Samsung's Wi-Fi/3G-enabled Gear S smartwatch coming to all major US carriers on Nov. 7

posted by Chris P. / Oct 30, 2014, 9:28 AM

Samsung's Wi-Fi/3G-enabled Gear S smartwatch coming to all major US carriers on Nov. 7

If you are itching to try out a smartwatch, but weren't convinced it'll be of any use chained to your smartphone, then you just might find what you're looking for with the Samsung Gear S. This is the first Wi-Fi/3G-enabled smartwatch from a major brand, and it's coming to AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint in the beginning of November.

The Gear S has a pretty large (for a smartwatch), 2-inch curved Super AMOLED screen with a resolution of 360x480 (exactly 300 pixels per inch) and is powered by an unnamed dual-core processor, clocked at 1GHz, along with 512MB of RAM (which is pretty standard for smartwatches at this point).

The IP67-certified, dust- and water-proof device measures in at 1.57 x 2.28 x .49 in (39.9 x 58.1 x 12.5 mm) and both the Blue Black and White models weigh 2.32 oz (66 g). As already mentioned, the device also has dedicated Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n radio, but also Bluetooth 4.1 Low Energy and A-GPS with GLONASS support. Embedded within the body are also a whole bunch of sensors, including an accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, barometer, along with monitors for UV light and heart rate. With so much hardware packed inside, Samsung didn't have a lot of space leftover to fit in a large battery, so we're looking at a 300 mAh unit, which probably will require charging every night -- at least based on our experience with smartwatches so far.

There's one last caveat with the Gear S -- it's not making use of Google's new Android Wear platform, and is instead relying on a version of Tizen built for wearables. This might be a letdown for some, as Android Wear appears to be moving in the right direction (and is certainly getting more and more third-party devs on board) and Google Now is quite a bit more powerful than Samsung's S Voice platform, thought that might have been the price to be paid in order to give you a totally smartphone-independent smartwatch.

The Gear S will first launch on AT&T and Sprint on November 7 ($199 w/ 2-year contract or $16/mo. for 24 months, respectively) and, two days later, on T-Mobile ($14.58/mo. for 24 months). Verizon is confirmed to also get the gadget, but is keeping mum for now.

Samsung Gear S

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source: Samsung US, Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile

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28 Comments

1. sgodsell

Posts: 7365; Member since: Mar 16, 2013

Its a bracelet and not a watch. Let's get that part correct first. If they used an oriental wrist for the model, then it would look humongous.

posted on Oct 30, 2014, 9:38 AM 2

2. g2a5b0e unregistered

Semantics, man. It tells the time among many other things & goes on your wrist. It's a watch. Sure, you can call it a bracelet too, but it's definitely a watch.

posted on Oct 30, 2014, 9:43 AM 10

3. mturby unregistered

Its a bracelet with a watch attached to it.

posted on Oct 30, 2014, 9:50 AM 3

8. g2a5b0e unregistered

Whatever floats your boat, man.

posted on Oct 30, 2014, 10:23 AM 2

28. AlanB412

Posts: 32; Member since: Jul 23, 2012

I'd call it a watchlet

posted on Nov 01, 2014, 8:04 AM 0

15. InspectorGadget80 unregistered

Their using OLED TECHNOLOGY on their watches. Call it whatever u want. U don't like it then don't bash it.

posted on Oct 30, 2014, 1:44 PM 0

24. TechieXP1969

Posts: 14967; Member since: Sep 25, 2013

Looks better than that POS Apple made...Looks better than the Moto 360 too. No one has a 3G watch and this isn't Samsung's first either.

posted on Oct 30, 2014, 9:08 PM 0

4. mturby unregistered

Thats not going to fix samsungs money leak. Make people line up for hours to buy a samsung phone (just like apple) and maybe ur profits r up this 2015.

posted on Oct 30, 2014, 9:53 AM 0

5. CX3NT3_713

Posts: 2350; Member since: Apr 18, 2011

Niceeee best smartwatch thus far

posted on Oct 30, 2014, 10:09 AM 3

14. bur60

Posts: 981; Member since: Jul 07, 2014

IF this is the best smartwatch thus far, then I recommend nobody to buy a smartwatch. Maybe in a year or 2.

posted on Oct 30, 2014, 1:35 PM 3

6. Elfmonster unregistered

Man. I like Samsung and all. But. $200 on contract for their experimental Tizen. Wow. I guess if I looked at the cost as an art project, maybe that makes sense.

posted on Oct 30, 2014, 10:19 AM 0

10. MEeee

Posts: 425; Member since: Oct 19, 2011

It costs almost the same price off contract price as the iWatch. There's nothing wrong with my Tizen Gear.

posted on Oct 30, 2014, 11:02 AM 1

23. sniper1087

Posts: 537; Member since: Dec 31, 2011

huh? 200 bucks for a 2 year contract on a watch?, is it 649 off contract? sounds like a smartphone price to me rather go for the moto 360 for android or apple watch for apple.

posted on Oct 30, 2014, 6:24 PM 1

26. 0xFFFF

Posts: 3806; Member since: Apr 16, 2014

The carriers usually offer up to $100 off tablets and gadgets for a two year contract. So it would be $300-$350 off contract.

posted on Oct 30, 2014, 9:27 PM 0

7. baha55

Posts: 1; Member since: Oct 30, 2014

It's already in the UAE goo.gl/8hvijb

9. tkk76

Posts: 19; Member since: Oct 03, 2014

Wish it ran android so that it could integrates google now for voice query/command, navigation, phone calling. I doubt the Samsung voice options are as good as asking Google Now a question or commands.

posted on Oct 30, 2014, 10:34 AM 0

11. Rorschach

Posts: 83; Member since: Apr 26, 2013

Not worth the cost and will probably be a failure since it's not running Android wear.

posted on Oct 30, 2014, 11:43 AM 0

12. MasterSyrron

Posts: 59; Member since: Dec 08, 2012

Looks like I'm out... I got the Gear 2 Neo specifically because I could put a longer watch band on it.

posted on Oct 30, 2014, 1:09 PM 0

13. Ziggy

Posts: 79; Member since: Oct 03, 2014

Not so bad looking in the photos but I doubt it looks better than a moto 360. Also, F**k off samsung, stop trying to feed us Tizen.

posted on Oct 30, 2014, 1:22 PM 0

16. xtroid2k

Posts: 601; Member since: Jan 11, 2010

The worst part about this amazing device is I have to buy a samsung device unless thats changed. Someone correct me please. three is a T-mobile one street over 5 minutes walking distance from my Job.

posted on Oct 30, 2014, 3:11 PM 0

20. tacarat

Posts: 854; Member since: Apr 22, 2013

This one doesn't need a smartphone to function properly. That's not to say there won't be apps that would need that connection, just that out of the box you should be ok.

posted on Oct 30, 2014, 3:38 PM 0

17. bugsbunny00

Posts: 2264; Member since: Jun 07, 2013

no camera?

posted on Oct 30, 2014, 3:16 PM 1

25. TechieXP1969

Does it need one?

posted on Oct 30, 2014, 9:09 PM 0

18. cleat-glitch

Posts: 109; Member since: Feb 07, 2014

give me give me give me give me...

posted on Oct 30, 2014, 3:20 PM 0

19. tacarat

What about the radiation? I don't want my backup lover to get cancer and die.

posted on Oct 30, 2014, 3:36 PM 2

27. 0xFFFF

I wouldn't wear one with the 3G turned on. The wifi is probably okay for short periods, especially if you keep the transmit power low for your base station and watch.