One of the main reasons why the first generation Gear smartwatch from Samsung did not gain much traction was the pricing. Many hoped that Samsung will finally address the pricing issue with its new smartwatches, the Gears but apparently that won’t be explicitly the case for the much beefier Gear 2. Samsung had promised that the Gear won’t leave a dent in your pockets but probably we got them wrong. Maybe they meant the Gear 2 Neo whose pricing is yet to be revealed but which is expected to be affordable thanks to stepped down specs.
Samsung announced in Taiwan that the Gear 2 will go for an equivalent of $295 while the good looking and stylish Gear Fit will go for $197.
The Gear 2 and the Gear 2 Neo, announced unceremoniously on the eve of MWC 2014 and showcased at the Unpacked 5 event a day later, runs on Samsung-backed Tizen OS instead of Android that powered the first generation model, Galaxy Gear. It (Gear 2) also has a few improvements over the Galaxy Gear like the placement of the camera on the watch head to allow users of the device to swap straps. The Gear Fit came out alongside the Galaxy S5 a day later and is wholly focused on health and fitness while still acting as a stylish timepiece.
The wearables market is bound to be much competitive for big players like Samsung with the entry of worthy big-name competitors thanks to Google’s latest effort: Android Wear. The last time Samsung released details of sales of the Galaxy Gear, it had managed to ship over 800,000 units (in just two months). It will be interesting to see where the shipment or eventual sales figures of the Gear 2, Gear 2 Neo and Gear Fit stand when Samsung and various analytics houses eventually releases them.
Source: Sammobile
