Google’s Pixel Watch Just Leaked, and My Anticipation Is Now Very High

As a longtime Android consumer, I’ve spent the higher a part of a decade on the sidelines of a whole product class, awaiting a wearable that might rival the Apple Watch. From startups to conventional watchmakers, many firms have promised a worthy various, solely to launch smartwatches with crippling compromises. Each failure dimmed the hopes for a viable Apple Watch rival, whereas Google, the corporate accountable for the underlying Android smartwatch OS, seemingly misplaced curiosity in its personal platform.

Now there may be cause to be hopeful once more. Google lately awoke from its slumber and partnered with Samsung, whose Galaxy smartwatches have lengthy been the perfect choices for non-iPhone customers, to construct Wear OS 3. When the primary smartwatch operating the brand new software program platform arrived within the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4, it was broadly heralded by critics (together with us) because the “first good Android smartwatch.” Sales of that watch have increased Android’s wearables market share in latest months.

Google plans to construct off this momentum with the long-awaited launch of its personal Pixel Watch. Yes, a Pixel Watch, not a Fitbit one as was posited after Google’s acquisition of Fitbit final 12 months. I’m not getting my hopes too excessive, however all the pieces I’ve seen to this point suggests Google’s first smartwatch might quickly kind a tan line on my left wrist.

The newest encouraging data comes from leaker Jon Prosser, who posted on his YouTube channel what he claims are official promotional images. Matching earlier renders from the identical sources, these leaked advertising supplies present photos (albeit grainy ones) of the rumored Google Pixel Watch.

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If these are the real deal, the Pixel Watch will have a simple circular design with a practically bezel-free watch face that seems to waterfall around the edges. On the right side is a substantial crown for physical controls. And unlike the somewhat chunky Apple Watch, the Pixel Watch appears impressively thin in these renders.

It looks, well, luxurious. And while not everyone will take to the design, the low-profile watch looks so small that you probably wouldn’t even notice it throughout the day, even during a workout. I also like that there is a physical dial to interface with Wear OS 3 because swiping around such a tiny display can be a pain in the ass.

While the leak doesn’t reveal specs or give a features rundown, a few of the alleged marketing slides show what you can do with the watch, including the ability to get directions on Google Maps, track health metrics, and answer phone calls.

I admit, I’d stopped paying much attention to Pixel Watch rumors as a means of shielding myself from any further heartbreak, but the success of the Pixel 6 has rekindled my faith in Google after some questionable hardware decisions (raise your hands, Pixel 5 owners). Remember, Google upset the smartphone industry when the original Pixel launched and it has the opportunity to do so again with the Pixel Watch.

But let me slow down for a second, because there are still too many missing pieces in this puzzle. How Google plans to position the Pixel Watch—as a full-fledged Apple Watch rival or a fitness-focused Fitbit-like wearable—remains a mystery, as are the components tasked with providing a smooth experience (something past Android watches have struggled with).

I’m also worried about what the watch’s slimness means for battery life: the Achilles’ heel of most wearables. Using a battery that’s too small to get through a full day of use is a surefire way to ruin a smartwatch. I wouldn’t mind a few extra millimeters of thickness if it keeps the wearable alive into day two. I’m speculating here, but poor endurance has been the kryptonite of many an Android watch, and the petite design shown in this latest leak unsettles me.

Google is rumored to debut the Pixel Watch someday in 2022, so Android customers can begin setting their analog watches for what all of us hope would be the final time.