Google's two "Nexus" smartwatches will debut early next year

Get ready for a bunch of Android Wear smartwatches in 2017.

We've heard rumors for months, but today Google has confirmed to The Verge that it will debut two Android Wear smartwatches in early 2017. The launch will be part of bigger effort to convince consumers that smartwatches are a device category worth paying attention to.

The wearable watches will not use the Pixel branding, but they will follow a similar program as the Nexus smartphones — at least in terms of collaboration. Manufacturers of the "Nexus" watches will have a hand on hardware design and software integration.

Jeff Chang, the product manager of Android Wear at Google who was quoted in the article, also disclosed that after the launch, other manufacturers will follow suit with more new Android Wear 2.0-based devices. We might even see some as early as next month's CES.

Google reiterated that it's committed to supporting and promoting the various smartwatch launches in an effort to build up the platform to consumers, which is interesting considering the demand for smartwatches really isn't that high. In fact, LG and Motorola haven't even bothered refreshing their Android Wear smartwatch lineup this year. Perhaps because they know what's on the horizon from Google.