Google-branded smartwatch have persisted for years, but they might be close to coming true, insider sources claim. Google intends to introduce its first self-developed smartwatch, which has been branded the “Pixel Watch” for a long time.
With a spherical display and no physical bezel, the Wear OS device would be eye-catching. The smartwatch will compete with the Apple Watch, granting Wear OS the push it needs to reclaim market attention.
Leaked Details about the Pixel Watch
According to Insider, Google is planning to release its first smartwatch under its own brand in 2022. According to the article, the information comes from unidentified corporate personnel. Google has not commented on the supposed model or its details, as it has with each earlier leak.
As per the reports, Google is working on a smartwatch that will contain the newest Wear OS capabilities and compete with the Apple Watch. We don’t yet know the name of this rumored model, but insiders believe Google has assigned its watch the codename “Rohan.”
According to rumors, Rohan will have a spherical appearance similar to Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 4. This would be in contrast to Apple’s Watch and Fitbit’s similar-looking wearables, both of which are now part of Google’s larger portfolio.
The insider also claims to have seen renderings of the watch that show no real bezel. Furthermore, it appears that a prototype version of Rohan exists, since Google workers were apparently permitted to use the device for feedback reasons.
Other rumored features include “basic” health-tracking tools, a heart rate sensor, proprietary bands, and a possible Fitbit connection (which would then roll out to Wear OS in general). The notion that Rohan may need to be charged daily, at least according to reported testing comments, is less thrilling, though this might alter before the final device is released.
Why is Pixel Smartwatch valuable?
It’s not the first time the codename Rohan has been linked to a Google-branded smartwatch. Front Page Tech, a YouTube channel, released a video in April with supposed renderings of the device’s design, as well as claims that it has the internal name Rohan and the product name Google Pixel Watch.
Google’s Wear OS has been around for a while, but it doesn’t get much attention from the general public, with only a small share of the smartwatch market. Wear OS accounted for just 17.3% of wearable shipments in the third quarter of 2021, according to Counterpoint Research.
Though still less than Apple’s 21.8 percent, this statistic indicates a significant increase over the 3.2 percent market share Google’s platform possessed in the same period last year. Analysts believe Samsung is to blame for the uptick in sales; the firm recently integrated its Tizen platform with Wear OS.
While the partnership has benefited Google, it has also prompted doubts about whether Wear OS can effectively compete with Apple-based only on Samsung’s popularity. That’s where speculations regarding a Google-branded smartwatch enter the picture. Despite the fact that Samsung makes amazing hardware, Google is in a position to provide more than simply a stylish device.
The firm might, for example, release its own-brand smartwatch with unique features, similar to what it does with its Pixel smartphones. Those capabilities would most certainly make their way to other newer Wear OS watches in the future, but that would take time, and customers aren’t usually fans of waiting. This might help boost sales, at least at first.
All indications lead to a smartwatch repetition of well-known history. In the Android world, Google’s Pixel smartphones are still relatively young, and if you go back a decade, premium phones like the Samsung Galaxy Nexus were sporting the latest and best versions of the mobile OS.
Google currently offers the greatest Android features on its Pixel devices, which has enticed some buyers away from Samsung and other large manufacturers. However, it’s unlikely that Google will be able to dominate the smartwatch industry on its own, as seen by the Pixel smartphone brand.
Despite receiving high marks from critics, Google’s Pixel smartphones do not dominate the smartphone market. Statista reported the findings of a global poll in August, which revealed that just a small fraction of customers in important areas use Google’s own smartphones.
In Canada, the rates are 4.2 percent, 3.8 percent in the United States, and barely 2.4 percent in India. Some have hypothesized that Google’s (relatively) poor Pixel marketing is to blame for the split, though even that may be part of a larger scheme.
Only time will tell if the Pixel Watch offers Google the push it needs to build on the platform Samsung laid earlier this year. According to the insiders, Google is aiming for a Spring 2022 debut, but plans might alter, implying that input from testers will play a key part in choosing when the wearable will hit the market.
