Samsung Launches Limited iOS Beta Program for Gear S2 Smart Watch - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Samsung Launches Limited iOS Beta Program for Gear S2 Smart Watch

by

Back in January, Samsung announced plans to add iOS support to its Gear S2 Smart Watch, and it appears the South Korean company is getting close to launching the promised iOS app.

Starting today, Samsung is launching a new beta testing program for the Gear iOS app (via SamMobile), which will run from Wednesday, August 24 to Monday, September 19, suggesting a release date that could come as early as late September.

samsunggeariosbetatest
The Gear iOS beta is only available to Samsung Gear S2, Gear S2 Classic, and Gear Fit 2 owners who are located in South Korea, so U.S. users will not be able to participate in the beta testing process. Participation in the beta program requires an Apple ID and an iPhone 5 or later running iOS 8.4 or later.

Samsung plans to use the feedback garnered from beta testers to make improvements to its upcoming iOS app. Details on the app, including screenshots, leaked out back in April. Based on that leaked information, 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.

Aside from an end date of September 19 for the beta testing program, Samsung has given no hints on when iOS support will be officially implemented.

Top Rated Comments

joecool99 Avatar
125 months ago
This is so awesome. The Gear is one of the most beautiful objects ever crafted and the only smartwatch done right.
READ - just your opinion
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jasonklee Avatar
125 months ago
This is so awesome. The Gear is one of the most beautiful objects ever crafted and the only smartwatch done right.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
125 months ago
I am loving my Gear S2 4G. I don't think I ever would have tried one if not for the free promotional give away by AT&T because I really love my Apple Watch and I do love square watches. I never really thought highly of Android or Tizen watches because they are so big. I tried this only because it was free and I'm glad I did.

And wow, this has a beautiful clean well designed interface. And it's really nice to be able to download custom watch faces for it. I'm currently using a Steampunk themed one...which is what I always wanted for an Apple Watch.

I do miss my activity rings and my moon phase complication. But not enough to give up on Gear S2. Texting on it is implemented better than trying to get Siri to recognize my words and differentiate between "Aunt" and "ant" for example. And I like that I can make or receive a call on it without a phone on me.

It's just looks a bit big on me. The rose gold classic version would probably look okay on me. Like an oversized ladies fashion watch. But the sporty styling of the white and steel one I have look kind of clunky on me. My husband looks great in his, though. It looks like a regular sport watch and is nicely proportioned on a man. He likes it better than his Apple Watch. He got bored not being able to download watch faces for the Apple Watch and never got into switching up bands the way I did.

I'm looking forward to seeing how IOS get implemented on it. I'm still using my iPhone SE so I will probably keep it paired with my Apple Watch and keep my Gear S2 paired with my Note 7 number.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
125 months ago
This is so awesome. The Gear is one of the most beautiful objects ever crafted and the only smartwatch done right.
Sarcasm?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
125 months ago
Sweet! can't wait to see the Gear S3 announcement, I think will put a shadow over the Galaxy S line this year
Have you seen the size difference between the gear and galaxy lines? No way they cast a shadow over the galaxy.

...and yes, I am ashamed of that joke. But I shared it anyway. Feel free to have a laugh at my expense. :D
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jamesey76 Avatar
124 months ago
Best of luck getting it. I can only find the S2 app that leaked in April. I contacted several people from various message boards that said or showed they had the app via screen shot . I PMed each person individually (including ones from this forum). All ignored request to extract the app opening the directory via iTunes and emailing it.

Maybe it was beyond their capabilities. Anyway if you get it please email it to jamesey@aol.com as I need it too!

Any links to find that leaked version? Looks like the beta sign ups aren't being accepted anymore. I got a free gear fit 2 through the Note 7 promo, but am now using an iPhone 7 plus and would love to get this working.
Any links to find that leaked version? Looks like the beta sign ups aren't being accepted anymore. I got a free gear fit 2 through the Note 7 promo, but am now using an iPhone 7 plus and would love to get this working.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 18 Pro Deep Red Feature

iPhone 18 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Wednesday March 18, 2026 7:39 am PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not expected to launch for another six months or so, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. It was initially reported that the iPhone 18 Pro models would have fully under-screen Face ID, with only a front camera visible in the top-left corner of the screen. However, the latest rumors indicate that only one Face ID component...
ios 26 4 yellow

Here Are Apple's Release Notes for iOS 26.4

Wednesday March 18, 2026 11:56 am PDT by
Apple provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate versions of iOS 26.4 and iPadOS 26.4, which means we're going to see a public launch as soon as next week. The RC versions of the software include Apple's official release notes, giving us final details on what's included in the update. Apple Music - Playlist Playground (beta) generates a playlist from your...
Apple Logo Sketch Feature

Apple Has Now Unveiled Eight New Products This Month

Tuesday March 17, 2026 9:25 am PDT by
Apple has unveiled a whopping eight new products so far this March, including an iPhone 17e, iPad Air models with the M4 chip, MacBook Air models with the M5 chip, MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, the all-new MacBook Neo, an updated Studio Display, a higher-end Studio Display XDR, and now the AirPods Max 2 this week. iPhone 17e features the same overall design as the iPhone...