Samsung to make new Gear S2 smartwatch available to competition to boost sales

Samsung Electronics would make its next smartwatch technology available to its competitors who also use Google Inc's mobile platform Android, hoping to increase its share of the market, which is now dominated by Apple Inc.

Samsung launched its new watch on Monday. The Gear S2 comes with mobile payment technology just like Apple's Watch. The company, however, did not give a price tag for the watch.

The watch will be available as of October, the South Korean tech major said on Thursday at an event in Berlin tied to the IFA, Europe's largest consumer electronics trade show.

"We are leading the way in this segment," said Younghee Lee, Samsung's global marketing head for mobile. "But we realise we can't do it alone."

Making the new smartwatches compatible with smartphones made by competitors could help boost sales for Samsung, which saw its market share shrink sharply following the launch of arch rival Apple's Apple Watch.

Apple Watch captured a 75 per cent global smartwatch market share, followed by Samsung with an 8 per cent share.

Worldwide smartwatch shipments grew to 5 million in the second quarter of this year from 1 million in the same period last year, according to data of research firm Strategy Analytics.

(Reuters)