Samsung is at it again. Just six months after it announced its second-generation smartwatch -- and just two since it launched its first Android Wear model -- the company has a new wrist wearable: the Gear S.
This time there's an extra twist, though: It's the first Samsung smartwatch with built-in 3G connectivity.
The Samsung Gear S has the ability to connect to 3G and 2G networks on its own, meaning users won't need to keep it wirelessly tethered to a smartphone in order to get notifications or make calls. The watch does include Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, though, so a user has the option of still pairing it with a smartphone some or all of the time. It can also go solo and stay connected when the situation calls for it (say, when exercising).
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The display on the Gear S is a 2-inch SuperAMOLED screen with 360 x 480 resolution, making it fairly large as smartwatches go, although the curved screen (similar to the Samsung Gear Fit) makes it a little more sleek. The screen is rectangular, like most smartwatches.
The watch is powered by Samsung's Tizen OS -- as opposed to Android Wear, the Google-created wearable operating system, which Samsung has also shown support for via its Gear Live smartwatch. Tizen, however, is more power-efficient than Android, and the Gear S is rated for two days of battery life.
Samsung says the processor is a dual-core 1GHz design, but it didn't specify the manufacturer or model. It has 512MB of RAM and 4GB of internal memory.
There's no camera, but -- like Samsung's other Tizen-based Gear watches -- it has a standalone music player.
The Gear S stems naturally from Samsung's "throw everything against the wall" approach to most product categories, giving the wearable-curious crowd the option of a getting smartphone-like device without the smartphone. The display will even call up a QWERTY keyboard when needed, presumably with some pretty tiny keys.
Samsung is also debuting a ring-style headphone model called the Gear Circle. It connects via Bluetooth and features a magnetic lock that clasps around the users's neck when it's not being used. It can also vibrate to give the user notifications.
There's no price yet on the Gear S or Gear Circle, but Samsung says they'll ship in October.
