Report: Expect Google to release a watch, Google Home, Nest Cam, more in 2019

Google usually holds off until the end of the year to announce new hardware, but rumors are already surfacing about its 2019 plans. According to a report from Nikkei Asian Review, a publication in Japan, this year’s Made by Google lineup will include a new Wear OS smartwatch, Home smart speaker, Nest Cam, and a budget Pixel handset.

Now, not all of this information is new. For one, we have been hearing rumors of a Google-made smartwatch for some time now. With the Silicon Valley company buying $40 million worth of smartwatch tech from Fossil and fish-themed Wear OS codenames showing up in AOSP, it appears as though Google is at least working on new wearable hardware.

The company will also roll out an updated version of its signature smart speaker Google Home this year, as well as a new smartwatch to compete with the Apple Watch, the person familiar with the plan said.

What’s interesting is that Nikkei claims that we should expect an updated version of the Google Home. It isn’t clear if this means that the company will add another smart speaker to its lineup or if the original Google Home released in 2016 will get a second-gen refresh.

Late last year, it was rumored that Google might be rebranding Nest. It was believed that this move would allow the company to more easily sell the security items alongside its lineup of Home products. While the Japanese publication didn’t comment on this rumor, it does state that the company will be releasing at least one new security camera.

 One person with direct knowledge of the matter told Nikkei that Google plans to release a new security camera later this year after it integrated the team from Nest Labs, the tech startup it acquired in 2014. Nest Labs has been building household-use security cameras since 2015

Last but not least, Nikkei claims to have exclusive information about the company’s plans to release a budget Pixel smartphone. While it’s no real secret that the search giant is working on two lower-tier handsets, the publication states that the devices will be cheaper than the iPhone XR.

As the smaller Pixel 3 starts at $799 (and is regularly on sale), it’s not hard to believe that a budget Pixel 3 Lite or Pixel 3 XL Lite could retail for less than the iPhone XR’s $749 price tag.

So now we ask you, what would you expect from a second-gen Google Home? Do you think the company should give up on making smartwatches? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!