Google’s first-genPixel Watchdefinitely has room for improvement, but it still ranks highly in our list of thebest Android smartwatches. Since the wearable’s launch, Google has been working to enhance the experience by adding new features through software updates. Most recently, the June 2023 Feature Drop finallyenabled SpO2 measurementsfor blood oxygen analysis. Rumors have suggested thePixel Watch 2could deliver some decent hardware upgrades, but what about its design? If you were hoping for some major changes there, the latest Pixel Watch 2 evidence to surface may prove to be just a bit of a disappointment.
Looking at thenewly released 14.24 beta of the Google appfor Android,9to5Googlefound several references that seem to be for the Pixel Watch 2. Some new code names appear, suggesting the Pixel Watch 2 is being developed internally as “Eos” and “Aurora” — which may represent the Wi-Fi and cellular-connected versions of the hardware.
Those names are also tied to some animations and graphical resources in the app, related to setting upGoogle Assistantand Voice Match. What’s interesting here is that these seem assets to be the same as those used with the original Pixel Watch, suggesting that Google’s second smartwatch might not differ from the first model in the design department in a big way.
At least, that’s one interpretation, and 9to5Google concedes that this media could easily just be placeholders. Alternatively, this may suggest that Google largely intends to stick with the same design, and changes, if any, could be minor. That actually might not be bad, especially since the Pixel Watch is among the most premium-looking Android watches.
Compared to Samsung’s Galaxy Watch lineup and the TicWatch series, the Pixel Watch is a lot more compact, making it look slightly out of place on larger wrists. That at least leaves Google room if it were interested in increasing the body size, and maybe even finding room to fit a bigger battery. Coupled with therumored presence of a Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1 chip, and the efficiency benefits that would spell, we might even see endurance stretch out into a couple days between charges. For now, though, this is mostly wishful thinking.
