Samsung Gear S2 now has support for other phones
During the recent IFA in Berlin, Samsung Electronics did not unveil any new smartphones, but instead gave the spotlight to their latest smarthome products including the Gear S2 smartwatch, which now works with other phones.
In the past, Samsung's bid to venture into wearables has been quite unsuccessful because of its awkward design and software. With the new Gear S2, Samsung has finally managed to produce a smartwatch that looks like an ordinary watch but one that is capable of working with non-Samsung smartphones, according to the Irish Examiner.
Samsung's latest smartwatch features a metal frame with a matching band, but users can also opt for the classic version, which has a leather strap, the Independent reports.
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Samsung previously insisted on making its smartwatch compatible only with its own brand of smartphones, and this limited their access to other customers. This time, the South Korean tech giant is now breaking that barrier and is welcoming users who own non-Samsung phones, the report explains.
The Gear S2 will reportedly work with most Android phones running at least the 4.4 version of the OS. Although not all features will work smoothly in every phone, this is already considered a great improvement for the Samsung smartwatch.
Another Gear S2 feature worth noting is its rotating bezel that customers can use to control functions in lieu of the touchscreen feature, which is not very practical when it comes to devices with tiny screens. With the bezel, users can simply browse their options using the left and right controls, the report details.
One major issue with the Samsung Gear S2 is its operating system. Samsung has decided to use its own Tizen OS, instead of a more user-friendly OS. As of now, Tizen still has limited app support.
Other cool features of the Gear S2 include its mobile payment system. Like the Apple Watch, the newest Samsung smartwatch lets users pay for various transactions via Samsung Pay, which involves touching the device to a card reader. This feature will first be rolled out in South Korea and in the United States. It will be available in the United Kingdom by next year, the report adds.
Samsung Gear S2's pricing and availability will be announced soon.
