Two highlights for Google in 2022 are the Pixel 6a and the company’s first wearable, the Pixel Watch. While leakers had suggested that both would appear in May to coincide with the annual Google I/O event, one has reportedly slipped and the other is on the verge of following suit.
That’s according to Jon Prosser, the reliable leaker who was actually the first to claim that the Pixel Watch would be coming on May 26.
“I am hearing that Google has delayed the Pixel 6a until late July,” tweeted Prosser, citing that familiar old excuse of chip shortages. “Pixel Watch is still May 26, but the source believes it could soon be pushed as well,” he added.
as i mentioned in today’s show: i am hearing that google has delayed the pixel 6a until late july. (chip shortage) pixel watch is still may 26th, but the source believes it could soon be pushed as well.https://t.co/iqoh9RlCzkMarch 4, 2022
Long-term Pixel fans may be getting a sense of deja vu at this point, given the Pixel 5a suffered unfortunate delays thanks to the aforementioned chip shortage, forcing Google to take the unprecedented step of telling people that a phone that didn’t officially exist at the time wasn’t cancelled. In the end, supply was so limited that the budget handset only saw a release in the U.S. and Japan, much to the annoyance of European Pixel fans who still have to make do with 2020’s Pixel 4a 5G.
Hopefully that won’t be the case with the Pixel 6a, and certainly the fact that Google no longer has to compete with nearly every other manufacturer for Qualcomm chips will prove helpful. The Pixel 6a is instead rumored to use the company’s own Tensor chipset, with savings made on the camera array and casing materials.
Of course, neither the Pixel 6a or Pixel Watch officially exists, but we can be pretty confident they’re on the way thanks to an unexpected source: a coloring book.
Yes, you read that right: Google released a coloring book as a neat gift for Pixel superfans, and not only does it reference the Pixel 6a, but it mentions the colors Google uses for wearables. Given Google doesn’t have any wearables at the moment, that suggests the Pixel Watch is very real. We’re expecting a device with a round face, an Apple Watch-style crown and elements of Fitbit integrated into Wear OS following the $2.1 billion acquisition.
All should be revealed soon — just not quite as soon as we’d originally hoped.
