From PC World: Android fans have been waiting an entire year to see more options for the new and improved Wear OS 3 watches, since the only one that came out last year was Samsung’s exclusive Galaxy Watch4. At Google I/O 2022, the company announced the much-anticipated (and much-leaked) Pixel Watch, technically Google’s first smartwatch developed entirely in-house. And thanks to the company’s acquisition of Fitbit last year, it’s also going to be the first major update of Fitbit hardware since the original Fitbit Versa.
Details on the Pixel Watch are still scarce, as it’s planned to launch in the fall next to a new generation of Pixel phones. But we know it uses a big, circular, all-glass face, proprietary wrist bands, and “deep integration” with Fitbit’s fitness tracking systems. That’s a huge draw for Fitbit users, many of whom have been tracking their workouts, sleep patterns, and other essential health info for years and years.
With the latest revisions of Fitbit hardware being iterative rather than transformative, the Pixel Watch will essentially become the new flagship Fitbit device. It also looks to be the most advanced (and almost certainly most expensive) way to access the Fitbit ecosystem.
Exactly how the Pixel Watch will improve on the current high-end Fitbit devices like the Versa 3 and Sense remains to be seen. Even as a Google subsidiary, Fitbit has been adding high-end tracking capability, like irregular heart rhythm notifications enabled just a few days ago.
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