Google Pixel Watch is reportedly upcoming wearable hardware that will compete with Apple Watch beginning 2022, potentially filing as the search giant’s first smartwatch.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Google is renewing a push in the wearable technology space
- A Google-branded smartwatch in 2022 is part of the effort
- Pixel Watch is apparently round and has no physical bezel
- So is a Fitbit integration for Wear OS
Google Pixel Watch reportedly coming in 2022
A report by Business Insider alleges that Google is planning on launching its first smartwatch hardware following years of Apple Watch dominance in the wearable technology space. Code-named “Rohan”, the device is said to be round and have no physical bezel. Development work has reportedly accelerated in 2021, potentially indicating that Pixel Watch is close to being ready for take off.
Google has let employees outside of the smartwatch team test the device and provide feedback—a common practice known as “dogfooding”—according to employees and feedback documents viewed by Insider. One of those feedback sessions took place as recently as November.
Will “Rohan” watch include health and fitness features?
Aside from other capabilities, Pixel Watch will focus heavily on health and fitness tracking (don’t forget that Google owns Fitbit). Actually, the report mentions that Google will merge its wearable and Fitbit divisions and is working on a Fitbit integration for Wear OS.
The Rohan watch has a heart-rate monitor and offers basic health-tracking features such as step counting. In its current form the watch will require daily charging, according to a feedback document seen by Insider. One employee testing the watch lamented the charging was slow. Like the Apple Watch, Google’s wearable will also use proprietary watchbands.
It’s unclear if Rohan will support third-party bands or come in multiple sizes.
Will Pixel Watch have third-party bands?
Considering that customization is the name of the game here, Google would be wise to create not only its own proprietary bands but foster the creation of an ecosystem of third-party bands. Read: How to automatically silence your Apple Watch based on location
An early concept document seen by Insider describes Google’s ambitions to build a watch that would be comfortable to wear for at least 90% of the population. “Insufficient sizing excludes some users from wearable wristables entirely,” the document reads.
The report mentions that Pixel Watch will showcase the search giant’s most recent smartwatch software to its customers, wireless carriers and other partners.
This could be a good plan because Wear OS, a version of the Android operating system that Google in cooperation with Samsung has designed for smartwatches and other wearables, has been met with praise. Google is hardly the only Apple rival to work on its own smartwatch hardware—a recent report alleged that Facebook’s first smartwatch would launch in 2022 with two cameras and a heart rate monitor.