Samsung Drops Android From Wearable OS

EETIMES - Feb 25 - Samsung unveiled three new wearables - the Gear and Gear Neo smart watches, and the Gear Fit fitness band. Unlike its previous generation smart watch, this year's products will not run the Android operating system. The Fit will use a real-time operating system while Gear and Gear Neo will operate on the Tizen OS, a Linux-based system Samsung, Intel, and others launched in 2011 as an alternative to Android. Samsung will not release its real-time OS to developers. The OS is so basic that there is no allowance for an app ecosystem anyway. Instead, Samsung will have to customize Fit apps in-house or work closely with developers to release apps.