IFA, the biggest consumer electronics show in Europe has opened it’s doors for 2016. The event in Berlin, which has been running in it’s current format since 2005, is a platform for the tech world to demonstrate and show off their new and future products. During the week I will bring you updates on new product announcements from the event.
Samsung Gear S3
Following on from the 2014 release of the Gear2, Samsung have announced the Gear S3 range of smart watches at IFA this week, coming in two versions, the Classic & Frontier.
If the names don’t give it away, they are two distinct styles. The Classic, is your more refined looking work wear style of watch; and the Frontier is the outdoor, go anywhere style of rugged design.
Apart from the appearance and the Frontier weighing in at 5g more they are identical watches in terms of specs.
- 360×360 Pixel Resolution
- 1.3″ Circular Super AMOLED Digital Screen
- 46 x 49 x 12.9mm
- Tizen Operating System
- 9000+ Apps available
- 380mAh Battery
- IP68 Water resistant & Dust Proof
- GPS & Heart Rate Monitors
- Interchangeable Straps
Both versions of the S3 take 22mm straps, so swapping them over to whatever your prefer will not be a problem. Alternatively you can change the fascia of your watch, with 15 presets and others available from the app store.
At the heart of the watch is the rotating bezel, which can answer or reject phone calls, turn off alarms, control the volume and display brightness levels. It also allows you to browse apps in the app store and scroll through emails. The display is touch screen and the 2 side buttons help you navigate. A nice addition is the triple tap option on one of the side buttons initiates an SOS option that you can preset for emergency services or a next of kin.
There will be an LTE version of the Frontier model although this will not be released to the UK market. There was no confirmed date for when the Gear3 will go on sale, although October seems to be likely. There was also no price for either model.
The older Gear2 range is not being replaced by Gear S3, which, is just extending the smart watch range from Samsung. Looking at the styling of the Gear3, it does appear to be more masculine compared to the unisex feel of the Gear2.
When dates and prices are released I will, updated this page.
[…] Once the new Watch and WatchOS3 are launched and the dust settled, I will run a series of specific App reviews for both the Apple Watch and Samsung Gear S3. […]
[…] for the next big products for the commercial market. One of the stand out announcements was the Samsung Gear S3. Despite having a more masculine feel and target audience, it is set to be one of the best […]
[…] Samsung Gear S3 is arguably the best current smartwatch on the market, but it is far from a unisex design! Apple […]
[…] it’s launch back in September 2016 during the IFA event in Berlin, the Samsung Gear S3 has been one of the best smart watches on the market. Although it had more of a masculine design […]
[…] me was the style remaining nearly identical to its predecessors. With Smartwatches such as the Samsung Gear S3 breaking away from the usual, and obvious, touchscreen dial display, I’d hoped Apple may have […]
[…] for the next big products for the commercial market. One of the stand out announcements was the Samsung Gear S3. Despite having a more masculine feel and target audience, it is set to be one of the best […]