The Google Pixel Watch 3 price leaked, and it’s bad

The tech world just spent the past week fawning over Samsung’s latest phones and smartwatches, and soon, it’ll be Google’s time in the spotlight. Ahead of the company’s Made by Google event next month, prices for the Google Pixel Watch 3 just leaked. And, uh … it’s not good.

The leak comes from the French website Dealabs, which recently published European prices for the entire Pixel Watch 3 series — including the larger Pixel Watch 3 XL model. Here they are:

Pixel Watch 3

• Wi-Fi model — 399 euros (around $436)
• Wi-Fi/LTE model — 499 euros (around $546)

Pixel Watch 3 XL

• Wi-Fi model — 449 euros (around $491)
• Wi-FI/LTE model — 549 euros (around $600)

On their own, those prices seem pretty high, right? They only get worse once you compare them to other smartwatches. Take last year’s Pixel Watch 2, for example. The current-generation Pixel Watch had a launch price of 349 euros for the Wi-Fi model and went up to 399 euros for the LTE version. The Pixel Watch 3 represents an increase of 50 euros and 100 euros, respectively.

Things look even worse when you consider the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7, which starts at 319 euros for the Wi-Fi model and goes up to just 369 euros if you get the LTE version.

Although these are European prices that leaked and not the U.S. prices, it’s safe to assume we’ll see similar increases here in the States, assuming the reported prices are accurate. Currently, the Pixel Watch 2 costs $350 for the Wi-Fi variant and $400 for the LTE version. The Galaxy Watch 7 starts at $300 in the U.S. If the Pixel Watch 3 launches next month with a starting price of $400 and only goes up from there, that could be a tough pill to swallow.

Will the supposed higher price at least be worth it? That’s tough to say. Other than the larger XL model this year, we don’t anticipate any major design changes for the Pixel Watch 3. We expect some type of chipset upgrade, though the significance of it remains unknown. We should also see ultra-wideband (UWB) connectivity included for the first time.

Based on what we know right now, it’s difficult to see Google justifying a $50 price increase. It’s entirely possible the Pixel Watch 3 has other new features/upgrades we don’t yet know about that will make it worth it, but considering how good the new Galaxy Watch 7 appears to be, Google has an uphill battle ahead of itself.

The Google Pixel Watch 3 will likely be announced on August 13.