We’ve recently heard that Samsung is preparing for an early launch of the Galaxy Note 5. Traditionally, members of the Galaxy Note series have always launched in Berlin, Germany, just before the start of one of the largest trade shows on the planet, IFA. Thanks to slow sales of its Galaxy S6 smartphone and failure by the Galaxy Note 4 to properly take on the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus when they arrived in the market around the same time last year, Samsung wants to have a headstart this year.
While we have heard plenty of that, what about the other device that has for the last two years become the Galaxy Note’s official companion gadget? We’re talking about the Samsung Gear smartwatch of course. The current Gear S is almost a year old and it’s high time we got a refresh. Since a launch alongside the Galaxy Note 5 is widely anticipated, it’s only natural that leaks start pouring in. Thanks to Sammobile, we have new information regarding the device that is codenamed Orbis internally at Samsung but is expected to be introduced into the market as the Gear A.
Here are the expected technical specifications of the Samsung Gear A:
- Display: We don’t know the radius yet but a 360×360 pixel resolution is expected if the SDK Samsung released to developers is anything to go by.
- Processor: Dual-core Exynos 3472 chipset clocked at 1.2 GHz and backed by a Mali-400 MP4 GPU clocked at 450 MHz
- Memory: 4 GB internal storage; 768 MB RAM
- Battery: 250 mAh
- Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.1, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct
- Others: GPS, accelerometer, gyro, barometer and heart rate sensors
The Samsung Gear A is expected to run on Tizen, just like all the other Gears before it. It will also be Samsung’s first attempt at a circular smartwatch joining the likes of Motorola whose Moto360 has been a darling of the Android Wear crowd right from its announcement and demo during last year’s Google I/O to it’s delayed arrival later that year. LG has also tried its hand at the circular smartwatch but since Android Wear hasn’t been able to make as much of an impact on the wearables market as previously imagined, Samsung can still pull a surprise. What with wearable shipments expected to triple this year.
The Gear A is also expected to feature a Digital Crown type of knob even though it will have that rotating bezel/bezel ring we’ve previously heard of. We also expect it to support Samsung’s own mobile payments service, Samsung Pay, which will be available in a few markets by the end of the year.
