A Look at the Pixel Watch 5 might fall behind the Galaxy Watch 9
Samsung just announced the Galaxy Watch 9 as its new flagship smartwatch and a new leak suggests Google’s upcoming Pixel Watch 5 might lag behind its key rival.
Despite being partners in making Android devices, Samsung and Google must go toe-to-toe when it comes to retail. The pair of tech firms having the two biggest summer launch events makes it even more intense.
One important upgrade to the Galaxy Watch 9 is the move from Samsung’s own Exynos processor to the brand-new Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear Elite. It’s the first smartwatch to come with this new engine, but the Pixel Watch 5 – codenamed ‘godric’ – leaked specs don’t make for good reading.
They’ve been found on the Google Play Console, via 9to5Google, and suggest the device will stick with the Qualcomm SW5100, aka the Snapdragon W5.
TheTideChart / OnLeaks
It’s the same chipset Google has used since the 2023 Pixel Watch 2, but the most recent model, the Pixel Watch 4, did at least get upgraded to the Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 for features like Satellite SOS.
It seems that Google will at least stick with the same core chip as the Pixel Watch 5’s predecessor, but the listing doesn’t mention the co-processor, which could get upgraded. The listing does show an upgrade in RAM, from 2- to 3GB which is something, at least.
Still, with a 4nm manufacturing process compared to the Snapdragon Wear Elite’s 3nm, the Pixel Watch 5 could fall short of the Galaxy Watch 9 in terms of performance and maybe battery life too. It’s also about longevity, when the device is a few years old and trying to run a new version of Wear OS.
The confirmed Made by Google event in August will launch the Pixel 11 series of phones, but the Pixel Watch 5 is due as well, coming in two sizes again and a near-identical design to the Pixel Watch 4 (as seen in the leaked renders above) and a price rise.
We’ll have to wait until 12 August to see what Google officially announces.
