Wear OS 3, which merged Google’s operating system for smartwatches with Samsung’s Tizen equivalent, was launched sometime in the summer of 2021. Initially limited to a handful of smartwatches, this version is now quite widely deployed on the models launched in recent months, at Fossil and Michael Kors, Samsung of course and a few other brands, some of which are quite prestigious. Without forgetting the Pixel Watch, of course.
Google is delighted with the success this new version of the OS has registered: the search engine has thus counted three times more active watches under Wear OS than in 2021. So it is certain that we are still starting from ‘Quite low. According to Strategy Analytics, the US market share of Wear OS watches increased from 8% in the second quarter of 2021 to 22% in the second quarter of 2022. Apple Watch is still in the leading position.
The Apple Watch remains rooted initially
Still, Wear OS is making a nice comeback after years spent vegetating away from the limelight. Will Google be able to amplify the phenomenon? The announcement last July of the Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1 by Qualcomm – the preferred supplier of Wear OS-connected watchmakers – gives hope for future products that are more efficient and more autonomous.
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