Advertisement

Samsung Galaxy Gear update switches it from Android to Tizen

When Samsung debuted its new line of Tizen-powered wearables, it looked like the original Galaxy Gear had been put on notice. Instead of leaving early adopters in the cold, the Korean smartphone maker has decided to make good on its promise to bring the wearable up to date -- by switching it from Android over to its own OS. The update includes improvements to performance and battery life, a new standalone music player, customizable shortcuts, and voice-controlled camera commands. By installing the update, which at the moment is available as a manual download or via Samsung's Kies software, you will lose any third-party tweaks or unsupported Android features that you've previously installed. However, you will gain many of the features present on the Gear 2 (except those dependent on additional sensors). Samsung hasn't pushed an over-the-air update out yet, but that may not be a bad thing. It means some that may have accepted the update out of hand are less likely to make a decision they might regret later.