Key difference – Samsung Gear 2 vs Apple Watch
The key difference between the Samsung Gear S2 and the Apple watch exists in the design of both smart watches; the Samsung Gear S2 is expected to come in a round shape whereas the Apple watch is rectangular in shape. There are many other features that come with both the smart watches. Let’s take a closer look at these two masterpieces and see what they provide.
Samsung Gear S2 Review – Features and Specifications
The Samsung Gear S2 code named Orbis is the next smart watch that is to be released by the Korean Electronics giant. A few images of the Samsung Gear S2 has been released at the last unpack event recently.
These images revealed that the watch would be round in shape. The app icons will also be round. A few developer details at the unpacking event were also revealed. The software development kit for the smartwatch was released in April 2015. This SDK revealed some great features that could be expected with the Samsung Gear S2. The following section will elaborate some of the expected features in the Samsung Gear S2
Design
The Samsung Gear S2 is expected to be compact, light and very comfortable on the wrist. The exterior can be expected to come in stainless steel. There will be two buttons on the side of the watch which could bring in more innovative features.
Release date
The Samsung Gear S2 was expected to be released at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in the early part of this year, but it was not to be, as an announcement regarding this was never released. At the recent Samsung Unpacked event, it revealed some of the features that could be expected with the Samsung Gear S2. On the 3rd of September, we will be able to get details of the price of the watch and all the details regarding the device. The unveiling is to happen at the IFA Samsung conference at the above date.
Versions
According to some reliable resources, the Samsung Gear S2 is expected to come in 3 flavors like the Apple watch. None of the details of these versions has come to light, either than their code names being Orbis Classic, Orbis S1 and Orbis S2. We could assume that one of the three models could be a luxury one or two smart watch sizes out of the three could be different.
The Classic model could come with built-in LTE support. This is also expected to be a premium edition of the Samsung Galaxy S2. Other rumors suggest that the Samsung Galaxy S2 could support a nano sim, and different models could also be released for men and for women separately.
The official release models of the watches have been named SM-R720, SM-R730, and SM-R732. This does not give much of a detail away but could confirm that there are three different models.This could mean the sizes, material and price could be different for the above mentioned three models. If the above fact is true, it will mean a great strategic move as this has been not the case in the past as all the models have come in the same shape and size.
Hardware
It is expected that the Samsung Gear S2 will come with a rotational bezel, which with the help of the touch screen will be physically controllable. It will also come with additional features like controlling volume levels control, scroll and zoom and brightness adjustments.
The Samsung Gear S2 will be powered by Exynos 1.2GHz dual-core processor. The graphics will be boosted using a 450MHz GPU. The memory support will stand at 768 MB. The processor being Exynos, created by Samsung’s very own ARM-based architecture, it is expected to optimize well with the software for enhanced performance.
Storage
The storage is expected to be 4GB whereas the battery capacity has seen a slight decline from 300mAh to 250mAh according to the spec sheet. This could not be considered a problem as the display is small and consumes less power.
Display
The display of the smartwatch will be made of AMOLED technology for super crisp, clear detail. The size of the display stands at 1.18 inches 360X360. The pixel density of the display is 305ppi, which is better than even some smartphones in the market.
Sensors
The smartwatch will come with an array of different sensors for different dedicated tasks. Some of them include the gyroscope, accelerometer, and the heart rate monitor which was confirmed at the Samsung unpacked event in 2015 recently. There are other features like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi support that comes with this device. It will not be able to operate in a standalone mode as network connectivity is only restricted up to 3G.
Software
The company is attempting to keep away from android wear and promote its own OS, the Tizen software. Some of the apps that were displayed on the Samsung promo include the CNN and FidMe.
Wireless charging
According to rumors, the Samsung gear S2 is expected to support wireless charging. This is said to come as an out of the box feature. This will be a similar feature to android wear which has a dock for charging when it is not worn. If this is true, this will be a very nice feature compared to the previous models.
Biometrics
Samsung has been working on a bio signal ID when making payments using the smart watch. This will be able to recognize the identity of the wearer and allow mobile payments to take place. There are also reports that Samsung Pay will be offered by the smart watch, with the help of NFC.
