Why Samsung and Google will change smartwatches forever

Admittedly, I was skeptical when the first rumors about Tizen’s departure from Samsung emerged. Wear OS is actually not what Samsung needs to be successful in the smartwatch market. And that’s exactly why Samsung is not simply switching to Google’s operating system, but has created a new operating system together with Google and Fitbit. This will change the market permanently. A comment by Peter Hryciuk.

Google, Samsung and Fitbit develop Wear

If Samsung just switched from Tizen to Wear OS, I would be really disappointed. Yes, the Google operating system has some advantages over Tizen in terms of apps and services, but the disadvantages outweigh the disadvantages. The performance and runtime are not so good, bugs are not fixed for a long time, updates are irregular and new features are very rare. Google is now bringing Samsung and the recently acquired Fitbit brand on board for Wear. Actually unusual for Google to get help, you don’t do it with Android either. But that’s exactly what makes wear so interesting.

Wear is basically a combination of Wear OS and Tizen, enriched with fitness features from Fitbit. The two independently developed smartwatch operating systems have been combined and the best of both worlds has been adopted. Everything should get better – at least that’s what Google promises. The user interface should be easier to use, work faster and the running time should increase noticeably. How big the profit actually is will have to be seen. The expectations are very high, however, because Samsung will soon be launching the Galaxy Watch 4, a new smartwatch that uses the new operating system. This would bring smartphones, tablets and smartwatches even closer together.

Anyone who now believes that only Google, Samsung and Fitbit Wear are allowed to use it is wrong. Wear remains available for other manufacturers who want to develop a smartwatch. In fact, you benefit from the work the three companies have done and you don’t have to do much yourself. At most, integrate your own user interface. Access to important services such as the Play Store, Google Pay, Maps and other apps is now guaranteed. Many developers are already jumping up and making Wear a hot candidate to finally really compete with Apple.

Are you expecting too much?

When many companies work together on a project, it can work well, but it doesn’t have to be. It will be exciting to see if Google, Samsung and Fitbit form the perfect trio or if the idea fails. Wear OS was only incidentally maintained by Google. Now Samsung is on board and Google can no longer afford to delay. I’m very excited to see which smartwatches will appear with Google Wear in the coming months and years. What the companies have announced so far sounds very promising in any case.

Note: The opinions expressed in this article are solely the views of the author and are not necessarily the position of the entire GIGA editorial team.