Is the samsung galaxy watch 4 compatible with iphone

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If you have an iPhone and are looking to buy a smartwatch, you might be inclined to get the Apple Watch. Although the Apple Watch integrates with the iPhone seamlessly, buying Apple products always comes at a price.

So, what do you do if you are looking for a cheap smartwatch that offers good integration and features with the Apple ecosystem? Well, you could look at a pair of smartwatches by Samsung that offer a good balance of price and compatibility.

Do All Samsung Watches Work With an iPhone?

Samsung watch on a table

Samsung dumped its proprietary Tizen operating system for Google's Wear OS in 2021, and all watches starting with the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4, use the new operating system. Although the new operating system offers a refreshed look, they don't offer compatibility with Apple devices.

Therefore, if you want a Samsung smartwatch that can work with your iPhone, you will have to resort to an older model running Tizen. Another thing to note is that if you plan to buy a watch running on Tizen, it will get updates for three years from its launch date.

Hence, if you pick the Galaxy Watch Active 2 over the Galaxy Watch 3, know that you will only get software updates from Samsung until 2022, considering it came out in 2019.

7 Things You Can Do With a Galaxy Watch Paired to Your iPhone

Although you can still find several Samsung smartwatches running Tizen OS, we tried using the Galaxy Watch Active 2 with the iPhone 12 mini for three months, and below we've listed everything we could do with it. You can see if these features are worth your time and the money you save by not getting the Apple Watch.

1. Get Notifications at Lightning-Fast Speeds

Notifications on a Phone

Most users buy a smartwatch to stay on top of the notifications they get at the flick of a wrist. With a Samsung Galaxy Watch connected to your iPhone, you can access all your notifications immediately—provided it's running Tizen.

In addition, if you want certain apps not to send notifications on your Galaxy Watch, you can block them from taking away your focus. To do this, all you need to do is tap the Block Notification option on your watch.

Although the Samsung Galaxy Watch lets users interact with the notifications, it does not allow users to reply to them through the wearable. Therefore, if you want to reply to a notification quickly, you will have to pull out your phone from your pocket.

2. Track Your Sleep Properly

Sleep tracking data on an iPhone

If you go to bed wearing the Samsung Galaxy Watch on your wrist, you can track how you sleep. Also, the Galaxy Watch Active 2 provides sleep stage data to users enabling them to know when they were in deep, REM, and light cycles during their sleep.

The smartwatch also sends this data to your iPhone, which you can find in the Samsung Health app enabling you to get an idea of how you sleep. So, if tracking sleep is one of your top priorities, you won't regret saving money on an Apple Watch.

3. Stay on Top of Your Workouts

If you like to keep close tabs on your workouts, the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 lets you track over 39 different workouts. In addition to this, the wearable can automatically detect workouts like running, cycling, swimming, and walking, just like an Apple Watch.

Enabled with GPS, the watch provides insights about your running routes, even if you don't have your phone with you in your pocket. Not only that, but the wearable also sends all your workout data to the Samsung Health app, enabling you to understand the intensity of your workouts.

Additionally, the watch offers IP68 water and dust resistance rating, allowing you to wear your watch when you go for a swim or while you shower without worrying about water damage.

4. Monitor Your Heart Rate

smartwatch showing heart rate

The Galaxy Watches running Tizen allows Apple users to detect their heart rate and sync it with the Samsung Health app. The watch also lets you define the frequency at which the heart rate data is collected, and you can select between continuous monitoring, manual data collection, and 10-minute heart rate monitoring.

Stress level monitoring is also available on the Galaxy Watch Active 2, and according to Samsung, the watch uses the heart rate sensor along with some other data points to calculate your stress levels.

5. Talk to People on the Go

Once paired with the iPhone, users can answer calls using their Galaxy Watches running Tizen. However, unlike the Apple Watch, users need to connect to two different Bluetooth radios to enable the calling feature.

One of the radios uses the Bluetooth Low Energy protocol to transmit information, whereas the other Bluetooth connection is used for transmitting voice data.

6. Listen to Music With Ease

using AirPods with a smartwatch

You can use the onboard storage on your Galaxy Watch to store music and listen to them offline. For instance, the Galaxy Watch Active 2 offers 4GB of onboard storage.

So, if you are someone who likes to ditch your phone when you go on a run, you still have your favorite songs on your wrist to get you through it. Also, you can connect your headphones to your watch and enjoy music during your workouts.

7. Customize Your Watch to Your Heart's Desire

Unlike traditional watches, a smartwatch enables users to personalize its appearance by changing the watch faces. The same goes for the Samsung Galaxy Watch, which lets you customize its watch face with minimal effort..

Not only this, but users can also download different watch faces from the Galaxy Store, which you can access from the Samsung Galaxy Watch application.

Although the Galaxy Store offers many options for customizing the watch face on your Samsung wearable, users can't download paid watch faces when accessing the store from an iPhone.

Is a Samsung Galaxy Watch Worth It?

Offering a Super AMOLED display along with lucrative sleep tracking and health features, the Samsung Galaxy Watches offer great functionality and a low price.

However, despite running Tizen, the watch loses some functionality when paired with an iPhone, as most manufacturers want to trap users in their own ecosystems.

Regardless, as long as you're happy with the features you get and the money you save, a Tizen-powered Galaxy Watch seems like a decent alternative to the Apple Watch.

Can a Galaxy 4 watch pair with an iPhone?

While this upgraded version of Wear OS has numerous benefits compared to the Tizen OS of older Galaxy Watches, it also means that the Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic are not compatible with the iPhone.

Will a Samsung Galaxy watch work with an iPhone?

To summarize, the Galaxy Watch 5 and Galaxy Watch 5 Pro aren't compatible with iPhones. If you're adamant about using a Wear OS watch with your Apple phone, you can pick up the Montblanc Summit 3 or TicWatch 3.