Samsung reportedly set to unveil “multiple” Galaxy Gear models at MWC, one supposedly running Tizen

We’re just a week away from Mobile World Congress kicking off in Barcelona, and while the event has been rather quiet for the past couple of years, it looks like that may change this time around. Samsung has already announced a press event for MWC, during which it will unveil its Galaxy S5 flagship. According to two new reports, however, the company also has more planned for the event.

Both USA Today and The Verge are reporting that Samsung will unveil at least one new Galaxy Gear smartwatch variant at its press event next week. The Verge report is sparse on details, simply reporting that Samsung could unveil “multiple new Galaxy Gear” models at the event.

USA Today, however, reports that the latest Galaxy Gear smartwatch will run Samsung’s Tizen operating system, not Android. The current Galaxy Gear runs Android, but the report claims that Samsung is not looking to give Google “too much power” in the wearable space. The smartwatch version of Tizen is reportedly built off an HTML5, which could help with issues like battery life.

Presumably, the Tizen-powered Galaxy Gear will still be able to pair with Android devices. If not, then it could be an even bigger flop than the first generation Gear, which could have sold as few as 50,000 units. It remains to be seen if Samsung will take the wraps off of a new Galaxy Gear next week, but these reports do corroborate with recent liquidation efforts of the first generation model.