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As we get closer and closer to Samsung’s September 4th event, more details regarding the Samsung Galaxy Gear — the company’s rumored smart watch — have surfaced. GigaOM has the goods for us this time, with their sources chiming in to give us more details about the watch’s specs and other hardware features.
For starters, the watch is said to have a 2.5-inch 320 x 320 OLED display, one capable of showing a full range of colors. The device will also have a dual-core processor, specifically from the Exynos 4 family.
Earlier rumors suggested the processor would be Samsung’s dual-core Exynos 4212 processor clocked at 1.5GHz. Couple that with the Mali-400 GPU inside and this would be the most powerful smart watch we’ve ever seen. We’re not sure how that’s going to fare in terms of battery life, but it’s apparently “pretty decent” for a smart watch.
Furthermore, the Samsung Galaxy Gear is said to have a camera built into the wrist strap, and speakers tiny enough that they can fit into the strap’s clasp. NFC, Bluetooth 4.0 LE and more are all on board to round the experience out.
Of course, Samsung’s wearable will be completely based on Android, with developers said to be getting units with Android 4.1 and, in some cases, Android 4.2. The experience will be tightly integrated with Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones, according to sources.
If you are looking at a notification on your smart watch and decide you want to take your business to the phone, your phone will ,make the transition seamless. For instance, if you’re looking at a truncated email on your watch and decide you want to take it to your phone, you simply unlock your phone and it will know to bring that email up right away. This functionality will be facilitated through the use of Samsung’s companion app, though we’re not sure if this means the Galaxy Gear will be exclusive to owners of Galaxy branded phones.
As for third-party applications, Samsung will apparently bypass the Google Play Store, and will instead push their own Samsung Apps store for downloading watch apps. It’s not the world’s most terrible idea, especially considering the ecosystem for watch apps is bound to be vastly different compared to apps made for phones and tablets. You have to learn to expect this sort of stuff until Google decides the smart watch game is big enough to give it its own category in Google Play.
That’s all we know for now, but with the device said to be unveiled in just over two weeks’ time it won’t be long before we have some official information to sink our teeth into.
My next watch for sure!
How much will it cost
It is Samsung, it will overpriced… Looking at the other so called smartwatches I would expect something like £150 – £180… I bet it will be something like £300 – £350 – it is Samsung…
I cant work out if this is going to be the first entry in a new device revolution or if this is going to be a huge disaster killing the entire smart watch concept as a mainstream device forever.
Just all that processing power. Holy crap. Do they expect users to be running Riptide 2 on it? It has the same CPU and GPU as the Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 – what the hell?
This seems, on paper, to be the exact antithesis of what a smartwatch should be. It should have huge battery life via low power consumption, be cheap and be used to integrate with the phone as a notification device. More or less what Pebble does.
I like the specs. I want a bit more out of my smart watch than notifications. It will use all of that power for taking video and high quality pictures. Also I think they want to make sure it can handle any needs for third party apps. I think an app like my tracks would be cool on the phone, Also it seems like it might be able to take calls as well. If it gets a full day on a charge why do you need it to last any longer. It will just get plugged in every night just like your phone does. #My2Cents
Does it take that much processing power to take videos and pictures? Keep in mind videos and pictures have been taken by phones going back to like the early 00s. If we sent back in time a watch with these leaked specs it would be more powerful than the average personal computer.
For My Tracks the phone is infinitely better because you can fit a bigger battery in a phone. This is going to be a huge drawback to all that power consumption.
Taking calls is potentially useful, but this also isnt a power intensive thing and if it requires its own SIM card then it is a damp squib already so effectively it just has to be a bluetooth handsfree device – which is fine, that and the ability to take photos are great user experience features but they dont require a dual core midrange CPU and the same GPU I have in my Note 2.
It just feels on paper to be like a turbo charged big block v8 put into an ice cream van and Samsung has just applied the “bigger number better sales” design model to it producing a poor battery life. Hopefully it comes together cos I want a smart watch (at the right price) but these specs just dont sit right with me. Time will tell.
I voted you down for using hashtags.
I voted you down for being a twat
That’s clever, and actually funny. I voted you up for using the T word.
ROFL
I voted you down for using the word twat…and for being British.
I voted you down for being racisit…I’m an American. And no, I didn’t vote for Obama. I’m not at fault for that.
don’t lie to me…I know a Brit when i see one…
lol
This is a FAIL without a microphone. I want to do a Skype video call from my watch.
