Now that Google I/O has wrapped up for 2018, Android and Google fans are starting to turn their attention to the next hardware event for the Mountain View company. Rumors are already starting to fly about the upcoming Google Pixel 3 phone series but a new rumor yesterday suggests that we could finally see a Pixel Watch in the mix too.
Wear OS by Google has, much like Android, needed a hero device to show the ultimate experience of what the platform can bring. It is something I wrote about shortly after the name change from Android Wear and it looks like that could be happening.
The first, and arguably the most reliable source of the Pixel Watch news is Evan Blass from Venture Beat. Yesterday he posted this Tweet:
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
Mr Blass has a deadly accurate record on leaks and rumors coming to bare so it is well worth paying attention to this Tweet (and follow him if you are on Twitter). Adding to this rumor, Android Authority is reporting that their could be up to three Pixel Watch devices launched later this year, with the current codenames of Ling, Triton, and Sardine. While the differentiation between three watches is not clear, nor if all three will actually make it to production, they all three are reportedly to be powered by the new Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 3100 platform. That new SoC for wearables is the first such processor from Qualcomm in two years and is also a much needed update.
It is important to keep in mind that at this stage all of this lives in Rumorville. None of these watches could actually make it to market but the evidence suggests that Google, like they have done with Android phones and Chromebooks, is about to make a flagship watch. That could go a long way in getting Wear OS by Google some much needed support and maybe even save the platform.
