Samsung smart watch to make payments without Samsung phone
Samsung has confirmed that users of its Gear S3 smartwatch will be able to use the Samsung Pay mobile payments feature paired with any Android 4.4+ phone, not just Samsung phones. This would potentially be of interest to those people considering a smartphone who were looking at Android Wear devices for compatibility with Android Pay. The Gear S3's rotary bezel, which can be used to control the interface, was one of the most popular features on the previous S2 model.

The Samsung Gear S3 smartwatch is out in the US and the UK today and Samsung has thrown a bone to Android users who aren’t rocking a Galaxy phone.

The company has confirmed that wearers of the Tizen-based Gear S3 will be able to use the Samsung Pay mobile payments feature even if the device is paired with other Google phones.



Related: Samsung Gear S3 hands-on



In a reply to a customer on Twitter, the company said Samsung Pay will work on the Gear S3 providing it is paired with an Android phone running 4.4 KitKat or above (via Engadget).

https://twitter.com/statuses/799467903204655104

Although we’re still waiting for Samsung Pay in the UK, this concession could potentially open the door to smartwatch fanciers who’d been looking at Android Wear devices due to the compatibility with Android Pay.

The Apple Watch Series 2 rival features GPS and is IP68 waterproof certified. It also has a longer battery life than its predecessors, a larger 1.3-inch always always-on display and a dual code 1GHz processor.

As with the Gear S2, the rotary bezel can also be used to control the interface, which proved one of the more popular features on the older model.

We’ll have a full review of the Gear S3, which is available for £349, in the coming weeks.



Video: Check out our hands-on with the Gear S3 at IFA 2016





