Nine ‘Pixel Watch’ photos leak — and one wacky story

Our first take a look at what appears to be the Google Pixel Watch comes below unusual circumstances: somebody supposedly discovered its prototype mendacity round at a restaurant and despatched photos of it to Android Central on the situation of anonymity. The photographs of the purported machine match up with what we’ve seen from beforehand leaked renders, right down to the round watch face and rotating crown.

Picture: Android Central

As proven within the pictures, a bodily crown sits between two buttons on the aspect of the watch. If it’s something just like the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4, the 2 buttons could possibly be used to show the watch on or off, return to the house display, and even as a shortcut to tug up lately used apps. In the meantime, the small gap subsequent to the crown could possibly be a microphone or maybe an altimeter sensor used to trace stair climbing. As Android Central notes, the 4 pins on the aspect of the watch could also be used for testing functions, and should not seem on the ultimate mannequin.

The underside of the watch contains a black body with what seems like an oval-shaped health-tracking sensor within the heart. Android Central’s supply additionally says the underside of the watch has a clean really feel, noting it “seems metallic however feels prefer it’s coated with glass,” akin to the glass backing on the Apple Watch.

Picture: Android Central

Sadly, Android Central’s supply wasn’t in a position to absolutely boot up the watch to see how the consumer interface would possibly look. After they tried turning it on, a white Google brand appeared and nothing occurred after that.

A charger wasn’t left with the watch both, however as Android Central notes, the watch could also be charged inside its case, identical to the Apple Watch and Google-owned Fitbit Versa 3 and Sense smartwatches. Whereas there aren’t any photos of the strap really hooked up to the watch, it seems prefer it comes with a propriety technique for snapping within the straps, whereas the straps themselves resemble those that include Fitbit’s smartwatch line. You may view everything of the leaked photos on Android Central’s website.

Picture: Android Central

What’s nearly extra fascinating than the watch itself is the story behind it. Because of an Ask Me Something (AMA) put up on Reddit by u/tagtech414, the one that claims to be in possession of the watch, we are able to begin piecing issues collectively. (And sure, the individual posting appears legit — he exhibits a picture of the watch on his laptop computer display together with his Reddit put up within the background.)

u/tagtech414 says his bartending good friend discovered the watch on the restaurant the place he works, and held onto it for “just a few weeks,” ready for the homeowners to come back in search of it. Since nobody ever got here, the bartending good friend determined to present the watch to u/tagtech414 as a result of he’s a self-labeled “tech nerd.”

As for why the strap isn’t hooked up to the watch itself, he claims his good friend forgot to present it to him, citing “they had been packaged individually and he forgot to convey them over, so he despatched me photos of them for the article.” u/tagtech414 additionally answered some further questions concerning the watch’s specs, noting that the bezel is definitely fairly giant, and that the watch face is about 1.5 inches in diameter and half an inch thick. It seems like u/tagtech414 continues to be updating the put up, so there could also be much more data quickly.

Even nonetheless, the state of affairs is just like the best way the iPhone 4 was leaked method again in 2010 — somebody discovered an iPhone prototype in a restaurant, which was then bought and torn down by Gizmodo (the pictures of which all mysteriously disappeared from Gizmodo’s web site, by the best way). It seems a software program engineer left the prototype there, so it’s clear that such a state of affairs has and might happen.

However what’s bizarre about this case of misplaced and located is that it would not appear to be Google is even in search of the machine (not like Apple which put out a name to get its iPhone prototype again on the time). u/tagtech414 additionally says he hasn’t been contacted by Google but. After all, there’s all the time the likelihood that this might all be some elaborate ruse by Google to get extra publicity for its upcoming watch, as that is all very paying homage to the time a Pixel 3 XL was discovered behind a Lyft (did you suppose we’d overlook already, Google?).

There are such a lot of questions left unanswered right here, and whereas the circumstances surrounding the invention of the watch could by no means be cleared up solely, no less than the options of the particular watch will. To this point, we all know that Google will name the machine the Pixel Watch (large shock there), and we’ll possible discover out much more particulars at subsequent month’s Google I/O.

Replace April twenty fourth 7:22PM ET: Up to date so as to add that the individual claiming to be in possession of the Pixel Watch prototype began an AMA put up on Reddit, and added some further data offered by the Reddit put up.