A new rumor backs up that Google’s Android watch will get a new Snapdragon W5 chip, as well as a key Apple Watch feature.
Share this story
The Google Pixel Watch 2 could get much better battery life thanks to a new, more efficient processor and may even gain ultra-wideband (UWB) support, according to the typically-reliable Kamila Wojciechowska, writing for Android Authority.
The new leak says the rumored Pixel Watch successor will use the more efficient 4nm Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 Plus chip, backing up previous reports.
The new chip could significantly improve its performance and potentially bring multi-day battery life to the platform. The first Pixel Watch used a much slower 10nm Exynos 9110, which got up to, at most, 15 hours of battery life in The Verge’s Victoria Song’s review last year.
Apple uses UWB to enable precision-finding of its AirTags and newest AirPods Pro, as does Samsung for its Galaxy tags and Buds2 Pro, while Google’s Pixel lineup has already included UWB chips in the Pro editions of the Pixel 6 and 7 smartphones, as well as the Pixel Fold and Pixel Tablet.
If the Pixel Watch 2 gains UWB support, then Google’s watch wouldn’t just be more easily located in the company’s Find My Device network but could be the first Android smartwatch to get the wireless technology. That could enable other convenience features like unlocking your car with your watch, though given how little Apple has done with the U1 chip in the Apple Watch, it’s important to keep expectations low for now.
The watch’s battery capacity will also be increased from 294mAh in the first Pixel Watch to 306mAh, according to Wojciechowska, which should also modestly improve battery life on its own. Wojciechowska also writes that the watch will support “seamless updates,” presumably referring to the Android update process that purports to speed up the process of updating a device by partitioning the update and only applying it after a restart.
Wojciechowska has recently published several Pixel leaks, including her video of the then-unannounced Pixel Fold itself.
