Samsung may now be a major player in the Wear OS smartwatch market, but it once ignored Google’s platform entirely. Early Galaxy Watches ran exclusively on Samsung’s own Tizen OS. After several generations on Wear OS and with Tizen devices aging out, Samsung is officially retiring Tizen starting next month.
Early last year, Samsung laid out its plan to retire Tizen OS, the software that debuted with the first Galaxy Watch back in 2018. The phase-out kicked off on September 30, 2024, when paid watch content vanished from the Galaxy Store, followed by the removal of free downloads on March 31, 2025.
Samsung’s Tizen shutdown wraps up on September 30, 2025. After that date, Galaxy Store downloads for Tizen watches, whether paid or free, will no longer be available (via SamMobile). Anything you’ve already bought will still show up under Galaxy Store → Menu → My Apps, but once you delete it, it’s permanently gone, with no way to re-download it after the cutoff.
Older Galaxy Watch models lose all service support
Samsung is also shutting down all remaining services tied to Tizen OS smartwatches, affecting every model released before the Galaxy Watch 4. That includes the original Galaxy Gear, Gear 2, Gear Live, Gear S lineup, Gear Sport, and the Galaxy Watch series up through the Watch 3. None of these devices will get further updates or support for their connected services.
Of course, your Tizen watch won’t stop working after September 30, 2025, but without store access or service support, it’ll lose a lot of its smartwatch features and feel more limited.
It’s never ideal when a device you still use stops getting support, but keep in mind the last Tizen watch, the Galaxy Watch 3, came out in 2020. If you’re still wearing one, an upgrade is probably overdue.
Samsung’s move looks like a push to get users onto its newer Wear OS lineup, especially with the Galaxy Watch 8 and Galaxy Watch 8 Classic now on store shelves.
- Case size
-
40mm/44mm
- Display
-
1.3-inch/1.5-inch Super AMOLED
- Display resolution
-
438 x 438
- CPU
-
Exynos W1000
The Galaxy Watch 8 is leaning all the way into your well-being, packing in smarter health tools, AI that actually feels helpful, and customization that finally gets out of your way. It’s less of a gadget and more of a genuine sidekick for your daily rhythm.
- Case size
-
46mm
- Display
-
1.34″ Super AMOLED
- Display resolution
-
438 x 438
- CPU
-
Exynos W1000
- RAM
-
2 GB
- Storage
-
64 GB
After sitting one out, Samsung is bringing the physical rotating bezel to its newest watch, giving you a solid, tactile feel for scrolling through alerts and apps. It’s not just nostalgia—this fan favorite teams up with Wear OS and the latest One UI 8 Watch to deliver sharper health tracking and a whole lot of new tricks.
