Google Pixel Watch 2 swaps Exynos for Qualcomm Snapdragon

[Ink]

Content source

https://www.androidauthority.com/pixel-watch-2-specs-3352481/

System-on-Chip: Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 Gen 1

The Pixel Watch 2 replaces the Pixel Watch’s dated Exynos 9110 SoC with a Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 Gen 1.
The new processor comes with improved performance. The Exynos chip had two Arm Cortex-A53 cores running at 1.15GHz, while the new Snapdragon chip has four of them running at 1.7GHz. The GPU performance is also greatly improved thanks to W5’s more modern Adreno 702.
The biggest improvement, however, is probably the efficiency of the chip. The original Pixel Watch suffered from weak battery life, partly due to the old and inefficient Exynos 9100, announced in 2018 and built on the 10nm process (released in 2017). Not to mention that the chip itself was mostly just a rebadged Exynos 7270 (2016, 14nm) ported to the new lithography process. Both the outdated manufacturing technology and old component designs Samsung included in the SoC contributed to the overall inefficiency of the chip.

Ultra-Wide Band

One of the most significant upgrades to the Pixel Watch 2 will be the inclusion of ultra-wideband (UWB). The device has an NXP SR100T UWB module to enable new applications. Our source couldn’t confirm any software features, but we can speculate. The obvious use case is precise device finding, whether it’s the watch or another device you’re looking for. This would make a lot of sense, especially considering Google is working to improve its Find My Device network, which will also support UWB devices, such as its first-party item tracker — codenamed grogu.

Battery: An extra 12mAh

The Pixel Watch 2 has a battery rated at 306mAh (typical). The original Pixel Watch was rated for 294mAh, so that’s a modest 4% improvement.

Display: Samsung display

Sadly, this situation is not changing this year, but Google has opted for a different panel. The basic specs remain the same, 1.2-inch round OLED with a resolution of 384 x 384. The new display is sourced from Samsung Display instead of the Pixel Watch’s BOE panel.

Updates: Wear OS 4

The Pixel Watch 2 will ship with Wear OS 4 based on Android 13, with all its improvements, such as support for dynamic theming. It also has support for seamless updates; a first for a smartwatch.

Availability

The Pixel Watch 2 has three separate model numbers: G4TSL, GC3G8, and GD2WG. While we don’t have complete information regarding its availability in specific regions, the regulatory e-labels now include an entry for India’s BIS regulatory body, which could mean that Google intends to launch the watch there.