These days, product leaks usually come from journalists and analysts with sources in the supply chain or from people snooping on websites. It’s been a long time since an Apple employee accidentally left a prototype iPhone 4 in a bar for it to end up in the hands of Gizmodo. Still, it feels like we’re living in a simulation in 2026, so strange things still happen – like the co-founder of Borderlands maker Gearbox Software claiming his friend found a Google Pixel Watch 5 in the Caribbean Sea.
“A friend of mine found this watch a few days ago underwater while scuba diving near the island of St. Martin,” Randy Pitchford wrote on
A friend of mine found this watch a few days ago ~underwater~ while scuba diving near the island of Saint-Martin. He noted that the reverse of the watch indicates that it is a Google Pixel 5, which has not yet been announced, let alone released. It seems to be okay. The face… pic.twitter.com/Mnenov1sFE
— Randy Pitchford (@DuvalMagic) May 31, 2026
Pitchford added that it appeared to be in good condition and that although the battery appeared to be dead, the watch showed the time. He said his friend “asked me to take a look because he seems to think I’m connected to the tech industry.” Pitchford asked for help returning the watch to its owner and later said he arranged to have it returned to him.
Pitchford shared some photos of the device, which has “Google” and “Pixel Watch 5” printed on the back, along with mentions of a heart rate sensor and an ultra-wideband chip. It also takes the bubble-style design of the Pixel Watch 4.
It’s unclear if this is our first look at a legitimate Pixel Watch 5 in the wild or if it’s a fake. As Kotaku points out, it seems unlikely that Google would tap Pitchford to leak the device as part of a marketing campaign.
Any way you cut it, the whole thing is deeply strange. If the story is true, this is one of the most bizarre product leaks in recent memory. Either way, we’ll probably know for sure what the Pixel Watch 5 looks like in the coming months. Google is expected to announce the device at its annual Pixel event in August or September.
