Samsung Gear S2: Could this sleek new smartwatch be the Apple Watch killer the company needs?
Samsung is pushing against the Apple Watch’s growing dominance in wearables, with its new Gear watch.
The Korean tech giant has unveiled its Galaxy Gear S2 watch – and it looks pretty slick. Metallic and sleek (just 11.4mm thick), the smartwatch has a 1.2 inch round display, and features a rotating bezel and 3G voice calls.
It also has physical back and home buttons, so you can dismiss notifications with just a click on your wrist.
Conor Pierce, vice president of IT and mobile at Samsung Electronics UK and Ireland, called it the "most exciting smartwatch to date":
Samsung has pioneered and led the wearables category over the last few years, bringing exciting new innovations into the market […] With an incredibly vibrant screen, it's the first-ever watch with voice capability and a host of connected features like being able to make calls without the need for a smartphone.
With the new watch, Samsung is meeting Apple head-on, after the Cupertino tech giant quickly hijacked the smartwatch category with its recently-released Apple Watch.
Samsung may have got in early on the smartwatch market, selling its first one in 2013, but over those two years, the company’s market share has dwindled.
In the same period, sales of the Apple Watch, released in April, have soared. Recently-released sales figures showed 3.6m devices shipped in the second quarter.
Samsung is hardly the only company trying to launch an Apple killer. Just a couple of days ago LG launched a 23-karat gold smartwatch, which the company is describing as “more jewellery than wearable”.