What about using the watch as a motion control interface for apps / games? :)
Im excited ablut smart watches and google glass. I dont think i will be using google glass anytime soon but the smart watch may be my next accessory. Ill wait a bit to see what the nexus watch will bring before making a purchase.
Still haven’t seen if it is water proof. Any word on that?
itll probably e expensive as hell
I fully expect to be able to load this up with KITT from knight rider.
Waiting on the one from Rolex. Which is said to be made from unicorn a$$holes and yetti fur woven into a watch band. Topping off this powerhouse is a 5.5″ screen made from a shard of the dark crystal.
GELFLING?!?!?!?!
I just threw up laughing, this comment made my day!
If it had a flexible display, long wise putting something like that on your wrist would actually look pretty cool.
=.S
Is this picture/rendering what the watch will look like? I realize we won’t know for sure until the unveiling, but I always see this picture used and I wasn’t sure if it was “confirmed” by any sources.
“the watch is said to have a 2.5-inch 320 x 320 OLED display”
That screen in that picture is not a square
Screens are still measured diagonally Sir even on the watch
They absolutely are…and with 320×320 it shows it will be a square. They wont have pixels vertically closer together than pixels horizontally. They will be the same of course.
The picture above is just a mock-up, not the actual thing. And technically, pixels don’t have to be square. Standard Definition TV and DVD use pixels that are not square.
The pixels have a different distance vertically and horizontally on a dvd and standard def tv?? I have had other devices that had a square screen and same pixels horizontally and vertically.
Most devices have square pixels. DVD doesn’t. DVD video encoded at 720×480 regardless of whether it’s 16:9 or 4:3. Old SDTV’s had non-square pixels (effectively, techically they didn’t really have pixels at all) so this worked out fine. On modern HDTV with square pixels, the picture is scaled to 16:9 or 4:3.
Also in the old days, there were some computer monitors with non-square pixels.
If you are talking about individual pixels with how the subpixels makes them up, I agree and have seen this back in the 80s on my tvs and have seen it on mobile phones today. But 320×320 will be a square scren.
I would expect so. Of course all we have are rumors right now, 320×320 might not even be correct. We’ll find out Sept 4.
Diagonal would not have two equal measures.. 320×320, measured diagonally would still be a square :D I bet part of what we are seeing on the face of the watch are static buttons (home, back, etc..) and not part of the 320×320 square display…
sir, 320×320 is a square SIR
If this watch ends up having 320×320 pixels then it will be a square. Not sure what these people are talking about. Perhaps we should bet money with them on this. :)
Rectangle pixels…
Good catch, I missed that. Still, it makes me curious that this mock-up keeps getting used over and over. I’m interested in a smart watch, but not if it looks anything like the render…wasn’t sure if I missed something when the first rumors surfaced.
It’s a mock-up.
Have to get apps from the Samsung app store? No thank you.
What would be cool is if you could unfurl the watch and use it like a phone in the open state.
Sounds pretty cool. I hope it’s not too big. I have small wrists.
If it doesn’t have GPS and at least 16gb of memory, I am out. I need something to log my rides and runs with. The Motorola Motoactiv had all these- if Motorola would have just streamlined the software and made it less “buggy”, I wouldn’t need to replace it.
“waterproof” is an absolute. absolute, absolute must as well. I’d add heart rate monitor to that list too so fitbits and fuelbands are unnecessary.
Sounds like you guys are looking for a Kreyos. It has all of those featuers.
Kreyos has neither built in GPS or heart rate monitor, needs to pair with a phone & ANT chest strap. Shame Google ‘rationalised’ the Motorola product line, the actv was well ahead of the curve.
Android! I need ya, buddy!
That’s gonna be my wakeup command! xD
So much better than OK Google Now
What’s going to respond to your call?
This guy shows up
Red Ranger?
That’s more suitable, IMO. Glitch from the cartoon “Reboot”
90’s kids will know. ;)
I’ll wait for the Nexus Watch…
*patiently waiting*
Why do they keep using this picture when Samsung has said this watch won’t use a flexible display?
Also, with a 320×320 resolution, a rectangular display doesn’t really make sense.
So what happens when this device gets hot pressed firmly against your wrist??????
This is why the watch is coming out in the Winter? =.S
Perma-tan
I will love it and pet it and call it George.
