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- Better display panel, same old bezels
The Google Pixel Watch (First Gen.) is an excellent smartwatch, but there are a few key areas where it needs to catch up to the competition. Those issues lie in limited sizes, and, more crucially, the battery life that can usually last for 24 hours maximum.
We recently heard that the upcoming Google Pixel Watch 2 could debut with a significant upgrade this year, and it could be powered by a Snapdragon chip, a larger battery, and offer improved tracking capability and new features. The Pixel Watch 2 might be a big upgrade this year, and we’re now hearing even more rumors and leaks, revealing even more crucial information to help us see the full picture.
A more powerful chip
Before we get started, let’s start with the basics. The Google Pixel 2 is rumored to be powered by the Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 chipset (via AndroidAuthority). The first Pixel Watch was equipped with the Samsung-made Exynos 9100, which, although worked fine, was far from the best. The new Snapdragon chips were announced back in July, 2022, and brought several key improvements over the previous platform, and it now offered better power efficiency, more performance, Bluetooth 5.3, and more.
The Snapdragon W5 is built on the 4nm process as most mobile SoCs and provides major efficiency improvements. Although the chip is slightly outdated, it’s one of the best chips manufacturers can get their hands on and use today.
Better display panel, same old bezels
The Pixel Watch was heavily criticized for its large bezels and small display, and while we’re not expecting a change in the size, Google will reportedly change the panel to improve the experience. This means that we could see the same 1.2-inch OLED panel with a resolution of 384 x 384; however, we could see improvements to the brightness, colors, and even responsiveness. A newer display could also improve the battery life as it could consume less power, so there’s a lot to be excited about.
Ultra-Wideband (UWB)
UWB could finally arrive to the Pixel Watch 2, offering an entirely new experience for Android users. UWB, for those unaware, allows users to pinpoint the location of other devices precisely, and it could be used to offer advanced tracking to improve the Find My Device network with compatible devices.
That’s not all, the same technology is used to store car keys that’s supported by brands such as Volkswagen, GM, Hyundai, and BMW. This feature could allow you to unlock your car and use it without a phone or keys.
Bigger battery
The first generation Pixel Watch was heavily criticized for its poor battery life, and the new Pixel Watch 2 should offer significantly better performance thanks to the new Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 chip, as well as improvements made to Wear OS 4. To help make the Pixel Watch 2 last more, AndroidAuthority says that Google will reportedly equip the smartwatch with a 306mAh cell, up from 294mAh from the first generation
New features
The Pixel Watch 2 will run Wear OS 4, based on Android 13. The new operating system will offer additional features, and support for dynamic theming. The watch will also support seamless updates, similar to the process we’ve seen on Android. When a new update becomes available, the OS will be able to update the platform while the old version is still running in the background. We can only hope that this will speed up the process and offer a more seamless process, only requiring a reboot after installation.
There’s a lot more that’ll likely come to light in the next few weeks and later in September as we get close to the anticipated October launch event. Make sure to stay tuned to Pocketnow as we’ll bring you the latest as they become available. In the meantime, you might want to check out our Pixel Watch review if you haven’t already.
Google Pixel Watch
$290 $350 Save $60
The Google Pixel Watch is the first smartwatch from the software giant, and it’s been in the works for multiple years. The watch is powered by Wear OS 3 and has Google Assistant, Fitbit health tracking features, and more.
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