The limits of Galaxy Watch 5 and Watch 4 with non-Samsung smartphones

In terms of Smartwatches, Samsung has a wide lineup of its Galaxy Watch series. These Galaxy Watches offer an enormous amount of features, which can be used only when paired with a compatible smartphone device. However, non-Samsung smartphone users always wonder whether they can use these Watches with their phones or not. So, the answer is “Yes, but with some limitations”. 

The Galaxy Watch 5 and Watch 4 are Samsung’s latest offerings in the smartwatch market, boasting advanced features and powerful hardware. However, these devices come with some limitations when used with non-Samsung smartphones. Today, we are focusing on the WearOS booted Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 5, in particular, what are the limitations of using them with a non-Samsung smartphone. Notably, before knowing the limitations, we must know the requirements to find out which non-Samsung devices are able to pair with the above-mentioned Galaxy Watches. The respective information can be found below. 

Requirements for using Galaxy Watch 5 and Watch 4

To pair the Galaxy Watch 4 with a smartphone, it should have an Android 6.0 or a later version, and to pair the Galaxy Watch 5, it must have Android 8.0 or a later version, no matter if it is a Galaxy phone or a non-Samsung smartphone. Along with it, the device should also be able to use Google Services in it. Additionally, the Galaxy Watch 5 also requires the smartphone should have at least 1.5GB of RAM. 

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Nota bene, the Galaxy Watches before the Watch 4 can be paired with iOS phones as well, but from the Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 5, Samsung has removed this ability. 

Limits of using Galaxy Watches in a non-Samsung phone

Indeed, the Galaxy Watches (particularly the Watch 4 and Watch 5) can be used with a compatible non-Samsung smartphone, but still, it shortens the usability and limits the services/features of the respective phones. These do have a lineup of features that can be accessed with a Galaxy phone pairing only. The services of Galaxy Watches that you can’t use in a non-Samsung phone are mentioned below. 

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Notably, a user can not use the Samsung Pay services on the Galaxy Watch if it isn’t paired with a Galaxy smartphone. Apart from this, some health tracking features are also available in the Galaxy Watch, which requires the Samsung Health Tracker app to access them; hence, a non-Samsung smartphone can not use them because of lacking Samsung’s Health Tracker application. 

How to use Galaxy Watch with a non-Samsung smartphone?

To pair the Galaxy Watch 4 or Galaxy Watch 5, first, you must check if your device is compatible or not. If yes, then first pair the phone with the Galaxy Watch through Bluetooth. Afterward, connect it with the Galaxy Wearable app, which can be downloaded from the Google Play Store. After the successful connection, you can activate the Google Assistant service.