For several years now, Google has largely relied on Fossil-licensed brands and companies like Mobvoi to keep the Wear OS platform alive in terms of hardware releases. But as global smartwatch sales continue to escalate, the search giant seems to be taking the wearable industry more seriously than ever, with Pixel Watch speculation reignited all of a sudden, alongside rumors of a potential Fitbit acquisition following a $40 million deal earlier this year for a (not so) mysterious piece of Fossil technology.
On top of it all, it appears a new device manufacturer will be joining the Wear OS family soon, and for once, we’re not talking about some obscure tech startup or a fashion brand unlikely to ever sell smartwatches for the masses. This time around, a bona fide tech giant is looking to release a wearable device powered by Google’s divisive operating system formerly known as Android Wear, and its official announcement might be closer than many expected.
Specifically, it looks like Xiaomi plans to throw its hat in the Apple-dominated ring as early as next week, November 5, according to a teaser image shared on the company’s social media channels and picked up by the always resourceful folks over at WinFuture (
translated). While the image doesn’t reference Wear OS in any way, we already have
pretty rock-solid information a Xiaomi Mi Watch running Google’s wrist software is in the pipeline.
What the teaser seems to reveal is that this long overdue Mi Watch will derive some aesthetical inspiration from the
Apple Watch lineup, with what sure looks like a rectangular body and a familiar rotating crown as well as a more discreet button on one side of the gadget. That’s hardly surprising if we look back at some of Xiaomi’s early smartphone and tablet designs (remember the
Mi Pad?), and besides, if you want to “borrow” ideas from someone, at least go straight to the peak of the global vendor ranks.
In case you’re wondering, this will be Xiaomi’s rookie smartwatch effort… under its name, having previously backed
Amazfit-branded devices while also selling tens of millions of fitness bands around the world. Granted, the
Xiaomi Mi Band family never officially made its way to the US, but budget-friendly Amazfit smartwatches can be found at major retailers like
Best Buy and
Amazon, so there might be some hope for a Mi Watch release stateside following a November 5 announcement in China. Stay tuned!
