The market for smartwatches has grown rapidly in the last couple of years.
Leading brands like Apple and Samsung have launched a variety of smart wearables over the years and many new companies have channelized their energies toward manufacturing smartwatches. Google was one of the very few big tech brands that, till recently, had refrained from getting into this space. However, that is all set to change with the arrival of the Pixel Watch.
While there were rumors about Google working on developing a smartwatch for a very long time, the company made an official announcement about the device at Google IO 2022. Though this is the very first time the company will be launching a Pixel-branded smartwatch, it has made several attempts in this direction in the past as well.
In 2016, Google announced its Pixel phone, and around the same time, the company had planned on launching a Pixel smartwatch. However, its plans were never fructified and Google fans had to deal with a rather long wait for the company to come up with its own smartwatch. Google recently included the Pixel 6 in its portfolio and introducing the Pixel Watch around this time seems to be a good move.
This year, the company couldn’t have found a better platform or event for the official announcement of the Pixel Watch than Google IO 2022. The smartwatch’s reveal received a very good response from the fans. The circular look of the watch, though familiar, is quite attractive. The side button and the crown have been positioned nicely.
The Pixel Watch will be powered by an updated version of Wear OS 3. It will have a new user interface, enhanced navigation features, and smart notifications. While many elements about the smartwatch remain unconfirmed, one expects the device to feature many of the prominent Google apps like Google Maps, Google Home, Google Assistant, and Google Wallet. One is not fully sure about the high-end features the Pixel Watch is expected to come with but Google has confirmed that it has been designed as a ‘premium-priced product’.
Say hello to Google Pixel Watch, the first watch made inside and out by Google. Built on Wear OS, it features the best of Google, plus Fitbit health and fitness experiences — all on your wrist. Coming this fall #GoogleIO pic.twitter.com/GQmfWKAgSY
— Google (@Google) May 11, 2022
Integration of Fitbit in Pixel Watch
One of the highlights of the Pixel Watch is Fitbit being integrated with it. This has come as a pleasant surprise to many fans. However, there are many who were expecting this to happen ever since Google took over the company paying $2.1 billion in the year 2019.
Rick Osterloh, who serves as the Senior Vice President of devices and services at Google, the integration of Fitbit with the Pixel Watch will be very special. Apart from customization features, he stated, fans should expect a lot more. Osterloh also made it clear that the data on Google and Fitbit will be treated as separate entities. This will be done in accordance with a promise made by Google to regulatory authorities when it acquired Fitbit.
Using the Pixel Watch is expected to be a clutter-free and simple process. To get it running, all you need to have is a smartphone featuring Android 8.0 or a higher version and a Google account. Now that the official announcement has been made, one expects the company to share further details about the product regularly.