Samsung announces Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo smartwatches, drop Android for Tizen

Revamped hardware and a plethora of software highlights the second round of Samsung's smartwatch.

Samsung has announced the Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo smartwatches ahead of Mobile World Congress here in Barcelona, Spain. These are follow-ups to last summer's Samsung Galaxy Gear. And as you've probably noticed, the word "Galaxy" isn't seen here — and there's good reason for that.

Unlike the original Galaxy Gear, which has a full build of Android 4.2.2 on board, the Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo are running the Tizen OS — Samsung's own open-source operating system. That's good and bad, of course. It's great for those who have been waiting to see Tizen on a mainstream product (insofar as smartwatches are mainstream, we suppose) and bad for the tinkerers.

Thew new OS is just part of the changes, though. The hardware's been revamped as well. The ugly wart that is the camera on the Galaxy Gear is gone, moved from the strap to the body of the watch itself. And Samsung's tucked an IR port in there for good measure, turning the watch into a living-room remote — not really much of a surprise given that wearables will make up a good part of Samsung's Smart Home initiative, announced in January.

And that's just for starters.

source: androidcentral