Another gadget prototype left behind at a restaurant

It's Monday, April 25, 2022.

We’ve been playing peek-a-boo with Google’s teased/leaked/rumored Pixel smartwatch for what feels like centuries now, but the existence of actual hardware makes it all feel a little more real.

Unfortunately for someone who’s probably been working hard on Google’s bid to dethrone the Apple Watch (or at least make a more compelling Android wearable), they left the circular smartwatch prototype in a restaurant. Oops.

Android Central

There’s a heart rate monitor, buttons and proprietary watchband latches (boo) and, well, not much else to add for now. The watch wouldn’t run beyond its boot-up screen, so for now we’ll have to dream how WearOS 3 will look. Such heady dreams!

It isn’t the biggest mishap in lost prototype property. Over ten years ago, Apple engineer Gray Powell left a prototype iPhone 4 in a bar, and Gizmodo got the jump on exactly what Apple had planned for arguably the iPhone that set the pace for smartphones at the time. That all ended in litigation.

Will this Pixel Watch leak end similarly? I’m not sure, but Google could do with the publicity when it comes to its wearables.

— Mat Smith

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