Google LLC is developing a new smartwatch and could launch the device as soon as next year, according to two reports published on Thursday.

The smartwatch would be the first from Google to have been created in-house by the company. The Alphabet Inc. unit already sells smartwatches, but they’re made by Fitbit, a company that it acquired for $2.1 billion earlier this year.  

Insider reported that the smartwatch is being developed under the internal codename “Rohan.” A source separately told The Verge the device is expected to cost more than the products in Google’s existing Fitbit smartwatch portfolio and could compete with Apple Inc.’s Apple Watch.

Limited information is available about what features customers can expect. However, The Verge’s source did specify that the smartwatch will provide “basic” fitness tracking capabilities. The smartwatch will have a step counting feature and a heart rate monitor, according to the tipster.

Notably, the device is reportedly not being developed by Google’s Fitbit unit, which has extensive experience developing smartwatches. Instead, the search giant is said to have entrusted the project to the hardware group that makes its popular Pixel smartphones. 

It’s not entirely surprising that Google is expected to bolster its Pixel product family with the addition of smartwatch. The Pixel portfolio, which was originally a line of Android smartphones, has been expanded over the years to include tablets, laptops and several types of accessories. Moving into the lucrative wearables segment by building a smartwatch would represent a logical next step in Google’s effort to expand to more product categories.

It’s plausible that Google’s upcoming smartwatch will run on Wear OS 3, the latest version of its operating system for wearable devices.

The company detailed the new operating system release in May. According to the Alphabet unit, Wear OS 3 will introduce additional options for customizing a smartwatch’s home screen, shortcuts that will make accessing key features easier and improved versions of popular Google apps. Third-party apps should receive a boost, too, thanks to new features that Google has added to make it easier for developers to build software that runs on Wear OS 3.

Wear OS 3 is a combination of Wear OS 2, the previous release of the operating system, and another operating system called Tizen that was created by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. The platform features not only user experience improvements but also extensive battery life optimizations. The improved battery life, Google says, will enable smartwatches powered Wear OS 3 to perform tasks such as running the heart rate sensor continuously. 

It’s unclear what chip Google will use to power its rumored smartwatch. The search giant could use Qualcomm Inc.’s popular Wear processor series, which is specifically designed for devices such as smartwatches, or might design its own silicon. Google recently debuted a new generation of Pixel phones with a custom system-on-chip.

The Apple Watch, which Google reportedly plans to take on with its smartwatch, uses custom silicon designed by Apple.

The Pixel product portfolio is one component of Google’s broader consumer hardware strategy, which also encompasses its Nest portfolio of smart home gadgets. As with the Pixel portfolio, Google has over the years significantly expanded the number of Nest products it offers. The search giant opened its first physical store in New York to help promote Pixel, Nest and Fitbit products.

Google’s long-term consumer hardware roadmap could involve not only smartwatches but also a new, internally developed operating system known as Fuchsia. The search giant released Fuchsia to some Nest devices in an August update. According to recent reports, it intends to bring the platform to more smart devices in the future. Unlike Android, Fuchsia is not based on Linux but rather a lightweight kernel called Zircon that features extensive cybersecurity optimizations.  

Photo: Fitbit