Samsung’s latest smartwatch, the Gear S2, is finally available in the Kenyan market after the company officially unveiled it early today.
Featuring a circular 1.2 inch AMOLED display, the Gear S2, has been around for quite some time having gone on sale in various countries in October after having been unveiled globally back in early September during IFA 2015 in Berlin, Germany. The Gear S2’s other features include a battery that will last for about 2-3 days and just enough storage to natively store up to 300 songs. It is also water resistant so users will not need to be worried that their expensive smartwatch will stop working when water splashes on it.
The most outstanding feature of the Gear S2 which you will notice as soon as you pick it up is the rotating bezel which makes it easier to scroll through the application drawer as well as lists. Two crowns on the side complement its functionality while the usual side swipes and up-swipes will let users navigate the device’s Tizen-powered software.
Here’s a brief rundown of the specifics:
- Display: 1.2-inch Full Circular sAMOLED 360 x 360 (302ppi)
- Processor: Qualcomm MSM8x26/ Exynos 3250
- Memory: 512 MB RAM; 4 GB internal storage
- Operating System: Tizen
- Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.1, NFC, Wi-Fi
- Network: 3G
- Sensors: Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Heart Rate Monitor, Barometer, Ambient light, GPS
- Battery: 250/300 mAh
Like other smartwatches, the Gear S2 it will pair up with a companion device and sync notifications making it needless to always turn to the phone to check what is happening. Users can check Twitter, get notified of unread text messages or even answer calls right from their wrists as awkward as that sounds. The device can also be a person’s health tracker as it will monitor your heart rate as well as keep track of your movements (walking, jogs, runs etc).
What makes the Gear S2 stand out is that Samsung has, finally, allowed just about any other Android device with the correct specifications to be able to pair up with it and sync notifications and other user data like photos and music. Previously, only Samsung smartphones could be paired with Samsung’s Gear smartwatches. The company is also said to be considering releasing a software update that could make the Gear S2 compatible with other devices like iPhones as well. This is seen as an effort to not only widen their appeal but to also counter the move by Google to open up its wearables platform, Android Wear, to Apple’s iPhones as well.
The Gear S2 is the smartwatch that Samsung is hoping will push global sales of its wearable devices to capture a market share of at least 30%. Locally, according to the head of its mobile business unit, Simon Kariithi, the company targets selling at least 1,000 units every month. That is a rather ambitious goal but the company believes it can attain it as the Gear S2 packs enough features to make it standout from the crowd.
Several models of the Gear S2 exist and Samsung is availing in the Kenyan market the Sport and Classic models which will go for Kshs 32,000 and 35,000 respectively. Buyers of either watch get 1-year warranty. Since the Gear S2’s straps are easily interchangeable, users can opt for more options including leather or other colours. The pricing of the straps starts at Kshs 3,500.
