We’ve been hearing rumors about Google’s Pixel Watch for years now, but it does finally seem like pieces for the project are finally falling into place. A purported render of the device shared by Evan Blass over at 91Mobiles lines up with past leaks and rumors, showing a device with a familiar circular design, physical crown, and Fitbit integration.
Of course, there’s also a lot missing from the render. The image doesn’t include the watch’s lugs (which would show how the strap will connect to the face) or give any idea of its overall build. If the image looks a bit funny, though, it’s perhaps because of the watch’s rumored bezel-less design (also seen in mock-up renders shared last year by Jon Prosser).
Interestingly, though, we have seen a smartwatch design that looks like this from Google before: the LG Watch Style, which LG designed in conjunction with the tech giant and released in 2017 to show off Android Wear 2.0. It has the same simplicity of lines and crown placement — though, of course, we’d hope for a much slimmer look five years on.
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As my colleague Victoria Song argued in a recent piece, 2022 does look like the year that Google will make another big push into wearables. The company has been investing in the smartwatch space for years, buying Fitbit and parts of Fossil in 2019 and trickling out Android Wear updates, but it’s been slow-moving and decisively outmaneuvered by Apple.
We’re hoping that Google will reveal the Pixel Watch at next month’s I/O developers’ conference, but, as Song notes, there’s still lots of questions to answer: “Will the Pixel Watch primarily focus on fitness and wellness or will it also incorporate more smart features like LTE connectivity? Is this going to work equally well with all Android phones or will it prioritize Google’s own Pixel ecosystem? What about iOS?” Stay tuned to The Verge to find out more.
