It has been several years since Samsung launched an Android smartwatch. You have to go back to 2014, when the original Gear Live was released, to find a Samsung wearable equipped with Google’s Android Wear (now known as Wear OS). Since then, the company has been using its internal Tizen platform, but a new report says that could change.
Twitter User UniverseIce said on Friday that an upcoming Samsung watch will use Android, not Tizen. We assume that this means that the wearable will run Wear OS, but it is also possible that the device has Samsung’s own Android-based UI. Tweet does not disclose much information, so now let’s speculate about Samsung’s plans.
Samsung’s new watch will use Android to replace Tizen.
– Ice universe (@UniverseIce) February 19, 2021
If the report is true, it would be a big boost for Wear OS, which has failed in recent years (to say the least). Seeing Samsung’s support can help reinvigorate the platform and ultimately give Android users a valid alternative to the Apple Watch. At the moment, there are only a small handful of smaller companies showing consistent support for Wear OS. Not even Google launched a smartphone running the platform.
The question is, why would Samsung switch to Android when Tizen evolved into such a good wearable platform? According to all reports, Tizen’s experience is superior to Wear OS, so it almost looks like a downgrade. We are not entirely responsible for the alleged movement, but we hope to get answers soon.
In a separate report from GalaxyClub, Samsung is working on two new wearable devices (SM-R86x and SM-R87X). It is speculated that the devices will fall in the Galaxy Watch Active product line, with a launch scheduled for this summer. Further information is still a mystery, but they could be released with Wear OS.
The Google Wear OS platform that is possibly back was not the headline we expected in 2021. But if this report is true, maybe we will finally see the software blossom into something that can really go hand in hand with Apple’s watchOS.