Tinkerers have figured out how to make the Galaxy Gear work with Google’s Nexus 5

BY Stefan Constantinescu

Published 22 Jan 2014

Samsung’s smart watch, the Galaxy Gear, is a great product (read my review) that’s unfortunately priced too high and only works with other Samsung devices. Actually, scratch that, the second point has just been made moot thanks to the work done by people who live in the XDA forums. If you have the patience to follow this nine step installation process detailed on Smartwatch Fans, then you can make a Galaxy Gear work with a Nexus 5. Note that they’ve tried to make the Gear with other Android phones, but have failed.

Should you do this? I don’t understand why you’d want to. For the price of a Galaxy Gear ($300), you can buy yourself either two plastic Pebbles or one Pebble Steel and have $50 left over to spend on a nice dinner for two. But let’s assume for a second that you want a Gear. I’m going to recommend you don’t, only because Samsung themselves have said that when they unveil the Galaxy S5 to the world, they’ll also announce the Gear II. So just wait for that.

Don’t worry, the perfect smart watch will come, I’m absolutely sure of it, but it’s going to take some time. The world is waiting to see what Apple will do with the iWatch, what Google will do with their acquisition of WIMM Labs, and whether Samsung will wise up and officially supporting other Android devices with their devices.