Samsung has launched its first Android Wear smartwatch, the Gear Live.
The Korean company may be shifting its smartwatches (and some of its smartphones) over to its own Tizen OS, but that doesn’t mean it can’t play nice with Google.
The smartwatch will run Google’s Android Wear OS, but in most other respects resembles Samsung’s own Tizen-powered Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo watches. A similar squared-off design houses a 1.2GHz processor (a shade faster than the Gear 2’s 1.0GHz silicon), 512MB RAM and 4GB internal storage and 1.63in Super AMOLED (320 x 320) display.
Like the Gear 2 Neo, it lacks a camera, but packs a heart rate monitor, accelerometer, gyroscope and compass for taking measurements, and is IP67 dust and water resistant. The Gear Live connects to your phone over Bluetooth 4.0, while keeping things ticking over is a 300mAh Li-ion battery good for 2-3 days of typical use.
Samsung’s clearly playing it safe with its Android Wear hardware; unsurprising, since it already had the guts of its Gear smartwatch to hand to build the device on. Still, the Gear Live looks rather staid next to the circular Moto 360; we’ll have to wait until we get our hands on it to make a proper assessment.
Samsung’s Gear Live will be available from 7 July, in black and wine red finishes.