Korean consumer electronics manufacturer Samsung Electronics Co, Ltd. has upped its smart watch game with the Samsung Gear S2, a classic spin on the emerging wearables market.
The Gear S2–available in two models–conjures ages-old wrist watches with a round, 1.2″ circular AMOLED screen and 360-by-360 resolution, and a rotating bezel that, paired with Home and Back buttons, “ensures users will have a quicker, more precise method to comfortably access notifications and applications,” according to a company press release.
Samsung boasts of open collaboration with application developers and other partners to bring a more customizable experience to the wearables market, including such after-market accessories as watch faces and watch bands.
The 11.4-millimetre thin Gear S2 offers fitness and productivity applications out of the box.
- At-a-glance notifications for calendar entries, e-mail and news updates are combined with the ability to send text messages directly from the wrist.
- A 24-hour activity log monitors daily fitness activity and patterns, and can send reminder updates to keep users on a fitness plan.
- The user interface is built on the open-source Tizen operating system, now available in 182 countries–including Canada–which was launched earlier this year on Samsung’s low-cost Z1 smartphone. Samsung is positioning Tizen as an aletrnative to Google Inc.’s Android operating system and Apple’s iOS. The company plans to run not just wearables and mobile devices on Tizen, but also its line of smart TVs.
- The Gear S2 runs on a 1-GHz dual-core processor with 512MB of RAM and 4GB of onboard storage, and offers a variety of connectivity technologies. Near-field computing (NFC) technology opens the device to touch-payment solutions and keyless home and automobile technologies. A 3G connectivity option allows use without tethering to a smartphone, though that’s also possible with its Bluetooth connectivity.
- A wireless charging dock can keep the watch running for two to three days, the company says.
The Samsung Gear S2 will be showcased at Tempodrum in Berlin on Sept. 3.
