Samsung Wear OS Smartwatch Tipped: Korean Giant Back For Team Google?
The special edition TUMI Samsung Gear S3
Although Samsung was one of the two launch companies – along with LG – when Android Wear (now known as Wear OS) went live back in March 2014, the Korean company has never followed up on the much-derided Samsung Gear Live.
Instead, it’s Samsung’s internal platform Tizen that has been used to power its smartwatches - rather than adding to the ever-growing collection of Google-powered smartwatches, which is now found on more than 50 different devices from an array of manufacturers, including traditional tech players like Asus, Huawei and LG – as well as from fashion brands such as Tag Heuer, Louis Vuitton, Mont Blanc and the Fossil Group.
But all that could be set to change as a couple of tech tipsters (both with decent records of predicting new devices in the past) have stated that a new Wear OS Samsung smartwatch is in the works.
Leakster Ices Universe, over on Chinese microblogging site Weibo stated that: "Samsung and Google will have an Android Wear flagship watch in the second half of the year".
That claim was backed up by Evan Blass on Twitter who tweeted: “Seen on the wrists of Samsung employees: Gear watches running not Tizen, but Wear OS.”
A move back to Google’s smartwatch platform would be huge for Wear OS. A recent CCS Insight report suggested that under 5 million Wear units were shipped in 2017 and it predicted fewer than 6 million would ship in 2018. However, a Samsung-flavored shot in the arm – combined with the exiting rumoured Pixel Watch – could be just what Google needs in order to get its wrist-based platform back on track.
Last year, Tizen reportedly overtook Android Wear in popularity for the first time – according to a report from Strategy Analytics. It stated that, during Q1 of 2017, Tizen had a 19 percent of the overall smartwatch market, compared to Google’s 18 percent.
The wearable band market is currently booming, according to industry analyst Canalys, with shipments up 35 percent year on year from Q1 2017 compared to the same period for 2018. It is Apple leading the way, who enjoy an 18 percent share of the overall wearable band market – that’s an estimated 3.8 million shipments. In this Canalys report, Samsung and Tizen isn't in the top five – so diversifying makes sense for Samsung.
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