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Samsung Pay Now on Gear S2 Smartwatch

The feature is available for all Gear S2 owners in the US.

 & Angela Moscaritolo Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

Our team tests, rates, and reviews more than 1,500 products each year to help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.

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Samsung Gear S2 owners can now pay for things right from their wrists.

Samsung has been promising to bring Samsung Pay to the smartwatch, and now the tech giant is finally making it happen. Until now, only a small group of users participating in a closed beta have been able to use the company's mobile payment system from the Gear S2; now it's available for everyone in the US.

Droid Life reports that the feature, still in beta on the Gear S2, launched Monday as part of an update to the Samsung Gear app. "We updated Gear apps and Gear S2 software everywhere we could and sure enough, the option to use Samsung Pay is indeed now there," the site says.

To try it out, just update your Gear app, then look for the Samsung Pay Beta option in the Settings menu. You'll then be prompted to install the Samsung Pay app from the Galaxy Apps store. After doing so, you'll need to set up a secure password and add your card information. Note that you will need to provide your card details even if you previously set up Samsung Pay on your phone.

After that, you can simply "lower your wrist to an NFC payment terminal and payment should go through," Droid Life reports.

The Samsung Gear S2 went on sale in October for $299.99. It sports a 1.2-inch circular Super AMOLED 360-by-360 display with 302ppi, runs a dual-core 1GHz processor, and comes with 4GB of internal memory and 512MB of RAM.

About Our Expert

Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. I have been with PCMag for more than 10 years, and in that time have written more than 6,000 articles and reviews for the site. I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade. 

Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Technology I Use

My little Florida beach bungalow is brimming with smart home tech. I have a smart speaker or display in every room, allowing me to control other connected devices by voice. The Nest Hub on my bedside table lets me set wake-up alarms, control my smart light bulbs, and set the temperature on my smart thermostat. I use the Amazon Echo Show 8 on my kitchen counter to browse recipes, reorder protein powder, check the weather, and watch the news while I do dishes. 

Because I suffer from allergies, air purifiers are essential. My favorite model is the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07, which doubles as a fan and continuously sends indoor pollution data to its companion mobile app. 

My pitbull Bradley sheds, so a good robot vacuum is a must. I currently use a premium Ecovacs Deebot that can both vacuum and mop, empty its own dustbin, and wash its own mop cloth. 

For fitness, I like to mix up my routine with cycling, indoor rowing, running, and strength training in addition to yoga. I take classes on the Tonal 2 smart strength training machine, I row indoors on an Aviron machine, and track my beach runs with an Apple Watch while listening to music on my Apple AirPods Pro. On the weekends, I love riding e-bikes like the rugged, beach-friendly Aventon Aventure for fun and fitness.

My job involves a lot of virtual meetings, so a quality webcam, microphone, and ring light are important. I use the Jabra PanaCast 20 webcam, the Elgato Wave: 3 microphone, and a Yesker tripod ring light. 

As for my preferred phone platform, I'm an iPhone person, but I've also extensively used Android for product testing.

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