Swiss watch company Swatch is putting the finishing touches on its new smartwatch operating system called Swiss OS. The company is plans to release the software at the end of 2018 or beginning of 2019.
Swiss OS’s main rivals will be the watchOS platform from Apple, Tizen from Samsung and Wear OS from Google.
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The operating system was first announced by Swatch CEO Nick Hayek back in March 2017. “There’s a possibility for wearables to develop as a consumer product, but you have to miniaturize and have an independent operating system,” Hayek told Bloomberg last year.
Swiss OS is scheduled to make its debut on a new A Tissot-branded smartwatch. Unfortunately, the company is keeping mum about almost all other detail about the first Swiss OS-powered smartwatch ahead of its launch.
It’s also unclear whether the new wearable will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100, Snapdragon Wear 3100 chipset. They may even sport entirely different chipsets.
Swatch hasn’t unveiled a smartwatch since 2015, when the company launched Touch Zero One made for beach volleyball players.
Swiss OS will require few software updates and will feature improved security of user data, something that can be expected from a Swiss-made product. The smartwatch will also be battery efficient which might give it an edge over its rivals, reports GadgetsAndWearables.
Swatch had many requests from small U.S. startups looking for flexible open-source systems and would serve these customers while also using the system in its own watches, Hayek said last year.
Considering we’re nearing the end of October and we’ve yet to hear much from Swatch, we’d expect this to more likely launch in early 2019.
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But for now, Swatch, the world’s biggest watchmaker, has a lot of work ahead if it wants to create an OS that’s able to compete with the Apple Watch, Wear OS, Tizen and an abundance of other smart products already available in the market.
