The Skagen Falster range would be a perfect vehicle for Google's Pixel Watch.
Google’s fabled Pixel Watch, that was almost released in 2016, could be the perfect antidote to Apple’s smartwatch dominance if it continues to improve Assistant and makes it core to the experience.
Years of hoarding humanity's search queries has given Google a Hank Scorpio level of power in the AI world, which it is now deploying to its devices. Assistant has moved away from being a gimmicky party trick and transformed into a genuinely useful assistant - albeit with concerning privacy issues.
Whilst useful in headphones and smartphones, a smartwatch is where some of Assistant’s best features would be most effective.
The purpose of a smartwatch, for me at least, is to give me access to core smartphone functionality at a glance and in a simplified form. I can check basic health information, quick-scan messages and see who is calling. It should give you a break from your phone and save phone battery in doing so.
Assistant is trying to do the same thing. It’s taking core tasks away from the user and therefore requiring less interaction with the smartphone. An assistant-enabled Pixel Watch could do this twice over and can become a genuinely effective digital wellbeing tool.
Booking tables at a restaurant, or hairdresser appointments, could be done with an utterance into your wrist (Duplex). Recording - and later automatically transcribing - a lecture or interview could be initiated with one phrase (Recorder). Or even live translations and transcriptions - with the translated words appearing on your watch’s screen (Translate) - could happen without having to take your phone out of your pocket.
What you end up with is a device that requires a lot less input and demands less of your eyeball time. This defies traditional smartwatch logic. Smartwatches and, indeed, the Apple Watch, try to cram as much functionality as possible into a small device. Every new release includes new hardware that makes your smartwatch ever more independent from your phone - but that also means they’re an ever bigger distraction.
This is my main gripe with high-powered - app-laden - wearables - they distract rather than assist. Having faster access to endless notifications, that can be viewed with a glance, does not appeal to me. Even with do not disturb settings turned on the temptation to have a quick look is an ever present danger.
In a time when Apple and Google are encouraging device owners to limit how much time they spend staring at smartphones, this is where a Pixel Watch could stand out. A smartwatch that has massively reduced input functionality - allowing only Assistant related actions such as setting reminders or using advanced services like Duplex, could be very popular.
No messages, emails or social media notifications - and no option to turn them on. Just a watch that records important health data, takes your instructions, tells the time and - in the process - has a longer battery life because of the reduced functionality.
If Google did shelve the Pixel Watch because it didn’t believe it was ready for public consumption, I hope it’s using this extra time to make something truly unique that flips the industry on its head. It has already done exactly that with its Pixel phones and Pixel Buds, let’s hope the Pixel Watch is similarly revolutionary.
Apple won't take the challenge lying down, though, and new information suggests it's considering a massive design overhaul of the next Apple Watch.
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