Samsung has started pushing the Tizen operating system to the original Galaxy Gear smartwatch in its latest update to replace Android.
It was recently reported that Samsung would be launching a new series of Galaxy Gear devices with their own Tizen operating system. However, it seems the company won"t leave their older Galaxy Gear on Android as they have started pushing an update to install Tizen on the smartwatch. According to SamMobile, the Tizen 2.2.0 update is available through Kies and will erase existing data on the smartwatch. Although the update doesn"t bring any new visual changes to the Galaxy Gear, the overall software is optimized and gives better battery performance. Additionally, new features such as a standalone music player, new tap shortcuts and voice commands for camera are included in the update.
Users who get the update notification will need to connect their smartwatch to their PC using Samsung"s Kies software. They will be prompted to backup their data, as the entire smartwatch is erased in the process. Once the process completes, users will have to pair the smartwatch all over again with their smartphone or tablet. As it is a major update, Samsung is not expected to push it over the air. The global rollout schedule has not been revealed in the report but given the total user base of Galaxy Gear, it won"t take long before all users are on Tizen.
Source: SamMobile | Image via CNET