Google and Samsung will in future be working together on smartwatches and their operating systems. Wear OS and Tizen will be merged into one platform and will in future combine the best of both worlds. Wear OS 3, as Google calls the new generation, will also be available as an upgrade for selected previous watches.
Via Twitter, the official Wear OS account from Google announces that Wear OS 3, the new version of the smartwatch operating system, is about to be released and what this means for users and their smartwatches. The tweet links to a post in the Google support forum that explains the upgrade.
Wear OS 3 is coming.
Find out what it means for you and your smartwatch, here: https://t.co/hhhHg71uBy& mdash; Wear OS by Google (@WearOSbyGoogle) July 22, 2021
According to this, Wear OS 3 should not only be used on new smartwatches that have not yet been presented, but will also be released for a limited selection of previous models. Google is open about the fact that the upgrade will basically bring a new user experience to the watches, but in individual cases it could also lead to restrictions. Google does not give any details about what exactly is behind this statement, but incompatibilities can be assumed, which may result from higher requirements on components such as the SoC.
Upgrade only possible with factory reset
In any case, Wear OS 3 will bring such big changes that when you upgrade from Wear OS 2 to the new version, the smartwatch will have to be completely reset (factory reset). For this reason, Google will only offer the upgrade as an opt-in so that users can stay with the old version. As the publication approaches, Google wants to give details of the exact process. According to Google, however, the rollout of Wear OS 3 for older watches is not expected before mid-2022.
These smartwatches will get the update
Suitable watches for the upgrade to Wear OS 3 are, according to Google, the Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 3 GPS, the TicWatch Pro 3 Cellular/LTE, the TicWatch E3 and future smartwatches from TicWatch as well as the new watches from Fossil planned for the further course of the year. Based on the smartwatches listed, it can be said that a Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 4100 is at least required.
For those who do not want to update their watches, Google also wants the new one Offer Gboard and Google Play for Wear OS. In addition, security updates should be made available for at least two years from the start of sales.
Samsung Smartwatch with One UI Watch
< p class = "p text-width"> The first new smartwatch based on the common platform is likely to be the Galaxy Watch 4, which is expected to be presented as part of the Galaxy Unpacked scheduled for August 11th. With One UI Watch, Samsung has already presented its own user interface for Wear OS 3 and some of its functions.