Samsung Electronics is all set to retire the “Gear” brand name from its mobile devices. The South Korean giant plans to integrate all of its mobile devices into the “Galaxy” brand. It has already dropped the Gear name from its smartwatches in favor of Galaxy and is likely to do the same with more devices.
Samsung Galaxy
Samsung uses the Galaxy branding for its smartphones and tablets, but the company’s other mobile devices like wireless earbuds, fitness bands, and virtual reality headsets, all carry the Gear brand. In a bid to unify the brand, and maximize synergies among the devices, Samsung is likely to drop the Gear name from all its upcoming mobile devices.
Samsung has already removed the Gear brand name from its smartwatches with the launch of Galaxy Watch in August. Back in May, along with the Galaxy Watch moniker, the company had also trademarked the “Galaxy Fit” moniker in the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), suggesting a re-branding of its Gear Fit wearables. Further cementing the speculations, Samsung has now registered “Galaxy 360” and “Galaxy VR” trademarks in the USPTO. Samsung filed the application with USPTO earlier this month.
The Galaxy 360 and the Galaxy VR are expected to be released along with the Galaxy S10 next year. They will succeed the company’s current crop of Gear 360 and Gear VR devices respectively.
Samsung’s wireless earbuds, Gear Icon X, are also very likely to be renamed as “Samsung Bud”. The company registered the new brand name in the European Patent Office last month.
Interestingly, the Gear titled Samsung wearables run on Tizen OS, whereas the Galaxy named smartphones and tablets run on Android. Even the Tizen-powered Samsung smartphones don’t carry the Galaxy brand. However, much against rumors suggesting the contrary, Samsung launched the Galaxy Watch running Tizen OS. So it’s very unlikely that the company will ever ditch Tizen in favor of Wear OS for its wearables.
