What we know about the Google Pixel Watch so far

There’s been a lot of talk around the Google Pixel Watch, but we haven’t seen too many photos. Someone found a Pixel Watch prototype lying around in a restaurant and sent the pictures of it to Android Central “on the condition of anonymity”. The photos sent in match the leaked renders of the Pixel Watch that have been spotted online including the circular watch face and a rotating crown - so this does seem like the real deal. 

As seen in the photos, the rotating crown is placed between two buttons on the right side of the watch. These buttons on the Pixel Watch prototype might work the way the buttons on the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 does - to turn the watch on and off or to return to the home screen, it could also be used as a shortcut to access recently used apps. 

There is also a small hole next to the crown which could either be an altimeter sensor to track floors climbed, or it could be a microphone. As Android Central pointed out, the four pins seen on the side of the watch might be for “testing purposes” and “may not appear on the final model”. 

On the underside of the watch there is a black frame with an oval-shaped health-tracking sensor. According to the person who sent Android Central the photos, the bottom of the watch feels smooth and it “looks metallic but feels like it’s coated with glass”, much like what we’ve seen on the Apple Watch. 

Android Central’s source was not able to start the watch up completely to see that the user interface might look like, and when they tried turning it on a white Google logo appeared with nothing more happening after that. 

The charger for this prototype hasn’t been seen yet, but according to Android Central, it is possible that the watch might be charged within its case, like with the Apple Watch, and the Fitbit watches like Versa 3 and Sense. 

Also, there aren’t any pictures of the straps either but it appears that the device should feature a “a propriety method for snapping in the straps, while the straps themselves resemble the ones that come with Fitbit’s smartwatch line”. 

Now, the person (who goes by u/tagtech414 on Reddit) who claims to have this Pixel Watch prototype with him did an AMA on Reddit and that gives us an insight into what really happened. 

u/tagtech414 mentioned in his post that his bartender friend found the watch at the restaurant where he works and initially held onto it for a “few weeks” hoping that the owners would turn up to claim it. But when no one came, the friend decided to give the watch to u/tagtech414 who calls himself a “tech nerd”. 

u/tagtech414 also said that the straps are not attached to the watch as his friend forgot to give them to him and “they were packaged separately and he forgot to bring them over, so he sent me pictures of them for the article”. 

The Reddit post also has some more information about the watch’s specs including the fact that the bezel is “quite large”, the watch face is “about 1.5 inches in diameter and half an inch thick”. 

u/tagtech414 said he hasn’t been contacted by Google yet to get this prototype back. The last time when an iPhone 4 prototype was left in a restaurant in 2010, Apple had put out a call to get it back. But as The Verge points out, it is also possible that this could be an “elaborate ruse” by Google to “get more publicity” for the Pixel Watch, much like the Pixle 3 XL that was found at the back of a Lyft. 

Either way, Google I/O is just around the corner so maybe we don’t really need to guess too much. 

Also Read: Google Pixel Watch leak suggests dated Wear OS 3.1 software, launch expected soon

Also Read: Google might launch Pixel 6a at Google I/O, Pixel 7 series, Pixel Watch in Oct