Whether by design or through an unforeseen turn of events, Samsung has had exclusivity over Google's Wear OS 3.0 software for smartwatches for almost a year. But that exclusivity will soon come to an end, as Montblanc is preparing to release its first Wear OS 3.0 smartwatch in just a few weeks.
The Montblanc Summit 3 is the first smartwatch that doesn't have the Samsung brand to run Wear OS 3.0. It's not yet available for purchase, but it's scheduled to go on sale on July 15. (via Wareable)
Not a direct Galaxy Watch 4 / Watch 5 competitor
Although it looks like the Montblanc Summit 3 will be the first non-Samsung watch to run Wear OS 3.0, that's not to say it will be in direct competition with the Galaxy Watch series.
The Montblanc Summit 3 will go on sale next month for €1,250, which makes it a whole lot more expensive than the Galaxy Watch 4 series and the upcoming Galaxy Watch 5 — presumably. Watch 5 prices are unknown, but even so, we don't expect Samsung to sell its next wearables anywhere near the €1,000 mark.
The Summit 3 sits in a different price range than the Samsung Galaxy Watch series, and it could be interesting to see how Montblanc implemented Wear OS 3.0 on its own watch without using Samsung's proprietary One UI Wear skin.
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