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Abhimanyu Ghoshal
Managing EditorAbhimanyu is TNW's Managing Editor, and is all about personal devices, Asia's tech ecosystem, as well as the intersection of technology and Abhimanyu is TNW's Managing Editor, and is all about personal devices, Asia's tech ecosystem, as well as the intersection of technology and culture. Hit him up on Twitter, or write in: [email protected].
We didn’t see a whole lot of Wear OS at Google I/O this year, but the word on the street is that the company will reveal some fresh hardware later this year.
According to tipster Evan Blass, Google will show off a Pixel-branded smartwatch alongside the next Pixel phones and Pixel Buds at its annual hardware unveiling in October.
Besides the Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL, and second-gen Pixel Buds, a reliable source tells me — with high confidence — that Google's fall hardware event will also introduce a Pixel-branded watch. Have a great summer!
— Evan Blass (@evleaks) May 10, 2018
That’s not all: German tech blog Winfuture.de reports that Google actually has three wearables, codenamed ‘Ling’, ‘Triton,’ and ‘Sardine,’ in the pipeline. They’re said to benefit from a new Qualcomm processor that conserves battery life while also listening for voice commands without having to be woken from standby mode.
I’m interested to see how Google approaches this, for a couple of reasons. If these devices are real, we’ll get to see the company create a flagship smartwatch on its terms instead of leaving it to third-party brands (the first Android Wear watches came from Samsung and LG).
Folks who are looking for a non-Apple smartwatch are spoiled for choice with several brands to choose from, but I don’t believe there’s really been a quintessential Wear OS-based device that brings the best of the platform along with a universal design. Perhaps a Pixel watch could serve as that showcase.
Next, I quite like the clean, timeless, and sophisticated design language we’ve seen in Google’s Pixel devices. I’d love to see that sort of thinking incorporated into a smartwatch’s look and feel.
These likely won’t be the only rumors about Google’s upcoming wearables; expect a bunch more leaks over the next five months.
