A new partnership between Samsung and Google could be just what Android wearables need to break out of the doldrums and become the smartwatch operating system consumers deserve.

Android smartwatches have had their share of ups and downs. Despite Google providing a base operating system, many companies, including Samsung, began branching out by creating their own versions of the OS that offered better features and battery life than Google’s version.

Unfortunately, that means the Android smartwatch market has become extremely fragmented, making it difficult for consumers to find apps or even watches that work seamlessly with their devices. With Google and Samsung teaming up, experts say the future of Wear OS has never looked brighter. And we might see something of that during Samsung’s presentation at Mobile World Congress 2021 next week.

“By merging the two operating systems, developers can focus on a single app platform, making apps and widgets more consistent. And at the OS level, the companies will work to fix some of the responsiveness issues that have plagued Wear OS in the past,” Weston Happ, a technical expert and product technology manager at Merchant Maverick, explained in an email.