Samsung today made new SDKs available to app writers seeking to target the Galaxy S5 smartphone and Gear 2 and Gear Fit smartwatches.
The software developer kits, which are free to download starting today, provide developers with the tools they need to create apps for the devices. The Samsung Mobile SDK 1.5 adds APIs that can hook into the GS5’s fingerprint scanner, as well as the motion-detection function, and split-screen mode for developing apps that can operate on TV and mobile devices at the same time. Samsung’s S Health service gets its own SDK, which will allow developers to latch their own apps into the fitness and health functions of the GS5.
There are separate SDKs for the Gear 2 and Gear Fit. The Gear 2 runs Samsung’s Tizen operating system, but the Gear Fit runs a proprietary operating system. Apps for the Gear Fit will be more limited in scope.