Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Gear smartwatch in 2013 as an Android-based smartwatch. The Korean tech giant later switched to its own Tizen OS but still retained the Galaxy Gear on Android. As the company prepares to switch back to Android with the Wear OS, it has advised Galaxy Gear owners to upgrade to Tizen OS by August 5 to continue having access to the Galaxy Store.
Samsung will switch to the Android operating system for its smartwatches later this year. The Wear OS will power the Galaxy Watch 4 and the Galaxy Watch 4 Active instead of Tizen OS. The Android-based Wear OS means that the devices will have wider access to apps via the Galaxy Store, unlike Tizen OS. Samsung is also saying that there will be no switch from Tizen to Wear OS for smartwatches that the Tizen OS currently powers.
Although there are likely only a few Gear watch owners, the fact that Samsung is making the announcement indicates their presence. Existing Galaxy Gear watch owners can only continue to enjoy support from Samsung if they upgrade to Tizen OS by the August 5 date (Korean Standard Time). In order not to encounter a total loss of saved data in the form of videos, images, and other content, Gear watch owners are encouraged to back up their data before upgrading to Tizen OS. The Gear watch device will be reset upon completion of the upgrade, and all pre-upgrade data will be wiped off.
However, it seems counter-intuitive that the Gear watch OS is being upgraded from Android to Tizen, while Samsung is already switching back to Android via the Wear OS. The upgraded Samsung Galaxy Watch will only have access to a limited number of apps compared with the Android-based smartwatches.
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