After numerous leaks and speculations, Google finally decided to show off its first smartwatch at the I/O 2022 event last week. While we only got confirmed details on the design and the launch timeline of the Pixel Watch, other details are well under the carpet. However, the latest information gives us a hint at the smartwatch’s chip, and it appears disappointing.
Pixel Watch to Include a Really Old Exynos Chip
A recent report by 9to5Google corroborates the previous leak and reveals that the Pixel Watch will be powered by an Exynos chip. But, it is slated to be the Exynos 9110 chip, which was seen on the Galaxy Watch back in 2018. It was also seen on the Galaxy Watch Active, Active 2, and even the Galaxy Watch 3.
This comes as a surprise for many as the Exynos chipset in question in leaks was supposedly the Exynos W920, which powers the newest Galaxy Watch 4. It would have made more sense, considering it is the latest chip based on a 5nm process tech and offers much faster CPU and GPU performance.
But, the report suggests that the decision to use an older chip could be accredited to the fact that Google began work on its smartwatch ambitions some time ago. Hence, the Exynos 9110 chip seems like the obvious choice. A switch to the latest Exynos chipset would have delayed the Pixel Watch’s availability, as per the report.
Since a four-year-old chip might be under the hood, we are not too sure of how the Pixel Watch will perform. That said, it remains to be seen how Google plans to optimize the hardware and the software, which if gone well, could prove beneficial for the smartwatch.
As for the other details, the Pixel Watch is also expected to feature a 300mAh battery and offer a battery life of 24 hours, which is on par with the Fossil Gen 6, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4, and more. It is expected to run WearOS 3.0 out-of-the-box and come with the Fitbit integration but we still don’t know if this will become true.
The Pixel Watch is confirmed to launch alongside the Pixel 7 series this fall. We should, therefore, wait until then to get a conclusive idea about the Google smartwatch. Meanwhile, let us know your thoughts on the Pixel Watch’s rumored chip details in the comments below.
