The latest rumors surrounding Google's long-awaited Pixel Watch indicated that it was finally on track for release this year, but nothing more specific than that.
A new claim from leaker Jon Prosser asserts that the Pixel Watch will arrive on May 26, which he indicates is the first time a specific date has been set for the wearable (via Engadget).
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Prosser's reliability is reasonably solid. He was both the first to bring the Pixel Watch to light and subsequent reports have served to back up the information that he first surfaced back in 2021. However, as with any leak, this is to be taken with a grain of salt as he does not identify sources and, even assuming his information is presently accurate, plans can change.
With that out of the way, this certainly seems like a probable announcement date for the Pixel Watch as it aligns with potential dates for Google I/O 2022. While we've seen the event fall earlier in May for the last several years, it was held from May 28 to 29 in 2015.
Last year was big for Wear OS due to Google's announcement of a partnership with Samsung at Google I/O 2021. While we haven't seen that partnership pay dividends for other Wear OS manufacturers just yet, the Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic essentially quintupled the market share for Wear OS year-over-year, hitting 17.3% in Q3 2021 versus 3.2% in Q3 20220, according to Counterpoint Research.
The Pixel Watch design sounds compelling, sporting a nearly bezel-less circular body with a single digital crown similar to that of the Apple Watch, but it definitely needs more than that to compete. The rumors of a Tensor chip powering it are also encouraging, the Snapdragon options remain uninspiring from a performance and battery life standpoint. Google's ownership of Fitbit should help it in the fitness tracking realm, but we don't know exactly what that will look like yet, either.
We've desperately needed more competition in the smartwatch market for years, so here's hoping Wear OS can build on its momentum in 2022. Perhaps the Pixel Watch will be just the device to keep things rolling.
