Smartwatches and other smart wearables are increasingly becoming as competent, if not as popular, as smartphones with the passage of time. With new smartwatches bringing in in-built GPS functionality as well as 3G and 4G connectivity, they are turning less reliant on companion smartphones to draw their power. In fact, Samsung’s upcoming Gear S3 smartwatch, which will run Samsung’s Tizen OS, is expected to bring in a new optimized System-on-Chip processor built specifically for wearables to improve the smartwatch’s processing power and capabilities. To make its wearables, especially the Gear S range of smartwatches more capable, Samsung recently launched a new ARTIK Cloud app on the Google Play app store which will enable smartwatches to connect with a range of IoT devices and to control their functions.
If you own a Samsung Gear S2 smartwatch, the app will let you connect your device to the ARTIC cloud which also hosts a number of connected devices compatible with the Internet of Things ecosystem. These include Samsung’s SmartThings appliances like Smappee Home Energy Monitor, SmartThings Moisture Sensor and a Samsung Wireless Audio speaker. While the number of devices currently registered with the ARTIK Cloud may be limited, the possibilities are huge and you will be able to use your Gear S2 or Gear S3 smartwatch to perform many more functions than you can do now. However, there is a downside to the app too. It can only be downloaded in smartphones and can connect to your wearable via Bluetooth which implies that you will need to carry your smartphone around which using the Gear S2 to connect to other IoT devices via the ARTIK Cloud.
The ARTIK could companion app can be downloaded and used in smartphones running Android 4.4 KitKat and later versions. To know more about the cloud, you can visit the developer website and you will also be able to download and use the app on an unlocked Archos GamePad 2 tablet. Back in April, Samsung claimed that the Gear S2 will continue to evolve in the near future to meet the growing and changing needs of users which implies that we should expect the device to receive more software updates despite the fact that a Gear S3 smartphone is around the corner. With the launch of the ARTIK cloud companion app, Samsung just made the Gear S2 a lot more user-friendly than it ever was.
