rumors that Samsung can potentially giving up Tizen, own operating system for portable devices, for the Google Wear operating system, have been flying lately. It’s a confusing idea, given that Samsung smartwatches are now the best smartwatches compatible with Android, and Wear OS is a stinking hot mess.
Eloquent case: 9to5Google reports that the phrases “OK Google” or “Hey Google” to trigger Google Wear OS Watch Assistant were broken for months. Google has also confirmed Tthe Virgin that he was aware of this error, which has been affecting users since at least November 2020 and is working on a solution. Although you can use the wizard by pressing and holding buttons (which is actually my favorite method of bringing the wizard to Wear OS), it is said that Google has known the problem for a long time and has not fixed it yet.
Wear OS has long been one of Google’s most neglected projects, but this is a new low level. The main reason to choose a Wear OS watch over a Fitbit or Samsung smart watch is the native integration with Google Assistant and Google Pay. If you don’t care to quickly fix one of the main selling points of your portable platform, then I’m not sure I can say with confidence that Wear OS will be available in the long run. And this is not the only case. In October, even Google put Wear OS second opting to launch a YouTube Music app for Apple Watch first. Worse, Google’s latest updates to Wear OS have been stupid at best, with slightly better application loading times and a tigla meteo as the characteristics of the awning.
That was all Wear OS had to offer in 2020. Compare it to Samsung’s successful year, in which he absolutely took him out of the park with Galaxy Watch 3. Right now, the Galaxy Watch 3 is the only other smart watch that can go from foot to foot with the Apple Watch on almost every feature. Of courseIt is not perfect. Some features, such as the FDA-approved electrocardiogram application are currently only available for Samsung smartphone owners. However, there is really no competition between the Galaxy Watch 3 and even the best of the best Wear OS watches I’ve tested.
G / O Media may receive a commission
To be fair, Samsung once used Wear OS – then Android Wear – on its smart watches. But in 2014, it made the switch to Tizen with Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo, probably for the same reasons that almost every other smartwatch manufacturer besides Fossil at the time: Google unpleasant interface, low adoption rate and outdated Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 chip.
So why, Why Would Samsung return to a platform that has not yet managed to make shit? I can think of a few reasons, but none of them are particularly good. For starters, Tizen doesn’t have an excellent third-party application ecosystem, and switching to Wear OS could open it up to more applications. But to be honest, Wear OS apps don’t have much developer love, even if there there are several of them. 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 good at best, and, frankly, it’s weird that built-in Google Fit Training App is actually now divided into more different versions. Google Fit, even with newer updateIt’s also no better than Samsung Health and if you have both installed on your watch it’s boring again.
The other reason I could see Samsung making the change would be to bring the Google Assistant and Google Pay option to Samsung watches. And that would be great, because Samsung Pay is more restrictive to use than Google Pay, and who the hell really likes Bixby? But Samsung does need to make an all-in on Wear OS to incorporate Wizard and Google Pay? Fitbit manages to have Google Assistant you are working on the Fitbit operating system, why not allow Samsung to do the same? (Granted, Fitbit probably has Assistant because Google now owns the company.)
There is a distinct chance that a Samsung Wear OS watch will suck less than any other Wear OS watch. But that’s mainly because Samsung could use its own Exynos SoC instead of relying on Qualcomm’s, which does the bare minimum.. Also, while I’m sure that the rotating navigation of the Samsung frame could be ported to a Wear OS watch, it wouldn’t be as good if Google didn’t allow Samsung to run a Wear OS skin (which is what Oppo did with its Wear operating system clock). It is said that Wear OS was actually decent on Oppo Watch because it didn’t look or work the same as Wear OS. And at that moment, what is the real reason to move from Tizen again?
It is clear that Google gets more from Samsung using Wear OS than vice versa. Samsung bringing its smartwatch innovations on that platform would make it relevant again– Provided that all Samsung applications, including those that require FDA approval, can make the leap without problems.
Except that Wear OS wouldn’t be good as a whole. For this to happen, other watchmakers should figure out how to make the best use of Wear OS. Google should actually update the damn platform consistently good features, not incremental, that are barely a moment on the radar. Qualcomm should know how to upgrade its portable SoC current process technology and do it more than once every two years. And that’s if Google doesn’t decide to support itput an end to everything now that he owns Fitbit la do something completely different.
Android users – and not just those who use Samsung smartphones – deserve an excellent smartwatch. This doesn’t seem to be the best way to get one.