Almost exactly one year after Samsung revealed its plans to make its Gear smartwatches compatible with Apple’s iPhone, that feature has officially launched.
Samsung today launched the Gear S app on Apple’s App Store. With it, iPhone owners can pair their device with a Samsung Gear S2 or Gear S3. There’s also a Samsung Gear Fit app that’ll let iPhone owners pair their device with the Samsung Gear Fit 2.
Samsung says that the features available to Gear and iPhone users will vary by device, but that the built-in GPS, altimeter, barometer, and speedometer apps will be available. Also available are features like notifications, fitness tracking, calories burned, running pace, and heart rate.
In order to use Samsung’s Gear wearables, you’ll need an iPhone 5, iPhone 5S, iPhone 5C, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, or iPhone SE, as well as iOS 9 or higher.
While Samsung’s Gear wearables likely won’t offer quite as many features when paired with an iPhone as they would be if they were paired with a Samsung phone, it’s still great to see Samsung launch these Gear apps. Some folks may prefer the look of the Gear S2, Gear S3, or Gear Fit 2 over the Apple Watch, and now those people can wear those devices and enjoy compatibility with the iPhone.