Report claims Google smartwatch with Glass-like UI, updates to Gmail & Maps coming soon

While the report is a little bit on the light side with specific details regarding the product, a new report from AndroidAuthority claims that a source has revealed details about a Google smartwatch as well as new updates coming to Gmail and Maps apps on Android.

According to the report, which seems to provide more questions than answers, the Android smartwatch has been floating around Google offices in Berlin, Manchester, and more recently Mountain View, which it claims signals “the watch is set for release sometime soon.” The last we heard from analysts is that Google smartwatch is scheduled for 2014 at earliest, but AndroidAuthority already claims to have details on the device:

While noting that “Functionality will be very much like Glass,” the report claims Google’s smartwatch is “not a standalone device yet” and that “It needs to be tethered to a smartphone.”

We don’t expect to see a Google smartwatch on show at Google I/O this month, and the report doesn’t offer up much in the way of confident predictions for when we might. The report added that sources say Google’s Motorola will be manufacturing the smartwatch.

Also included in the report is info on updates that are apparently coming to Google’s Maps and Gmail apps on Android devices in the near future. AndroidAuthority describes redesigned apps that will apparently borrow a lot from the most recent versions of Google’s apps on iOS:

According to our sources, Maps is about to go full screen. Essentially, we’re set to get the iOS version of Maps, which is much prettier, on Android. Rather than the bottom and top bar, Maps for mobile is said to have a floating search bar towards the top of the screen, with the navigation button to the right of it. The Android menu button (three dots, vertically aligned) will rest at the bottom right of the screen, and house all other functions associated with search.

And Gmail…

One source tells us “it’s really cool, with a swipe from the left bringing up the menu.” That menu will house things like inbox, sent, draft, and labels. The bar at the top will still be there to make navigating multiple accounts easier, and will have the menu button to the right. So, like Maps, the bottom bar will go away and the functions housed in it will reside elsewhere. “I think they’re getting away from bottom bars” one source told us.

We’ll see if AndroidAuthority’s source is accurate in the coming weeks.