A Google Pixel Watch report from last weekend sure soured a lot of expectations around these parts. The news suggesting that Google had decided to use a 4 year old processor for their first flagship watch was disappointing, to say the least. However, a follow-up report to end this week should help bring some excitement back and potentially squash any worries you had.

The crew at 9to5Google has heard from a second source who also confirmed the chipset in the Pixel Watch as being the 4-year old Exynos 9110, the same chip first found in the Galaxy Watch. Where this takes a turn away from that being horrible news is in the rest of what this source told them.

Google will apparently add a co-processor alongside that older Exynos 9110 chip, likely to help offload tasks and create a more efficient watch experience. This would be a similar approach to what Qualcomm does with their 3100 and 4100 series chips for wearables. A low powered co-processor could be used to monitor ongoing health and fitness data, power an always-on display, that sort of thing. By taking away activities from the main, power-hungry chip and putting it through a low-power chip, there are big efficiency benefits to be had.

This news makes a lot of sense, because it would allow Google to clear up that talk from Google I/O where they said the watch was “built inside and out by Google.” My guess is that they’ll sell this as a custom experience and brand it with Google Tensor. They basically did the same thing with Tensor on the Pixel 6 line.

As for the rest of the good news, today’s report says we could get 32GB storage and over 1.5GB RAM. If you’ve used a Wear OS watch at any time over the past several years, you are probably aware that the jump to 1GB RAM (from 512MB) dramatically improved the user experience on the platform. We’ve since seen some watches go further and give us 1.5GB RAM, like the Galaxy Watch 4 series. RAM is a crucial spec for smartwatches on Android.

In somewhat related news, we’re now learning that the Pixel Watch will use health sensors on-par with those from Fitbit. That should mean not only heartrate tracking, but SpO2 and ECG readings.

To recap, the seemingly bad news from last week has now turned into what could be seen as OK, if not good news. Google may have customized a still-capable chip to work even better than it ever has, while upgrading things like storage and RAM.

Is the Pixel Watch back on your radar?

The second half of 2022 will be dominated by the usual suspects, like Samsung and Google and Apple. You shouldn’t focus all of your energy there, though. A couple of newcomers to the scene, with past experience in making smartphones we liked, are bringing their first new phones to market. One of those is OSOM, and they just confirmed the chipset in the OV1 phone.

Shortly after Qualcomm revealed its new flagship-level Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip, OSOM announced that this will be the chip powering their upcoming device. A simple Tweet with plenty of exclamation marks lets us know that they are indeed excited about this news.

I’ve got to admit that I had started to forget about OSOM and their upcoming phone because they just aren’t as loud on the daily as some of the others in the field. While companies like Nothing are running back that obnoxious early-days OnePlus playbook, where they send out a press release to hype the silliest sh*t and maintain a presence in your mind, OSOM is quietly putting in work. At least that’s what we assume they are doing.

So to recap OSOM, here’s what you need to know. OSOM is a company made up of a bunch of former team members from Essential, the failed tech company that made one of our favorite phones of all time. They are promising a privacy-focused device in the OV1 (that’s what they are currently calling their first phone), but they also told us to expect a price under $1,000, with a “truly flagship camera experience” that is unlike what we found in the Essential phone. It has a big Essential Phone vibe too.

We know that the OSOM OV1 has been pushed back to Q4, but we’re back to being excited about it with today’s news.

Memorial Day weekend approaches and that means sales on sales. Samsung is out-the-gate early with another big trade-in promo that significantly drops the price on their Galaxy S22 line. They are also tossing in a $100 credit to spend on goodies and will take your phone if it has a cracked screen.

I can’t imagine you don’t already know the deal here, so let’s make this one quicker than usual.

Samsung will give you up-to an instant $1,000 off today if you trade-in a Galaxy S21 Ultra for the Galaxy S22 Ultra. The new twist here is that your S21 Ultra can have a cracked screen and they’ll still take it and give you the full $1,000. Again, the discount comes off today, not at a later date via a prepaid gift card or refund.

At $1,000 off, you could grab a Galaxy S22 Ultra (our review) for $199.99. That’s pretty wild.

If you don’t own a Galaxy S21 Ultra that can be traded, here are some other noteworthy values:

• Galaxy Z Fold 3: $975
• Galaxy Note 20 Ultra: $800
• Galaxy S20 Ultra: $725
• Pixel 5: $330

Shop Samsung’s $1,000 off deal

Bonus credit + S22 deals

As a part of Samsung’s Memorial Day weekend sale, they are tossing in a $100 credit on top of the $1,000 off. That credit can be spent on accessories, like some new Galaxy Buds or a Galaxy Watch.

When you apply a credit during checkout, Samsung typically tries to offer additional discounts on their products to further entice you. For example, the Galaxy Watch 4 is down to $175 and then you get to apply the $100 credit to it. That’s a Galaxy Watch 4 on your wrist for only $75.

As for other phones, in case you don’t want the Galaxy S22 Ultra, Samsung is offering up to $900 off the Galaxy S22+ with trade-in or up to $700 off the Galaxy S22 (our review). The same deal as above applies, where you can trade in a phone with a cracked screen and still get the full discount.

Shop all Galaxy S22, S22 Ultra Memorial Day deals