Galaxy Watch fans will be in for a real treat next week as Samsung has confirmed plans to reveal the future of these wearables during an event. The South Korean company is holding an online presentation during the Mobile World Congress. This annual event is usually held in Barcelona but will take place online in 2021 due to current COVID restrictions, with the biggest brands now holding virtual keynotes.
Although all the details of Samsung’s announcements are still under wraps, the company has teased that it will “reveal its vision for the future of smartwatches” at MWC. In an invitation to the media, the company said: “As part of this year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC), Samsung Electronics will host a virtual Samsung Galaxy session on June 28th. At the event, Samsung will show how the Galaxy ecosystem of connected devices aims to provide people with even more opportunities to enrich their lifestyles. “
This event could give our first look at the next Samsung smartwatches since they announced their new partnership with Google. The tech firms announced plans to join forces during the Google IO conference in May, with Samsung’s new watches ditching the company’s bespoke Tizen operating system in favor of Google’s WearOS.
Some may consider this an odd move, especially since Samsung has worked so hard to make Tizen better over the past few years. While Tizen is even more advanced than Wear OS right now, the move to Google’s operating system will allow Galaxy Watch smartwatches to work better with other brands of Android phones. Samsung can sell its wearables to customers who have not necessarily bought one of its smartphones.
Another benefit of the Google equivalent is that since it was used by a number of different wearable and smartwatch manufacturers, developers have created a number of apps for it. Unlike Tizen, which requires software developers to design a specific version for Galaxy Watch wearers, Wear OS offers compatibility with a wide variety of apps and a much wider range of digital watch faces.
The lack of third-party apps, from maps to music streaming services, has long been a thorn in Tizen’s side – switching to Wear OS could finally help.
It’s unclear if the new Wear OS update will be available for both existing Galaxy Watch units and new models, but given Samsung’s track record of keeping older devices updated with the latest software, we would be not surprised to see current Galaxy Watch owners being treated with all of the new features.
In addition to the new software, a recent report from the eagle eye team at SamMobile suggested that a total of three watches would be released in the coming months. It is believed that one of Samsung’s new wearables could include the classic rotating bezel that allows users to interact with the display without touching it, while the remaining two will have a sportier design.
The Samsung Galaxy session is on June 28th and Express.co.uk brings you all the news live.
