Samsung Group has updated its Gear 2 smartwatch with the addition of an app created by virtual keyboard startup Fleksy.
The new touch-screen keyboard app, called Fleksy Messenger, lets Gear users access previous conversation threads and contacts, according to PC Magazine. Users are also able to send and receive SMS messages on the screen.
The app syncs with the user's smartphone, allowing it to combine all information from the smartphone and the Gear.
"It's exciting to be expanding to devices like the Samsung Gear," said Kosta Eleftheriou, CEO of Fleksy. "We want every owner of a smart device - wearable devices included - to have access to Fleksy, and to enjoy a happy typing experience."
Fleksy's keyboard design included in the app uses algorithmic prediction, making it so that the user doesn't have to look at their wrist, TechCrunch reported.
"When the first smartphones came out, many thought typing on glass would be impossible," Ioannis Verdelis, co-founder and COO of Fleksy, said in an email. "Fleksy's next generation technology is now redefining the use case and capabilities of wearable technology, and we are hugely excited to be doing this with Sasmung Gear 2."
The Gear 2 was introduced in February alongside the Gear 2 Neo as a second-generation smartwatch, PC Magazine reported. Both devices run the Tizen operating system and include a 1GHz dual-core processor and a 320-by-320 Super AMOLED display.
The Gear 2 is currently the only smartwatch out of the two that will come with Fleksy Messenger.
"We are excited to have worked with the support of the Samsung Gear team to bring an awesome new app to the Gear ecosystem and Tizen wearable OS," Verdelis said. "Our unique technology is redefining what wearable technology devices are capable of, and how users will engage with their smartwatch."
Gear 2 users can download Fleksy Messenger now for free at the Sasmung Apps Store. For the app to work, users need a smartphone that works with Gear 2.
