The debate over whether the Pixel Watch is one of the best smartwatches still rages. Google’s first Pixel-branded accessory certainly has what it takes to be an awesome smartwatch, but various seemingly random issues have held it back. Some features work, some don’t, and users have reported such different issues that it’s hard to narrow them down to a single issue. So maybe it’s a good thing that Google is offering a Pixel Watch 2.
Google launched the first Pixel Watch in October last year. Since this was the first wearable bearing the Google logo, we had no idea how the company was going to continue down this path. Would it release a new watch every year at the same time as its new Pixel smartphones? Or would she opt for a release every two years? We just didn’t know that at the time.
But as we move forward into the year 2023, we begin to see enough evidence to support the idea of a Pixel Watch 2 that would land in October alongside the Pixel 8 series. Today we have new evidence of the watch’s existence, as well as some clues as to what it might look like.
According to Google app APK analysis by 9to5Google, a codename for the Pixel Watch 2 is “eos”. It joins the previously leaked codename “aurora”. Both names refer to the goddess of dawn respectively in Greek and Roman mythology. In theory, one of these codenames refers to the Pixel Watch with Wi-Fi connectivity only, and the other to the model that supports LTE connections. Google did the same thing last year, with each Pixel Watch variant having slightly different codenames.
References to “eos” in the Google app also link to help guides on using the Pixel Watch 2. Interestingly, these guides include images that are carbon copies of those in the Original Pixel Watch. You can see an example of this in the animation clip below.
Will it look like the original?
There are two possible explanations for the music video you see above. The first is the most obvious and probably the most likely: Google is using it as temporary support for updated animations. That would explain why these images are taken from the original Pixel Watch.
However, another theory is that there is no need to update the animations because the Pixel Watch 2 will look exactly like the Pixel Watch. It’s not out of the question, especially considering Google just launched metal straps for the Pixel Watch today that cost $200 each. It wouldn’t make sense for Google to do this if the Pixel Watch 2 didn’t support these wristbands as well. So it’s very possible that the Pixel Watch 2 will be identical to the Pixel Watch, or at least close enough that today’s wristbands will still work.
We will know more as the fall approaches.
