Later this fall, Google is anticipated to launch the Pixel Watch. Given Wear OS’s historical past, there’s understandably a variety of anticipation. Will the watch be good? Will it fail to ship the promise of Wear OS 3? Honestly, these questions is likely to be extra acceptable for future iterations of the watch. For now, all Google has to do is create a smartwatch that does the fundamentals properly.

Case in level, XDA Developers recently reported that Google appears to be laborious at work addressing an egregious oversight in Wear OS: backups. In an APK teardown of Google Play providers v 22.23.12 beta, XDA says that there’s code that refers to “companion backups” by way of Google One. Right now, when you improve to a brand new telephone, you may’t again up your non-Samsung Wear OS smartwatch information. Yes, though it’s 2022 and almost each client gadget helps you to create cloud backups, you continue to need to manufacturing unit reset your Wear OS smartwatch. (Technically, there’s a workaround to this inconvenience — however you shouldn’t want a workaround for one thing as fundamental as a cloud backup. )

This simply underscores how low the bar is for the Pixel Watch. Competitors like Samsung and Apple have already got cloud backup for his or her watches as a result of, once more, it’s 2022. So lengthy because the Pixel Watch could make it 24 hours on a single cost, has a quick chip, and might go down the checklist of anticipated smartwatch options (e.g., contactless funds, music streaming, fundamental health monitoring, backups, and many others.), it’ll succeed at Not Sucking, which is all Google wants to determine that its wearables can play ball. Anything else on prime of that’s gravy.

And there’s cause to consider that Google can achieve making a smartwatch that may rise above the bar of “not sucking.” Since asserting Wear OS 3 with Samsung at I/O 2021, Google has made demonstrable strides in making Wear OS a viable platform. Not solely have extra in style third-party builders created optimized Wear OS 3 apps but additionally Google’s made an effort to carry app enhancements to Wear OS 2 as properly. That contains software program like Google Pay and Messages, streaming by way of YouTube Music, and different fundamental touches you’d count on to see on trendy smartwatches. That momentum solely appears to be selecting up as we get nearer to the Pixel Watch’s debut. For occasion, 9to5Google found signs that the Pixel Watch may additionally help Google Fi, which might recommend the watch would possibly help LTE information with no need a telephone quantity. (Or Google might go the identical route as different carriers and cost a small price for an additional line.)

Google Fi help would transcend the “just don’t suck” naked minimal. But additionally, in response to its I/O 2022 presentation, we will count on a streamlined Wear OS 3 UI, a brand new Fitbit integration, and emergency calling. We ought to count on apps like Google Assistant, YouTube Music, Google Wallet, Google Home, and Google Maps — which is a strong lineup so far as native apps go. At least on paper, that is what I’d count on to see in a contemporary smartwatch.

I’m not able to say the Pixel Watch will probably be good and even “good enough.” That’s not one thing I can resolve till I’ve put it by its paces. There are issues that you just can’t know from a spec sheet, like how properly it integrates with non-Pixel telephones, how snappy the efficiency is, and what real-life battery is like. I’m merely saying that the bar for a superb Wear OS watch is stupendously low, and to date, Samsung’s been the one sport on the town. I’d be genuinely shocked if the Pixel Watch might give the Galaxy Watch 5 a run for its cash. But if it may well efficiently present Android customers a viable different to a Samsung watch? That’s one thing we haven’t seen but.