Google is planning to release Wear 2.0 in early 2017, and has confirmed that it will launch two smartwatches with the new software very soon.
Android Wear product manager Jeff Chang confirmed to The Verge that Google intends to release the watches to promote the new version of Wear. They'll be the first watches to run it, though many other smartwatches will be updated later.
The watches won't be Pixel branded, but will instead have the branding of the OEM that manufactured them. Google says it worked closely with a hardware partner to create the watches. Chang noted that it's a company which has made Wear devices in the past (Huawei?)
Android Wear 2.0 will include several new features. We'll get Android Pay support finally, as well as more customization of watch faces. There will also be more powerful standalone apps and a small keyboard.
Google is currently on the final developer preview for Wear 2.0 and is expected to finalize the software in the coming weeks.
Google's wearable platform has been in trouble in the last several months. Several former big players in Android Wear have dropped out, and the v2.0 update to the platform has been delayed by multiple months.