Samsung is looking to prime the app pump for its Gear smartwatches, wearable devices as well as its Tizen operating system.
The company on Monday said that it has launched a Tizen Software Developer Kit for wearables. The SDK is designed to make it easier for developers to create apps for smartwatches.
For developers, however, it may be a case of show them the money. First, Tizen is a new platform---at least in terms of critical mass---so it's not like a developer can piggyback on Android or iOS.
In a statement, Samsung said it "continues to focus on shaping the future of the wearable technology as well as expanding more possibilities for app developers, partners, and consumers." Samsung's Gear and Gear 2 Neo smartwatches revolve around fitness, shopping, social media and news.
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What Samsung will really need for the smartwatches is some kind of app that would generate cash for developers and interest in Tizen. In other words, Samsung needs a hero app that coins money for the developer.
Samsung did tout apps such as Atooma, which automates tasks across smartphones and Gear, Banjo, a social post indexing app, and Dacadoo, a health app. So far, Samsung has launched a $4 million Tizen app challenge and a store. Thus far, Samsung has seemed to jump start a Tizen developer effort. We'll see where developers go from here.
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