On Tuesday, Google released several update announcements for various Android products and Google apps and services. Among the announcements was Google’s partnership with Samsung to develop a new Wear OS for future smartwatches.
None of the companies shared any details about inbound smartwatches, but tipsters @IceUniverse and @RQuandt both shed light on Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Watch, which is expected to arrive with the new operating system.
1 model aluminum, 1 model stainless steel.
– Roland Quandt (@rquandt) May 19, 2021
Starting with the chipset, this is expected to be a big change for Android-based smartwatches. The latest silicon from Qualcomm is the Snapdragon Wear 4100 which debuted with the Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 3 on the 12 nm process, and Samsung’s Exynos 9110 found on the Galaxy Watch Active2 is built on the 10 nm process. If this rumor is true, Samsung’s next smartwatch can handle serious performance while improving battery life.
The Galaxy Watch Active2 has 2.5D glass that slopes gently over the edge of the watch. Rumor has it that the Active4 watch will have a flat 2D glass that protects the screen and with a smaller frame, so we wonder if Samsung will continue to use the rotating frame action used to scroll through the menus.
Samsung Galaxy Watch3
Follow @IceUniverse‘s Tweet, another well-known leaker, Roland Quandt, called in suggesting that the Watch Active4 comes in aluminum and stainless steel variants.
Although Google told us some of what we can expect from Wear OS, we still do not have all the pieces to the puzzle. Yesterday’s announcement was more like a teaser, with the new Wear still expected to arrive sometime in the fall. The new update will also bring new apps, including a revision of Google Maps, Tiles, Spotify, YouTube Music and the addition of offline downloads to both music apps.
Via Twitter
