Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 release date, price: Samsung’s next wearable flagship, Samsung Galaxy Gear 2, is said to be running on Tizen OS instead of Android. According to USA Today, the South Korean tech giant will unveil the smartwatch at an event at the Mobile World Congress next week.

“Samsung is trying to protect its own long-term interest, not fortifying Google’s Android camp while building their own camp around Tizen,” Stuart Richens, VP of digital media at Network Communications, told USA Today.

There have also been reports that Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 will be cheaper than its first Android-powered version.

“Samsung Electronics is mulling over the price range of its soon to be announced next-generation watch device as a threat of a cheaper counterpart by Apple looms this year,” says an unknown industry official according to a report by ZDNet.

It is important to note that there have been numerous reports that Apple will be releasing a smartwatch, dubbed the iWatch sometime this year.

According to Trusted Reviews, reports have claimed that the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 will be offered at a much cheaper price than its first generation counterpart. The second generation model is anticipated to be unveiled with the Samsung Galaxy S5 at the Mobile World Congress end of this month.

The move to reduce the price of the Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 is due to low Samsung Galaxy Gear sales, blamed primarily on its $300 plus price tag.

Trusted Reviews, citing an official Samsung spokesperson, says that the company has made mistakes with the original Samsung Galaxy Gear.

“In terms of our addressable market, making the Gear compatible only with Samsung-branded handsets has made it a harder proposition because we have limited ourselves,” Kyle Brown, Samsung’s Head of Technical Product Management for IM admitted, as published by Trusted Reviews.

The Samsung official who spoke exclusively with Trusted Reviews added that “to make a compelling companion device at the price point that it’s at we had to have these limits.”

In a report by Digital Trends, it noted that 2 million smartwatches were sold last year and Samsung Galaxy Gear is the leading wearable amongst current market players. Their report noted that about 1.2 million were sold in 2013, with the remaining 700,000 falling into the “other” category.

A November update by Samsung indicated that the company has sold 800,000 Samsung Galaxy Gear units in two months.

The current Samsung Galaxy Gear is compatible with the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy S4, Galaxy S23 and Galaxy Mega. Based on its official page on Samsung.com, Samsung Galaxy Gear is available via AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon and U.S. Cellular.