A pre-production sample of what is thought to be Google's forthcoming Pixel Watch has been left in a restaurant, finding its way into the real world for everyone to see.
In a move that's reminiscent of when the iPhone 4 was left in a bar in 2010, the discovery of the Pixel Watch has set a lot of tongues wagging.
First and foremost, the hardware appears to be the same as previously-leaking images that were shared in 2021. It's a round watch with a sleek minimalist design, with a crown on the right-hand side.
It appears to have domed glass and is a bezel-free design. By that we mean that there's no bulky casing or traditional watch bezel - but there is still a slight boarder around the visible area of the screen. In that sense, it's very much like the Apple Watch, but round.
The other interesting detail is that it appears to use proprietary straps which clip to the side of the case, again like the Apple Watch. That suggests it's unlikely to be compatible with conventional straps - Google probably wants to sell you a range of straps in different colours and materials.
Flanking the crown appear to be two other buttons which may enable navigation or other controls and saving you from using touch for everything.
In one of the strap bays appears to be a set of pogo pins. It's a four pin array, similar to that used by Garmin. At the moment it's not clear what these do: Android Central suggests these may be part of the prototype that never appear on the retail model - but equally, this could be physical connection option for charging, perhaps as a backup.
It's assumed that the watch will use wireless charging, most likely via a magnetic charger that attaches to the rear of the watch. The original leaker of the device has started a Reddit thread which suggests there's a flicker of activity when a Qi charger is placed on the rear, but they have been unable to charge it.
Microphone and speaker slots can be seen on the body of the watch and we'd expect Google Assistant to play a big part in watch use - as per other WearOS devices.
Talking about the OS - as the watch battery is now flat, and there's no way to charge it, there's no details on the working part of the device. There's one image that shows a "G" Google logo, but it's reported that it had no OS, so it could well just be a hardware sample.
It's assumed that the operating system will be WearOS 3, similar to the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4.
The heart rate sensor can be clearly seen on the rear of the watch and the original leaker says that it's a premium build, clearly designed to compete with the Apple Watch. They also supplied an image via Reddit showing the devices side-by-side.
Over the past couple of weeks we've moved from a fairly uncertain position on the Pixel Watch to one where it feels like it's just about to launch. We're expecting it to get a reveal at Google I/O in May 2022 - and we suspect there will be a lot more leaks coming.
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