Samsung’s second-generation Galaxy Gear smartwatch could be powered by its own Tizen operating system rather than Android, according to “three people familiar with the situation,” who have been speaking to USA Today. The move is said to be part of Samsung’s plan to “develop more of its own software and services.”

Tizen is a relatively new, open-source operating system that Samsung has been developing with support from Intel, and it’s thought Tizen will eventually take Android’s place on all of its smartphones and tablets. Before that happens, though, Samsung needs other devices to push it — and sources say the new Galaxy Gear 2 will be the first.

“The new Gear smartwatch operating system will be an HTML5 version of Tizen, according to two people familiar with the situation,” USA Today reports. “This means Samsung may be able to attract more Web developers to develop new apps for its smartwatch.”

Samsung’s original Galaxy Gear — which was launched just five months ago — runs a heavily optimized version of Android. However, it has been widely criticized for its software, which lacks apps and is generally considered to be half-baked. Only time will tell if Tizen can change that, but either way, Samsung needs to start pushing it.

“Samsung is trying to protect its own long-term interests, not fortifying Google’s Android camp while building their own camp around Tizen,” Stuart Richens, vice president of digital media at Network Communications, told USA Today. “If Samsung releases more Tizen devices, that’s potentially a big opportunity.”

Samsung’s flagship devices can’t adopt Tizen until it’s more mature, of course — no one’s going to drop Android for a new platform that has little app support — so pushing it on secondary devices like the Galaxy Gear could be a good move.

Having said that, I’m still sceptical the new Galaxy Gear will launch with Tizen. Let’s see what Samsung’s Unpacked 5 event brings on Monday.

• SourceUSA Today