Samsung Galaxy Watch4 series activation requires a GMS supporting smartphone

The brand new Galaxy Watch4 and Watch4 Classic from Samsung are the first smartwatches to run on Google’s new Wear OS 3 platform which was developed jointly with the Korean tech giant. In an interesting turn of events, Samsung requires a smartphone that supports Google Mobile Services (GMS) in order to activate the new watches meaning no iOS or Huawei devices will be able to work with the Watch4 series out the box.

The official Watch4 specs page on Samsung’s website further lists a pairing requirement for smartphones that have to boot Android 6.0 and up and come with >1.5GB RAM. Samsung further clarified to ArsTechnica that its Watch4 series will not be compatible with iOS devices. Legacy Galaxy Watches will still be compatible with both Android and iOS devices but it remains to be seen if Wear OS 3 smartwatches from other brands will also have the same pairing requirements as the Watch4 series.

Check out our detailed coverage on the Galaxy Watch4 lineup here to learn more about their features, pricing and availability.

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