Google’s upcoming Pixel Watch 5 Stephen Curry Special Edition is shaping up to be a fairly straightforward Pixel Watch 5 with a more distinctive strap and a roughly $35 premium. The bigger question is whether the extra cost gets you anything that will actually last.
According to leaked Google marketing material obtained by MyMobiles, the special edition will cost €579.99 in Europe. It is based on the 45mm LTE Pixel Watch 5, making it the most expensive standard configuration in the lineup. The regular 45mm LTE model is expected to cost €549, putting the Curry edition about €31 more expensive.
Google has not officially announced the watch yet. Its Made by Google event is scheduled for August 12 in New York, with the Pixel Watch 5 expected to go on sale around August 20, according to the leaked material.
The Curry edition is mostly about the strap.
The special edition does not appear to introduce different hardware. It uses the same 45mm Pixel Watch 5, with Google’s Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 chip, 64GB storage, Wear OS 7 and a 465mAh battery rated for up to 40 hours of always-on use. The display is a 3D Corning Gorilla Glass 5-covered Actua 360 LTPO AMOLED panel with up to 3,000 nits of brightness.
What makes the Curry version different is the Stephen Curry-branded Sport Band. The woven band uses stone grey and taupe as its base, with bright orange and brown stripes running along the edges. It also carries Curry branding and a “Lock In” message inspired by the NBA star.
Google is also marketing the band as water-repellent, designed to handle sweat and water during workouts. There is, however, an important catch buried in the documentation.
You’re paying extra for a coating that won’t last forever
Google’s own technical material says the water-repellent coating is not permanent. It can diminish or disappear with normal wear, environmental exposure and regular use. Google also excludes damage caused by prolonged moisture exposure after the coating naturally degrades.
That makes the €30.99 premium harder to justify. The standard Pixel Watch 5 already carries 5ATM and IP68 ratings, although the leaked specifications explicitly note that the standard straps themselves are not water-resistant. The rest of the Pixel Watch 5 looks considerably more interesting. Google is expected to bring Gemini, improved sleep tracking, loss-of-pulse detection and up to 40 hours of battery life on the 45mm model.
For Curry fans, the special edition could make sense as a collector’s version. For everyone else, the regular Pixel Watch 5 appears to offer the same core hardware without paying extra for a coating that Google itself says will eventually wear away.