- Samsung will end Galaxy Store support for the original Galaxy Gear on August 5.
- This marks almost eight years since the Android smartwatch debuted.
- Samsung is asking users to migrate to Tizen– just as it returns to Android watches.
Believe it or not, Samsung has supported Android apps on the original Galaxy Gear ever since the camera-equipped smartwatch debuted in 2013 — a lifetime in the tech world. However, that’s all coming to an end, as SamMobile reports that Samsung will end support for the Galaxy Store service on watches on August 5, 2021.
Samsung told Galaxy Gear owners in a notice that they must update their watches to Tizen in order to continue receiving apps from the Galaxy Store. This transformation may sound unreasonable when it comes to erasing user data and losing support for certain applications. Samsung, however, first released Tizen updates in 2014. In other words, you’ve had plenty of time to prepare for this moment.
Related. The best Wear OS watches
As you might guess, the timing is a bit inconvenient. Samsung is about to launch its first Wear OS watch (that is, not Android Wear). You’re updating your Galaxy Gear to Tizen, and Samsung seems to be ditching Tizen in favor of Wear OS — you could be trading in one outdated operating system for another.
It’s safe to say that the announcement won’t affect many people. Most Galaxy Gear owners have probably already switched to newer devices (if they still have smartwatches in the first place), and there’s a good chance that many of those wearers upgraded to Tizen years ago.
Even so, this is surprising news. It shows not only that Samsung is committed to basic app support eight years later, but that enough people are using Android on the Galaxy Gear that Samsung felt the need to sound the alarm. If you are one of those precious few, we salute you.