PayPal today announced that its popular iOS and Android mobile payments app will be available for the Pebble Smartwatch (via VentureBeat).
The PayPal app has let users pay for purchases in certain locations for a while now, and integration with Android Wear has allowed users of Android-powered smart watches such as Samsung’s Gear 2, Gear S, and Gear Fit to make payments via their watches since earlier this year. With the new Pebble app, iOS users can now get a taste of the functionality, which allows them to check into stores and pay for their purchases at locations where PayPal is readily accepted, all without need of using a phone.
Customers can pay for purchases one of two ways: with an auto-generated payment code used when checking out or, with certain PayPal accepted retailers, by checking into a store inside of the PayPal app. If using the latter payment method, the app will automatically communicate with the merchant's point of sale during the check-out process.
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PayPal's integration with these smart devices in some ways mirrors Apple's own burgeoning payment system Apple Pay, which is slowly rolling out just now, although the two systems have some significant differences. Despite early rumors of a possible partnership between the online payment giant and Apple earlier this year, the talks reportedly came to a halt when PayPal inked a deal with Samsung to allow users to make PayPal payments with the Galaxy S5's fingerprint sensor.
PayPal was subsequently excluded from any integration into Apple Pay. PayPal, in response, launched an ad targeting the public release of certain private celebrity iCloud photos and simultaneously promoting its own intense security.
The PayPal app for the Pebble Smartwatch can be downloaded now for free. Its features can also be taken advantage of in the PayPaliOS app [Direct Link].
Top Rated Comments
The problem is most people don't want a monochrome screen that looks like windows 1.0
Most people seem to judge a product only be how it looks in pictures or in store, not realizing how much they're going to be straining their eyes to see those fancy OLEDs outdoors.As far as I'm concerned, the smart watches coming from most major manufacturers today are just a reincarnation of this:
LED watches as seen above were quickly replaced with LCD ones once the technology had matured. Hopefully something similar will happen with smartwatches once practical high-contract color ePaper displays hit the market.
I love Apple, but the design of the Apple Watch leaves a lot to be desired too.
I actually like it a lot. Will I buy one next year? No I don't where the watches I have.
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The pebble platform is really maturing on iOS. Several nice apps and watch faces now. I'm sure it will be long forgotten when apple watch comes out, though. It's a shame because the watch is always readable with the led display, has a great battery life, and is waterproof, all benefits over the apple watch.[/QUOTE
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The problem is most people don't want a monochrome screen that looks like windows 1.0
The pebble platform is really maturing on iOS. Several nice apps and watch faces now. I'm sure it will be long forgotten when apple watch comes out, though. It's a shame because the watch is always readable with the led display, has a great battery life, and is waterproof, all benefits over the apple watch.
Yet more proof that the hardware is the easy part. Just an empty shell.The UX, OS, SDK, App Store, ecosystem, and infrastructure are vastly harder.
And attaining mindshare, the ultimate goal, is the hardest of all.