Anyone hoping for a major design overhaul with the Pixel Watch 2 looks set to be in for a disappointment.
9to5Google has been performing its typical deep dive into Google code, and has uncovered some interesting morsels on the forthcoming Pixel Watch 2 into the bargain.
The beta version of the Google Search app has just been updated with fresh assets alluding to the company’s second-generation smartwatch, which is widely expected to launch alongside the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro in the autumn.
Version 14.24 of the Google Search app features mentions of a smartwatch product code-named ‘Eos’, while the website has also encountered mentions of a product known as ‘Aurora’. Those are goddesses of dawn in Greek and Roman mythology respectively, so are likely to be referring to the same device. The difference could merely represent the cellular and non-cellular models.
Perhaps tellingly, in terms of design pointers, Google hasn’t updated the cartoony animations for its smartwatch-based Google Assistant and Voice Match at all. They’re exactly the same as they were on the original Pixel Watch.
It’s possible that Google simply hasn’t uploaded the new assets for the Pixel Watch 2 yet, of course. Another possibility is that the Pixel Watch 2 will be all but identical in appearance to the original Pixel Watch.
Of course, a basic understanding of the consumer tech industry would tell you that a dramatic design revamp for the second generation of any product is unlikely. An awful lot of R&D resources go into an all new design, which is why we tend to get successive generations of smartwatches, phones, tablets and laptops – any piece of tech with an annual update cycle, basically – looking broadly similar.
That’s doubly the case with smartwatches, in fact, with manufacturers tending to want you to buy shiny new straps that can be carried across to future generations.
Basically, we’re not holding our breath for a radically different-looking Pixel Watch 2. It’d be nice if Google at least filled out that display and reduced those chunky bezels, though.
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