Google’s Pixel Watch 2 With Snapdragon W5 Gen 1, Bigger Battery, WearOS 4 Could Launch in India

Last year, Google made its entry into the smartwatch market with the Pixel Watch. Although it showed promise, the use of an outdated chip impacted battery life and hindered its overall success. However, there is good news on the horizon for Pixel fans as Google is gearing up to launch the second-generation Pixel Watch, which promises to address these issues and deliver an improved experience.

The Power Behind Pixel Watch 2

According to a recent report from Android Authority, the Pixel Watch 2 will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 chipset. Built on a 4nm process and featuring four cores clocked at 1.7GHz, this chipset offers better efficiency when compared to its predecessor, the 2018 Exynos 9100, which had only two cores. This upgrade is sure to enhance the watch's overall performance.

Google made the decision not to utilize the W5 Plus variant for the W5 platform and instead opted for the standard version. The main differentiating factor is the absence of Qualcomm's QCC5100 coprocessor in the non-plus variant.

Embracing the Ultra-Wideband (UWB) Technology

One of the most intriguing features of the Pixel Watch 2 is the inclusion of an ultra-wideband (UWB) chip. This advanced technology opens up various exciting use cases, including device tracking, which aligns perfectly with Google's ongoing efforts to enhance its Find My Device functionality.

There are also rumors that the watch could potentially function as a digital car key, leading to exciting possibilities for collaboration with different companies.

Codenames and Variants

The development of Pixel Watch 2 is taking place under two codenames: "Eos" for the LTE variant and "Aurora" for the Wi-Fi-only model. This approach is consistent with Google's previous practices; for example, last year's Pixel Watch had codenames "r11" for the cellular-enabled version and "r11btwifi" for the Wi-Fi-only variant.

Enhanced Display and Operating System

While the screen size is expected to remain the same at 1.2 inches, the display panel for the Pixel Watch 2 is rumored to be sourced from Samsung this time. Furthermore, the smartwatch will likely run on WearOS 4, which is also the operating system for the new Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 series based on Android 13. Users can look forward to new customizable watch faces and exciting features such as support for dynamic theming and seamless updates.

Global Availability

Last year's Pixel Watch was not launched in India. However, the regulatory e-labels for the Pixel Watch 2's models (G4TSL, GC3G8, GD2WG) now include an entry for the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). This suggests that Google might expand the availability of its smartwatch to India, although official confirmation is yet to be made.

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