Early Sunday morning, VentureBeat posted images of what it purported to be Samsung’s rumored Galaxy Gear smartwatch, and the Internet predictably and promptly went nuts.
If you’re the TL:DR type, here are the specs and features according to the VentureBeat report: 3-inch diagonal OLED touchscreen; Bluetooth to connect to mobile devices; Samsung S Voice control; preloaded Android apps for social media, health tracking and more; a 4-megapixel camera built into the strap (what?!); tiny speakers in the clasp (yes!); and 10-plus hours of battery life.
And that all sounds about right according to the reports and rumors that have been swirling for the last week. However, it’s extremely important to note that VentureBeat’s images (reposted here) are not of the Samsung Galaxy Gear. They’re all screen grabs of an “internal promotional marketing video” that was created by a contractor working closely with Samsung for the benefit of developers.
Still… Close enough for horse shoes and hand grenades? We’ll see.
Regardless, the dark black and grey device reportedly has large bezels on the top and bottom; is chunky and rectangular in appearance; and includes a heart-rate monitor.
In addition to the Bluetooth, the device reportedly also features Wi-Fi for Internet access and can measure health data through the camera. The touchscreen, apparently, allows for easy swipe motions to access apps, the camera, and photo gallery, and the device also reportedly features a call log.
It’s exciting to maybe, possibly see the Galaxy Gear in the flesh. But if this is the device that Samsung plans to unveil this week, the company might still have some obsctales to address: the massive size of the watch; the closed ecosystem of its platform (iOS is never mentioned in the VentureBeat article); and the fact that 10-plus hours of battery life is but a paltry spec in terms of wearables.
We’re eager to see what the final version will look like at Samsung’s Wednesday event.
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