The biggest story for Google hardware releases each year is the Pixel phone line-up, because that’s the showiest form of tech with new bells and whistles, too much AI, and upgrades in places we can see. That doesn’t mean we should ignore the Pixel Watch line, as Google has done some remarkable improvements in recent years that finally brought its wearable line into proper modern standards.
The Pixel Watch 5 is expected to launch on August 12, when Google shows off its entire new product suite, including the Pixel 11 series. While mostly a mystery to this point, we’re starting to find more and more information each day about the next Pixel Watch.
Let’s dive into everything we know about the Pixel Watch 5 so far.
Release Date and Pricing Expectations
Google has now confirmed that their next Made by Google hardware event is happening on August 12 at 3PM Pacific (6PM Eastern). This is an evening event, likely catering towards a celebrity-focused crowd like they did with the Pixel 10 and Pixel Watch 4 launch.
As far as timing goes, the Pixel Watch 4 was announced on August 20, 2025, so we are a week earlier for the Pixel Watch 5 in 2026. Do keep in mind that the Pixel Watch 4 might have been announced in August 2025, but Google didn’t release it until October 2025. Will they do the same for the Pixel Watch 5?
| Model | Announcement | Release Date |
| Pixel Watch 2 | October 2023 | October 2023 |
| Pixel Watch 3 | August 2024 | September 2024 |
| Pixel Watch 4 | August 2025 | October 2025 |
| Pixel Watch 5 | August 2026 | August 2026 (Expected) |
When it comes to pricing, Pixel Watch 5 prices have not been revealed to date. What we do know is that the industry is suffering through a memory shortage and that is expected to make all technology more expensive this year. Rumors put Samsung’s new Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 with increases of €30 to €50.
The Pixel Watch 4 series was priced at $349.99 (41mm, WiFi), $399.99 (45mm, WiFi), $449.99 (41mm, LTE), and $499.99 (45mm, LTE). Set those marks as minimum for Pixel Watch 5 prices, but don’t be surprised if they end up $20 to $50 higher.
A recent price leak suggests increases on the Pixel Watch 5 from $30 to $50 depending on model. Below is the full breakdown for WiFi and LTE models.
| Pixel Watch 5 (41mm) | Pixel Watch 5 (45mm) | |
| WiFi/Bluetooth | $399 | $429 |
| 4G LTE | $499 | $529 |
Design, Hardware, and Specs
The Pixel Watch 5 was officially involved in one of the craziest leaks in history. A person jumped on Twitter to claim that their friend was scuba diving off the coast of St. Martin and found what appears to be a Pixel Watch 5. They shared photo evidence of the watch with markings that say “Pixel Watch 5” and several other specs.
The watch in question looks identical to the Pixel Watch 4, and you can even see the new side-PIN charging setup. The rotating crown and single button next to it are here, as are markings for SpO2 tracking, UWB, heart rate sensing, 45mm size, sleep tracking, IP68 water resistance, and an EDA sensor. The health sensor itself matches that of the Pixel Watch 4 too.
This is likely an early prototype and one of the most bizarre stories in recent memory for an unreleased device.
| Pixel Watch 5 (41mm) | Pixel Watch 5 (45mm) | |
| Connectivity | WiFi, Bluetooth, LTE, UWB, NFC | WiFi, Bluetooth, LTE, UWB, NFC |
| Health Tracking | Heart rate, SpO2, Sleep, EDA | Heart rate, SpO2, Sleep, EDA |
| Durability | IP68 | IP68 |
The first renders of the Pixel Watch 5 are here as well and they show a watch in 4 colors that looks just like the Pixel Watch 4. Rumored colors refer to them as Pyrite, Warm Gold, Dark Anthracite, and Natural Silver. However, I’m expecting them to be Matte Black, Polished Silver, and Champagne Gold. The 4th color is still a mystery.
FCC Filing Confirms Connectivity
Adding to the Pixel Watch 5 story is a recent FCC filing for 4 different wearable devices that are made by Google. The four devices carry model numbers of G25QD, G1XJ6, G0F3Y, and GFW3R. This is the only official evidence we have of the existence of these watches.
The FCC confirms that all four models have WiFi, Bluetooth, and LTE connectivity. That’s only odd because we typically see two models that only have WiFi and Bluetooth, along with two additional versions that add LTE. We see that because Google has released both WiFi-only and LTE models in each 41mm and 45mm size in the past.
The Processor and Battery Questions
When it comes to any smartwatch, two areas we look for improvements in are the processor and battery.
For the Pixel Watch 4, Google upgraded the processor from Qualcomm’s Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 to the newer Snapdragon W5 Gen 2. They also added an upgraded co-processor that may have dramatically improved efficiency.
For the Pixel Watch 5, the chip that Google will use is a mystery. What we do know is that Qualcomm introduced the new Snapdragon Wear Elite chip for Samsung’s upcoming watches earlier this year. Is there any chance that Qualcomm made enough for Google too? I certainly have my doubts and wouldn’t be surprised if Google brought back the W5 Gen 2 for one more year before potentially releasing their own Tensor Chip for Pixel Watch.
In the battery department, Google made huge leaps in efficiency on the Pixel Watch 4, jumping use with the always-on display active up to 40 hours. Google hit those numbers too, showing that the co-processor they added might have been a bigger deal than anyone understood.
For the Pixel Watch 5, battery life could certainly improve. Google could find a way to pack bigger batteries into the watch bodies, once again improve the co-processor, or find a way to get ahold of Qualcomm’s new chip.
Wear OS 7: New Software Features and Google Health
The Pixel Watch 5 is guaranteed to launch with the latest iteration of Wear OS, which is Wear OS 7. This arrived on current Pixel Watch models in recent weeks and brought a number of changes, including an updated UI, widgets in place of Tiles, and Live Updates. When the Pixel Watch 5 arrives, there’s a good chance that Google finally launches Gemini Intelligence with it.
Of course, because this is launching alongside the Pixel 11 series, there could be deep integration with the new Pixel 11 series features, like the rumored “Pixel Glow” notifications. It could be fun to see your wrist mirroring the color-coded alert system coming from your Pixel 11’s camera bar.
Beyond that, we should see further improvements to Google Health, which only recently launched alongside the Fitbit Air. As you know, Fitbit as a software suite has transitioned over to Google Health. The Pixel Watch 5 will be the first Pixel Watch to launch with only Google Health.
And that’s everything about the Pixel Watch 5 for now. We’ll update this with more concrete information as we approach launch in August.
