Rumors that Samsung can potentially abandon Tizen, its proprietary operating system for portable devices, for Google’s Wear operating system, has been flying lately. It’s a baffling idea, considering that Samsung smartwatches are the best Android-compatible smartwatches right now, and Wear OS is a stinking disaster.
Case study: 9 to 5Google reports the phrases “OK Google” or “Hey Google” to activate Google Wear OS Clock Wizard has been broken for months. Google also confirmed this The Virgin who was aware of this bug, which has been affecting users since at least November 2020, and who is working on a solution. While you can use the Wizard by pressing the buttons (which is actually my favorite method of displaying the Wear OS Wizard), it’s clear that Google has known about the issue for a long time and has yet to fix .
Wear OS has long been one of Google’s most sloppy projects, but that’s a new minimum. The main reason for choosing a Wear OS watch over a Fitbit or Samsung smartwatch is the native integration with the Google Assistant and Google Pay. If you’re not interested in quickly fixing one of the main selling points of your portable platform, I’m not sure I can say with confidence that Wear OS will be available for a long time. And this is not the only case. Already in October, even Google puts Wear OS in second place opting to launch a YouTube Music app for the Apple Watch first. Worse, Google’s most recent updates to Wear OS were evil at best, with slightly better application load times and a time tile like the marquee features.
That was all Wear OS had to offer in 2020. Compare that to Samsung’s year of blockbuster, in which he made it out of the park with the Galaxy Watch 3. Right now, the Galaxy Watch 3 is the only other flagship smartwatch that can go from end to end with the Apple Watch in almost every feature. Of course, meIt is not perfect. Some features, such as its FDA-authorized electrocardiogram application they are currently only available for Samsung Smartphone Owners. Still, there is really no competition between the Galaxy Watch 3 even the best of the best Wear OS watches I have tried.
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To be fair, Samsung once used Wear OS (later Android Wear) on their smart watches. But in 2014 it switched to Tizen with Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo, probably for the same reasons that almost every other smartwatch maker apart from Fossil did: Google. Tough user interface, low adoption rate and outdated Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 chip.
So why, Because would Samsung return to a platform that hasn’t gotten its shit yet? I can think of a few reasons, but none of them are particularly good. For starters, Tizen doesn’t have a large third-party app ecosystem and switching to Wear OS can open it up to more apps. But to be honest, Wear OS apps don’t have too much developer love, even if it is there there are more. For example, Spotify for Wear OS is a glorified remote control, while Spotify for Tizen allows you to use offline playlists. Google’s native Wear OS apps are fine, at best. and frankly, it’s weird than the built-in Google Fit Training App is now divided into various different versions. Google Fit, even with more recent updates, is no better than Samsung Health, and having them both installed on the clock is again tedious.
The other reason I could see Samsung making the change would be to bring the Google Assistant and Google Pay Assistant option to Samsung watches. And that would be amazing, because Samsung Pay is more restrictive than Google Pay, and who the hell really likes Bixby? But Samsung does need Want to make an all-in Wear OS to incorporate the Wizard and Google Pay? Fitbit manages to have the Google Assistant work with Fitbit OS, why not allow Samsung to do the same? (Of course, Fitbit is likely to have the Wizard because Google now owns the business.)
There are many chances that a Samsung Wear OS watch will vacuum less than all other Wear OS watches. But this is mainly because Samsung could use its proprietary Exynos SoC instead of relying on Qualcomm’s, which is doing the bare minimum.. Also, while I’m sure Samsung’s rotating frame navigation could be transported to a Wear OS watch, it wouldn’t be as good unless Google allows Samsung to run a Wear OS skin (which is what Oppo did with its Wear operating system I will see). It’s revealing that Wear OS was really decent on the Oppo Watch because it didn’t look or work like Wear OS. And right now, what’s the reason for Tizen’s change again?
It is clear that Google takes more advantage of Samsung through Wear OS than vice versa. Samsung bringing smartwatch innovations to this platform would suddenly become relevant again—As long as all Samsung applications, including those that require FDA authorization, can make the jump smoothly.
Except this won’t make Wear OS overall good. For this to happen, other watchmakers should figure out how to make the best use of Wear OS. Google should update the damn platform in a way that is consistent with reality well functions, not incremental that are barely a stroke of light on the radar. Qualcomm should figure out how to upgrade its usable SoC current process technology and do it more than once every two years. And that’s if Google doesn’t decide to upgradeend everything now that he owns Fitbit a do something else completely.
Android users, and not just those who use Samsung smartphones, deserve an excellent smartwatch. That doesn’t seem like the best way to get one.