Following series of leaks, rumors, and speculations, Samsung at its New York event earlier today has announced the latest in its smartwatch series- not the Samsung Gear S4, but the aptly named Samsung Galaxy watch.
The device alongside the Galaxy Note 9 goes on pre-order tomorrow via Samsung.com and will hit the shelve on August 24 in the US, August 31 in Korea before it rolls out to other countries later in September. In the U.S, the Galaxy Watch with LTE support will retail for $375 (42mm) and $400 (46mm), while the Bluetooth-only model will go for $330 (42mm) and $350 (46mm).
The new Galaxy watch is more of an actual watch than a smartwatch with features similar to those of the Galaxy Gear, including the circular bezel, which doubles as a control. Unlike the Gear, Samsung is offering the Galaxy watch in two sizes: the 42mm available in Midnight Black and Rose Gold, and 46mm which come only in silver paint job.
It features a 1.3-inch and 1.2-inch (360×360 pixels) Super AMOLED Always touch display which is both strong(certified for military-level durability) and water resistant – thanks to the overlaying Corning Gorilla Glass DX+, while it is powered by the Exynos 9110 dual-core 1.15Ghz chip, coupled with 768MB/1.5GB RAM, and 4GB internal storage.
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The device gets the Tizen OS 4.0 with LTE connectivity, a 472mAh battery on the 46mm wearable, and a 270mAh cell on the 42mm one both of which have a rating of up to 7 days on a single charge.
Samsung is hyping the Galaxy watch as a real and complete fitness tracker, all thanks to its ability to track up to 39 activities, out of which it can detect 6 automatically. It also got an in-built heart rate monitor complete with a reminder feature which alerts the wearer of the need to take a breath when the heart rate goes up north.
Galaxy Watch Highlight
- Available in two different sizes — 42mm ($330) and 46mm ($350)
- Circular, rotating bezel
- Standalone LTE connectivity with call and text support
- AMOLED display
- Colors include Rose Gold, Silver and Midnight Black
- Over 60,000 watch faces available from the Galaxy App Store
- High-res analog display with intergated touch function
- Military-grade Corning Gorilla DX+ glass
- 5 ATM water resistance
- Stress management features
- 21 indoor exercises, 39 tracked workouts
- Battery life: “several days on a single charge”
- Sold in 15+ countries on 30+ carriers (including AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon)
- Available on August 24