One well-kept secret of the new Samsung Gear S2 smartwatch is one that is bound to make a lot of Android enthusiasts happy: The Gear S2 will work with non-Samsung smartphones.
Consider that again: Samsung is opening its ecosystem a bit.
There's a caveat, of course. You'll need a phone with Android 4.4 or higher — that comprises 57 percent of current devices as of Aug. 3 — and you'll need a phone that has at least 1.5 gigabytes of RAM.
Beyond that, expect to use a manager app, of course. (Hopefully downloadable from Google Play.) And there might well be a few hiccups, Samsung tells us. Samsung Pay is out for obvious reasons, and you may run into the occasional feature that simply doesn't work right because of differing APIs. (The phone dialer was one specifically mentioned.)
This is great news for folks who don't want to be locked into Samsung's ecosystem. We'll just have to wait and see how well it works.
Reader comments
Exclusive no more: Gear S2 smartwatch will work with non-Samsung phones!
*Thunderous applause*
Samsung needs to realize that is not Apple. They don't and won't have it's own ecosystem that really matters to people. Sure it competes well in the smartphone area but not on the software and side.
It doesn't hurt to try though. They have billions of dollars to keep improving their software and ecosystem.
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Having billions doesn't guarantee to have success, just ask Microsoft with Windows phone. Don't get me wrong Samsung is a great company that makes great products with nice innovations sometimes kinda gimmicky IMO but software and ecosystem is not the best from them. They day they stop making hundreds of Galaxies a month the world will take them as a serious contender. For now a lot of people associate Samsung and Galaxy names with cheap prepaid handsets that can be bought at Walmart.
oh shut the **** up
Did you say "timeless" in that video? It looks like a toy.
The crown navigation makes me think of the OG iPod immediately.
Maybe I was just hoping for so much more from all of the manufacturers smartwatches this time around. None of them have me wanting to rush out and buy. Maybe the OG 360 will drop down to $99 and I'll try that.
So your looking for a $100 watch but complaining that the gear s2 doesn't look like a Rolex give me a Break. Gezz news flash no $300 smart watch is gonna rival a high end watch in looks are build quality .
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Not looking for $100 watch....I'm looking for a $300 watch that doesn't compromise and checks all the boxes. No flat tire, battery life, ambient light sensor, screen ratio, etc.
All of them sacrifice something.
You want much more but want to spend much less??... Seriously question, what features was you looking for in a smartwatch that none have?
Nope, not necessarily "much less"....I think the sweet spot for smartwatches is about $250 for the base model. I just don't want to see one compromise(see above). All of them compromise on something. The Huawei Watch comes the closest but, no ambient sensor and a smaller battery than the 360 v2 46mm.
This is the model for phones and smartwatches though. A company can't make a perfect one because you won't upgrade.
I choose to stay with Android Wear for now. Are devs going to run to make their apps compatible with a Tizen based watch? Will Sammy continue to support it if it sells as well as the other Tizen attempts, which is more than likely. Samsung tends to lose focus very quickly on stuff like this.
Nice. I've heard good things about Tizen.
Great news.
"you may run into the occasional feature that simply doesn't work right because of differing APIs. (The phone dialer was one specifically mentioned.)"
Aren't phone calls one of the main advantages of Tizen over AndroidWear?
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I am hoping that Samsung will also update the original Gear S to work with non-Galaxy phones, though not holding my breath.
Same I Really Hope They Do At The Moment Im Stuck With A Gear S And A LG G3 I Just Hope When They Release The App For Android It Will Support The Gear S As Well But Like You Said Im Not Holding My Breath
Will Google make use of the NFC for Android pay?
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yes
Is there an official statement? Because Samsung could have locked up the NFC, it's not outside their normal operation to lock stuff up to force people to use their products.
"You can use this in any Android phone, but to use these features you need to use a Samsung phone "
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Not for a product the make no money on. They make money on the watch/phone tie in, but payment processing is nothing but a feature.
I would expect the carrier to cripple it before Samsung would.... Verizon... Looking at you
Check out the new Nexus! https://youtu.be/u3uFOavLo_w, not a Rick roll
Sorry, I thought you were talking in general. yeah, I'm not sure about Samsung.
One question though. Why dues the phone have to have 1.5 gigs of ram to run a watch?
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Yeah makes you wonder what that app will do to your phone :s
My question to you is why are you complaining about more ram . If that s what it take to make the watch run like my gear neo so be it . I'm sure loving the extra ram in my note 5
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They probably based that bloatware that's preinstalled and taking up memory on most phones. Most budget devices come with only 512MB RAM and low end usually tops out around 1GB, with only a couple of hundred MB's of RAM available.
sounds like a game changer
Smart
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Nice move, Sammy. Next time add iPhone compatibility and maybe it'll sell a lot better.
Yeah that will happen when he'll freezes over. Apple would block that instantly
* sent from my Note 5, with an S Pen safely inserted TIP FIRST.*
Just like how Apple stopped using Samsung screens in their phones?
No apple wouldn't block that, they didn't block android wear, and that violates store policy. I just don't think Samsung would bother.
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They want to sell a product, they will eventually do it
Check out the new Nexus! https://youtu.be/u3uFOavLo_w, not a Rick roll
If they didn't block Android Wear, I'm sure they'd allow a Samsung watch, just like they do with Pebble. As long as they use Apple's API, there's no valid reason to block them.
They are working on making it ios compatible :)
YESSS!!! I really wanted to want this watch, but couldn't bring myself to give up my G4. Sigh, now my only problem is deciding between this and the Moto 360 Sport
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My decision is made.
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+1
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+2
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