Google Inc. is developing a videogame console and wristwatch powered by its Android operating system. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
Google is developing a videogame console and wristwatch powered by its Android operating system, according to people familiar with the matter, as the Internet company seeks to spread the software beyond smartphones and tablets.
With the game machine and digital watch, Google is hoping to combat similar devices that Apple may release in the future, according to the people.
Google is also preparing to release a second version of an Android-powered media-streaming device, called Nexus Q, that was unveiled last year but not sold to the public, these people said.
The Internet giant hopes to design and market the devices itself and release at least one of them this fall, they added.
A Google spokeswoman declined to comment.
The hardware plans are the latest sign of Google's determination to build on the success of Android, the software it launched in 2008 that powered 75 percent of all smartphones and 57 percent of tablets shipped globally in the first quarter, according to the research firm IDC.
Read more about Google forthcoming game console at The Wall Street Journal.
Get a daily look at what’s developing in science and technology throughout the world.