Samsung Gear S4 Smartwatch Could Drop Tizen For Google's Wear OS
You wouldn't think there could be a whole lot of mystery and intrigue in the smartwatch market, but there is plenty of both surrounding Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S4 (or Galaxy Gear). The big question surrounding the new wrist piece is whether Samsung will once again forge ahead with its Tizen, or make the jump over to Google's Android-based Wear OS. The latest chatter suggests the latter.
Update: turns out these were actually just one-offs made by Google and seeded to some Samsung workers (i.e. keep moving, nothing to see here).
— Evan Blass (@evleaks) June 7, 2018
Let's back up a moment. Back in May, famed leaker Evan Blass (known as @evleaks on Twitter) posted a tweet saying that Samsung employees had been spotting wearing Gear watches running Wear OS, and not Tizen. A couple of weeks later, he posed a follow-up tweet saying those were just one-off designs made by Google and given to a handful of Samsung workers, and that there was "nothing to see here." Rumor squashed, right? Not so fast.
About Gear S4 (probably called Galaxy Watch) Based on Android Wear, 470mAh battery, PLP package, it is expected to have new UX interaction and blood pressure measurement.
— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) July 6, 2018
Ice Universe, another prominent insider who often leaks accurate information on Twitter, has reignited the rumor by offering up some specs. According to him, Samsung's next smartwatch will likely be called Galaxy Watch, not Gear S4, and will be based on Google's Wear OS platform. He also said it will have a 470 mAh battery, PLP package, and a blood pressure monitor.
So which will it be, Tizen or Wear OS? That's the big question, and as of right now we have two conflicting reports by two people who are fairly connected to the mobile scene. The more recent tweet says the Galaxy Watch will run Wear OS, so we lean towards that being the case. We wouldn't bet the farm on it, though (not that we go around betting farms).
It's also not clear when exactly Samsung will announced its next smartwatch. One possibility is that it could be announced during the Galaxy Note 9 launch event in New York on August 9. It could also make a debut at IFA.
