Launching alongside the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro, Google will be holding its Made by Google event on Thursday. The Google Pixel Watch, the company’s first wristwatch “made by Google, inside and out,” is among the most anticipated new products.
To what extent, then, do you anticipate this timepiece to justify its anticipated wait time? What kind of competition will it have with the Apple Watch? Everything you need to know is included here.
Google has previously released a video showing off the Google Pixel Watch’s design, which consists of a modern, round, dome-shaped display and a straightforward scrolling crown.
The watch will run on Google’s Wear OS and have interaction with the fitness tracking app Fitbit. And while the watch’s full specifications, including pricing, won’t be known until Thursday, it’s already evident that its debut represents a watershed moment for Google’s product line.
“Google’s Pixel Watch is the first significant wristwatch it has built from the ground up. This is a watershed moment, “According to Strategy Analytics’ executive director Neil Mawston, “.”
Smartphones, speakers, screens, streaming devices, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, security cameras, and doorbells are just some of the gadgets currently part of Google’s vast ecosystem. While several other smartwatches have used the Android operating system, this is the first to be developed exclusively by Google.
The Pixel devices have been used to highlight Android’s top capabilities by Google. If Google continues to utilize the Pixel Watch as a showcase for Wear OS, the device has the potential to become a compelling alternative to the Apple Watch, but it will have a long way to go in terms of functionality and market share. It may also serve as a model for other tech firms adopting Wear OS to enter and dominate the smartwatch industry.
According to IDC research manager Jitesh Ubrani, speaking to ZDNET, “the Pixel Watch helps complete Google’s ecosystem of goods and services and ultimately allows them to go toe to toe with Apple, Samsung, and other competitors.”
So, explain to me why this is the first time Google has ever lost a wristwatch. When you ask that question, the answer is timing.
As a result of its recent purchases, its dominant position in the smartphone industry, and the advancements made to Wear OS, Google is in a better position than ever to release a smartwatch.
Wear OS, which debuted in 2014, has steadily gained traction and is now used by big manufacturers like Michael Kors, Citizen, and even Samsung in its smartwatches.
The $40 million purchase of Fossil’s technology by Google in 2019 and the $2.1 billion purchase of Fitbit by Google in 2021 have both contributed to the development and success of Wear OS.
Both acquisitions have helped Google strengthen and expand Wear OS, and the company is using those enhancements in its first smartwatch.
Mawston argues that while Google was “slower than Apple to discover the smartwatch possibility,” the company’s efforts were “turbocharged” by the 2021 acquisition of Fitbit, and the company’s market momentum is now starting to take up well.
“During the last year, we expect Wear OS to have more than doubled its share of the US smartwatch market, from 8% in Q2 2021 to 21% in Q2 2022. It’s worth noting that Wear OS has widespread backing from major hardware manufacturers, including Samsung.”
Wear OS isn’t the only Google project that’s seen growth over the past year. According to a survey by Canalys, Google’s share of the smartphone market was just 3% in the first quarter of 2022. Nonetheless, this is a significant increase from the year prior, when Google’s share was just 1%.
There’s a good chance that Google’s success in the smartphone industry prompted the company to go on to the next logical step and introduce a product for the rapidly expanding wristwatch sector.
Ubrani believes that Google couldn’t launch new accessories like the watch until the Pixel phone line gained traction.
With Apple having released its first watch in 2015, Google is entering the market late. According to research from Canalys, Apple controls 28.9% of the global smartwatch market.
New additions to the Apple Watch family include the Series 8 model, the Apple Watch SE, and the Apple Watch Ultra. The Google Pixel Watch will face competition from Apple’s established smartwatch offering. This is just the beginning of the difficulties you will face.
As Mawston points out, “Pixel Watch’s Achilles heel is definitely going to be distribution,” as the company’s current retail presence in the US and elsewhere is far lower than that of the established Apple Watch.
The health capabilities the watch will contain thanks to its connection with Fitbit are one example of how the Google Pixel Watch will separate out from the crowd.
According to Ubrani, “Google Assistant and Fitbit’s health features are likely to be front and center for the Pixel Watch,” and “placing it on someone’s wrist may produce quite a strong experience that is unique to Pixel.”