Samsung is set to end its support for wearable devices running on the Tizen operating system. The South Korean tech giant will be gradually limiting the functionalities of its smartwatches using this operating system in the coming months.
The End of Tizen Operating System
Samsung launched its first Tizen-powered smartwatch, the Galaxy Watch, in 2018. However, after transitioning to the Wear OS platform in the fourth generation of its smartwatches, the company ceased the development of Tizen. Now, Samsung is preparing to completely end support for its wearable devices using the Tizen operating system.
Gradual Phase-Out of Support
Samsung has started notifying users that support for the Tizen operating system will be phased out by the end of 2025. Paid content sales (including watch faces) will cease on September 30, 2024. Free content downloads will be blocked on May 31, 2025. Finally, by September 30, 2025, users will no longer be able to re-download their apps and watch faces from the Galaxy Store. After May 2025, all essential services related to Tizen OS devices will be discontinued.
Impacted Models and Users
The end of Tizen support will affect all Samsung Gear models, as well as the Galaxy Watch, Galaxy Watch 3, Galaxy Watch Active, and Galaxy Watch Active 2. The functionality of these watches will be restricted in the coming months. This development is expected to encourage Tizen users to purchase new smartwatches.