Neil Hughes
Samsung is said to be working on yet another smart watch model expected to be unveiled this summer — Â one that would completely replace a smartphone rather than simply being an accessory to one.
In addition to taking calls, the new stand-alone watch from Samsung is expected to capture pictures, send emails, and include integrated GPS, Bluetooth and even a heart-rate monitor, according to The Wall Street Journal. The rumored device would essentially be a wrist-bound smartphone, which is very different from existing smart watches, which offload battery-draining duties to wirelessly connected smartphones that must be in proximity.
Rather than running Android Wear, Samsung's phone-watch is said to feature the company's proprietary mobile operating system named Tizen. It will host a SIM card for independent connectivity, and is expected to be unveiled between June and July.
The new everything-in-one smart watch would be the fifth style the South Korean company would make currently available on the market. Samsung has employed the same "see-what-sticks" approach in the past, most notably in smartphones and tablets, where it has offered screen sizes in an extremely wide range.
Earlier this year, Samsung unveiled its Tizen-powered Gear 2 smart watches, which moved away from Google's Android. It too has a camera, while the Gear 2 Neo is mostly identical but lacks any picture taking capabilities.
Then there's the Gear Fit, a fitness-oriented wrist-worn device with a curved 1.84-innch Super AMOLED display. And finally, Samsung continues to offer the first-generation Galaxy Gear, which runs a customized version of Google Android.
Both the Gear and Gear 2 lineups offer the ability to place calls and participate in video chat, but those functions require connectivity to a limited range of Galaxy S smartphones to enable those functions while on the go. The Gear Fit does not offer those abilities, but does feature a built-in heart rate monitor.
Samsung's fifth smart watch to hit the market may arrive as hype for an anticipated "iWatch" from Apple could continue to build. The iPhone maker is rumored to be working on their own wrist-worn smart device, but it's not expected to be unveiled until later this year, if it arrives at all.
Samsung is also hoping to upstage Apple's upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference with a health-related event next Wednesday. WWDC will kick off five days later, and it's expected that Apple will introduce new health-related features in iOS 8, the anticipated next-generation version of its mobile operating system for iPhone and iPad.
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89 Comments
Fail. Mainstream will not want this. What about calling plans? Not very well thought through IMO.
That's awesome. I'd love to be able to make calls from my watch, connected to my ear by an unsightly wire, or via bluetooth enabled earbuds I must wear at all times. Cool.
No need to dismiss this as a "see-what-sticks" approach. First, this is a legitimate - and legitimately new - device. Other companies were going to debut standalone smart watch phones this year also incidentally. Second, it is a response to the main criticism of the smart watch, which is that it is too expensive to be a smartphone accessory that it is useless without, and for the cost of the device - more than several mid range Android phones - it needs to be standalone. Or if it is going to rely on a smartphone, then make it cheaper. The only question is if the device will be practical, as I suppose you will need a bluetooth headset to actually be able to make calls on the thing. Their using Tizen in this case is a good idea too. The main reason why most smartphone manufacturers (pretty much all that did not precede Android actually) stick with Android is because smart devices now need app stores to be viable. Since this is a watch, it isn't going to be app-driven ... no word processing productivity apps, not much in the way of social networking apps, and no gaming apps except very simple stuff that works on tiny screens (Candy Crush maybe)? The only downside: if you get a smart watch, why do you need a smart phone? Even better: if you get a smart watch, you might as well skip the phablet thing and get a 7 inch tablet. But you would sort of want the phone to still work with the tablet even if it doesn't require it.
Puh-leez. Anything to keep their name in the news. BTW, I have a a Superfriends lunchbox / time machine.
And it has a whopping ten minute talk time.