The largest tech exposition in the fall of the year has brought us exciting new smartwatch announcements. Samsung officially unveiled its new series of smartwatches, the
Samsung Gear S2 and Gear S2 Classic. This new generation of Samsung smartwatches comes powered by Tizen rather than Android Wear, but probably the biggest highlight is the option to buy the watches in a 3G-enabled version, where you can put your own SIM card and use the watches independently from your phone. And yes, the rotating bezel is indeed real: just rotate it to navigate around the menus. On the right side, there are also two physical buttons - a home and back keys - that make it easier to deal with notifications.
Then, we also have
the new Moto 360, which comes in two sizes: a large, 46mm one and another version with a smaller, 42mm case. What's notable about the Moto 360 is that it features record screen to body ratio thanks to its form and thin bezels, so you get a lot of screen real estate in a body that is not as huge. The next big thing about the Moto 360 is called 'Quick Release Bands' (with a small latch that you can see on the bands) and is basically a mechanism similar in function to that of the
Apple Watch: it allows you to swap bands on the fly, going from that casual to an elegant look.
And third, our sights were captured by
the Huawei Watch. Rather than an elaborate wrist computer, the wearable is designed "first and foremost as a watch", opting for a round face, standard lugs, a 42mm diameter, and a physical crown mounted in the traditional "2 o'clock" position. The use of scratch resistant, double layer sapphire crystal and 316L cold-forged stainless steel contribute to the smartwatch's "premium" factor.
| Samsung Gear S2 | Moto 360 (2015) | Huawei Watch |
| Dimensions (mm) | 42.3 x 49.8 x 11.4 mm | 42 / 46mm x 11.4mm | 42mm diameter, 11.3mm thick |
| Build materials | Aluminum | Stainless steel, Gorilla Glass 3 | 316L stainless steel and sapphire crystal |
| Straps | Metal, elastomer, leather | Metal, elastomer, leather | Metal, elastomer, leather |
| Operating system | Tizen OS & "Rotary UI" | Android Wear | Android Wear |
| Display type | 1.2in Super AMOLED | 1.37in Backlit LCD | 1.4in AMOLED |
| Display resolution | 360 x 360 (424ppi) | 360 x 325 (354ppi) | 400 x 400 (404ppi) |
| Processor | 1GHz Exynos 3250 / Snapdragon S4 Play (3G) | 1.2GHz Snapdragon 400 | 1.2GHz Snapdragon 400 |
| RAM | 512MB | 512MB | 512MB |
| Storage space | 4GB | 4GB | 4GB |
| Battery capacity | 250 / 300mAh (3G) | 300 (42mm) / 400mAh (46mm) | 300mAh |
| Connectivity | BT 4.1, Wi-Fi, NFC, 3G | BT 4.0, Wi-Fi | Bluetooth 4.1, Wi-Fi |
| Water resistance | IP68 | IP67 | IP67 |
| Additional features | Wireless charging, acc, gyro, haptics, HRM, barometer, ambient light, GPS (3G only) | Wireless charging acc, ambient light, gyroscope, haptics, HRM, dual digital mics | 6-Axis motion sensor, HRM, barometer, vibration motor |
| Price (base model) | TBA | $300 | $350 |
