No, Samsung Gear S2 Isn't On Android

No, Samsung hasn’t necessarily abandoned its Tizen project. In fact, it has recently incorporated the Linux-based OS into its Samsung Gear S2 line of smart wearables.

David Ng, a product manager for Samsung’s wearables, shares that using Tizen as an OS with its Samsung Gear Watches will give the device greater flexibility. According to Ng, using this particular Linux-based OS will allow the company to build user experiences and interactions that Android Wear may not. For example, one of the Gear S2’s more innovative functions includes the capacity to control the device using a spinning bezel on the watch’s face. The “Rotary Dial,” as the company calls it, adds functionality to the smart wearable. According to Ng, on Android Wear, working these functions into the devices wouldn’t be possible.

According to Ng, Samsung has already partnered with at least 100 other companies to develop apps for the Gear platform. Big names such as Twitter, Uber, Nike, and even ESPN, are working with Samsung in creating Tizen-based apps for the Gear line of devices.

Ng also reveals that Tizen will play a major part in integrating Samsung’s Internet of Things projects.

With the flexibility that David Ng is describing to the press, as well as the plans to integrate the platform into their Internet of Things devices, it wouldn’t be hard to imagine Tizen-powered Samsung refrigerators, Samsung washing machines, among others.

Tizen as a platform is managed and developed by an association of companies, including Samsung and Intel. Just as the Android chose Linux as a foundation for its OS, the Tizen was made possible because of the Open Source nature of Linux as a platform.

Samsung used Tizen on some models of their cameras and mobiles. However, the product lines were not as popular as the Android-powered devices on their portfolio, so model after model was shelved. Hopefully, Tizen on Samsung Gear will shine in functionality, and consequently pick up in popularity.