Google’s Pixel Watch might end up using a four-year-old chip
It’s hard to believe thePixel Watchis finally a reality. The earliest rumors for Google’s smartwatchfirst appeared online four years ago, promising a three-model lineup that never quite came to fruition. Despite this week’s announcement atGoogle I/O, we’re still months away from its official launch, and there’s plenty we don’t know about the wearable just yet — including its underlying hardware. A new report suggests its currently-unannounced processor might be about as old as those initial rumors.
A source told9to5Googlethat the Pixel Watch is powered by a Samsung Exynos 9110, a chip that debuted with the originalTizen-powered Galaxy Watch in 2018. It keeps with rumors from last year that Google’s first smartwatch would use Samsung’s processors, but at the time, most expected a version of the 5nm Exynos W920 used in the Galaxy Watch4 — not a years-old chip from a discontinued model.
Instead, the Exynos 9110 is a 10nm chip featuring two Cortex-A53 cores, with processing power similar to the 12nm Snapdragon Wear 4100+ found in gadgets like Fossil’s Gen 6 smartwatch. The Exynos W920 is a faster, more power-efficient processor, and Samsung will likely feature a newer version of it in the upcomingGalaxy Watch5series later this year.
That leaves the Pixel Watch in a tough spot, especially as Google seemingly positions it as a premium gadget next to thePixel 7 and 7 Pro. This watch isn’t meant to pair with mid-range A-series phones — it’s designed to show Google’s vision of what a smartwatch should be to the world, complete with proprietary bands and Fitbit support built right in.
But its launch is months away, by which time the Exynos 9110 will be more than four years old. It’s not the worst chipset Google could use — Samsung was still using it in hardware as recent as 2020’s Galaxy Watch3, after all. It’s possible that Wear OS enhancements could deliver extra performance and longer battery life for users, but the platform is already known for feeling sluggish on similar hardware.
ThePixel Watchshouldbe the Apple Watch of Android. If a four-year-old chip is powering it, Google is starting off on the wrong foot with consumers — especially if it ends up costing a few hundred dollars to try out first-gen hardware. We’ve reached out to Google for comment and will update with any response.
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