Samsung may have withdrawn from this year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) in-person exhibitions but the company will still participate in the mega event later this month virtually. And it appears the Korean firm will take the opportunity to share some details about its upcoming smartwatches – the Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch Active 4.
The company’s online-only session at MWC 2021 will take place on June 28th (19:15 – 20:15 local time), where it will talk about a “new watch experience”. In its session description on MWC’s website, Samsung has said that it’s “reimagining smartwatches, creating new opportunities for both developers and consumers”. While the company doesn’t go into details, it’s quite evident that the Galaxy Watch 4 series will feature at the upcoming trade show in some way or the other. Perhaps Samsung will unveil the new watches? We shall see.
The new Wear OS, or the Galaxy Watch 4 itself?
If you’ve been closely following the recent developments around Samsung’s upcoming smartwatches, you might already know that they will run Wear OS. The company is switching back to Google’s platform after six years, having used Tizen OS all this while. However, it’s not the Wear OS that we see in watches from other OEMs. Samsung and Google have collaborated to develop a brand new version of the platform. It’s more like a unified platform that will bring the best of both Tizen OS and Wear OS.
The two companies are promising faster app startup times, more powerful watch dace designer, improved stock apps, longer battery life (improved power efficiency), customizable UI, and much more. Android-based platform means it will also be easier for developers to bring their apps to Samsung watches. They don’t need to re-write the apps again for the Tizen platform. This will ensure a broader app ecosystem, which was a major disadvantage of Tizen OS.
Long story short, a lot of changes are coming to Samsung’s smartwatch lineup soon. So when the company says “new watch experience,” it could mean the new Wear OS, rather than the watch itself. Nonetheless, there’s plenty to look forward to.
Apart from the new watch experience, Samsung will also talk about the Galaxy ecosystem and mobile security at MWC 2021. The company says its “enhancing security, giving people the protection they need in an open and connected world.”
MWC 2021 will take place between June 28 and July 1 in Barcelona. Many big names have withdrawn from in-person exhibitions at the event due to the COVID-19 pandemic concerns. However, the event’s organizing body GSMA has taken a hybrid approach this year, allowing companies to participate virtually. So stay tuned as we cover all the big announcements at the upcoming mega event.