Despite the poor show put up by the Galaxy Gear, Samsung hasn’t given up hope on its smartwatch offerings, and is all set to launch a new version of the device.
While the original Gear is an Android-based smartwatch, the Gear 2, which will also be known as the Galaxy Band, is likely to run on Samsung’s own Tizen OS. People familiar with the matter told CNet that Samsung would unveil the new Gear smartwatch at the Mobile World Congress and it will run company’s Tizen software.
We’ve been hearing about Samsung’s Tizen-based devices for some time now. The smartphone was initially slated for launch in 2013, but later reports claimed that Samsung has pushed the launch to 2014. Now, news has it that the company will be unveiling the Tizen-based smartwatch along with some other Tizen products, most probably a phone and camera.
According to the report the company is also developing fitness bands. This could also mean there is a possibility that the Galaxy Band could be a new device altogether and run on Android, while the Tizen-based Gear 2 could be an improved version of Gear. Samsung refused to respond to the rumours about the Tizen-based smartwatch by stating it doesn’t want to comment on rumours and speculations.
US not on Samsung's map for Tizen any time soon:
Samsung had kickstarted the year by teasing us about its upcoming Gear successor. Later rumours pointed at a fitness-focused smartwatch dubbed the Galaxy Band, which could be a differentiator from the defamed Gear series. The Galaxy Band is expected to be loaded with sensors for capturing data on motion, pressure and temperature, all of which are essential for fitness trackers. The device will connect with Samsung Galaxy devices (and presumably other phones) via Bluetooth LE.
A previous report had also claimed that the final public release of the Tizen and smartphones running the OS will only be in Q3 of 2014. But now it seems that the company won’t wait that long. This could be prompted in part, by the not-so-satisfactory sales of the Galaxy S4, which has caused the company to push forward with the Galaxy S5, which is also likely to launch at its “Unpacked 5″ event this week.
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Last year J.K. Shin, Samsung CEO had said how he plans Tizen to be everywhere, and looks like this is just the beginning. However, at the Unpacked event, Android could still take centre-stage if the company unveils the Galaxy S5.
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