Samsung to Add iOS Support to Gear S2 Smart Watch Later This Year

[MacRumors]

Samsung today held a press conference at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where the company announced new rose gold and platinum variants of its Samsung Gear S2 smart watch and pledged future iOS support for the device.

First introduced in August, the Gear S2 is Samsung's newest smart watch and its first with a round display. The Gear S2 was originally available in black or silver with matching leather or rubber bands, but later this year, Samsung will also introduce high-end 18-karat rose gold and platinum plated versions, made from real precious metals much like the Apple Watch Edition.

At the current time, the Gear S2, which runs Samsung's Tizen operating system, is compatible only with Samsung smartphones, but that's set to change. Samsung says that later in the year, it will "bring the Gear S2 to iOS," allowing it to compete with the Apple Watch on Apple's own platform. Samsung didn't share additional details on when iOS compatibility might be implemented.

Samsung announced several other products at CES, including a Surface Pro-style 12-inch Galaxy Tab Pro S tablet that runs Windows 10 and two very thin Notebook 9 ultrabooks. The Tab Pro S, which weighs 1.5 pounds, features a 2160 x 1440 Super AMOLED display, an Intel Core M processor, 4GB RAM, and up to 256GB storage.

Samsung's Notebook 9 laptops are available in 13.3 and 15-inch sizes, with the smaller of the two weighing in at 1.85 pounds, which is lighter than the Retina MacBook. The larger version weighs 2.84 pounds, and both feature a 1080p display. Max specs for the Notebook 9 laptop includes a Core i7 CPU, 256GB flash storage, and 8GB RAM. Pricing and release info on Samsung's NoteBook 9 laptops and the Galaxy Tab Pro S is not yet available.

Article Link: Samsung to Add iOS Support to Gear S2 Smart Watch Later This Year

 

[polee]

Gee I do not find the design of the Samsung watches appealing at all... Sorry just my two cents worth.

 

[bwillwall]

Samsung always manages to impress me at how ugly their designs are. I always expect them to improve the looks, after all they're good at making functional things with many features and all. But even with their wallpaper photos, their designs are so 90s looking.

 

[newdeal]

I do like that they have hidden the bezel for the display under the metal trim of the watch
[doublepost=1452036999][/doublepost]

Samsung always manages to impress me at how ugly their designs are. I always expect them to improve the looks, after all they're good at making functional things with many features and all. But even with their wallpaper photos, their designs are so 90s looking.

its a watch, most people find watches from way before the 90s to be very attractive

 

[0000757]

Had a Gear S2 for a day.

Hated it.

 

[Rigby]

That Notebook 9 sounds impressive. 1.84lbs? That's amazingly light. And apparently it's using ULV i5 and i7 CPUs (not a Core-M) with active cooling, so the performance should be good. I wonder how much battery life they can squeeze into such a super-thin notebook though.

 

[appledefenceforce]

The biggest flop in the past few years has been the Samsung smartwatches. They launched it to preempt Apple and yet after all these years they still haven't got it right. And of course the moment Apple launched the Apple Watch they immediately copied the software look.

But of course only Apple Watch is "the most disappointing product of 2015".

 

[GFLPraxis]

That Notebook 9 sounds impressive. 1.84lbs? That's amazingly light. And apparently it's using ULV i5 and i7 CPUs (not a Core-M) with active cooling, so the performance should be good. I wonder how much battery life they can squeeze into such a super-thin notebook though.

To be fair, they've only got 1080p displays, even the 15". Might save some battery power to drive.

 

[Rogifan]

So I'm assuming this smart watch will be similar to Android Wear in terms of the experience on iOS?

 

[apolloa]

Interesting Pro Tablet, like a cross between a Surface Pro and iPad Pro in design.

 

[masotime]

Had a Gear S2 for a day.

Hated it.

I'm curious. The Verge can't stop gushing about the rotational dial. Why do you hate it?

 

[Tech198]

Samsung's Notebook 13-inch ain't too bad, still lighter than the MBA..

Dunno why the Macbook Pro Retina was a good comparison, if u'r comparing weight.

 

[mejsric]

Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro S​

What with the "S"?

 

[timborama]

Had a Gear S2 for a day.

Hated it.

Why? I quit wearing my Apple Watch after a month, and switched to Gear S2. It's much better overall than the Apple Watch.

 

[Sheza]

Design of the watch faces - pretty awful
What I do like about the Gear S2 (& bear in mind I am an Apple Watch owner) is the rotating bezel. It's actually not a gimmick, and is, I found, more reliable than swiping up and across as you do on the Watch. Also, it's fast. Super fast. Watch OS2 is an improvement but still stutters a lot.

The Gear S2 is miles ahead of the junk that Samsung put out a few years ago. It's only taken them the launch of a smartwatch from their biggest competitor to get them to kick it up a notch.

Of course, band customisation and overall support will never match the Apple Watch. Just my 2 cents having used both.

 

[Rogifan]

I see Huawei just announced two new smartwatches...Elegant and Jewel selling for $499 and $599. Interesting that instead of going cheap these Android OEMs are competing with Watch steel.

 

[username:]

The Galaxy tab pro s looks pretty sweet. The rest is garbage.

 

[Rogifan]

Why? I quit wearing my Apple Watch after a month, and switched to Gear S2. It's much better overall than the Apple Watch.

I don't like how the display is recessed. And the design of the bezel on these is kind of ugly IMO. I think they work better on the more sporty version of the watch.

 

[appledefenceforce]

I'm curious. The Verge can't stop gushing about the rotational dial. Why do you hate it?

The Verge is a joke lol. But hey maybe the people who have used it are wrong, maybe it's 1000000000 times better than Apple Watch.

 

[KPOM]

I see Huawei just announced two new smartwatches...Elegant and Jewel selling for $499 and $599. Interesting that instead of going cheap these Android OEMs are competing with Watch steel.

My guess is that they regret going downmarket with phones and see going upscale with watches as a way to stay profitable.

 

[Elbon]

In general, I'm a huge Apple fan, but I have to say that I hate the design of the Apple Watch. It just looks like a tiny square iPhone strapped to your wrist. Total nerd-ware. However, if they ever release a round one, I'd definitely consider it.

 

[JeffyTheQuik]

I think these things are beautiful, at least the way these are presented. The nice thing about these is that it increases the usage of the devices.

A rising tide lifts all boats, which is great, unless you're on a submarine.

 

[AustinIllini]

Gee I do not find the design of the Samsung watches appealing at all... Sorry just my two cents worth.

At least they look like watches...

...and not cheap toys like the Watch

 

[driceman]

I see Huawei just announced two new smartwatches...Elegant and Jewel selling for $499 and $599. Interesting that instead of going cheap these Android OEMs are competing with Watch steel.

I noticed that before Apple entered the market the price range seemed to be exclusively $100-200, with the focus being on it being a cool gadget rather than actually looking good.

When Apple entered, they considered that a watch is a fashion statement and tried to make one that was both a cool gadget AND a fashion statement (I quite like the look of my Watch- although this is one of the few Apple products where I genuinely think it could do with being a bit thinner just to improve the looks). Now pricing is creeping right up so it's more of a "luxury" product than a gadget. Not that any of the tech companies have contemplated making a $10,000 gold watch except Apple.

 

[Robert.Walter]

I'll be surprised if Apple allows a competitor's watch to operate on iOS in a native fashion.

More likely it will operate over an app and with limitations as to the depth of its access and integration into the iPhone.