Tech group Google is competing with the Apple Watch by launching its smartwatch. The smartwatches should be available this fall, Google announced at its annual developer I/O conference.
The search giant has been trying to strengthen its market position with hardware, such as smartphones. For example, the Google Pixel Watch was developed for the most part by Fitbit, the smartwatch company that came into the hands of Google in early 2021.
The watch can be used for digital payments, navigation via Google Maps and notifications for incoming messages. In addition, the smartwatch works with, among other things, a voice-controlled assistant that is also on many Android phones.
The acquisition of Fitbit by Google was already seen by many as a step to answering the Apple Watch. Apple controls about 30 percent of the smartwatch market. According to market researcher Counterpoint Research, Samsung follows with about 10 percent market share and the rest is divided between Fitbit, Garmin and smaller Chinese players.
Google developed the Android operating system for many smartphones but only introduced its first smartphone in 2016. In addition to its own smartwatch, there is now also a tablet for the Pixel line. Google previously also ventured into tablets but discontinued that product line in 2019 to focus entirely on laptops.
The tech company also revealed that it is working on smart glasses, automatically showing translations to its wearer. The glasses for so-called augmented reality (enriched reality) are somewhat reminiscent of the Google Glass, digital glasses with a camera and small screen that came on the market in 2012. However, this product did not become a major commercial success.