If in the smartphone sector the porting of new versions of Android to older or even “old” devices is quite common, in the smartwatch sector this happens less frequently and the latest example of this type features Samsung Gear S3.
Recall that we are talking about a smartwatch launched in 2016 with Tizen OS on board and animated by a Samsung Exynos 7270 processor, a watch that at the time of its launch has conquered many users but which, compared to current models, is now dated.
Well, the developer parasetam0l, a member of the XDA Developers community, has created a port of Wear OS by Google on the Samsung Gear S3 and, even more, interestingly, this wearable operating system seems to be working on the old Samsung smartwatch.
Wear OS 2 lands on Samsung Gear S3
In particular, the version of the operating system brought to Samsung Gear S3 is Wear OS 2 (based on Android 9 Pie H MR2), which represents a noteworthy feat considering how little power the Korean giant’s smartwatch is compared to models we are used to today.
According to what is learned, many of the original features of the Samsung Gear S3 remain functional even with Wear OS, as well as most of the sensors that the smartwatch is equipped with remain perfectly operational (including the heart rate monitor).
In any case, there is no lack of bugs or various problems and this is absolutely normal, especially if you consider that we are talking about a first build. Recognized defects include poor battery life, erratic audio output, and lack of GPS support.
The port can be installed on the non-LTE version of the Samsung Gear S3 Frontier (model SM-R760 ) and probably also on the Classic version (model SM-R770 ), although it is not specifically mentioned.