Samsung has revealed its latest smartwatch – a large, round-faced wearable called the Gear S3 which looks set to turn smartwatches from niche contenders into genuinely useful gadgets.
It's launching in two versions. The Frontier model is a feature-heavy, high-end smartwatch that comes 4G ready. Pay a for a data plan and you have fast internet right on your wrist, letting you stream music, take calls, send messages and use web-based apps without needing to pair it to any other device.
There's a GPS chip inside the Gear S3, too, and it's finished in matte black, with a chunky, rugged, rotating bezel.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The second version, the Classic, is finished in polished silver and still relies on a smartphone to access most of its major features. Both watches can be submerged to depths of up to five feet for half an hour.
The Gear S3 runs the Tizen operating system, just like its predecessors, and comes with Samsung Pay capabilities.
The BBC points out a neat new trick here – the watches can mimic the signals given off by the magnetic strips on debit and credit cards so you can use them to pay even in shops with older, non-NFC-ready card terminals.
They're larger watches than those in the Gear S2 range, with thicker casings and bigger 1.3ins (33mm) screens, and won't be an essential upgrade for some, says The Verge. The Gear 2 was small and light enough to feel like wearing a normal watch, while the added bulk of the Gear 3 will take some getting used to, it adds.
The reveal comes just days ahead of the anticipated debut of the Apple Watch 2, the Daily Telegraph points out. Apple's next wearable isn't expected to gain 4G connectivity, but GPS and higher water-resistance are thought to be on the cards.
-
5 seriously spooky cartoons about HalloweenCartoons Artists take on the GOP boogeyman, a white sheet, and more
-
Political cartoons for October 25Cartoons Saturday’s political cartoons include hospital bill trauma, Independence Day, and more
-
Roasted squash and apple soup recipeThe Week Recommends Autumnal soup is full of warming and hearty flavours
-
Alexa? How much do you know about me?Smart devices are potentially sharing vast amounts of your personal data with social media and marketing companies
-
How cybercriminals are hacking into the heart of the US economySpeed Read Ransomware attacks have become a global epidemic, with more than $18.6bn paid in ransoms in 2020
-
Language-learning apps speak the right lingo for UK subscribersSpeed Read Locked-down Brits turn to online lessons as a new hobby and way to upskill
-
Brexit-hobbled Britain ‘still tech powerhouse of Europe’Speed Read New research shows that UK start-ups have won more funding than France and Germany combined over past year
-
Playing Cupid during Covid: Tinder reveals Britain’s top chat-up lines of the yearSpeed Read Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and Dominic Cummings among most talked-about celebs on the dating app
-
Brits sending one less email a day would cut carbon emissions by 16,000 tonnesSpeed Read UK research suggests unnecessary online chatter increases climate change
-
Reach for the Moon: Nokia and Nasa to build 4G lunar networkSpeed Read Deal is part of the US space agency’s plan to establish human settlements on the lunar surface
-
iPhone 12 launch: what we learned from the Apple ‘Hi, Speed’ eventSpeed Read Tech giant unveils new 5G smartphone line-up
