Once again, the Google Pixel Watch fails to appear

Well, there was no "just one more thing" moment during today's Made by Google event. And that meant that there would be no Google Pixel Watch introduced this year. Earlier this year, when Google spent $40 million to purchase intellectual property from smartwatch manufacturer Fossil, there was fresh hope that we would see the long-awaited Google designed smartwatch. But the patents changing hands were reportedly related to hybrid timepieces; these have the look of a traditional watch but also have many of the capabilities of a smartwatch. Word that Google was more interested in the 20 engineers it picked up from Fossil in the transaction gives us hope that the 2020 Made by Google event will include a Pixel Watch.

Last year's failure to reveal a Pixel Watch was said to be due to Google's lack of confidence in Wear OS. And for all we know, this could still be the reason why the device was a no show again this year. Yet, last week's report from the Nikkei Asian Review cited a source who said that Google would be introducing its first smartwatch at today's event. In addition, the same source said that Google would reveal a 5G version of the Pixel 4 which also didn't make an appearance today.

If the software is indeed the problem, Google really must not be satisfied with Wear OS. A smartwatch would tie in with its plan to put Assistant everywhere. In fact, the company announced today that it has added the virtual assistant to the latest version of its Wi-Fi router. While fans of Google's ecosystem certainly have a number of Wear OS smartwatches to choose from, many are looking for that special feature that only Google-as the manufacturer of the watch and the developer of the software-can provide. While being first in line to receive Android updates might attract these fans to the Pixel handsets, this is not going to work for a Pixel-branded smartwatch. Perhaps Google's failure to come up with this special feature is what holds it back from releasing a Pixel Watch.

So now all we can do is look ahead to next year. The good news is that Google appears to relish leaking its own devices. If a Pixel Watch is indeed being prepped for 2020's Made by Google event, the first word of it will probably come from Google itself telling us that "it's time."