It has long been rumored that Samsung will be switching to Google’s Wear OS in its upcoming Galaxy Watch 4 instead of the company’s revered Tizen OS. Well, that news was in a way confirmed in yesterday’s Google I/O 2021 event. Google and Samsung have agreed to merge Wear OS and Tizen OS to develop a more competitive rival to Apple’s watchOS.
Google Wear OS x Samsung Tizen OS:
Samsung and Google are taking wearables seriously, so the merger of Tizen and Wear OS is set to come with a slew of new features. The collaboration of both wearable platforms is simply named “Wear” for now. But the final name could be something else entirely.
Prior to Google’s confirmation, Samsung’s Senior Vice President Mr. Janghyun Yoon released a statement revealing that upcoming Galaxy Watches will run Google’s Wear OS.
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Features
The Samsung official did not reveal much about the company’s forthcoming smartwatches. But he did state that the existing Tizen OS-based smartwatches will have three years of software updates from their date of launch.
Google, on the other hand, stated that the joint initiative would lead to significant improvements. Better battery life, 30% faster app loading times, and smoother animations are among a few promises made. The search giant further added that the platform isn’t strictly for Google and Samsung, implying that other brands can also add a customized skin on top of this.
It will also provide a unified platform for Android smartwatch OS, making the process easy for developers. Google further confirms that the merge of Wear OS and Samsung Tizen OS will bring a wider selection of apps and watch faces than ever before.
Besides that, with an emphasis on wellness and health, the next Wear update will include Fitbit expertise health features. It will bring features like tracking your health progress throughout your day and on-wrist goal celebrations. Google hopes this will keep you motivated on your journey to good health.
Launch
Google shared in its blog that the Wear update will begin rolling out later this year. We expect Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 series to be the first smartwatch to run on the new Wear OS platform out-of-the-box.
- Meanwhile, check out our review of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 3.
