The Pixel Watch Will Debut at the Made by Google Event in October

After Google’s Pixel Watch was teased at Google I/O 2022, the company will be showing it off in detail at the Made By Google in October. This is the first smartwatch from the search engine giant, after Google’s acquisition of FitBit in 2021. Here’s an explainer on the Pixel Watch and if it’s worth switching to. Following so many leaks and waves of copious speculation, Google finally announced the existence of the Pixel Watch. The company teased it during its Google I/O 2022 keynote, though you won’t be able to get your hands on it yet. The Pixel Watch will launch alongside the rest of the renewed Pixel lineup later this year at Made By Google. Google’s October showcase, named Made By Google, will take place on October 6 at 10am ET. For Aussies, that’s 12am on October 7 AEDT, 11.30pm on October 6 ACST and 10pm on October 6 AWST. It’s a live broadcast without a physical component.

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Android fans have been waiting with bated breath for this smartwatch. After Google introduced Wear OS 3 at last year’s developer conference, folks had hoped that it meant new Google-led watches were on the horizon. But thus far, only Samsung has delivered a worthy smartwatch running a (hybrid) version of Wear OS 3. You’ll still have to wait for the full Pixel Watch details to come later this year. Google has yet to tell all about what kind of unique features the watch will pack and how it will relate to other Android smartwatches, and we still don’t know the full breadth of its Fitbit-powered wellness offerings or what kind of battery life it will boast. Additionally, although Google has teased that it’s built custom silicon for the watch, there’s still more to uncover about its performance.

What does the Pixel Watch look like?

Despite Google’s reveal, we’re still not entirely sure what the physicality of the Pixel Watch will be like, though we have lots of renders. Google showed us that the Pixel Watch has a circular, domed design. It also has a protruding tactile crown, and the chassis is made from recycled stainless steel. It’s unclear how the watchbands will work and how thick or thin they will be. The watch itself appears to be svelte in Google’s renders, though that restaurant leak from a few weeks ago implies there will be some thickness to the actual watch body. Google also revealed that the watch would come in several colourways, though it’s not clear what the final offerings will be. We only know that they will match the Pixel 7’s backside look. The Pixel Watch will offer an improved Google Wear OS experience. According to Google, the interface should feel “fluid and easy to navigate”. It should also be “more glanceable than ever,” which likely refers to how the widgets and other screen complications will appear when you lift your wrist. There are some screenshots of what the Pixel Watch’s interface will look like, and there’s a distinct difference in aesthetics compared to the Galaxy Watch 4.

What can the Pixel Watch do?

Like other Wear OS watches, the Pixel Watch will offer contactless payment, turn-by directions through Google Maps, and access to the Google Assistant — something that Samsung is still working on. At the May 2022 Google I/O event, Google also showcased smart home controls that look like extensions of the Google Home app’s per-device toggles. If you’re an iPhone user, I’m sorry to disappoint you: the Pixel Watch is only compatible with Android and Pixel devices. Google hasn’t confirmed the processor inside the Pixel Watch, one of the main pain points of past Android smartwatches. If Google goes custom like the Tensor CPU on its Pixel phones, it could offer better battery life than the last generation of subpar Android smartwatches running on Qualcomm’s middling chips. It could also help facilitate on-device Assistant capabilities so that you can command the watch much faster than its predecessors. A rumour suggests that the Pixel Watch could run an old chipset, indicating that it could be underpowered compared to other smartwatches released this year.

Pixel Watch Fitbit integration

The other marquee feature of the Pixel Watch will be its deep integration with Fitbit. We’ve been waiting to see what this would be like after Google officially acquired Fitbit in 2021. Rick Osterloh, SVP of hardware, said the Fitbit experience would be “imbued throughout this device”. The Pixel Watch will be capable of much of what Fitbit’s smartwatches and fitness trackers already do, including continuous heart rate monitoring and sleep tracking. The Pixel Watch will also count Active Zone Minutes as you’re working out and track your progress against your personal fitness goals, which you’ll likely set through an app on your smartphone. However, we’re still figuring out whether this will happen through the Fitbit or Google Fit app. The question remains if this is all the smartwatch will do. We’re not sure which sensors will come with the watch or the specifics of other wellness-centric features.

Pixel Watch price and release date

We still have to wait for that to be fully revealed, along with the upcoming Pixel 7 and 7 Pro flagship devices. This article has been updated since it was first published.

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