Smartwatches are on the verge of becoming the next big thing in technology with top smartphone manufacturers like Samsung and Apple rumored to be coming out with smartwatches. Samsung today confirmed that they would be launching a ‘wearable concept device’ called Galaxy Gear on the 4th of September in Berlin along with the launch of the Galaxy Note 3, rumored to be featuring a 5.7 inch display and 4K video recording capabilities. Lee Young-hee, the Executive Vice President of Mobile, confirmed that the Galaxy Gear would be running the Android operating system and will not be using flexible display technology.
Further, based on comments from Lee, the Galaxy Gear is expected to be an enhancement accessory to smartphones rather than a standalone device with calling and other capabilities. Reports suggest that the Galaxy Gear will be a Bluetooth 4.0 accessory with a 2.5-inch display and may be exclusively compatible with Samsung’s smartphones and tablets. Samsung expects the target audience for the Galaxy Gear to be the youth, which could make the Gear a potential fashion accessory.
In related news, a report from Juniper Research, a mobile market intelligence specialist, suggests that there could be over a million smartwatch shipments this year. Further, the sales of smartwatches are expected to increase to a staggering 36 million within the next five years. Even though there are several smartwatches available in the market from a variety of manufacturers, the technology is still in its infancy. But the entry of major players like Samsung can result in the technology maturing fast in the coming years. Apart from providing some legitimacy to these smartwatch devices, the entry of major players will also increase the sales of smartwatches.
Many top manufacturers are rumored to be working on their own smartwatches. Sony is expected to announce the SmartWatch 2 on September 9, soon after Samsung’s Galaxy Gear launch. Apple is rumored to have plans to launch their smartwatch – the iWatch – sometime this year or in early 2014. Microsoft is rumored to be working on their Surface smartwatch slated for a 2014 launch. Apart from smartwatches, it is speculated that there would be nearly 200 different smartphone accessories available by 2018. This could mean a phenomenal growth in the area of wearable devices and could indeed be the key to unlocking the full potential of wearable technology.
