Samsung Gear Live smartwatch, with Android Wear installed, set for Google Play launch

By Williams Pelegrin June 25, 2014

During Google I/O, the company officially revealed Samsung’s Android Wear smartwatch, the Gear Live.

Initially revealed as a rumor back in April, Google showed off the Gear Live onstage after the company’s Android Wear demo. While no price was revealed for the Gear Live, Google said it will go on sale through Google Play “later today,” confirming a June 21 report that revealed the Gear Live will launch during Google I/O.

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Sharing a similar design with Samsung’s Gear 2 smartwatch, which runs Tizen software, the Gear Live features a 1.63-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen with a 320 x 320 pixel resolution. A 1.2GHz processor powers the watch and 512MB of RAM is on hand to keep it running smoothly. The body meets IP67 water and dust resistance standards, and the 22mm strap can easily be changed to another of your choice. Samsung will offer straps in both black and red.

Fitting in with Samsung’s recent obsession with health and fitness, the Gear Live has a built-in heart rate monitor, along with other sensors such as a compass, gyroscope, and an accelerometer. Bluetooth 4.0 LE enables the watch to connect with your phone, and there’s a total of 4GB internal storage space.

It’s the Android Wear operating system which makes the Gear Live standout. It displays notifications from a wide variety of compatible apps, making it unnecessary to continually check your phone. Android Wear can be controlled by your voice, and commands can be given to check data and appointments, make calls, or even set an alarm.

The Gear Live will work with any Android device with version 4.3 or later installed, making a change from the restrictive nature of previous Gear watches, and although it will be making its debut inside the Google Play store, it’ll also be sold through Samsung’s own retail outlets in the future. It’s expected to cost $200 with pre-orders starting today, before shipping on July 7.

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