Samsung to end app support for its first Android smartwatch, eight years later
TL; DR
- Samsung will end Galaxy Store support for the original Galaxy Gear on August 5th.
- This marks almost eight years after the introduction of the Android smartwatch.
- Samsung is asking users to migrate to Tizen right away when it returns to Android watches.
Believe it or not, Samsung has been supporting Android apps on the original Galaxy Gear since the camera-equipped smartwatch launched in 2013 – before a lifetime in the tech world. All of this comes to an end, however SamMobile reports that Samsung will end support for Galaxy Store services on the watch on August 5, 2021.
Samsung sent a notice to Galaxy Gear owners that they need to update their watches to Tizen in order to continue receiving Galaxy Store apps. The switch may sound unreasonable when it comes to deleting user data and losing support for certain apps. However, Samsung first released the Tizen update in 2014. So you had plenty of time to prepare for this moment.
Connected: The best Wear OS watches
The timing, as you can imagine, is more than a little inconvenient. Samsung is about to introduce its first Wear OS watch (not Android Wear). You’re upgrading your Galaxy Gear to Tizen while Samsung is dumping Tizen in favor of Wear OS – you might be swapping one outdated operating system for another.
It is safe to say that this message does not reach many people. Most Galaxy Gear owners have likely made the move to newer devices (if they still have smartwatches at all), and there’s a good chance many of those carriers were upgraded to Tizen years ago.
Still, it’s surprising news. Not only does it show that Samsung was committed to basic app support eight years later, it also suggests that there are enough people using Android on the Galaxy Gear that Samsung felt compelled to issue a warning. If you are one of those precious few hold backs, we greet you.
