In case you thought Google I/O 2021 was gonna end w/o addressing WearOS, Google delivered in spades. They announced that they will be teaming up w/ Samsung – combining WearOS + Tizen for a new software simply called Wear – for now.
The alliance will bring forth more apps/watchfaces, huge boost in battery life, faster load times, animations, & overall performance. The combined forces will also make it easier for developers for support one platform as well.
The folks over at Wired got a little more details w/ the retaining of the rotating bezel on future devices ( *ahem* Pixel Watch), a standalone version of Google Maps that won’t need a connected phone to work, Fitbit fitness-tracking features, and YouTube Music/Spotify will support offline downloads on Wear smartwatches.
The new combined software will make its way to the next Galaxy Watch as well as future premium Fitbit devices. If you currently own a Samsung Galaxy smartwatch, you’ll still get 3 years of software updates as they will allow you to export your health data to future devices.
This is all great news as this can be the right jolt to Android-powered smartwatches to actually compete w/ Apple Watches.
