Apple may often labor under a somewhat-earned reputation for bungled product launches, but it isn’t every day a competitor – arguably most notably, neck-and-neck rival Samsung – delivers a product with the stuff to grab an advantage over a Cupertino-made product and hold onto it.
Meet the Samsung Gear S2, the smartwatch that fairly decisively shows Tim Cook’s Apple corps how wearable technology is done.
Samsung unveiled this fine, austere data-driven timepiece at its August Unpacked expo following a few years’ self-imposed exile following its premiere line of wearable devices. The Gear S2, slated for a September IFA launch, is seemingly inspired inside and out by a yen for a handsome counterpart to the stylish and wildly popular Galaxy S6 smartphone line. The model worn in an Instagram sneak-peek from Samsung executive Dennis Miloseski suggests a watch that foregoes gauche excess in favor of fashionable-yet-subtle simplicity.
The metal body, simple side-mounted buttons and polished textures perfectly suit an impressively readable, streamlined display.
Lookbook glimpses at the Gear S2 leading up to its launch have gone out of their way to accentuate the watch’s dark and stark-white straps, polished screen surround, sleek face and handsome brushed-metal bezel alongside the similarly unembellished Note 5. Its understated size is showcased by women in these artsy shots, but its dimensions and minimalist concept clearly make it suitable for either sex.
There’s curiously little known so far about its functionality, however. The Gear S2 reportedly will continue the Gear S’s Wi-Fi support for making and taking calls without a viable cellular signal. The rumored nano SIM card slot would also provide Internet and SMS connectivity without a smartphone, but that assumption also hinges on whether, like the Gear S, the Gear S2 will have to be connected from its initial setup with a phone. Judging from the earliest teasers, it appears Samsung has tailored the Tizen OS to display neatly and functionally on the new, more rounded screen, a departure from the original Gear S’s oval face.
