Samsung Gear S Coming To US Carriers This Fall
Smartwatch fans in the US that want a little more from their timepieces need not wait much longer. Samsung has just revealed that its latest and more independent Gear S will be heading to all major US carriers this Fall, giving consumers yet another choice for their wearable gadget, and another way to give carriers their money.
The Gear S is one of the longest rumored Samsung smartwatch, if you consider that talk about a standalone "Solo" wearable started way back last year. Perhaps in an effort to appease Google, at least temporarily, it preempted the debut of the Gear S with the surprise arrival of the Android Wear powered Gear Live. The Gear S, which runs on Tizen, was unveiled in late August, just days before IFA 2014.
This Samsung smartwatch is notable in many ways. Unless you count the Gear Fit, which technically doesn't qualify as a smartwatch, the most visible uniqueness of the Gear S is that it has the most curved display of all of Samsung's smartwatches, boasting the company's screen manufacturing prowess again. Of course, its real claim to fame can be found inside, that is, in its ability to make and take calls and messages and connect to the Internet, without the need of a companion smartphone. At least most of the time.
For that to be possible, however, you will of course need some data connection, and that is where carriers will come in. Samsung has listed major US carriers, including AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon as carrying the Gear S this Fall season. So far, only AT&T has come up with a specific date, inviting interested buyers to check out its outlets nationwide come September 26. Other carriers are likely to follow suit.
In terms of hardware and aside from cellular data, the Gear S is pretty much similar to Samsung's other offerings, including a 1.0 GHz dual-core CPU, 512 MB of RAM, 4 GB of storage and even a heart rate monitor. Sadly, unlike other smartwatches in the market right now, the Gear S doesn't fit with regular watch straps and will have to make do with custom Samsung alternatives. There is another reason some might hold off on investing in this current generation Samsung smartwatch. The Korean OEM is rumored to have a new one in the works that will add a fingerprint scanner for the sake of mobile payment, and this smartwatch is expected to arrive in at MWC 2015 in February.