Google Reportedly Not Thrilled About Samsung’s Tizen Smartwatches

You would think that Google and Samsung would have an awesome relationship with one another. After all, Samsung is the biggest Android OEM to date and we guess to a certain extent can be thanked for getting Android into as many hands as possible. Unfortunately the reality is that both companies aren’t as close as we’d like to think.

According to a recent report from The Information, it seems that Google isn’t too pleased by Samsung’s choice of using Tizen to power their wearable devices. Despite Samsung launching the Gear Live which runs on Google’s Android Wear, Google’s CEO Larry Page wasn’t too thrilled that Samsung had invested more into Tizen than Android Wear, as evidenced by Samsung’s other wearables such as the Gear 2 and Gear Fit.

This is actually not the first time that Google and Samsung have reportedly butted heads on the issue. Earlier this year we reported that Google had told Samsung to cut back on the Android modifications that they have made to Android. As Samsung users are probably aware, these modifications come in the form of their TouchWiz UI which dramatically changes the look and feel of Android.

We guess there are some who don’t mind and actually like using TouchWiz, but at the same time for those who don’t, Google is worried about the negative impression it will leave on the Android platform, which would be far from accurate since TouchWiz is nowhere near what stock Android is. That being said, Samsung is said to be getting ready to launch Tizen-based smartphones which could be a way for them to lessen their dependence on Google.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Gadgets
Tags: Android Wear, gear live, Google, Samsung, Smartwatch, Wearable Tech