Last week, we reported that Google is said to be working on its own branded pair of smartwatches, in a break from its traditional reliance on third-party manufacturers to come up with the hardware for its Android Wear OS.
Given the continuing interest in rival smartwatches of the round-faced variety, some readers may be interested in the latest renders showing what Google's upcoming pair of wearables could look like.
The image above published by Android Police, the site of the original leak, is described as an accurate "recreated image" of primary source material, used to preserve the anonymity of the source. The site also warns that the devices are still under development and therefore may ultimately differ from the design shown.
With those caveats in mind, the larger watch render on the left is based on the 43.5mm "Angelfish", which is said to feature a heart-rate monitor, GPS, and LTE cellular connectivity for standalone use. The watch has three buttons, where third-party Android Wear devices typically have one, suggesting possible Google Assistant integration with contextual alerts. According to the report, the Angelfish will not be compatible with Android Wear Mode watch bands.
The smaller 42mm device, codenamed "Swordfish", offers just the one crown button and is thought to lack the HRM, GPS and LTE smarts of the larger watch, but will be compatible with Android Wear Mode watch bands. The report states that Google avoided Motorola's flat-tyre design issue by adding a thick bezel between the display and ring, making the screen much smaller. Both displays show the customizable watch face of Android Wear 2.0 demoed at Google I/O this year.
Unlike the Google-branded phones which are said to be coming this year, it's not clear when the company plans to release the watches, although they could potentially appear alongside Google's next range of Nexus smartphones slated for 2016, or with the launch of Android Wear 2.0 this fall. There is no word on pricing as yet.
In related news, Fitbit is also said to be testing two new wearable devices, slated to launch this September.
According to tech site Wareable's source close to Fitbit's beta testing team, the company is using atom-themed codenames as internal monikers for the two upcoming devices – the same method used to test both the Alta and Blaze late last year.
"Laryon" and "Fermion" are currently being used in the wild under similarly veiled "black wrist covers" to preserve secrecy. The devices are thought to be successors to the Fitbit Flex and Fitbit Charge after trademark applications for the Mark II devices were recently discovered.
Top Rated Comments
Personally I can't wait for the first Android Wear manufacturer to release a square watch in order to compete with the Apple Watch (and trust me...it will happen soon). Wondering how the round-watch cult will change their narrative.
I think a lot of people would welcome a round cased option from Apple to go alongside the current rectangular design. As for the Google watches, I'd have to see them in real life or at least photos of the actual watches before passing comment.
FWIW, round watches are the norm, and the square watch that apple employs is the exception. I think I prefer round myself, but I'd like to see how this looks in real life first.
My opinion of course, I expect to be told I'm wrong.