Google Pixel Watch gets Bluetooth certification for three models; FCC visit is next

The Google Pixel Watch is definitely coming. We've seen Google file for a trademark on the Pixel Watch name and a prototype version was discovered at a restaurant on the West Coast. The hits keep coming as today three versions of the timepiece were certified by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG).

Bluetooth helps a smartwatch stay connected to the user's phone and depending on the model, the user can answer a phone call from his wrist and view messages and notifications that pop up on his phone. According to the documentation, the software version was RWD5.211104.001 at the time of certification which is a few versions behind the most recent version of Wear OS 3 available to developers that starts at RWD7.

There are three different model numbers for the Pixel Watch: GWT9R, GBZ4S, and GQF4C. The difference in model numbers could be based on the cellular bands being used with each model, which relates to the region that each model is available in.

Google is looking to build a Pixel ecosystem to rival the ones being pushed by Apple and Samsung. The former has the iPhone, the Apple Watch, the AirPods, and the iPad. Samsung offers the Galaxy phones, the Galaxy Watch line, the Galaxy Buds, and the Galaxy Tab tablets.

Thus far, Google has released the Pixel phones and the Pixel Buds. We should soon see the Pixel Watch, and an Android-powered Pixel tablet was the subject of renders that were created from a sketch that was part of a patent application filed in Japan by Google in 2019. In 2018, Google released the Pixel Slate, a line of 12.3-inch tablets that were powered by Chrome OS.

We could see the Pixel Watch unveiled along with the mid-range Pixel 6a handset during the Google I/O developer conference. The event will kick off on Wednesday, May 11th, and run through Thursday, May 12th. It will be streamed to viewers worldwide and only select Googlers and their partners will be allowed to attend live.

We expect Google to release a special Google I/O 2022 app that will be available from the Play Store to those interested in viewing the Keynote in real-time along with other events that will take place.

Now that the watch has been certified for Bluetooth, next up is a visit to the FCC which could give us some information about the timepiece that has yet to be leaked.