From the outside, the Pixel Watch is a decently-known entity at this point. We know what the device itself, the bands and the watch faces will all look like, but we know very little about the actual performance and UI intricacies at this point. It’s really not that big of a deal with Google’s fall hardware event just around the corner on October 6th, but the latest Pixel Watch leak at least gives us a bit more info about what we should eventually expect with the overall Pixel Watch UI.
We’ve known for quite some time that Fitbit integration would be on board for the new wearable from Google, but the level of that integration has been a bit of guesswork so far. Will the Pixel Watch show up with a few Fitbit watchfaces/complications and call it a day? Will it be more like a premium Fitbit? Or will it end up being something in the middle?
If the markings on the retail box that just leaked over on Reddit are any indication, I’d wager the Fitbit integration will be more than just surface-level with the Pixel Watch. While I don’t expect this to feel like a Fitbit watch (think Versa or Sense), it seems Google is all-in on the idea that the Pixel Watch will also be a great Fitbit experience, with the Fitbit integration front and center on the retail packaging.
Google’s packaging has always been clean and uncluttered, and this box is no exception. What Google puts on the front of the boxes for their own hardware says a lot, and the fact that Fitbit is featured here tells me this won’t be a passing integration. Instead, it seems we might see the Pixel Watch lean fully into the existing Fitbit experience, and that is a very good thing.
While smartwatches are great companion devices for glanceable info, notifications, and simple tasks, fitness tracking is still at the center of what users are looking for in these types of devices. Instead of Google starting from scratch, they have the power of Fitbit’s years of experience to lean on in this category, and it is becoming clear that their purchase of the company was likely a move to give the Pixel Watch a decided leg up on the competition from this standpoint.
There’s still plenty we don’t quite know yet about the Pixel Watch and plenty that could leak before next week. Either way, we’ll have the info on all of it really soon at Google’s event. Chrome Unboxed will be there, so you know we’ll have some early thoughts and hands-on with the watch next Thursday, so stay tuned.
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