Popular phone tipster @evleaks has claimed that Google's rumoured smartwatch is being manufactured by LG, which has been the OEM partner for Nexus smartphones (Nexus 4 and Nexus 5) for two consecutive years. He also claimed that the smartwatch will debut at Google's I/O event in June. The tweet by @evleaks said, "Apparently Google's smartwatch is being made by LG, and will launch at I/O." Unfortunately, the tipster did not offer any more details.
Earlier, TechCrunch claimed that the alleged Google smartwatch is for real and might begin shipping in mid to late-March. However, the report cites some smartwatch team members in Google believe that the release date might be pushed back to June in order to ship with all the intended features, putting the release date in line with what @evleaks had tweeted.
The TechCrunch report further claims that Google's smartwatch will come with a plastic band and will sport a colour display. The search engine giant was reportedly working on many concepts for the alleged smartwatch, but the rumoured Google smartwatch prototype is now in lockdown at Google's Mountain View headquarters under high security. An early Google smartwatch prototype had a metal band, square look and a colourful digital screen much like the one on the Pebble Steel, according to people familiar with the matter.
The report also suggests that Google smartwatch supports notifications via Bluetooth low energy pairing with an Android smartphone, and gesture-based interactions.
Notably, device makers like Samsung and Sony have already launched their smartwatches globally, the Galaxy Gear and Smartwatch 2 respectively. Samsung is also set to unveil its smartwatch sequel dubbed Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo at MWC 2014 which will be powered by Tizen instead of Android.
It's worth pointing out that Apple's first-ever wearable device, the iWatch, is rumoured to hit shelves in the second-half of 2014.
Catch the latest from the Consumer Electronics Show on Gadgets 360, at our CES 2026 hub.