So it turns out Samsung might not be the knight in shining armour, riding in on a mighty steed to save Google’s Wear OS platform, after all.
That’s because recent rumours Samsung is considering ditching the homegrown Tizen OS for Wear OS on the forthcoming Gear S4 watch may be unfounded.
The speculation included a tweet from leakster Evan Blass who reported Samsung employees had been spied wearing watches running Wear OS. Now, in a follow up tweet more than weeks later, @evleaks says the watches were one-offs created by Google and shipped to Samsung folk.
Update: turns out these were actually just one-offs made by Google and seeded to some Samsung workers (i.e. keep moving, nothing to see here).
— Evan Blass (@evleaks) June 7, 2018
While it appears Samsung may not have been explicitly testing its own hardware with Wear OS, it doesn’t mean all hope is lost. Just because this element of the story appears to have been debunked, it doesn’t rule out hopes of a Samsung Wear OS device completely.
On the same day as the initial tweet from Blass on May 23, IT Home reported Samsung had been convinced to return to the Wear OS fold. Noted Samsung leaker Ice Universe also suggested a new partnership was on the horizon.
Related: Best smartwatch 2018
While Samsung hasn’t launched a Wear OS (nee Android Wear) watch device since 2014, it would perhaps benefit from a rethink.
The Gear range is improving, but is struggling to grab the attention and rival the Apple Watch. That may be partially down to the limited app selection on the Tizen store, which is a problem Samsung could solve by reverting to the Google Play Store within Wear OS.
The next Samsung smartwatch could arrive alongside the Note 9, rumoured to be launching at an event on August 9. Otherwise we’re likely to see it at IFA 2019 at the end of August. Tizen? Or Wear OS? Where’s your money?
Would you like to see a Samsung smartwatch running Wear OS? Is this the pairing necessary to challenge the Apple Watch in a meaningful way? Let us know @TrustedReviews on Twitter.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
