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.
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).
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.
