Samsung’s 2021 phones won’t support your older Galaxy Gear wearables
- Samsung’s older Gear wearables are not supported by the 2021 smartphones.
- Affected devices include Galaxy Gear, Gear 2, and Gear S.
If you still own and use an early Samsung Gear smartwatch every day, then you should consider updating your smartphone in the New Year. A notification in the Samsung Members App (via GalaxyClub) has warned users that the company’s early wearables will no longer be compatible with the 2021 smartphones.
“The existing service quality of older Samsung Gear wearables cannot be guaranteed and ensured by app updates alone,” says the translated notification. “As a result, older Samsung Gear wearables can no longer be used in conjunction with new Samsung smartphones (from the year of release in 2021).”
The update specifically lists five wearables that will be hit by the news, including the 2013 Galaxy Gear. The Gear 2, Gear 2 Neo, Gear S, and Gear Fit are also included. Those who still rock the Galaxy Gear 3 Neo and Gear S2 will be left unscathed.
However, it is not all doom and darkness. If you have an older smartphone that was “released in 2020 or earlier,” that device will continue to support wearables for the next year. However, the announcement will affect you if you are looking to buy a Galaxy S21 or any other future smartphone from Samsung.
Interestingly, the notification doesn’t suggest that the reason for deleting support is tied to Android 11 and One UI 3.0 or hardware. We reached out to Samsung to clarify whether the smartphone’s release year is really the only deciding factor here.
Regardless of whether you’re considering upgrading to a 2021 series smartphone, you can also consider upgrading wearables. That said, if you’re not looking for the latest in fitness tech, the company’s older smartwatches remain respectable daily drivers. But all good things have to come to an end at some point.
Samsung advises that users of these five smartwatches will be notified of the changes in the Galaxy Wearable app in the coming weeks, leaving you with a little time to rethink your future purchases. Now, if you are thinking of a new portable Samsung, we summarize your possible options below.
Next: The best Samsung fitness wearables and smartwatches
