U.S. Galaxy Gear owners can now make the switch to Tizen

Samsung has announced that U.S. owners of the Galaxy Gear smartwatch now have the option to switch their operating system from Android to Tizen.

While Samsung started a global rollout of this option in May, the company is now officially allowing this switch to happen in the US. An FAQ page on Samsung's website has more details on the smartwatch's new features when the move to Tizen is mad, including a customizable interface, access to nearly three times the amount of third party apps, a new music player and more.

More importantly, the FAQ page has detailed instructions on how owners of the Galaxy Gear can make the journey from Android to Tizen. It will require the installation use of the Samsung Kies PC app for Windows or OS X, along with a USB cable to connect to the PC and a fully charged battery for the Galaxy Gear. Needless to say, changing the OS from Android to Tizen will delete any personal data on the Galaxy Gear so users are reminded to back up any such data that they might want to keep beforehand. After the switch is made, Samsung also recommends downloading and installing the latest version of the Gear Manager app.

What do you think of Samsung offering this option for Galaxy Gear owners in the US?

Source: Samsung

John Callaham