Samsung will reportedly look back to Google's smartwatch operating system for its next device, reports from China suggest.

Although it abandoned Android Wear for its own Tizen platform several years ago, the company is said to be planning a Wear OS device for 2018 - tentatively dubbed the Samsung Galaxy Watch.

The name comes from other reports that state Samsung will ditch the Gear branding and therefore the prospective Gear S4 tag previously thought to be the natural next step. It has allegedly trademarked both Galaxy Watch and Galaxy Fit in recent times.

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Chinese website IT Home claims that Wear OS will be chosen for a new smartwatch as users of Tizen are shortchanged when it comes to app support. And while it does seem strange that Samsung would look to move away from its own wearables platform after spending so much time in developing it to today's maturity, it makes sense that it would want to play on the same fields as rivals.

Google is also making its own flagship Wear OS watch, so Samsung will surely not want to be left behind.

There is one other explanation for the gossip, which originates from Weibo leakster Ice Universe, and that Samsung's Wear OS device and Google's is one and the same. Samsung could be the OEM behind the much-rumoured Pixel Watch. Now that would be interesting.