Ever since James Bond used one to contact Q, the world has been intrigued by the idea of smartwatches. Recently many companies have been developing their own mark on history, but Samsung was one of the first to get in the game and it’s not slowing down. During its Unpacked 5 event at Mobile World Congress on Feb. 25, Samsung announced its new additions to the smart watch world. The Galaxy Gear Fit is a sleek and streamlined version of the Galaxy Gear and it is focused on fitness. Though it can still receive notifications like texts and calls, it also comes with a pedometer, heart rate monitor, timer, and stop watch. It will be available in April, and a price hasn’t been released.
The second watch Samsung announced was the Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo. Though it looks more similar to the Gear 2 than the Gear Fit, the biggest difference is it uses the Tizen operating system. It is unclear how this will change the availability of apps. The Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo are the same except the Gear 2 comes with a 2-megapixel auto focus camera with 720p video recording. The price is still unknown. Below is a breakdown of the specs from all three watches. See how the Samsung Galaxy Gear stands up to the Sony Smartwatch 2 here.
Galaxy Gear |
Gear Fit |
Gear 2 |
|
| Size | 36.8 x 56.6 x 11.1 (mm) | 23.4 x 57.4 x 11.95 (mm) | 36.9 x 58.4x 10.0 (mm) |
| Weight | 74g | 27g | 68g |
| Screen | 1.63-inch Super AMOLED | 1.84” Curved Super AMOLED | 1.63” Super AMOLED |
| Resolution | 320 x 320 pixels | 432 x 128 pixels | 320 x 320 pixels |
| OS | Android | Android | Tizen |
| Storage | 4GB | N/A | 4GB |
| Processor | 800MHz Exynos processor | 180MHz ARM Cortex-M4 processor | 1.0 GHz Dual Core Processor |
| RAM | 1GB | N/A | 512MB |
| Bluetooth | Version 4.0 + BLE | Version 4.0 LE | Version 4.0 LE, IrLED |
| Battery | 25 hours (315mAh) | About 3-4 days | About 2-3 days (300mAh) |
| Charger | Micro USB via Cradle | Magnetic charger | Magnetic charger |
| Price (Ave.) | $300 | N/A | N/A |
| Availability | AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile | Early April | N/A |
Conclusion
The Galaxy Fit is a good workout companion, but it only allows notifications from certain applications, and it can be awkward to use. The Gear 2 acts as a better all-around smartwatch but we don’t yet know much about the capabilities of the Tizen operating system. The original Gear has done well since it’s release, but it will be interesting to see how the new watches stack up when their prices are revealed. Overall, we’re not sure yet which device to recommend, but out of the three, the Gear Fit appears to have a wider variety of uses, and its focus on health is more useful.
