A new piece of hardware passed through FCC certification today, and the evidence points to it being a Wear OS-powered device made by Google.
This “Wireless Device” — as it’s officially labeled — comes from Goertek, which is already known for manufacturing various generations of Pixel Buds.
The “G8BL6” model name matches Google’s usual pattern for first-party hardware. Meanwhile, the e-label points to the existence of a screen, with the access method being Settings > System > Regulatory Information. That is identical to how you access the e-label on the Pixel Watch today.
This would suggest the presence of Wear OS, with that possibility further bolstered by how the Android Debug Bridge (ADB) was leveraged during the testing process.
On the connectivity front, this device has Bluetooth LE and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), or GPS. The former uses a “Metal frame Antenna.”
Taken together, G8BL6 is most likely a Google fitness tracker powered by Wear OS, though the lack of Wi-Fi is curious. This would be a new form factor for the platform, raising questions about whether the OS is battery-efficient enough.
This filing comes as an unknown Google tracker was spotted in Pixel 11 advertising this August. We saw a vertical, pill-shaped display with a Pixel Watch-esque band. The watch face is very familiar, down to the existing Wear OS complications for fitness.
Following the Fitbit Air, this would make sense as a successor to the popular Fitbit Charge line, which is currently priced at $160 and last updated in 2023.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Comments