Smartphone manufacturers are gearing up for their highly anticipated year-end releases. During these next few months, gadget enthusiasts can expect a handful of exciting new devices to be unveiled and subsequently put on sale. Nonetheless, the mobile market consists of more than smartphones. Smartwatches are receiving a lot of hype nowadays, as some of the most renowned manufacturers out there have given strong signs that they will deliver on this particular market segment.
Sony has been among the first to announce its contender – the SmartWatch 2 – a sequel that aims at improving upon the original SmartWatch and addressing all of the issues that may have overshadowed it. Also on the Android scene, there’s Samsung, which is reportedly working on the so-called “Galaxy Gear” smartwatch. Last but not least, there has been a deluge of reports indicating that Apple will unveil its mysterious iWatch..
Although Sony’s gadget is the only one from the bunch that has been officially unveiled, we’re very confident that the Galaxy Gear and the iWatch will become a reality in the foreseeable future. With that in mind, we’ve decided to line up these wrist gadgets and take a look at their features (confirmed or rumored). Assuming that you are planning on buying such a device, it’s always a good idea to do your homework and know what to expect. Let’s check out the purported specs.
Samsung Galaxy Gear vs iWatch vs Sony SmartWatch 2
Before we take a look at these three devices, keep in mind that the Sony SmartWatch 2 is the only one that has been officially announced, thus there are plenty of details to discuss. On the other side of the fence, information about the Galaxy Gear as well as the Apple iWatch may still be a bit scarce, but it should be enough to give you a rough idea of the key differences between these three devices.
Let’s start off with the Sony SmartWatch 2. This gadget arrives with a 1.6 inch LCD screen featuring a resolution of 220 x 176, Bluetooth 3.0, NFC connectivity, and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The device also features a micro USB slot and a battery that should provide 7 days of low usage or 3-4 days of normal usage – according to Sony. Everything is wrapped in an aluminum body featuring a silicon or stainless steel wristband.
One of the greatest features of the SmartWatch 2 is that it’s water resistant, being IP57 certified. Last but not least, Sony has focused greatly on increasing the number of applications that come pre-loaded on the device (the lack of apps was one of the biggest issues with the original model). As such, the gadget arrives with a wide range of applications, including emailing, SMS, social networking, call logs, music controls, weather, viewfinder and more.
Now it’s time to take a few steps in the realm of leaks and rumors and move on to the Apple iWatch and the Samsung Galaxy Gear.
Although tons of rumors and unofficial concepts of the iWatch have been passed around during these past several months, details about the device’s hardware specifications are not very clear. It’s speculated that the iWatch will arrive with a 1.5 inch display that may or may not be curved/flexible. This bit of rumor is also accompanied by one suggesting that the iWatch’s display will be protected by the flexible Corning Willow Glass.
The list of speculated iWatch features also includes NFC and Bluetooth connectivity and access to Siri, iMessage, and iCloud – as well as Apple Maps. It’s also rumored that the device may benefit from shock-proof abilities and a hydrophobic coating.
Moving on to Apple’s greatest competitor, we’re now going to take a closer look at the Samsung Galaxy Gear.
Despite the fact that the Gear is a newcomer in the scene, the freshest reports have already revealed some pretty interesting aspects regarding the gadget’s alleged hardware specs.
According to leaks, the Galaxy Gear will take a slightly different route than the rest of the smartwatches. It will supposedly feature a rather large 2.5 inch OLED display with a resolution of 320 x 320, and it will be powered by a dual-core SoC clocked at 1.5 GHz (rumors point towards the Exynos 4212 chip). More so, the device is said to benefit from 1GB of RAM, Bluetooth 4.0 LTE connectivity, and even a 4 MP 720p camera. The gadget will allegedly run on Jelly Bean and will be offered in two storage options (8GB and 16GB).
That is quite a lot of horsepower for a smartwatch, and it actually sounds more like a compact smartphone than a wearable tech accessory. The problem, however, is that the same rumors also suggest that the Galaxy Gear will offer only ten hours of battery life.
Once again, the details about both the iWatch and the Galaxy Gear are not set in stone. The information above is based on leaks and rumors, so treat it accordingly.
Until more details will surface, don’t hesitate to share your opinions below and let us know which one of these smartwatches you would be more interested in buying. Should you put your trust in Apple and hope for an innovative wearable device? Or is the variety offered by Android the way to go?
Vlad Andrici is editor for gforgames.com and writes about technology issues. Follow Vlad on Google Plus.