With so many Pixel 6 leaks, the Pixel Watch silence is deafening

It’s no secret around here: we’re hyped for the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. Between Google dripping out official details since August and the regular flow of leaks the past couple weeks, there’s simply a ton of Pixel 6 news and hype going around right now. It seems this time around Google has put all the pieces together to make a legitimate play in the high-end, flagship smartphone game and as a Pixel fan myself, I’m beyond ready for it.

However, it is worth noting that with the very first leak of the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, there was also a substantial amount of visual info about another long-awaited #madebyGoogle piece of hardware: the Pixel Watch. Rumored for years on end at this point, the Pixel Watch is maybe one of the most desired Google-made hardware items still not yet officially confirmed. Sure, we’re excited by the idea of a Pixel Fold and Pixelbook with Tensor inside, but on the whole, the Google Hardware fandom is most hyped by the idea of a proper Google-made watch.

And it looked like a done deal when those first renders arrived. The colors lined up with the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, there were hands-on and eyes-on reports that lead to those renders, and the whole package – hardware and potential software – all looked so Google-y. As a matter of fact, I’ve spoken to many who were ready to drop whatever money necessary to get one when it launched. I personally held off on buying the Fitbit Sense as I anticipated a Pixel Watch in October.

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The silence is deafening

Yet, here we are, one week away from Google’s event and there’s not been a peep about the Pixel Watch since those initial renders. Since then, we’ve had a few more sets of pre-announcement looks at the Pixel 6 phones from other sources, we had the official Google unveiling, and we’ve had a torrent of hands-on, marketing materials, sneak peeks, and training guides leak out about the two phones; but nothing more about the watch.

In September I thought it might just be that there was nothing more to tell. As we rounded into October and I kept waiting for some nugget of leaked info on the watch with no signs of it on the horizon, I began wondering if we’ll see it at all for Google’s event next week.

Let’s all remember the propensity Google has toward leaking info. Don’t get me wrong, stuff leaks from every direction for every manufacturer these days, but Google has quite the track record for this. As we’re only a week out from the October 19th event, I have a very hard time believing Google found a way to keep the wraps on a device that so many people are desperately waiting for. If the Pixel Watch was ready for mass consumption, there’s no way you can convince me that Google would be able to keep it to themselves.

To me, this is no different than thinking there is a Pixelbook coming at this October 19th live stream. There’s zero evidence, no leaks, and no firm reason to believe Google is ready to drop a new Pixelbook in our laps. With it and the Pixel Watch, I’m more than happy to eat crow if I’m wrong, but I really don’t think I am. There’s a chance things were delayed or something in the supply chain is stopping the production of the watch. Or Google may have decided against it and the renders were simply made from a prototype.

Or, perhaps, Google has figured out what they couldn’t with the Pixel 6: how to keep things hush-hush. I just can’t get myself to believe it and I simply don’t think this is the case at all. We could see a preview of the Pixel Watch and maybe even the Pixel Fold at the event, but I’m not sold on that any longer, either. While I’d love to see those devices along with a tease of a new Pixelbook with Tensor, I just think this is less and less a possibility for the 19th.

Google has what looks to be a real chance to make a splash in the flagship smartphone market for the first time, and I genuinely think it will be their most popular phone by a mile. For once, it feels like they’ve put everything in place to deliver a no-compromise experience, and maybe October 19th should just be about that. Lean into the phones, hype them up, blow our minds, and let the other hardware show up when it becomes the right time to do so. That’s my take and honestly, I’d love to be dead wrong on this. I just don’t think I am. I guess we’ll see what happens in just about a week now, right?