Most of the Samsung news this week has been focused on the company’s new Galaxy Note 8, but the IFA Conference will play host to more reveals from the South Korean company on September 1. Samsung Mobile president DJ Koh confirmed to CNBC that the next generation of Gear watches, likely including the Gear S4, will debut on stage in Berlin in a week’s time.
That’s not all the news on the wearable front, either. Hours prior to the Note 8 reveal, Samsung published a product page for its unannounced Gear Fit 2 Pro activity tracker. The leak was noticed by Venture Beat’s Evan Blass and surprisingly Samsung has yet to take down the page on its Malaysian website.
Not much is known about the Gear S4 at the moment. In June, we learned Samsung filed a patent for a special phone case for charging a smartwatch and speculated as to whether it could appear in time for the Gear S4 unveiling. We won’t know for sure until IFA rolls around.
The story is much different for the Fit 2 Pro, as Samsung has confirmed a number of features. The new tracker will sport improved water resistance at roughly 50 meters, as well as a new Speedo app for swimmers, and a revised strap design to help it stay put on your wrist.
In other ways, the Fit 2 Pro carries over many of the characteristics of last year’s model. There is a 200mAh battery on board, promising up to four days on a charge. The 216 x 432 curved AMOLED display remains unchanged, and the same watch faces already available for download on the Galaxy App Store can be used again. Blass has tweeted a hint toward a possible $200 price point. We expect to see it at IFA alongside the Gear S4, if it doesn’t get officially revealed beforehand.
It is not surprising Samsung would choose IFA as the destination to reveal these products, considering when it has unveiled previous Gear watches in the past. Last year, the Gear S3 was launched in August, though it did not begin shipping until November. There was some speculation Samsung would reveal one of the wearables alongside the Note 8 on August 23, though no announcement came.
Keep an eye on our hub for all the news out of IFA as we enter September.
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