Google is reportedly working on two smartwatches, which will go up against the likes of the Apple Watch in the growing smartwatch market.Android Police has reported a source as stating that Google is building two Android Wear devices, possibly Nexus-branded, which will be released some time after announcement of the latest Nexus smartphones.
The move would see Google further add to its hardware line-up, which includes devices such as the Nexus smartphone line, Chromebook line, Pixel line and Googlecast, branching out into new and potentially high-growth territory.
Android Police has reported that one watch will be larger and sportier and more fully featured, with features such as LTE, GPS and a heart rate monitor, while the smaller watch will be without features such as mobile data and GPS.
According to the report, both watches will sport circular displays, with the larger watch codenamed Angelfish and the smaller watch Swordfish.
Android Police reports that Angelfish has three buttons, a large, circular crown button and two smaller circular buttons, with its diameter purportedly 43.5 mm, with Swordfish sporting a single button, with a diameter of 42 mm.
Google may also be looking to introduce a new style of watchfaces for Angelfish and Swordfish, allowing faster access to notifications, information, or media controls for apps or functions, likely via the new app watchface integration announced as part of Android Wear 2.0, Android Police reports.
The move would see Google looking to carve out a hardware niche in a market forecast for growth in the coming years.
Strategy Analytics recently forecast that in 2016 smartwatches will command a 62.4 per cent global wearables revenue market share, followed by fitness bands with 27.1 per cent and smartglasses with 8.2 per cent.
Strategy forecasts that by 2022 total wholesale wearable devices revenues will top US$45 billion, driven primarily by smartwatches, aided by the major operating systems and their sponsors.
