Google will reportedly launch two flagship smart watches running Android Wear 2.0 in Q1 2017, but the devices will not carry Pixel branding.

In an interview with tech website The Verge, Android Wear product manager Jeff Chang said the company was working on the new devices with an existing Android Wear manufacturer.

He did not name the other company involved, but announced that following the launch of these flagship watches, selected older devices would receive a software update to the new OS.

Earlier this month, in an apparent attempt to boost its Android Wear platform, Google acquired Cronologics, a company specialising in voice control technology for smartwatches.

The Cronologics statement at the time highlighted the company was looking forward to “pushing the frontier of wearable technology and smart watches with Android Wear 2.0 and beyond”.

In recent weeks the industry has seen several reports discussing the potential of smart watches. These include a Gartner consumer survey highlighting apparent consumer apathy to the devices and IDC’s Q3 market tracker which said several large players were suffering as a result of a lack of new devices.