Samsung To Unveil Smartwatch At Google I/O, Report Says

Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is expected to unveil more details about its Android Wear platform this week at its annual developers conference. According to a report from CNET, Samsung will also take the stage at Google I/O to “introduce” an Android Wear smartwatch.

In true Samsung fashion, the company will reportedly roll out an Android Wear wearable -- the company’s fourth smartwatch in 2014. So far this year, Samsung wearables have operated on the company’s own Tizen operating system (OS), like the camera-toting Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo.

Samsung has made several announcements regarding Tizen in the past few months, seen by industry analysts as a way for the Korean manufacturer to get out from under Google’s thumb. While Samsung handsets like the Galaxy S4 accounted for 40 percent of smartphone sales worldwide last year, Google’s Android OS is the backbone of those devices. But as consumer interest grows in Android Wear, Samsung will step up to the plate once more, in hopes of finally hitting a home run with wearable devices.

Google often gives away previously unreleased gadgets to attendees at the conference, where software developers pay $1,500 for a ticket to see the search giant’s latest. Often focusing on its Android mobile operating system, Google has used I/O in the past to introduce products like its Project Glass headset and Chromebook Pixel laptop, giving the products away to attendees.

One source told the site that Samsung might hand out its new Android Wear smartwatch at the event. LG and Motorola are also expected to reveal more details about their respective smartwatches at Google I/O, the G Watch and Moto 360. Text about the LG G Watch has popped up on Google Play Germany, leading some sites to speculate the device will go on sale worldwide during Google I/O, or shortly thereafter.

A number of companies are preparing to introduce wearable computing devices in advance of Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AAPL) rumored smartwatch. While the company hasn't officially announced a wearable, it has referred to new "product categories" and its suppliers are reportly preparing to mass produce a device, often referred to as the iWatch.