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Samsung is preparing a big upgrade for its next smartwatch

By Adrian Diaconescu

Updated: Jun 10, 2020, 7:05 AM

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Galaxy Watch Active 2

Samsung unveiled an entirely new fitness-centric smartwatch alongside the Galaxy S10 handset lineup roughly a year ago, followed by a more serious Apple Watch contender just a couple of days before making the Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10+ phones official. But if you're expecting something similar to happen ahead of the Galaxy S20 series announcement event next week, you're likely to end up very disappointed on February 11.

That's because things have been awfully quiet on the smartwatch release speculation front in recent months, which almost certainly means that mysterious next member of the Galaxy Watch family rumored a couple of weeks ago is not coming to stores anytime soon. After all, we seem to know pretty much everything there is to know about the Galaxy S20, S20+, S20 Ultra, and Galaxy Z Flip, while the secretive wearable device carrying model number SM-R840 only had its battery capacity revealed in last month's insider-based report.

It could be that Samsung somehow kept this product under wraps all this time while leaking S20 series information like a broken faucet, but it's much more likely that the company simply didn't start developing the Galaxy Watch Active 2 sequel until very recently. In fact, that's precisely what SamMobile is claiming in a new report that also discloses another key feature of the unannounced smartwatch.

More storage space than all previous Samsung smartwatches

While the budget-friendly Galaxy Watch Active was obviously never intended as a direct sequel to the premium Galaxy Watch, cutting several corners and downgrading a number of specifications to keep the price point as reasonable as possible, the two devices did have a few things in common as well.

Galaxy Watch Active

One of them was a 4GB internal storage space count that the Galaxy Watch Active 2 also retained in both Bluetooth-only and LTE-enabled variants. According to SamMobile's usually rock-solid inside sources, the time will soon come for Samsung's smartwatches to make the jump to 8 gigs of local digital hoarding room for apps and music.

In total, the company might be planning to release its next Tizen-powered wearable in four derivations, all of which are expected to come with 8GB storage. We're talking SM-R840, R845, R850, and R855 model numbers designating two (unknown) sizes, each supporting optional cellular connectivity in addition to a base variant offering just Bluetooth and standalone GPS functionality.

As Samsung has already released the world's first 5G-capable tablet, there's definitely a chance the chaebol will eventually claim similar bragging rights in the smartwatch market. But it's probably too soon for that, so we should expect the SM-R845 and SM-R855 to "only" support 4G LTE technology for making and receiving voice calls on their own.

The Apple Watch Series 5 will still reign supreme

Storage space is definitely low on the long list of Apple Watch strengths and key selling points, but that's because you never have to worry about running out of room on the world's most popular wearable device. The 2019-released Series 5 smartwatch discreetly bumped up the 16 gigs of space on 2018's Apple Watch Series 4 to a colossal 32GB count, making Samsung's impending upgrade seem absolutely trivial.

Apple Watch Series 5 (left), Galaxy Watch Active 2 (right)

Of course, the greatest thing about the Apple Watch family is the watchOS app support, which Samsung's Tizen and Google's Wear OS platforms may not be able to catch up to anytime soon. Speaking of Wear OS, we should probably mention the Fossil Gen 5 lineup, Skagen Falster 3, and other recently released members of the family also come with the 8 gigs of storage space expected to be offered by Samsung's next smartwatch.

By the way, we still have no idea if this will be called the Galaxy Watch 2 or Galaxy Watch Active 3 (or perhaps something else entirely), and no other specs and features are known or at least rumored right now. Only the 330mAh battery size of the SM-R840 model, which is larger than the 247mAh ticker of the 40mm Galaxy Watch Active 2 but slightly smaller than the 340mAh cell inside the 44mm variant.

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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.