Here’s what Samsung’s Galaxy Gear companion app looks like

Confirming prior information, the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch will use NFC and a Gear manager application to pair the watch with a phone and for configuration. It’s looking more and more like the Galaxy Gear will need a Samsung phone.

Let’s see, we know the hardware specifications of the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch and the expected battery life, so why not any info on the companion software? 

The Gear smartwatch will use NFC to easily pair the wearable to a smartphone over Bluetooth. It appears the process will use the watch’s charger based on the screen capture. The Clocks setting likely points to different watch faces and possibly secondary time zones. And the “Find my watch” feature will be handy if you misplace your Galaxy Gear: Tap this and the watch will probably make a sound, provided it is in Bluetooth range of the smartphone.

There’s still an open question on whether the Galaxy Gear will work with non-Samsung handsets, but that’s why we’re going to the press event on September 4! We still thinking this will — at least initially — be exclusive to Samsung smartphones.