Electronic devices, be they phones, watches or televisions, inevitably become obsolete. Over time, even as they continue to work, they can lose compatibility with newer devices. This is exactly what has happened with Samsung smartwatches – some of the earliest models are no longer compatible with the latest phones. Below is a list of compatibility between Samsung watches and phones.
Compatibility of Samsung watch with phones
The Gear series of watches requires special attention, as they run on the Tizen OS. Support for this series has been completely discontinued, and Android 14 is no longer being tested with these watches. As a result, they are incompatible with Samsung phones that will receive the Android 14 update. In simple terms, if your phone is updated to Android 14, your Gear watch will no longer be compatible.
Regarding the Galaxy Watch models released in 2024, it is important to note that they will not work with older phones that have an OS version lower than Android 10.
Another critical factor for compatibility is the amount of RAM in your Samsung phone. To ensure the watches operate smoothly, a certain amount of inbuilt memory in the phone is required.
| Watch Model | Release Year | Compatible OS in Phone | Minimum Required RAM in Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Galaxy Watch7 | 2024 | Android 10.0 or higher | 2.0 GB |
| Galaxy Watch Ultra | 2024 | Android 10.0 or higher | 2.0 GB |
| Galaxy Watch FE | 2024 | Android 10.0 or higher | 2.0 GB |
| Galaxy Watch6 | 2023 | Android 10.0 or higher | 2.0 GB |
| Galaxy Watch6 Classic | 2023 | Android 10.0 or higher | 2.0 GB |
| Galaxy Watch5 | 2022 | Android 8.0 or higher | 1.5 GB |
| Galaxy Watch5 Pro | 2022 | Android 8.0 or higher | 1.5 GB |
| Galaxy Watch4 | 2021 | Android 6.0 or higher | 1.5 GB |
| Galaxy Watch4 Classic | 2021 | Android 6.0 or higher | 1.5 GB |
| Galaxy Watch3 | 2020 | Android 5.0 or higher | 1.5 GB |
| Galaxy Watch | 2018 | Android 5.0 or higher | 1.5 GB |
| Galaxy Watch Active | 2019 | Android 5.0 or higher | 1.5 GB |
| Galaxy Watch Active2 | 2019 | Android 5.0 or higher | 1.5 GB |
| Gear Sport | 2017 | Android 4.3 — Android 13 | 1.5 GB |
| Gear S2 Classic | 2015 | Android 4.3 — Android 13 | 1.5 GB |
| Gear S3 Frontier | 2016 | Android 4.3 — Android 13 | 1.5 GB |
| Gear S3 Classic | 2016 | Android 4.3 — Android 13 | 1.5 GB |
| Gear Fit2 | 2016 | Android 4.3 — Android 13 | 1.5 GB |
| Gear Fit2 Pro | 2017 | Android 4.3 — Android 13 | 1.5 GB |
Compatibility of Samsung watch with iPhones
The initial versions of the Samsung Watch, which ran on Tizen OS, were compatible with Apple’s devices. However, after Samsung transitioned to Wear OS, a Google operating system, it seems an agreement was likely made between the companies to discontinue iPhone support for Galaxy Watches. As a result, starting with the Galaxy Watch 4, these devices no longer support the iPhone.
| Watch Model | iPhone Compatibility |
|---|---|
| Galaxy Watch7 | Not compatible (requires Google Play services) |
| Galaxy Watch Ultra | Not compatible (requires Google Play services) |
| Galaxy Watch FE | Not compatible (requires Google Play services) |
| Galaxy Watch6 | Not compatible (requires Google Play services) |
| Galaxy Watch6 Classic | Not compatible (requires Google Play services) |
| Galaxy Watch5 | Not compatible (requires Google Play services) |
| Galaxy Watch5 Pro | Not compatible (requires Google Play services) |
| Galaxy Watch4 | Not compatible (requires Google Play services) |
| Galaxy Watch4 Classic | Not compatible (requires Google Play services) |
| Galaxy Watch3 | iPhone 5 or later, running iOS 9 and above |
| Galaxy Watch | iPhone 5 or later, running iOS 9 and above |
| Galaxy Watch Active | iPhone 5 or later, running iOS 9 and above |
| Galaxy Watch Active2 | iPhone 5 or later, running iOS 9 and above |
| Gear Sport | iPhone 5 or later, running iOS 9 and above |
| Gear S2 Classic | iPhone 5 or later, running iOS 9 and above |
| Gear S3 Frontier | iPhone 5 or later, running iOS 9 and above |
| Gear S3 Classic | iPhone 5 or later, running iOS 9 and above |
| Gear Fit2 | iPhone 5 or later, running iOS 9 and above |
| Gear Fit2 Pro | iPhone 5 or later, running iOS 9 and above |
| Gear Live | iPhone 5 or later, running iOS 9 and above |
| Gear | Not compatible with iOS |
| Gear 2 | Not compatible with iOS |
| Gear S | Not compatible with iOS |
| Gear Fit | Not compatible with iOS |
| Galaxy Fit | iPhone 7 or later, running iOS 10 and above |
Compatibility of Samsung Watches with Other Phone Brands
Samsung Watches are widely compatible with most smartphones since the majority run on the Android OS. Compatibility is particularly seamless with models using Wear OS, where the brand of the phone is less important than the Android version it operates on. However, Samsung Watches are not compatible with phones that run on non-Android operating systems. While such brands are rare, an example would be Huawei devices running on HarmonyOS.
