These days, product leaks tend to emerge from reporters and analysts with sources in the supply chain or people who datamine websites. It’s been a long time since an Apple employee accidentally left an iPhone 4 prototype in a bar for it to wind 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 that his friend found a Google Pixel Watch 5 in the Caribbean Sea.
“A friend of mine found this watch a few days ago underwater when he was scuba diving near the island of St. Martin,” Randy Pitchford wrote on X. “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.”
A friend of mine found this watch a few days ago ~underwater~ when he was scuba diving near the island of St. 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 fine. The face… pic.twitter.com/Mnenov1sFE
— Randy Pitchford (@DuvalMagic) May 31, 2026
Pitchford added that it seemed to be in decent condition, and while the battery appeared to be drained, the watch displayed the time. He said his friend “asked me to have a look because he seems to believe I am connected in the tech industry.” Pitchford asked for help to give the watch back to its owner, and later said he had arranged for it to be returned.
Pitchford shared a couple of photos of the device, which does have “Google” and “Pixel Watch 5” printed on the back alongside mentions of a heart-rate sensor and ultra-wideband chip. It apes the bubble-style design of the Pixel Watch 4 too.
It’s unclear whether this is our first peek at a legitimate Pixel Watch 5 in the wild or if it’s a phony. As Kotaku points out, it seems unlikely that Google would rope in Pitchford to kind of, sort of leak the device as part of a marketing campaign.
However you slice it, this is all deeply strange. If the story is genuine, it’s one of the most bizarre product leaks in recent memory. In any case, we’ll likely find out for certain what the Pixel Watch 5 looks like within the next few months. Google is expected to announce the device at its annual Pixel event in August or September.