So I’m sitting here staring at my $150 Pebble that I literally just got about 3 days ago and I gotta say I still happy with my purchase. Not only is this Samsung watch gonna be totally over-priced/expencive but I’m guessing it probably WON’T be waterproof which is one of the best features of my Pebble. Ya…I’m gonna stay happy with my Pebble and it’s basic-mid features and apps until some type of Google/Nexus watch is released. That’s when the Pebble will become my “backup” smartwatch. LOVE SMARTWATCHES!!!
Is it Waterproof or Water Resistant? And I’m really asking. There is a difference. WaterProof means water can NEVER get in. You can take that watch to the depths of the ocean. Unless tampered with water will NOT penetrate it.
Water resistant means it can prevent water to a degree. Rain water won’t hurt it. You can probably take it swimming with you, but not for extended amounts of time.
Without doing any quick research, I think I remember reading that the Pebble is waterproof to a depth of like 40 feet or something like that. I mean, nothing is completely waterproof because at some point, the water pressure is too great. If anyone knows the depth for sure, feel free to correct me and make me look stupid.
That’s cool. The reason I ask is because I don’t like to take my watches off until I go to sleep. Swimming, showering, cleaning dishes. I would leave my watch on.
I learned the difference the hard way. My dad bought me a water resistant watch. Had it for about 2 years. Took it to the beach and when I got out the water, water was on the inside. A month later it died. Oh yea, it was a $200 watch. =.[
But I know that at some point the water pressure will break through. That’s why things are water proof up to a certain depth, like you mentioned.
But anything below 10 feet would be good for me. I’ll take a look at these Pebble Smart Watches.
Oh, and Pebble is rated 5 ATM which means it can go about 165 feet (50 meters)
http://getpebble.com/
http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070902054359AA08f3h
Oh, 165 is way more than I thought. But I remember reading it and thinking, “well, that’s way more than I’ll need.” I’m probably getting a Pebble. I don’t need all the bells and whistles. The Pebble’s capabilities are plenty for me. At least for now…
The HOT smartwatch on Kickstarter appears to be the best option. The private call feature is offers is better than just the speaker phone that these watches have (it has that too). Just seems to be a more complete solution.
Allow me to become the most intense fanboy ever. I will own this smartwatch, along with an Android phone, along with Google Glass. I’ll be the epiphany of Android Fanboys. LoL!!
All I’ll need is some Android powered shoes. =.P
Okay… maybe that’s taking it too far.
You Bruh are my HERO
:)
WAITING FOR MY KREYOS!!!! But i would love a color screen
Fake. You can’t put all that in a smart watch. And even if you did, it would need such a huge battery it wouldn’t even be worth it. Not really knowing how pixle density in screens works, I will say that the bottom touch screen on a Nintendo 3DS is 320×240 and that is not wrist wearable even with no bezel.
You can put more. I have had a smart watch (smart for those days and even to an extent today) for about 3 years now that has a VGA camera with video recording (obviously crappy quality), bluetooth, resistive touch screen (with stylus holder), dual sim (standard size, not micro), 2GB microSD card, WAP connectivity with browser, built in mic and speakers, and even Snake!
It’s not particularly large, and the battery lasts 2 days. It was James Bond like back then.
It was from ‘Merlin’ made in China , sold in Dubai.
If that was 3 years ago, I’d expect more today :)
I would think that 320 PPI display makes it possible and then some.
What? No mic. I want to do a Skype video call with my watch
I like this idea but I’m not happy with proprietary stuff. I understand what Samsung is trying to do but it would be great if this watch will be easily able to connect to any Android device.
Yeah, I don’t like it when they say you have to have their phone in order for it to work. Kind of an Apple thing to do. But they’ve been doing that with peripherals for a while. If google doesn’t jump into this game then that’s what it will be is proprietary watches. Seems like Google Glass should have a version for watches. Similar experience just on your wrist.
all you need to do is buy the sony smartwatch 2 and stay away from the hype bickering companies samsung and apple
Interesting. When rumors of another major competitor about wearable computing comes out, folks here crucify said company.
But hey, Samsung comes out with it, and it’s wet dreams galore? Hypocrisy anyone?
That’s because Apple has A bad attitude.
Nobody will be buying it for the Samsung logo, like they would for an Apple watch.
Root + Swype = win
this will be a great step toward google glass but in the end it will make us want google glass all the more.
What I do not understand is why there is no way to tap into the ecosystem of apps that is already being created for the Google Glass Project. They both have small screens and should function pretty similarly.