Google Smartwatch Release Date Approaches: LG Nexus Watch Specs Leak, Android Wearable SDK Coming March 23

A Google smartwatch, running Android and made by LG as a Nexus device, is reportedly set to be unveiled in June. However, the specs of the Google Nexus smartwatch have already been leaked online, and they appear to be very similar to Samsung’s recently announced Gear 2 smartwatch.

According to noted gadget leaker evleaks, who has provided the lowdown on everything from the LG G2 to 2014’s “All New” HTC One prior to their release, the Google Nexus smartwatch will feature a 1.65-inch display – slightly larger than the 1.63-inch found on the Gear 2.

Update: Google has announced Android Wear, a new OS for wearables, LG has unveiled the G Watch and Motorola announced the Moto 360, smartwatches running on the new platform.

The Google smartwatch will have a lower resolution than Samsung’s Gear 2 if evleak’s tip holds up. LG is reportedly going with 280 x 280 for the Nexus watch, which would give the wearable about 240 pixels-per-inch (ppi) whereas the Gear 2 offers 320x320 pixels, or 277 ppi. Apparently, LG has not yet chosen the processor for the Nexus smartwatch. The Gear 2 has a 1GHz, dual-core chip.

Google’s Android smartwatch will also reportedly feature 512MB of RAM and 4GB of ROM storage, much like the Gear 2. The head of Android and Chrome for Google, Sundar Pichai, announced that the company will release a software development kit, or SDK, for wearable devices by March 23.

"In two weeks we are launching the first developer SDK for Android … that will lay out the vision for developers in how we see this market working,” Pichai said earlier this month.

According to reports, Google is expected to unveil an LG Nexus smartwatch during the company’s I/O Developer’s Conference, scheduled for June 25-26 in San Francisco. Any Nexus wearable device released by the company will run a version of its mobile OS (Android), whereas Samsung opted for its own Tizen operating system for the Gear 2.

The Google smartwatch was earlier rumored to be code-named the Nexus Gem, when Motorola was reportedly working on a concept last year. Mountain View eventually handed the reins over to LG after successful launches of the Nexus 5 and Nexus 4, and pictures of the Motorola Nexus watch concept leaked online earlier this year.

LG’s Nexus smartwatch will herald a slew of Android-powered watches from several manufacturers, as Google begins to employ its open OS strategy with wearables. Pichai noted that Google has forged alliances with several automobile manufacturers, and Android-powered sensors might someday appear in everything from a watch to a jacket.

Follow Reporter Thomas Halleck on Twitter @tommylikey