Two Pixel-branded smartwatches had been in development at Google by July 2016, but were canceled ahead of their release due to hardware chief Rick Osterloh's concerns that they did not fit well with other Pixel devices.

In July 2016, Google was reportedly developing two smartwatches, codenamed "Swordfish" and "Angelfish", which were to be powered by the Android Wear operating system and expected to be released under the Nexus brand name.

[5] In August, Wear OS director of engineering Miles Barr dispelled rumors that the company planned to release a Pixel-branded smartwatch that year.

[7] In November, Google announced that it would acquire smartwatch and fitness tracker maker Fitbit for $2.1 billion,[8] which Osterloh stated would pave the way for Google-developed wearables.

[17][18] Two months later, Business Insider reported that a Pixel-branded smartwatch codenamed "Rohan" was being targeted for a 2022 release, featuring a round bezel-less design, integration with Fitbit, proprietary watch bands, and health-tracking capabilities.

[19][20] Evidence unearthed that month indicated that the watch would be powered by either Samsung's Exynos system-on-chip (SoC) or Google's own Tensor chip, the latter of which had recently debuted on the company's Pixel 6 smartphone line.

Powered by Samsung's Exynos 9110 SoC alongside the ARM Cortex-M33 co-processor, it contains a 294 mAh battery and 2 GB of RAM, as well as multiple sensors and wireless technologies.

[58] This was echoed by International Data Corporation research director Ramon Llamas, who believed that Google was aiming to become a "head-on competitor to Apple".

Lisa Eadicicco of CNET and Cherlynn Low of Engadget lauded its design and health features, with Eadicco likening it to "a hybrid of Fitbit and the Apple Watch", but both criticized the battery life.

[65] CNN Underscored reviewer Max Buondonno praised the Pixel Watch's sleek design and the performance of Wear OS 3.5, but felt that the battery life was subpar and the screen was not large enough.

[66] Nicole Nguyen of The Wall Street Journal did not find the smartwatch particularly astounding and noted several software bugs, but ultimately deemed it a worthy companion to the Pixel phone.