New Samsung phones will not support older Gear devices

Not all good things last forever, or so they say. At least when it comes to Samsung’s earlier smartwatches, this seems to be true. It looks like Samsung has quietly announced that five of their earlier wearables will not work with the smartphones that they will be launching next year, which includes the upcoming flagship line, the Galaxy S21 series. This means your Gear 1, Gear 2, Gear 2 Neo, Gear S, and Gear Fit will only be supported by the current line of smartphones.

If you’ve been a Samsung user and fan over the years then you know that when they first released wearables, it was under the Gear name and not the Galaxy moniker that we’re now familiar with. And it was not just smartwatches but Samsung also previously released a fitness band as well. Even though they’re already years old, you can still use them with the newer smartwatches. Well, those days are soon to be over.

According to German news site Galaxy Club, a notification from the Samsung Members app revealed that the five aforementioned wearables, which were among the first Samsung smartwatches, can no longer be connected to the upcoming smartphones that Samsung will be releasing next year. The notice has also been reflected on the Samsung German support site as well.

No detailed explanation has been given as to why they’re deciding to remove support on the upcoming Galaxy smartphones. But the fact that they still continue to work with current devices must mean it’s not really a technical reason but probably more on getting users to realize that it’s time to upgrade their wearables. And with Samsung’s newer Galaxy wearables, maybe it really is time to do so.

They did not mention the Gear S2 and Gear S3 so maybe they will still work when the Galaxy S21 smartphones arrive. Other devices expected to be announced in 2021 are the Galaxy A32 and A52.