LG and Samsung couldn’t wait for the start of the IFA show in Berlin; today, they unveiled their new smart watches – LG G Watch R and Samsung Gear S, both of which set a new tone in the space. Up until this point, this sort of devices were something only geeks would wear. That’s not the case with these two as both of them look like regular modern watches.
The G Watch R runs Google’s Android Wear platform and, is specs wise, pretty similar to its predecessor, the G Watch. These [specs] include a 1.3-inch P-OLED with 320×320 pixels resolution that should deliver great image clarity “even under bright sunlight,” 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 chip, 512MB of RAM, 412mAh battery and 4GB of internal storage. All this comes wrapped in a IP67-certified dust and water resistant, stainless steel body, making for a that much sexier look and feel. Plus, let’s not forget the circular display that makes all the difference in the world. For the strap, LG’s using a standard 22mm leather band that can be swapped for something else if you fancy so.
Sammy’s latest smart watch, on the other hand, runs the Tizen platform and has a SIM card of its own that will allow carriers to “join the game,” enticing users to sign-up for yet another contract. The same feature will allow users to take and make calls directly on the watch, without pulling out their phone.
The Gear S sports a large, curved 2-inch 360×480 pixels AMOLED screen, 1GHz dual-core processor, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of storage and a 300mAh battery, which should deliver enough juice for two days of “typical use.” Just like the G Watch R, the Gear S is also IP67 water- and dust-resistant.
Finally, both watches sport 9-Axis (Gyro/Accelerometer/Compass) sensors, barometer and the heart-rate reading photoplethysmograpgy (PPG) sensor. The LG G Watch R will be available in the fourth quarter, whereas the Samsung Gear S will start hitting retailers in October.