We’ve been hearing rumors about Google’s Pixel Watch for years, but it looks like parts of the project are finally in place.Renders of the device allegedly shared by Evan Blass 91 mobile phone Consistent with past leaks and rumors, a device with a familiar circular design, physical crown, and Fitbit integration was shown.
Of course, there’s also a lot missing from the rendering. The image doesn’t include the watch’s lugs (which would show how the strap attaches to the face) or give any idea of its overall construction. If this image looks a little funny, though, it’s probably because of the watch’s rumored bezel-less design (also seen in a render of the model shared by Jon Prosser last year).
But interestingly, we Have I’ve seen a smartwatch design from Google that looks like this before: the LG Watch Style, which LG co-designed with the tech giant and released in 2017 to showcase Android Wear 2.0. It has the same simple lines and crown placement – of course, we hope to look slimmer five years from now.
Looks familiar? 2017 LG watch styles. Image: The Verge/James Bareham
As my colleague Victoria Song said in a recent article, 2022 does look like the year Google will make another big push into wearables. The company has been investing in smartwatches for years, acquiring parts of Fitbit and Fossil in 2019 and rolling out Android Wear updates, but it was slow and beaten decisively by Apple.
We hope Google will show the Pixel Watch at its I/O developer conference next month, but, as Song says, there are still many questions to answer: “Will the Pixel Watch focus primarily on fitness and health, or will it also include more smart Features like LTE connectivity? Will this work on all Android phones, or will Google’s own Pixel ecosystem be prioritized? What about iOS?” Stay tuned edge learn more.
