Google is about to shake up the world of wearable technology with an all-new launch to take on the Apple Watch.
The company has confirmed it will that two new flagship Android Wear smartwatches will be launching in the first few months of 2017.
The new devices, which are currently being built by an unidentified third party, will be launching to accompany its next-generation Android Wear 2.0 software.
The launch was confirmed by Android Wear product manager Jeff Chang, who revealed the news in an interview with The Verge.
Chang said that the new watches are being manufactured by a company that has produced Android Wear devices in the past - meaning it could be one of the likes of Motorola, Sony or Huawei.
He noted that, "We've enabled a lot of diversity with our hardware partners to target different types of consumers and preferences."
"This is a marathon, not a sprint. This category of product is here with us to stay." This strategy, similar to Google's previous strategy with its Nexus smartphones, means that the new devices could come sporting the Pixel brand.
Google had been expected to launch a Pixel Watch soon, in order to align with the company's other major release this year - the Pixel and XL smartphones, launched back in October.
This marked the first time that Google had designed and built its own mobile devices, and suggests a similar move with wearables could be coming soon.
The new devices will also support many of the latest Android features thanks to the launch of Android Wear 2.0.
Google has not revealed a significant update to its wearable software since the original platform's launch in March 2014, and recently delayed the launch of Android Wear 2.0 to ensure it was complete.
Google's most powerful wearable software should offer a number of new features, including standalone apps that do not need to be connected to a smartphone, and Android Pay.
Android Wear 2.0 should also support the new Google Assistant voice-controlled service that launched on the Pixel and Pixel XL.
Previous reports had suggested that Google's new watches could be some of the most powerful wearable technology devices on the market.
Codenamed Angelfish and Swordfish, the former will come with a bigger and brighter screen, making it bigger than many existing watches.
The other device appears to be the less powerful of the two, offering a design and build similar to the Moto 360 smartwatch.
It will sport a 42mm screen, and have support for the MODE interchangeable bands and purportedly comes in silver, titanium, or rose gold.
It will also sport GPS and LTE connectivity, as well as three buttons which can be linked to opening apps or starting specific services.
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