It’s been a few years since Samsung introduced a smartwatch with Android. You have to go all the way back to 2014 when the original Gear Live was launched to find a portable Samsung equipped with Google’s Android Wear (now known as Wear OS). Since then, the company has used its own Tizen platform, but according to a new report, that may change.
Twitter user HeelalIs Friday said that an upcoming watch from Samsung will use Android, not Tizen. We assume that this means using portable Wear OS, but it is also possible that the device will include Samsung’s own user interface based on Android. The tweet does not reveal too much information, so we can now speculate about Samsung’s plans.
Samsung’s new watch will use Android to replace Tizen.
– Ice universe (@UniverseIce) 19 February 2021
If the report is true, it will be a big boost for Wear OS, which has hit very badly over the past few years (to put it mildly). Samsung’s support could help boost the platform and ultimately give Android users a worthy alternative to the Apple Watch. Right now, there are only a handful of smaller businesses that consistently support Wear OS. Not even Google has released a smartphone with the platform.
The question is: why would Samsung jump to Android if Tizen has developed into such a good portable platform? By all accounts, the Tizen experience is better than Wear OS, so it almost looks like a downgrade. We are not completely behind the alleged move, but we hope to get answers soon.
In a separate report from GalaxyClub, Samsung is reportedly working on two new portable devices (SM-R86x and SM-R87X). It is speculated that the devices will fall into the Galaxy Watch Active product line, with a release expected this summer. Information beyond that is still a mystery, but it could start with Wear OS.
Google’s Wear OS platform, which may have made a comeback, was not the headline we expected in 2021. But if this report is true, we might eventually see the software flourish into something that can actually go with Apple’s watchOS.