Exclusive: Samsung starts testing mobile payments on upcoming smartwatch, more variants inbound

Samsung was expected to unveil a new smartwatch back at Mobile World Congress 2015 in March but it didn't make any announcements related to a wearable device at that event, the company later said that it wasn't in a hurry to get this new wearable device out the door since it's more focused on developing the perfect smartwatch. Samsung's next smartwatch is going to be called Gear A, it's currently known commonly by its codename Orbis, and we've already exclusively reported on the specifications of this smartwatch.

Our sources reveal that Samsung has started testing mobile payments on its upcoming smartwatch, the company has already been running Samsung Pay tests in South Korea on the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 edge. It's expected to launch its payments service next month in the United States and South Korea. We have also been told that more variants of the Samsung smartwatch are inbound but don't count on a launch in the near future, contrary to popular belief Samsung is not going to unveil a new smartwatch at its Unpacked event on August 13, all wearable device announcements will be made at IFA 2015 in Berlin next month.

Adnan Farooqui - Executive Editor

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First Samsung device: SGH-E900

Adnan Farooqui is a long-term writer at SamMobile. Based in Pakistan, his interests include technology, finance, Swiss watches and Formula 1. His tendency to write long posts betrays his inclination to being a man of few words.

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