Google apparently originally planned to be the first smartwatch next to the Pixel 3 in 2018, but things clearly didn’t go according to plan. One downside to this is that the Pixel Watch may come with a four-year-old chip.
Google officially previewed the Pixel Watch at the I/O conference, confirming the rumored round design, tactile crown, adjustable straps and Fitbit integration. The company is saving the juicy details for its fall launch.
Samsung and Google co-developed the Tensor chip that powers the Mountain View giant’s latest phones, and it was rumored that the Pixel Watch would be backed by a Samsung chip, leading many to believe it would be the Exynos W920 chip. could be what powers the Galaxy Watch 4. and 4 Classic, one of the best smartwatches of 2022.
9to5Google has learned that this is not the case and the Pixel Watch will instead be powered by the Exynos 9110 chip that Samsung released in 2018.
Based on the more advanced 5nm process, the Exynos W920 also features newer Arm Corex-A55 cores, making it faster and more power efficient than the 10nm Exynos 9110 with older Cortex-A53 cores. According to Samsung, the W920 offers 20 percent better CPU performance and 10 percent better graphics than the 9110.
The Exynos 9110 debuted on the 2018 Galaxy Watch and also powers the 2019 Watch Active and Active 2 and the 2020 Galaxy Watch 3.
While it’s certainly disappointing to hear that the Pixel Watch may have an old chip, knowing Google we can expect a lot of software improvements that can make up for an older chip to some extent. In addition, the watch will run Wear OS and Google has also promised a smooth experience.
Either way, this is a disappointment, especially considering that Google has said it will be priced as a premium product and the company was apparently counting on it to help the ecosystem of users.