Samsung finally launched Gear S3, successor to its Gear S2 smartwatch, in India on Tuesday. The South Korean company's smartwatch comes in two variants - Frontier and Classic. The smartwatch will be available from January 18 across Samsung retail channels, and has been priced by the company at Rs. 28,500.
The Samsung Gear S3 smartwatch was initially launched at IFA 2016 by Samsung and runs company's own Tizen OS instead of Android Wear by Google. The Frontier model of Gear S3 sports a rugged design with a MIL-STD-810G rating, while the Classic variant has a more refined look. Both sport cases made out of high-end watch grade 316L steel, and the company is touting the rotating bezel that enables user to pick up calls or snooze alarms without even touching the display.
Notably, the Frontier model of Gear S3 comes with a cellular radio chip that allows the smartwatch to connect to high speed 4G mobile networks. This means that the watch does not require to be tethered to your smartphone in order to connect to the Internet or make calls. This is a feature that is currently not existent even in market-leader Apple's current generation of smartwatches - Apple Watch Series 2. SOS alerts can be preset to a button, sending alerts to family, friends, and emergency professionals.
The Samsung Gear S3 smartwatches feature an 1.3-inch (360x360 pixels) always-on display Super AMOLED tech and Gorilla Glass SR+ protection, IP68 dust and water resistance, built-in GPS, as well as a built-in speaker. It is powered by a 1GHz dual-core processor. Apart from 3G/LTE on the Frontier model, the smartwatches sport Bluetooth v4.2, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, and NFC/MST. They are powered by a 380mAh battery.
Samsung recently introduced its iOS specific Samsung Gear S app to expand the support of its Gear S2 and Gear S3 smartwatches to iOS.
"With the Gear S3, we continue to build on our wearables heritage of offering diverse choices to enhance consumers’ unique lifestyles," said Manu Sharma, Vice President, Mobile Business, Samsung India. "Gear S2 achieved meaningful progress in the smartwatch category with a personalized watch face and a versatile rotating bezel that provided an intuitive smartwatch experience. Now with the new Gear S3, we expand our Gear collection and introduce not only a great smartwatch, but a great watch. With smart capabilities and sophisticated, elegant design, the Gear S3 marks a significant addition to our smartwatch portfolio."
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