AppleInsider Staff
In its latest attempt to jumpstart lukewarm smartwatch sales, Samsung on Monday announced a new platform called Gear S2 that merges a round face made popular by Motorola's Moto 360 and a rotating bezel control reminiscent of Apple Watch's Digital Crown.
The device will be available in two distinct models, the Gear S2 and Gear S2 classic, the latter of which features a design language familiar to traditional watch owners. The standout feature for both versions is a 1.2-inch circular Super AMOLED display touting a 360 pixel-by-360 pixel resolution, packing in 302 pixels per inch.
Like the Moto 360, Samsung developed a custom user interface based on its Tizen platform to take advantage of the round display. Of note, users will be able to navigate apps and system menus using a rotating bezel mechanism along with physical pushbuttons for home and back commands.
A dual-core SoC clocked at 1.0 GHz powers the Gear S2, while other hardware niceties include 4GB of onboard storage, 512MB of RAM, an option to connect to 3G networks via e-SIM, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n and NFC. Samsung expects the device to last anywhere from two to three days on a single charge from the included wireless charger.
Taking a cue from Apple, Samsung built a suite of fitness capabilities into its latest wearable device, including a heart rate monitor and a 24-hour activity log tied into a notifications system to help keep users motivated. Connectivity with Samsung's proprietary S Health software is augmented by support for Nike+ Running.
On the software side, Samsung offers up its usual selection of "S" apps, including support for the upcoming Samsung Pay mobile payments platform.
Samsung has yet to set a price or release date for Gear S2, but promises more information soon.
David Schloss
Christine McKee
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Oliver Haslam
134 Comments
a rotating bezel control reminiscent of Apple Watch's Digital Crown.
They've been planning this long before the Apple Watch was announced (Feb. 2014).
Of course, the idea of a rotating bezel on a wrist watch is also nothing new.
Before Apple announced the digital crown on the Apple Watch last September, I pictured a rotating bezel as one possible input solution. Glad to see someone try it. I'm surprised they didn't call it "S-Bezel" :lol:
Looks kind of blah to me. If I had to have a round smart watch LG and Huawei look nicer.
[quote name="Suddenly Newton" url="/t/187954/samsungs-gear-s2-smartwatch-fetaures-circular-face-rotating-bezel-control#post_2768545"]Before Apple announced the digital crown on the Apple Watch last September, I pictured a rotating bezel as one possible input solution. Glad to see someone try it. I'm surprised they didn't call it "S-Bezel" :lol:[/quote] The rotating bezel sounds like one of those things the tech press will drool over but in real life will be a pain in the ass to use. With the digital crown I can rest one hand on the other and scroll with my finger without covering the screen at all.
In the graphic above, it doesn't look as if it would cover the screen!
And accessing the bezel is definitely easier than accessing the crown.