Samsung manufactures some of our favorite smartwatches to pair with an Android smartphone and, out of the box, we can buy another Galaxy Watch for 2021. In a twist, it can also run Android at its core.
According to a GalaxyClub, Samsung has two new smartwatch models in development for 2021, both with model numbers implying that they will be successors to the Galaxy Watch and Galaxy Watch 3, rather than Samsung’s Galaxy Watch Active line. The model numbers in question are SM-R86x and SM-R87x, with the previous Galaxy Watch 3 having model numbers SM-R8xx in its various models.
The two model numbers we’ve seen so far are probably just different watch sizes, with the final number indicating the difference between the Bluetooth and LTE models.
However, it is out of the norm for Samsung to launch another Galaxy Watch in 2021. Going back, the original Galaxy Watch was succeeded the following year with the two Galaxy Watch Active models (the first having an extremely short life) and the following year the Galaxy Watch 3. It is reasonable to think that a Watch Active would come in 2021, but the evidence so far suggests otherwise.
Another important piece of the puzzle for this story comes from Ice Universe. The Samsung leak says that for its Galaxy Watch 2021, Samsung will abandon the Tizen operating system it has been using in recent years in exchange for Google’s Android – note: it did no say Wear OS.
Why would Samsung choose Android on its smartwatches over Tizen? With Wear OS critically neglected and Tizen watches generally praised, it seems like a bad move. However, the move to Android would bring benefits. On the one hand, the catalog of apps and watch faces on Wear OS is highly superior to that of Samsung, and the same applies to security, as Tizen has faced problems due to security breaches several times in the past. Notably also, this is not the first time that there are rumors that Samsung will discard Tizen in its wearables.
All of this is yet to be seen, but Samsung will likely debut its Galaxy Watch 2021 later this year alongside the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and any other devices the company has up its sleeve.
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