New Samsung Gear devices might be compatible with non-Galaxy phones

The biggest problem with Samsung’s smartwatch, the Galaxy Gear, was its lack of compatibility. When released, it was only compatible with the Galaxy Note 3. Though the Galaxy S III, S4 and Note II received updates to add compatibility, that’s still only a handful of devices. Everyone without a modern Samsung flagship couldn’t use this smartwatch, which was a shame. Any other smartwatch works with any Android device, and sometimes even iOS.

Samsung announced three new smartwatches at Mobile World Congress, and instead of Android, they’re running Tizen. We thought this could mean something for compatibility, but it’s the same story as last year. However, the head of Samsung’s European product team said that there is the possibility that these new smartwatches would be compatible with other Android devices. The wording is strange, but the meaning is hard to miss. When asked if the new Gear smartwatches would be compatible with devices from other manufacturers, he replied “I don’t know what the roadmap is for that, but I’m confident that that would be the case.”

If Samsung can actually add compatibility for other Android devices to the new line of Gear watches, I think it would boost sales significantly. People seem to be pretty fond of the Gear Fit, so this could help Samsung out in the long run. We can hope.

source: androidandme