Reports from Korea claim that Samsung is set to replace the chunky flat screen of the original Galaxy Gear with a curved OLED display and the watch; the Galaxy Gear 2. All the parts that consumers claimed to be dull and boring have been done away with to make the second model more appealing when it launches sometime in March before its release in April.
Samsung has gone back to the drawing board for its second-generation Galaxy Gear smartwatch after sales of the original model, which was launched in September 2013 were slow. The original Samsung Galaxy Gear had a 1.63-inch Super AMOLED display with a rather large bezel, but Samsung is tipped to be scrapping this in favour of a more durable, scratch-resistant plastic offering. Consumers slammed it for being too restrictive because it only worked with select Samsung devices and it’s poor battery life did not help matters.
Some analysts claimed the watch was rushed out to make sure it was one of the first on the market, beating Apple and Google to their still rumoured devices.
Samsung has already confirmed the Galaxy Gear 2 will launch alongside the Galaxy S5 smartphone at an event in either March or April. It is also expected to launch in London.
“We’ve been announcing our first flagship model in the first half of each year, around March and April, and we are still targeting for release around that time,” said Samsung Mobile Executive VP Lee Young Hee. “When we release our S5 device, you can also expect a Gear successor with more advanced functions, and the bulky design will also be improved.”
Lee went on to say that the Gear 2 will not only feature a revamped design but offer “more advanced” features to offset the rather disappointing original Gear.
The curved smartwatch will follow Samsung’s foray into curved TVs, and likely use the technology found on Samsung’s curved phone, the Galaxy Round, launched in October 2013. While word has come out on the fixing of the physical issues raised, one can only hope that Samsung also looks into some software upgrading as well.