Tizen versus Android: The battle for wearables begins

On the day that Tizen has released its SDK for Wearable computing, guess what?

Google has released a preview for its Android Wear SDK.

You can get the idea of what to expect from its devices in the following video. Of course, there's no reason you couldn't do the same with Tizen, which is a joint OS from Samsung and Intel.

Indeed, Samsung just ditched Android for Tizen for its latest smartwatch, but that was before Android Wear was announced.

Can Google oust Tizen as the OS for wearables?

While it makes complete sense for Google to say it wants to position Android as the OS for wearables (as quoted at SXSWi), it's also worth pointing out that Samsung's just switched from Android to Tizen for its new Gear 2 smartwatches.

That decision was apparently made in terms of battery life and performance considerations.

Of course, given its work with Google Glass and its rumoured Nexus smartwatch with LG, Google will have plenty of skin in the game. Thing is, though, performance and battery life are pretty big considerations in the wearable space, and if Samsung thinks Android doesn't currently cut the mustard, looks like it has some ways to shrink.