Samsung announces Tizen-based Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo
Samsung has brought some big changes with the latest additions of its Gear smartwatch lineup. Not only will the new devices be thinner and lighter than the original, but will also feature a special wearable version of Samsungs Tizen OS rather than Android.
The new Samsung Gear 2 (no more Galaxy in the name as its no longer an Android device) comes with the same 1.63" Super AMOLED display of 320 x 320 screen resolution, but with a processor beefed up from a dual-core 800 MHz to 1GHz.
The new gears bring a better set of health sensors including heart rate monitor, and an Infrared port for remote control of your home appliances.
The internal storage and RAM remain limited like the last edition, and the battery has been downgraded to 300mAh (from 315mAh), which is a bit worrisome as battery life was one of the major drawbacks of the Galaxy Gear. Hopefully, Samsung has optimized Tizen OS to be more battery efficient than Android.
The new Gear series will also come in a Neo flavor, which will lack the 2MP HD camera, but is able to cut the weight down significantly to 55g.
Last but not least, the Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo will feature IP67 dust and water resistance certification, which should bring the smart wearables another step closer to real watches. Expect both smartwatches to be available globally starting this April, but their pricing is yet to be confirmed.