Rumors had been swirling for awhile that Samsung was planning on unveiling a new smartwatch, which would feature a rebranding and maybe even a change of operating system.
Well, one of those things came to fruition, as Samsung has officially announced the brand new Galaxy Watch. This is the company’s newest smartwatch, and it will feature Samsung’s proprietary Tizen-based Wearable OS 4.0 under the hood. There is a dual-core 1.15GHz processor, heart rate monitor, support for wireless charging, and the Galaxy Watch is IP68-rated for water and dust resistance.
There are two variants to be aware of, though. The first is the 46mm variant, which features a 1.3-inch Super AMOLED display and comes with a Silver case. This is a Full Color Always On Display, and is paired with a 22mm strap (in Onyx Black, Deep Ocean Blue, Basalt Grey colors). It has a battery that measures in at 472mAh.
Meanwhile, the other variant measures in at 42mm, and has a 1.2-inch Super AMOLED circular display. The straps measure in at 20mm (Onyx Black, Lunar Grey, Terracotta Red, Lime Yellow, Cosmo Purple, Pink Beige, Cloud Grey, Natural Brown color options from Samsung). (https://cityoflightpublishing.com/) The battery measures in at 270mAh. The 42mm option will have case colors in Midnight Black and Rose Gold.
Here is Samsung on the Galaxy Watch’s health-focused elements:
“The Galaxy Watch’s advanced fitness tracking features keep you motivated, and on track. It automatically tracks six of the most popular exercises — walking, running, cycling, elliptical, training, rowing, and dynamic workouts — and features 21 new indoor exercises from a selection of 39 activities. And because balanced nutrition is as important as exercise, the Galaxy Watch is designed to help users track food and water intake. Input your meals and get personalized alerts from Samsung Health, or, use Bixby on your Galaxy device to automatically count calories, and get a personalized summary on your Galaxy Watch.”
The watch bands are interchangeable as well, so there is some personalization that future Galaxy Watch owners will be able to enjoy.
As far as release date and pricing is concerned, Samsung says the 42mm version will cost $329.99, while the 46mm variant will be priced at $349.99. In the United States, they’ll be available at Best Buy, Amazon, and from Samsung’s website beginning August 24 of this year.
The LTE variant didn’t get a price mention in Samsung’s announcement, but the company did confirm it will be available from AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, and Samsung’s website beginning later in 2018. Pre-orders for the new Galaxy Watch start on Friday, August 10.
