In January, Samsung announced plans to add iOS support to its Gear S2 Smart Watch, and it appears work on an iOS app is well underway. Screenshots of a beta Gear S2 app designed for iOS devices have been shared on the XDA forums, giving us a first look at the design of the app and the features that will be available.
XDA forum members have also been able to download the test app and have provided details on its functionality. The Gear S2 iOS app will be able to deliver notifications to the smart watch, and it will be able to install and manage apps from the Gear store on the device. According to testers, while the Gear S2 can receive notifications from the iPhone, replies are not currently possible, and the Samsung Gear S2 Lite app has to be running in the background for the connection between the watch and the app to be maintained.
The app appears to be in the developmental stages and Samsung has given no hints on when it plans to introduce a finished iOS app for the Gear S2. When the news was first announced, Samsung's only timeline was "later in the year."
Currently, the Gear S2, which runs the Samsung Tizen operating system, is only compatible with Samsung smartphones, but when the iOS app is released, the Gear S2 will be able to compete with the Apple Watch on Apple's own platform.
Introduced in August of 2015, the Gear S2 is Samsung's latest smart watch and the first to ship with a round display. While the first versions of the Gear S2 were originally only available in black or silver with matching rubber bands, Samsung introduced higher-end 18-karat rose gold and platinum plated versions to better compete with the more expensive Apple Watch models.
Wednesday February 19, 2025 8:02 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today introduced the iPhone 16e, its newest entry-level smartphone. The device succeeds the third-generation iPhone SE, which has now been discontinued.
The iPhone 16e features a larger 6.1-inch OLED display, up from a 4.7-inch LCD on the iPhone SE. The display has a notch for Face ID, and this means that Apple no longer sells any iPhones with a Touch ID fingerprint button, marking the ...
Tuesday February 18, 2025 12:02 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Over the years, Apple has switched from an aluminum frame to a stainless steel frame to a titanium frame for its highest-end iPhones. And now, it has been rumored that Apple will go back to using aluminum for three out of four iPhone 17 models.
In an investor note with research firm GF Securities, obtained by MacRumors this week, Apple supply chain analyst Jeff Pu said the iPhone 17, iPhone...
Thursday February 20, 2025 5:06 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Now that Apple has announced its new more affordable iPhone 16e, our thoughts turn to what else we are expecting from the company this spring.
There are three product categories that we are definitely expecting to get upgraded before spring has ended. Keep reading to learn what they are. If we're lucky, Apple might make a surprise announcement about a completely new product category.
M4...
Wednesday February 19, 2025 11:38 am PST by Juli Clover
Following the launch of the iPhone 16e, Apple updated its iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia pages to give a narrower timeline on when the next updates are set to launch.
All three pages now state that new Apple Intelligence features and languages will launch in early April, an update from the more broader April timeframe that Apple provided before. The next major point updates will be iOS ...
Friday February 21, 2025 1:08 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple finally released the first beta of iOS 18.4 to developers for testing purposes, and while the beta is lacking some of the Apple Intelligence features we were hoping for, there are some notable new additions.
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Priority Notifications - Apple Intelligence
There is a new Priority Notifications feature that can show you your most...
Thursday February 13, 2025 8:07 am PST by Joe Rossignol
In a social media post today, Apple CEO Tim Cook teased an upcoming "launch" of some kind scheduled for Wednesday, February 19.
"Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," he said, with an #AppleLaunch hashtag.
The post includes a short video with an animated Apple logo inside a circle.
Cook did not provide an exact time for the launch, or share any other specific details, so...
Friday February 21, 2025 8:01 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple has confirmed that its custom-designed C1 modem in the iPhone 16e has nothing to do with the device's lack of MagSafe support, according to Macworld.
Following the launch of the iPhone 16e, there was some speculation online about how MagSafe magnets might have interfered with the C1 modem's cellular connectivity performance, and this was considered to be a potential reason for the...
Apple today announced its first custom cellular modem with the name "C1," debuting in the all-new iPhone 16e.
The new modem contributes to the iPhone 16e's power efficiency, giving it the longest battery life of any iPhone with a 6.1-inch display, such as the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16.
Expanding the benefits of Apple silicon, C1 is the first modem designed by Apple and the most...
I wonder if this is forewarning of the discontinuation of the Apple Watch.
It may be that Apple will now promote the Samsung Gear S2. It's certainly a much better-looking watch than the Apple Watch, sad to say.
You. Cannot. Be. Serious.
This makes about as much logic as saying that since the HTC 10 supports Apple AirPlay, that maybe it's a forewarning of the discontinuation of the iPhone.
I have the 3G version of this watch with AT&T. I gotta say, I love it way more than my Apple watch. I can run with it and not miss a call (and dont have to bring my phone). It has GPS so it maps my runs accurately etc. This watch + AT&T number sync is pretty awesome.
