My "new daddy gift" for my son, who was born more than seven years ago, was the original Samsung Galaxy Gear. Because I wanted to stand out, I chose the one with the orange band. Unfortunately, my Galaxy Gear was not durable and I upgraded to a Samsung Galaxy Live, one of two original Android Wear-powered smartwatches that was poised to demonstrate what a smartwatch should be. As a new platform was launched, a new update was also unveiled. Yet, the experience didn't get better, but it seemed to get worse. Today, despite the many beautiful smartwatches available, I haven’t worn one every day since 2019. I was frustrated by the slow performance, poor battery life and general malaise that I had over the years with Google’s flailing Wear OS, as well as the terrible battery life. Add to that Samsung's inability provide Android-level notifications (notifications I can actually use), and I felt like I was always trying to justify smartwatch purchases. VPN Deals: A lifetime license costs $16, and monthly plans cost $1 & More. Thankfully, MWC 2021 gave me a reason again to be interested in Android smartwatches with the announcement of WearOS with One UI. This will come first to the next Samsung smartwatch which is presumably the Galaxy Watch 4. Samsung did not reveal the model, but stated that it would be unveiled at the next Samsung Unpacked event later in the Summer. This further cements its place as the best smartwatches. Real solutions to real problemsSource: GoogleTaken as a whole, Samsung's Tizen platform offers a superior smartwatch experience than current Wear OS watches. Tizen has a significantly longer battery life, better performance than Wear OS, and better fitness apps. All of this is possible with the new Wear OS. Wear OS has a significantly better handling of notifications than Tizen's. According to Samsung's presentation at MWC 20,21, performance enhancements up to 30% faster are the core of the experience. We also see a greater emphasis on long-lasting battery life. This is something that Tizen excelled at while Wear OS failed to meet this expectation. Smartwatches have been challenged to live up to their expectations, since long-lasting battery life and consistent performance have not been a reality in the digital age until recently.The new Wear OS appears to combine the best of both Google's and Samsung's platforms.Carmi Levy is a Technology Analyst and was very knowledgeable about the topic. He was very happy with the new direction. The limitations of the old chipsets that Wear OS devices had to use were a significant hindrance. "New" Wear OS devices couldn't compete with the old chipsets in terms of basic metrics like battery life, app performance and stability. These concerns must be addressed with new hardware that surpasses consumer expectations in terms of performance and battery life. If it does not, it's over. Carmi Levy (Technology Analyst Samsung) spoke specifically about prioritizing healthcare applications in the new WearOS, which includes a single health platform. It will likely combine Samsung Health and Google Fit in one platform. However, it will need to go further to ensure that health sensors are consistent and accurate. Although it sounds marketing speak, Samsung claims its new Wear OS devices will use a "dedicated super-low power core" which can run the heart rate sensor at any time without affecting battery life. This smartwatch OS is the most user-friendly either company has ever made. These are the kind of enhancements that make me believe this is serious business and not a half-hearted effort. The eSIM will be built into watches so you can pick up a watch at a store when you buy a phone. This means that smartwatches equipped with the new Wear OS can run independently without a phone, indicating that this platform is capable of running on its own. This idea is further supported by the inclusion of all Google apps. By integrating existing Android development tools into the new Wear OS rollout, Google and Samsung have made this the most developer-friendly smartwatch OS they've ever created. This means more apps, but also better watch faces. Apple's watchOS has been a failure in this regard. Wear OS is able to create custom watch faces, which is why I stayed with Wear OS for so long. Are big changes always better than big failures?Source: Derrek Le / Android CentralThe new Wear OS, which is a combination of Samsung and Google's competing platforms, represents a step forward for these two companies who have different ideas about what a smartwatch should look like. This is in a real sense the culmination of the open design that Google has worked towards with Android. It appears to take the best features from the OS and translate them into a watch-sized form factor. OEMs can skin the new Wear OS, which brings back a lot of memories from Android's past. The new Wear OS will be available on Samsung Galaxy smartwatches equipped with a One UI skin. However, they will not use that term. While the base functionality of the smartwatches will remain the same as the other Wear OS models, Samsung's "flavor" Wear OS will offer unique advantages over Fossil and TicWatch smartwatches. This is a scary idea, but it gives brands the opportunity to differentiate their smartwatches beyond just offering different watch faces or physical hardware. This homogeny has been the greatest advantage and disadvantage to Google's platform. It means that most watches will retain the same look and feel, regardless of whether they have different hardware. Levy believes this will not be an issue in the wearables marketplace as it was in the Android smartphone markets. While skinning has the potential to introduce all the problems that are present in the Android market, including delayed updates, inconsistencies, and incompatibilities, it's reasonable to assume that wearables' end-user expectations and behaviors will be significantly different from the smartphone market. Wearables are less important than smartphones, so major OS updates don't matter as much. Google had absolutely nothing to lose. If vendors are allowed to create their skins, it is worth it. Technology Analyst Carmi Levy But will this mean that OEMs fall back into the old cycle where they never update their hardware with new software or not? Samsung says it doesn't. Samsung announced that the existing Tizen-powered Galaxy Watches will receive three years of support at their MWC 2021 conference. We fully expect the new watches to offer at least that amount. Samsung's recent improvements to its phone updates cycles mean that Galaxy phones will receive updates for up to four years after their release. This is better than even Google's update schedule. It will be interesting to see whether other OEMs fall into the same old traps. It's a sign that both companies are listening to customers and making some old, but still good ideas, a sign that they have taken the time to listen. Google even brings back some old ideas that were good. This is a sign that both companies are listening to customers and committed to creating a great watch OS. The most notable example I have seen is the watch apps. They will automatically be installed when you install the same app on your phone. This feature was present in early Android Wear versions before the Google Play Store was fully integrated into Wear OS updates. Although the installation process was not well-designed back then, Google and Samsung have created a solution that allows for automatic installation behind closed doors as well as an app store whenever you need it. A good watch is essentialSource: Nick Sutrich/Android CentralThe most important question at the moment revolves around Samsung Galaxy Watches and WearOS. Both lines are more modern and will likely run the new Wear OS. However, OEMs have been speculating about whether or not their smartwatches would be updated to the latest OS. It is not clear when or if the update will be available for existing smartwatches. Qualcomm, which makes the Wear OS chips, has announced that Snapdragon Wear 3100 and 4100 will be supported by Wear OS 3.0. Mobvoi, maker of TicWatch smartwatches says it is working with Google to update its watches. Fossil, however, has stated that no of its watches will be updated. Samsung did not mention the new Wear OS on its next Galaxy Watch, which will be available later in the Summer. It's all a mess. Maybe it's just a mystery. It's likely that it will take some time to find out for certain. It's great to start a new journey and destroy the old ones, but many OEMs may be happy with this strategy. This is likely to be a positive thing, based on what we have seen so far from Google and Samsung. However, just like Windows 11, Microsoft has set a minimum hardware requirement to run its new OS. The new Wear OS must raise its standards to ensure a smooth experience.It's hard to beat starting a new journey and destroying the old ones, but many OEMs seem content with this approach.
