Samsung has pushed out its "Tizen SDK for Wearables" meant for its Gear smartwatches. Does this mean that Samsung has sounded the death knell for its Android-powered devices?
On Monday, March 17, Samsung announced that the Tizen SDK for its wearable devices is available for download from the Tizen Developer website.
So what does the "Tizen SDK for Wearables" bring to the table you ask? Apparently "a variety of applications for Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 and Galaxy Gear 2 Neo are expected to be developed by active Tizen app developer community" per Samsung.
Samsung's Tizen SDK enables three types of Gear apps: Linked, Integrated and Standalone. With the Tizen SDK rolled out, Samsung is looking to create more opportunities and "possibilities" for consumers, app developers and its partners.
For the uninitiated, Tizen is a Linux-based operating system developed by the Korean company. Market observers are of the opinion that in the long run, Samsung intends to focus on Tizen and may use it to replace Android in its devices.
While Samsung will unlikely replace Android with Tizen immediately, the company could well be looking at Tizen as a way to gradually have more control over the market. With its own ecosystem, Samsung would not need to rely on Google and have complete control over the hardware and services a la Apple.
Samsung has revealed that a key factor that prompted the shift from Android to Tizen for the successor of the Galaxy Gear smartwatch, Galaxy Gear 2 and Galaxy Gear 2 Neo, was the battery life. Android reportedly provided support for a day and half, whereas Tizen gives up to three days.
Moreover, Google is also slated to release an Android-based SDK for wearable devices sometime in March itself. Samsung likely sensing competition from Google has trumped the company for now with its Tizen SDK release.
The file for the Tizen SDK is quick to download since it is only 5MB. It is available for Windows, Mac and Ubuntu. While the original Galaxy Gear smartwatch barely had third-party apps it could boast of, Tizen SDK for Wearables being a public release will let anyone make an app for the device.
To download the SDK head here.
