A few weeks ago, Samsung had announced that it is abandoning Tizen OS in favor of an operating system that it has jointly developed with Google for smartwatches. Some of the important features of the new operating system were revealed during Google I/O 2021, but the brands had not revealed its formal name until today.
Google has revealed that the new operating system for smartwatches is called Wear OS 3. There is no mention of Google in its name, and probably because it was built using the best bits of former Wear OS, Samsung's Tizen, and Fitbit's fitness expertise. The Galaxy Watch 4 and the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic would be the first Samsung smartwatches to run Wear OS 3. Future smartwatches from the South Korean firm will use Wear OS 3 as well.
Existing Galaxy smartwatches won't be upgraded to Wear OS 3
Existing Galaxy watches won't be upgraded from Tizen to Wear OS 3, though. In fact, only four existing smartwatches running Wear OS 2.x would be updated to Wear OS 3, and the update will come in the second half of 2022. Samsung has announced that it will support its current Tizen-based smartwatches for up to three years and bring new features through software updates.
Wear OS 3 offers faster performance, better health tracking, improved battery life, and more third-party apps
Wear OS 3 features a new UI design, and Google is promising that it has faster performance and longer battery life. Apparently, apps will open 30% faster when compared to previous versions of Wear OS. The new operating system will also offer more third-party apps, and brands would be able to offer their own UI customizations on top of Wear OS 3. Samsung has revealed that its UI customizations over Wear OS 3 would be called One UI Watch.
The new operating system for wearables also features an easier way to switch between important features, apps, Tiles, and watch faces. Developers can build new watch faces for Wear OS 3 using Samsung's watch face design editor. The operating system will have standalone apps for Google Assistant, Google Maps, Google Pay, Fitbit, and YouTube Music.
Features like health tracking and fitness goals celebration have been designed with the help of Fitbit. Some third-party app developers will launch new and revamped apps for Wear OS 3. Overall, it looks like the future is bright for Samsung's smartwatches and Wear OS 3.
