Samsung Announces Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo: Ditches Android In Favor Of Tizen

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Samsung's Galaxy Gear smartwatch, which was first unveiled in September last year, met with negative feedback for its poor battery life and lack of compatibility.

 

On Sunday, Samsung announced its second generation of smartwatch lineup, the Gear 2 and the Gear 2 Neo.
Unlike the original Galaxy Gear, the new versions don't run Google's Android mobile OS. Surprisingly, both the Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo runs Samsung backed Tizen OS

 
Samsung Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo Smartwatches Now Official

Announced at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) today, the company plans to release them sometime in April. Samsung hasn't disclosed the retail price just yet.

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Samsung Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo Smartwatches Now Official

Samsung Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo: What's new?

Samsung's latest and attractive smartwatches run the Tizen OS, instead of Google's Android mobile OS. The biggest possible change, we can see here is the disappearance of cult "Galaxy" brand.

For the reminder, Samsung's best selling devices- from smartphones to tablets- run the Android mobile OS. The company didn't clarify why it made a switch from Android to Tizen OS.

Further, we haven't got any idea, as far as third party apps are concerned, and more importantly compatibility with Android-powered devices.

Though, Samsung does mention that these new smartwatches will be compatible with "more than dozens" of Samsung devices.

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Samsung Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo Smartwatches Now Official

Samsung Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo: Highlighted Specifications

Unfazed by negative reviews, Samsung now brings its updated smart watch lineup, in two versions: one with slightly modified hardware and the other with similar specs but without camera.

The Gear 2 (minus Galaxy branding), is still a companion device, like its predecessor. You can still make calls, send messages and click pictures. The second generation intelligent watch doesn't come with 3G SIM slot nor Wi-Fi connectivity.

The device features a 1.6-inch Super AMOLED display having a resolution of 320 x 320 pixels. Under the hood, we'll get to see a dual-core processor, and a 2MP camera ( supports 720p HD video recording) on the body of the watch, which itself means that you can change the strap (to be made available in six colors), as per your convenience.

Moreover, the Gear 2 watch is completely waterproof. Samsung hasn't changed the design (in comparison) to previous generation Galaxy Gear. It's just a millimeter thin than the previous generation Galaxy Gear.

The Gear 2 comes with music player built-in, so users can now pair Bluetooth headphones.

Talking about the Gear 2 Neo, it will likely to be on an affordable side. It has same set of internal hardware and looks, as the Gear 2. However, the Gear 2 Neo doesn't come with a camera. The Gear 2 Neo is much slimmer and lighter at 55 grams, while the Gear 2 weighs 68 grams.

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Samsung Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo Smartwatches Now Official

Samsung Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo: Apps, Memory and Battery Life

On the surface, both the Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo features heart rate sensors and pedometers. Other apps include: a sleep monitoring tool, which can be downloaded from watch's app store.

Now thanks to new WatchON remote app, when paired with Gear 2's infrared port, allows you to control home appliances, including TVs.

Samsung claims its latest intelligent watches can easily run 2-3 days. But one should get to know that the first generation Galaxy Gear had a 315mAh battery, whereas the new Gear 2 comes with a 300mAh battery.
The new Gear 2 lineup incorporates 4GB of internal memory and 512MB of RAM.

The Samsung Gear 2 to arrive in charcoal black, gold brown and wild orange, while the Gear 2 Neo replaces gold brown in favor of mocha grey.

Stay tuned to GizBot!

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