Samsung has officially announced a new curved-screen smartwatch, the Samsung Gear S, ahead of its IFA 2014 unveiling.
Perhaps mindful of the recent announcement of a stylish new smartwatch from its main local rival, the LG G Watch R, Samsung has revealed some information on its own fashion-focused effort ahead of its big pre-IFA Unpacked event in a week's time.
While the aforementioned LG watch sports a round plastic OLED display, the Samsung Gear S goes with a 2-inch curved square Super AMOLED display.
The other noteworthy feature is 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity, which means that the Gear S can act as a stand-alone smart device. No need for a smartphone here - you can receive notifications and even make calls direct from the watch.
Naturally, the Gear S can still be hooked up to your smartphone thanks to Bluetooth, and Samsung insists that switching between these connections is seamless.
As this suggests, the Samsung Gear S is not powered by Google's Android Wear platform, but rather Samsung's own Tizen. It also has a turn-by-turn navigation service powered by HERE, and a 24-hour news service from the Financial Times.
Naturally, the Gear S comes with a wealth of health-related features, including a "enhanced multi-sensors, built-in GPS, and robust S Health features."
It runs on a 1GHz dual-core processor, and features 512MB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage. These components are powered by a 300mAh battery, and Samsung quotes battery life as two days of "typical usage."
The Samsung Gear S will hit shops in October, though there are no details yet on pricing or precise availability.
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