Google’s next Pixel Watch could inch the company’s wearables up to Apple’s premium price range. According to leaked details from Dealabs, the upcoming Pixel Watch 5 will start at $400 for its entry-level 41mm Bluetooth / Wi-Fi model, a $50 increase over the $350 Google has charged since the first Pixel Watch launched in 2022.
Pixel Watches have technically been sold at several different prices since the beginning. Cellular connectivity has come with an added cost, for example, starting at $50 more for the Pixel Watch and Pixel Watch 2, and jumping to $100 more for the Pixel Watch 3 and Pixel Watch 4. Getting a larger 45mm case, which Google began offering with the launch of the Pixel Watch 3, also adds to the cost. For this fifth generation of watches, though, Google may be raising prices across the board.
See Google Pixel Watch 4 at Amazon
Assuming Dealabs information proves true, the prices break down as follows:
- Google Pixel Watch 5 41mm (Bluetooth / Wi-Fi): $400
- Google Pixel Watch 5 45mm (Bluetooth / Wi-Fi): $430
- Google Pixel Watch 5 41mm (4G LTE + Bluetooth / Wi-Fi): $500
- Google Pixel Watch 5 45mm (4G LTE + Bluetooth / Wi-Fi): $530
For comparison, an Apple Watch Series 11 starts at $400, or $500 if you want cellular connectivity. Apple carves out even more price points depending on the finish or band you want to wear, but Google is very much in Apple’s ballpark now.
Besides costing more, the new smartwatches are rumored to be available in at least one new color. You’ll be able to purchase a Pixel Watch 5 in a polished “Natural Silver” and “Warm Gold,” Nieuwe Mobiel writes, but also a satin-finish “Dark Anthracite” and “Pyrite”—possibly Google’s equivalents of a dark gray and green.
It’ll take more leaks, or the actual Made by Google event that’s scheduled for August 12th, to learn whether these changes will be worth the new price. It’s completely possible paying an extra $50 has less to do with new features and more to do with the skyrocketing cost of memory and other components. Maybe the company is getting a different deal to use the latest Qualcomm wearable chip than it’s had in the past. Or maybe Google’s rumored plan to create a Tensor chip for its smartwatches comes with some upfront costs.
See Google Pixel Watch 4 at Amazon
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