Samsung has just made its newest wearable official. One of the confirmed features of the new Gear S3 is iPhone support.
In the official unveiling for the Gear S3 smartwatch at this year's IFA in Berlin, Samsung highlighted one of the tweaked improvements for the new wearable. Reportedly, the Samsung Gear S3 will be compatible with Apple's iPhone lineup.
However, it remains to be seen on when Samsung will go live with the new feature. Essentially, iPhone support is not novel for the Gear S3. Its predecessor, the Gear S2, is listed to be compatible with the Apple smartphone. Samsung stated that it will get feedback for the Gear S2-iPhone compatibility first, work out the glitches, before releasing the compatibility app for the Gear S3.
Industry followers agree that this is a clever move by Samsung. Opening its wearables to what can be considered as Samsung's top rival will make the Gear S2 and Gear S3 target a wider market. According to CNET, the Cupertino-based tech giant has sold more than 40 million iPhones during the last quarter.
It remains to be seen though, if Samsung will make a dent selling its Gear smartwatches to iPhone users, since Apple already has its own wearable lineup, and the Apple Watch 2 is already expected to debut next week. One noted feature that Samsung will definitely entice iPhone fans with is the LTE support for the Gear S3. Samsung unveiled two variants, a Classic model with Bluetooth and WiFi support, and the top-tier Frontier version with LTE. There is also a built-in GPS for each model.
The Apple Watch 2, on the other hand, is said to launch only with onboard GPS as its upgrade, since Apple is reportedly having some issues with LTE and cellular connectivity. The Apple wearable is expected to debut on September 7.
However, it remains to be seen on when Samsung will go live with the new feature. Essentially, iPhone support is not novel for the Gear S3. Its predecessor, the Gear S2, is listed to be compatible with the Apple smartphone. Samsung stated that it will get feedback for the Gear S2-iPhone compatibility first, work out the glitches, before releasing the compatibility app for the Gear S3.
Industry followers agree that this is a clever move by Samsung. Opening its wearables to what can be considered as Samsung's top rival will make the Gear S2 and Gear S3 target a wider market. According to CNET, the Cupertino-based tech giant has sold more than 40 million iPhones during the last quarter.
It remains to be seen though, if Samsung will make a dent selling its Gear smartwatches to iPhone users, since Apple already has its own wearable lineup, and the Apple Watch 2 is already expected to debut next week. One noted feature that Samsung will definitely entice iPhone fans with is the LTE support for the Gear S3. Samsung unveiled two variants, a Classic model with Bluetooth and WiFi support, and the top-tier Frontier version with LTE. There is also a built-in GPS for each model.
The Apple Watch 2, on the other hand, is said to launch only with onboard GPS as its upgrade, since Apple is reportedly having some issues with LTE and cellular connectivity. The Apple wearable is expected to debut on September 7.
