The Pixel Watch doesn't sound very promising yet amid 2022 launch rumors
Yet another Pixel Watch launch rumor...
What you need to know- Google's first smartwatch is tipped to launch sometime in 2022.
- The device will track health metrics and currently requires daily charging.
- The watch could arrive in the spring, although that depends on feedback from testers.
Pixel Watch rumors have been a bit scarce leading up to and following the launch of the Pixel 6 series. However, Insider is drumming up more anticipation for the elusive device with a few more tidbits, including when we might expect a launch.
We stress "might" because rumors of the Pixel Watch have come and gone, and years later, we're still left without anything concrete. However, Insider says that the launch could occur as early as spring 2022, depending on how testing goes.
Sources told Insider that work on the watch has accelerated this year and that Google has been "dogfooding" the device for feedback. That refers to the process of letting employees outside of the smartwatch team test the device to get real-world usage data.
According to Insider, the Pixel Watch has standard health tracking capabilities, features proprietary bands, and has no physical bezel. This lines up with reproduced renders of the watch that Jon Prosser revealed earlier this year.
However, the watch reportedly requires daily charging in its current form, which is apparently pretty slow. This already sounds like a bit of a downgrade from devices like the TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra, which can last up to three days on a single charge, or even the Fossil Gen 6 with its fast-charging capabilities.
Of course, things are subject to change before now and its purported spring launch, and depending on how testing goes, it may not even arrive then. We've reached out to Google for a comment on the report, but until we get word from Google or real-life images of the watch crop up, we should, of course, take this all with a grain of salt.
It would be a good time for Google to introduce its own watch, given the growing popularity of Wear OS thanks to the Galaxy Watch 4, which helped push the platform's market share to an impressive 17%. If the watch does arrive in spring, that would likely put it just ahead of the Wear OS 3 update rollout, which is expected to arrive on some of the best Android smartwatches by mid-2022.
This could also mark the debut of the Fitbit integration that Google teased during the Wear OS announcement. And while the smartwatch is known internally by a few names, including "Rohan," the device will likely not carry Fitbit branding.
Let's just hope that we get this device sooner rather than later while interest in Wear OS is still on the rise.
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