The rumors only turned out to be half true, based on the latest leaked information about the upcoming Samsung smartwatch. It looks like it will indeed be rebranded as the Galaxy Watch but it will still be running on Samsung’s own Tizen OS and not Google’s Wear OS as previously rumored. We may also see it launched alongside the upcoming Galaxy Note 9 which will be happening this August 24 and it just might be the first time that their smartwatch is launched alongside a smartphone instead of at the Mobile World Congress.
So in effect, we won’t be getting a Gear S4 anymore as the smartwatch line will be rebranded to the much more logical and easier to understand Galaxy Watch. We’ll supposedly be getting the official announcement early August, alongside the Galaxy Note 9 at the Samsung Galaxy Unpack 2018 event happening in New York. The smartphone will supposedly be available for pre-order by August 14 and the street release will be on August 24, so we can expect something similar for the Galaxy Watch.
What’s interesting with this latest leak is that unlike the previous rumors that said the Galaxy Watch will be running on Google’s Wear OS, in fact it will still be using Tizen. This makes sense as Tizen 4.0 was just released a year ago so Samsung will probably go with their own OS rather than the still untried OS from Google, which is both a partner and a competitor. But as to what new things it will bring to the Galaxy Watch is still unclear at this point. All we know is that it will probably have Bixby, which is actually expected of most Samsung devices now anyway.
As to why the Galaxy Watch will be announced together with the Galaxy Note 9, it makes for better synergy between the various Samsung products. And they need to have a better strategy in the midst of fierce competition not just from their erstwhile rival Apple but with all the other OEMs looking for global dominance. Let’s see if this move is first of all, actually true, and secondly, effective in driving up sales.
VIA: ZDNet Korea
