A report on USA Today said the next generation of "Gear" smartwatches will run on the open-source Tizen instead of Google's Android operating system.
Citing at least three people familiar with the situation, the report said Samsung will unveil the updated Gear watch and a new HTML5 version of Tizen at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
The first version of the Gear smartwatch ran on Android.
Tizen is a software platform for smartphones and other connected devices, but had a rough start last year as some members dropped out.
"Replacing Android with Tizen for the new version of the Gear gadget suggests that Samsung is not giving up on Tizen despite recent setbacks," the report said.
With the HTML5 version of Tizen, the report said Samsung "may be able to attract more Web developers to develop new apps for its smartwatch."
"But it is also a risk because, in the past, HTML5 apps have not performed as well as so-called native apps that run on more traditional mobile platforms such as Android and Apple's iOS, one of the people said," it added.
Too much power
The report said the move indicates Samsung is trying to avoid giving Google too much power. Google itself is developing the Glass wearable tech.
"Samsung is trying to protect its own long-term interests, not fortifying Google's Android camp while building their own camp around Tizen," said Stuart Richens, vice president of digital media at Network Communications.
Network Communications owns Apartment Finder, a mobile app that helps people track down the best places to live.
A separate report on CNET said Samsung initially planned to launch a high-end, Tizen-powered handset by September 2013, but delayed the release. — TJD, GMA News
source: gmanetwork.com
