Samsung Gear 2
| Industry | Consumer electronics |
|---|---|
| Founded | January 13, 1969 in Suwon, South Korea |
| Headquarters | Suwon , South Korea |
| Products | Smartwatches, smartphones, consumer electronics |
| Website | www |
The Samsung Gear 2 alongside the Samsung Gear 2 Neo represents a series of smartwatches developed by Samsung Electronics. These models were introduced on February 22, 2014, during the Mobile World Congress event, serving as the next iteration following the Samsung Galaxy Gear.
A key distinction from the Galaxy Gear is the transition from the Android operating system to Samsung's proprietary Tizen platform, which enhances features such as Samsung's S Health application and an integrated music player, while also extending battery longevity. The physical design was updated by relocating the camera from the wristband to the watch body itself, enabling users to interchange bands freely. Additionally, an infrared blaster and an optical heart rate sensor were incorporated.
The series was succeeded by the release of the Samsung Gear S on November 7, 2014.
Hardware
While maintaining a hardware design closely resembling that of its predecessor, the Gear 2 introduces a Home button positioned beneath the display. The device’s camera, now a 2-megapixel unit, has been repositioned from the strap to the upper section of the watch face, accompanied by a newly included infrared blaster. This modification facilitates user-replaceable wristbands. The Gear 2 lineup consists of two variants: the Gear 2, which features a metal casing and includes a camera, and the Gear 2 Neo, constructed with a plastic shell and lacking a camera; aside from these differences, both versions share identical specifications.[1][2][3]
The internal processor was upgraded to a dual-core 1.0 GHz Exynos 3250 system-on-chip. Echoing its predecessor’s display characteristics, it sports a 1.63-inch square-shaped Super AMOLED touchscreen with a resolution of 320×320 pixels. The device is equipped with 512 MB of RAM and offers 4 GB of onboard storage.[1][2][4][5] An optical heart rate monitor is embedded on the underside of the watch. Despite housing a smaller battery capacity of 300 mAh compared to its forerunner, the Gear 2 delivers improved battery endurance, rated by Samsung for approximately two to three days under typical usage conditions. Similar to the original model, charging requires placing the watch into a dedicated charging dock outfitted with a Micro USB connector, as there is no direct charging port on the device itself.[3][5][6]
Software
In contrast to the original Galaxy Gear, which operated on Android, the Gear 2 is powered by Tizen, a Linux-based OS jointly developed by Samsung. The Gear 2 features a user interface closely resembling that of the Galaxy Gear, enabling users to sync notifications from a paired device and display them on the watch screen upon arrival. It supports Smart Relay, which automatically launches the corresponding app on the connected smartphone or tablet when a notification is received. Users can utilize S Voice for voice commands and dictation, make and receive calls, and use the "Find My Device" function to locate either the host phone or tablet, or vice versa. New applications introduced with the Gear 2 include the fitness-oriented S Health app, WatchOn—a remote control application that works with the built-in infrared blaster—and a built-in music player capable of storing audio files on the device’s internal memory. Similar to the Galaxy Gear, an enhanced Gear Manager app is installed on the Galaxy device to manage connectivity, personalize settings, and download additional apps from Samsung Apps. The updated Gear Manager for Gear 2 also offers options to select which apps send notifications to the watch, upload custom wallpapers, and create backups.
Reception
The Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo garnered varied critical responses. TechRadar described the smartwatch as a "significantly improved effort to enhance relevance," highlighting its sleeker design, compatibility with interchangeable watch bands, and extended battery life as strong points. However, they criticized its steep price and found the user interface unnecessarily complicated.
References
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External links
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