A leak indicates that the chip that powers Google’s Pixel Watch is actually a 4-year-old processor. A scary point.
This week, during the Google I/O, the search giant clarified its desire to create an ecosystem of products, with among other things the presentation of the Pixel Watch, a long-awaited watch. This one would nevertheless have a serious black point…
A poorly detailed watch
When making the Pixel Watch official, Google did not dwell on the technical details, preferring to keep the surprise until its release in the fall. The brand has instead focused on the design and some of its features. New Wear OS experience, Google applications (Assistant, Maps, Wallet, etc.) and all the knowledge of Fitbit (acquired by Google) are found in the same connected watch.
9to5Google nevertheless believes it knows which SoC drives the Pixel Watch: it would be an Exynos 9110 (engraved in 10 nm). Far from being a novelty, this chip dates from 2018 and already animated… the very first Galaxy Watch. Note, however, that Samsung continued to use it until 2020 in its Galaxy Watch 3 before replacing it with the Exynos W920 of its latest model, engraved in 5 nm and therefore much more efficient in terms of power consumption. energy.
This point is far from negligible on a connected watch to hope for autonomy that exceeds the day of use, especially since Wear OS is an operating system known to be particularly energy-intensive.
Towards software optimization?
Note, however, that the hardware is not everything and Google has confirmed this many times. The brand is used to using outdated photo sensors and is still among the best in this area thanks to its algorithms. The Pixel 6 and 6 Pro have small batteries, but the optimization of the software and the SoC allows them to enjoy very good autonomy. And the examples are even more numerous.
In these two examples, however, Google can rely on good customization of hardware and software integration, in particular thanks to its own SoC (Tensor) on the Pixel 6. Here, the use of an old chip could limit Google.
A late project
If the rumor were true, the presence of this chip in the Pixel Watch would be a blatant vestige of a chaotic project. This watch has been rumored for years and one would imagine it has been repeatedly delayed for further development. According to 9to5Google, however, the project would have started when the Exynos 9110 was still a relatively recent chip and changing it along the way would have postponed the release of the Pixel Watch again.
However, this still remains to be confirmed and we will know in a few months if Google has made the right choice or if it is better to wait for a more successful second generation.
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