below we’re going to break down everything we know so far about the new watch, including our thoughts on whether it will ever actually happen. Then, further down, we’ve put together a list of the features we’d like from the first flagship Google watch. An exact release date for the rumored Google Pixel Watch isn’t clear. If it’s to land in 2021, our best guess would be either at the Google Pixel 6 launch towards the end of the year, or at Google IO, which the company has confirmed is happening May 18-20. Though that’s now quite close, and with so few rumors of the wearable we’d think seeing it in May is unlikely. As for release date rumors, the latest rumor we heard claimed it would land all the way back on October 15 2019 at the Pixel 4 launch, but that of course didn’t happen. Prior to that, our first rumor of a release date came in a tweet from noted leaker Evleaks claiming a «reliable source» said it would be announced alongside the Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL back in 2018. Google itself then confirmed there wouldn’t be a Pixel Watch in 2018. So could that mean we’ll see one in a later year? Maybe, but nothing is guaranteed. Perhaps the greatest recent evidence of a Pixel Watch is the fact that Google is buying Fitbit — which could see the latter company’s wearable skills put towards Google smartwatch hardware, but that deal has was only finalized in January 2021, and therefore a smartwatch based on Fitbit’s tech is probably unlikely to land in the near future. We’ve also heard that Google has reportedly ordered processors from Samsung (according to ETNews) which would be capable of detecting body movements. There’s no guarantee that these are for a smartwatch (they could be for a Pixel phone) but a wearable would be an obvious fit. That, then, is strong evidence that some form of Pixel Watch is in the works, though it seems that Samsung still needs to design these processors (as of August 2020) and as Wareable notes, that would mean they won’t likely ship in a watch for quite a while yet. Prior to all that though a report from WinFuture about three versions of the Google Pixel Watch said the device has reached its second level of design verification, which is a test to see if the device would be easy to mass produce. That suggests the watch design will be final enough to be put onto the production line in the near future — though this report is old now, so it might be inaccurate. However, a codename has also been spotted for a device called medaka. A medaka is a tiny fish (Google always uses codenames of sea creatures for its products) and the device is said to not sport a notch so some have taken this to mean it’s the Pixel Watch.
