Samsung’s Gear SDK reveals new details about Gear A smartwatch, shows rotating bezel and slick UI
A few weeks back Samsung confirmed round smartwatch rumors when they revealed their upcoming Gear SDK for developers that showed a variety of round smartwatch faces and apps. Today, the folks at SamMobile were able to dive into said SDK and managed to dig up a few details on Project Orbis, which could officially launch as the Samsung Gear A later this year.
The most interesting hardware feature is the inclusion of a rotating bezel that can be used to navigate the watch’s Tizen-based software. Samsung’s answer to the Apple Watch’s Digital Crown, the secondary form of input can be used for app specific actions, zooming in and out of images, to change the volume, or simply to navigate between screens. Initially it sounded odd, but now we’re getting a better picture of how useful this feature could be when used properly.
The Gear A will also feature a round 360 x 360 resolution display and appears to be using a fair amount of aluminum in its housing. A handful of sensors were also revealed and include the standard accelerometer, gyrosensor, heart-rate monitor, pressure sensor, and magnetic sensors. Wi-Fi, GPS, and a cellular radio were also on board, but absent was a camera and ambient light sensor.
The all new 100% more round Samsung Gear A is expected to be officially unveiled alongside the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 later this year. Although not an Android device, it still looks to be an interesting entry into the smartwatch category.