The upcoming Samsung Galaxy S21 series will likely be the end point for the company's initial smartwatches and wearables.

The German Samsung news site Galaxy Club captured a notification from the Samsung Members app warning that five wearables-the Gear 1, Gear 2, Gear 2 Neo, Gear S, and Gear Fit-will not work with the company's 2021 smartphones The company has been working on a new smartphone for the past two years.

We subsequently found the same notice replicated on Samsung's German support site, but without much explanation as to why 2021 is the cutoff point. The text translated by Edge reads, "The existing quality of service for older Samsung wearable Gears cannot be guaranteed or ensured by updating the app alone."

It continues, "You will be notified of this change by sending an in-app notification after the Galaxy Wearable (Samsung Gear) app is updated to the latest version." However, Samsung Gear wearables already used on Samsung smartphones (release year 2020 or earlier) will continue to work."

The fact that 5 will continue to work on older devices seems more like Samsung wanting to get out of indefinite support for a selection of wearables that now seem old, rather than for technical reasons. All of the affected devices were released in 2013 or 2014 - a time when the Samsung Galaxy S5 was state-of-the-art - so it is not unreasonable for the company to consider calling time on an aging watch.

It's also fair to say that these are by no means vintage Samsung wearables. The original Gear suffered from an off-putting design, weak notifications, and poor battery life, reportedly resulting in a 30% return rate at Best Buy. The company will finally get the formula right with the Samsung Gear S2's round face, twisted bezel design in 2015 - and notably, the wearable is not listed as losing support in 2021.

This is not the first time a Samsung Gear-branded accessory has ceased to function between generations. Samsung's Gear VR was introduced with the Galaxy S6 and was last seen working with the S10 family; because the Gear VR had to physically fit inside the phone, Samsung's design has changed, moving from microUSB to USB-C, which means buyers can either get an adapter application or had to purchase an entirely new headset. Given this, it is perhaps surprising that Samsung has supported it for so long.

It's hard to imagine that Samsung's decision to abandon the five watches will disappoint many people overall. After all, if you're the kind of person who can't wait to upgrade to a Galaxy S21 in January, are you really likely to be wearing a six-year-old smartwatch?