Why is the Google Store selling a Galaxy Watch 8?

A rather unexpected Play Store promotion today sees the Google Store sell you a Samsung Galaxy Watch 8.

Opening the US Play Store today might show you a “Devices from the Google Store” carousel. The first product being promoted is the Galaxy Watch 8, with the Pixel Watch 4 and Fitbit Air rounding things out.

You can get $20 off the $400 Samsung wearable until July 14, which is not a particularly good deal in the first place.

Tapping opens the usual Google Store checkout process for first-party Pixel products. This includes viewing product images and choosing between the 40mm ($399.99) and 44mm ($429.99) sizes in LTE. You can even use Google Store financing.

On the same checkout page, the product name is badged with a “Play” label at the end: “Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 40mm Silver (Play).”

That said, there is no product listing for the Galaxy Watch 8 alongside Pixel products on the Google Store.

The checkout system otherwise leverages your existing cart, saved address, and payment information, including Google Store credit. There are presumably Samsung devices sitting next to Pixel products in the Google Store warehouse.

Google and Samsung have a close partnership across the Android ecosystem, including marketing, but this is still unexpected, if not slightly confusing for end users from a branding standpoint. The Google Store is the company’s de facto homepage for Made by Google hardware efforts across Pixel, Home/Nest, and Fitbit.

Looking ahead, it remains to be seen if this is a peek at what’s to come with Samsung’s Android XR glasses and Googlebooks from various manufacturers this fall.