Apple Watch Review – Features and Specifications
Traditional watches that we wear were only capable of telling us the time, but now the electronics giants are able to produce watches that are able to do many other tasks. The Apple watch is no exception as it is competing in the wearable market to capture the smartwatches space as well. These can be considered wrist worn computers even smaller than the smartphones that we all own. Apple watches can be considered the pinnacle of the smart watch. Even if you are not a regular watch wearer, this masterpiece’s capabilities and attributes will make you think otherwise.
Design
The Apple watch comes in two sizes; one being 38mm and the other being 42mm. There are three models to choose from; Watch, Sports, and Edition. The Sports model is made up of aluminum while the high-end watch comes in 18 karats yellow gold and rose colors. The watch has been made to immaculate detail; steel is polished to a gloss finish. The top has the crisp OLED screen while the bottom of the watch come with a heart rate monitor. The digital crown placed on the side of the watch is also polished. All these pieces fit into to make a watch that is almost perfect. This can be considered the most perfectly crafted watch to be found in the market which gives it a luxurious finish to whoever owns it.
Size
Most of the smartwatches in the market have a round face, but the apple has a square shape with rounded edges. The apple watch comes in two sizes. One in a 38mm and the other being in the 42mm size range. These measurements have to be made from the top of the face to the bottom. There is no specific reason for the different sizes, but this could only be to support both genders.
Screen resolution
The larger twin being the 42mm model has a resolution of 390X312 pixels whereas the smaller twin supports a resolution of 340X272 pixels. The size measurement is not the usual diagonal measurement but from top to bottom. So the pixel density of the retinal display is a bit complicated. The larger smart watch has a pixel density of 302ppi whereas the smaller match has a pixel density of 290ppi.
Hardware
The chip that is powering the smart watch is the S1. It is said that apple is using Samsung’s ARM built chips for its iPhone range. It is also said that the Korean electronics giant is behind Apple Watch’s System in Package design as well.
Sensor
Smartwatches are all about sensors and contains a gyroscope and an accelerometer in tracking movement and health.
Storage
The watch comes with an 8GB storage facility where 2GB has been dedicated to music.
Supported apps
With the help of the WatchKitAPI developers have been working on watch apps for some time. At the WWDC 2015 launch, native apps support will arrive with the inclusion of watchOS2. The Tim Cook CEO of Apple said at the WWDC that this was a giant move as developers around the world will be able to create apps for the benefit of people’s lives. The app logic will be transferred directly to the watch, which means stand-alone apps will be supported in the watches itself. This will be able to work independently tapping into the network as well as accessing health information.
Siri
Siri is also available as a voice recognition feature in the smart watch which can find and dictate messages, check the calendar and find places as well. Siri is expected become smarter and will even be able to reply to emails in a smarter way after updates later this year.
Notifications
The smartwatch is able to display notifications from SMS to Facebook. The system built into the smartwatch is smart. It can analyze the incoming SMS and give the user a set of custom replies. The reply can be sent as an audio file or transcribed by the smartwatch with the use of voice recognition. Graphics can also be added to the messages using emoji’s which can be sent to friends and colleagues.
Heart Rate
There is an optical heart rate monitor which has been built into the smart watch. This is an especially useful feature that could help in sporting activities. With the use of infrared and LED technology, the blood flow, and the pulse can be monitored by the smart watch which is a cool feature. One disappointing feature is the GPS which is intended to save battery life on the watch, is not available with the smartwatch
Touch
One of the impressive features of the smartwatch is the Digital Touch. It is a cool way of communicating as sketch images can be shared, can be used as a walkie-talkie and even share the vibration of your heart beat with other Apple wearable users.
Apple Pay
With the use of NFC technology payments can be made using the smart watch. This feature was introduced with the release of the iPhone 6. This feature will be able to contain all loyalty, credit and debit card number which were stored in the passbook app. The transfer can be done by waving your wrist with the smartphone in front of a reader.
Battery Capacity
The battery capacity of the smart watch is 205mAh. This is not impressive as to say the least.
