The online Google Store has received its first major update since 2020, rearranging some elements and giving a fresh look to the overall design of the website. Curiously, a new tab dubbed the “Watches” menu has been added to the top of the digital storefront, which raises the eyebrows of many Google fans. It appears as if the “Fitbit” widget has been replaced with the much more general “Watches” tab, which is significant seeing as Google doesn’t make any watches. That is, the company hasn’t officially announced that it’s making watches — yet.
It doesn’t take a super sleuth to detect that Google is planning on releasing a Pixel Watch. Rumors and leaks have been going around for several years at this point indicating that the company has been looking to get deeper into the wearable tech scene, but there hasn’t been much official word from Google on the subject.
Although a verbiage change on the company’s web store hardly counts as “official word,” it does seem to indicate that something is going on with Google’s wearable tech. Given how close Google I/O 2022 is, it seems to stand to reason that a Pixel Watch announcement could finally come at the event.
This isn’t the first time that Google’s online store has changed its wording around its products to give more updated information to customers. As pointed out by 9to5Google, the company previously changed a tab from “Laptops & Tablets” to just “Laptops” following the discontinuation of the Pixel Slate, so there’s precedent for Google to update its store to match its current lineup of products.
When exploring the Watch section of the store, there’s not much to report on just yet. It consists of the same Fitbit offerings that were available previously without any reference to a potential upcoming Pixel Watch. The bottom of the page does provide shoppers the option to receive email updates when the store’s stock changes, but that feature isn’t exclusive to the Watches section.
The OnePlus Buds Clip are a new pair of open-ear earbuds built around a simple convenience. They join Sony’s LinkBuds Clip in the growing ear-cuff category, but either OnePlus bud can go on either ear.
Sensors recognize how the earbuds are being worn and route the audio channels accordingly. There’s no label to check before putting them on, and the feature also works when only one bud is used.
We buy fitness bands and activity trackers to keep tabs on our exercise, but it is easy to forget to start tracking or switch modes when moving between different activities. For Fitbit and Pixel Watch users, that could soon become a lot less annoying, as Google is rolling out a major upgrade to automatic activity tracking that can recognize more than 100 types of exercise, up from just 10 before.
Google first showed off the improved tracking earlier this month alongside the Fitbit Edge. It is now coming to Fitbit Air and the Pixel Watch 3, 4, and 5, and Google claims the added context behind the system makes workout detection nearly twice as accurate while cutting missed activities by more than half. Fitbit Edge will support it too.