Google will launch two new flagship smartwatches in the first quarter of next year, said Jeff Chang, product manager of Android Wear at Google. Chang said, during an interview with The Verge, that the new watches will be the flagship Android Wear 2.0 devices and will be the first ones to launch with the new platform.

Rumors of Google smartwatches had started even before the interview, but Google confirmed the upcoming launch yesterday as part of a larger effort to convince consumers that wearables - smartwatches specifically - are still in demand, reported The Verge.

The new smartwatch models will not have Google or Pixel branding, but will be branded by the company that is manufacturing them. Chang said that Google collaborated with the manufacturer - which he did not name, but said has produced Android Wear devices in the past - on the hardware design and software integration for the watches.

The partnership will be like Google's Nexus smartphone program in terms of collaboration and goals, he added.

After the launch of the new devices, current Android Wear watches will get the update to Android Wear 2.0. The new platform adds some new features, including standalone apps that don't require a phone to work, support for Android Pay, and support for Google's voice-controlled Assistant, which has already launched on the Pixel smartphones and Home speaker.

Not every existing Android Wear watch will be updated, but Google says most of the recent models will be.

ANDROID WEAR WATCHES TO BE UPGRADED TO WEAR 2.0 NEXT YEAR:

Moto 360 Gen 2

Moto 360 Sport

LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition LTE

LG Watch Urbane

LG G Watch R

Polar M600

Casio Smart Outdoor Watch

Nixon Mission

Tag Heuer Connected

Fossil Q Wander

Fossil Q Marshal

Fossil Q Founder

Michael Kors Access Bradshaw Smartwatch

Michael Kors Access Dylan Smartwatch

Huawei Watch

Huawei Watch Ladies

Asus ZenWatch 2

Asus ZenWatch 3