Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 Smartwatch Arrives, Bringing a Friend

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Image: Samsung

By Pete Pachal2014-02-23 03:01:35 UTC

Samsung is launching the second generation of its smartwatch just five months after the first one, the Galaxy Gear, made its debut. But this time it's a twofer.

The Galaxy Gear 2 (right in the pic above) and Gear 2 Neo (left) expand Samsung's wearable line to a pair of smartwatches, with the main difference between the two being that the Neo lacks the camera built into the strap. That's a big plus for owners who may want to swap the provided strap with one of their own.

As expected, there are upgrades. Each of the two new smartwatches includes a heart-rate sensor as well exercise modes, making them bona fide fitness wearables — not just tiny windows to your smartphone. The watches now have their own music players, too, able to output audio wirelessly to Bluetooth headsets.

Extra bonus: The watches also have an infrared emitter so you can use them as a basic remote control for your TV, just like Samsung's recent tablets and phones.

Even more interesting is what's inside them: This generation of Samsung smartwatches is powered by Tizen, which Samsung is now saying is its official operating system of wearables (the previous Gear was Android-based). As more and more devices become "smart" — from smartwatches to thermostats to TVs — a new platform war is emerging, and Samsung appears to have nominated Tizen as its champion in that arena.

Like the original Gear, the Galaxy Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo each sport a 320 x 320 1.63-inch touchscreen. The new models pack a 1GHz processor (the original was 800MHz) as well as 512MB of RAM and 4GB of storage (same as the original).

Without the 2-megapixel camera, the Gear 2 Neo is slightly lighter than the Gear 2, 1.9 ounces vs. 2.4 ounces. Both watches are available in Charcoal Black and Wild Orange, while the Gear 2 also comes in Gold Brown and the Gear 2 Neo can come in classy Mocha Gray.

No prices yet, but we expect to get some hands-on time after Samsung's big Unpacked 5 event in Barcelona on Monday.

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