As expected, Samsung is updating it smartwatch lineup with a new model that… looks a lot like its last model, but which has a brand new name.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch will replace the Gear S3 in the company’s wearable lineup. And despite rumors that the phone would run Google’s Wear OS software, it will ship with Samsung’s Tizen operating system, just like every other Samsung smartwatch released in recent years.
The Galaxy Watch will come in two sizes: a 42mm version will sell for $330 and up, and a 46mm Galaxy Watch will set you back $350. Both will be available starting August 24th, which is the same day the new Samsung Galaxy Note 9 smartphone ships.
The 42nm watch has a 1.2 inch circular display and comes in a choice of black or rose gold colors. It has a 20mm wrist strap and a 270 mAh battery.
Samsung’s 46mm version has a 1.3 inch display, a 22mm strap, and a 472 mAh battery.
The company says both versions have 360 x 360 pixel always-on Super AMOLED displays with Corning Gorilla Glass, 1.1 GHz dual-core processors, and “days” of battery life.
They both support wireless charging, and you can use them with Samsung’s new Wireless Charger Duo, which lets you charge a Galaxy Watch and a Galaxy smartphone at the same time.
Other features include 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 4.2, NFC, and A-GPS. The watches are IP68 water resistant and MIL-STD-810G tested for ruggedness.
Samsung will offer a Bluetooth-only model with 768MB of RAM and 4GB of storage, and a 4G LTE model with 1.5 GB of RAM and 4GB of storage.
No full waterproofness to compete with Apple or tougher Android watches, wrong OS. If it were waterproof to at least 50 m and had WearOS, I would gladly pay 300+ euro / bucks. It looks great and battery life is a blast. But IP68 only means that I am always borderline ruining the phone, it’s too little to dip in the pool (I tried that with the Sony Smartwatch – glad Amazon took it back) and probably also the sauna, so I have to be aware of what I am doing most of the time, and what I want from my Smartwatch is that I forget I am wearing it until I need it.
I want to like Samsung, but their lack of software updates is down right atrocious. It’s hard to invest in the Samsung experience knowing I have to update every 2 years. It’s pushing me to the Google or Apple experience which is better supported
Does a watch really need a software update? I’ve had my Gear S3 for about 1.5 years or so (I think). Works great. Gets fantastic battery life. Does everything I need it to. I see no need to upgrade or get a new one for the foreseeable future.
So why call it Galaxy???
Brand awareness
current model is the Gear S3, not Galaxy S3
Thanks that was a brain fart rather than a typo. 🙂