Samsung announced two new wearable tech gadgets, the Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo, a day ahead of its mysterious "Unpacked 5" event.
Samsung, the biggest smartphone maker, introduced two new smartwatches as the world still awaits it much hyped announcement at the "Unpacked 5" event in Barcelona, Monday.
The tech giant kicked off the event by announcing the Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo smartwatches ahead of its scheduled Unpacked 5 event date. The next iteration of Galaxy Gear smartwatch was long way coming, but bringing it ahead of the schedule could only mean Samsung has better things to cover during its feature presentation.
The Galaxy Gear smartwatch didn't just get one, but two successors with significant modifications. Samsung seems to have learnt from its original Galaxy Gear smartwatch and its Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo offers some important changes like improved battery, durability, fitness integration and more. To mark this momentous shift, Samsung dropped the Galaxy moniker in both the new entries.
The Gear 2 appears to be a high-end version while the Gear 2 Neo is likely to hit the mid-range category. The camera is moved from the band to just above the screen in Gear 2 and looks more leveled to the surface, unlike the bulging one in Galaxy Gear. As for the Gear 2 Neo, Samsung did not include the 2 megapixel camera. The additional camera on Gear 2 adds to the watch's weight, about 13 grams.
Another significant change is the big switch from the traditional Android platform and Samsung's decision to instead choose the Tizen OS for its Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo. The transition is the latest attempt to distance itself from Google's dominant OS, which powers the popular Galaxy lineup and accounts for 80 percent of global smartphones.
Both smartwatches share similar features, a 1.63 inch Super AMOLED display with 320x320 pixels resolution is present on Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo. The watches are powered by 1GHz dual core processor, 512 MB RAM and 4GB internal storage. Pairing with more than a dozen Samsung phones is made simple with low-powered Bluetooth 4.0. Third party device support is still out of the question for the Gear watches.
The Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo use a 300 mAh battery each, smaller than the Galaxy Gear's 315 mAh. Unlike the original Gear smartwatch, the battery life is reported to last 2-3 days on typical usage and up to six days on low usage, reports ZDNet.
The prices of the smartwatches were not disclosed, but they are set to hit the market in April. Attractive colors from the original Galaxy are carried forward with options ranging from Charcoal Black, Gold Brown and Wild Orange for Gear 2 and Charcoal Black, Mocha Grey and Wild Orange for Gear 2 Neo.
