It's hard to believe that it's only Tuesday, after the busy day we all had yesterday. Monday saw the start of Mobile World Congress, and as you can imagine --and as you witnessed-- we saw a lot of new devices get unveiled, talked about, and fiddled around with. Unsurprisingly, Samsung was able to take most of the limelight with the unveiling of their Galaxy S5, but the newest smartphone to their lineup isn't the only device they had at the show this year.
As rumors had been suggesting ever since the original Galaxy Gear made it onto the scene last year, Samsung withdrew the curtain from two new Gear wearables, and forever labeled the Galaxy Gear as a beta product. With the Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo, Samsung unveiled what they should have unveiled in the first place last year. They even managed to get their Tizen OS out of the test chambers and out into the real world, with a final release planned for this April sometime.
I wrote about the Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo yesterday, and why I thought Samsung should have just announced those devices instead of the original Galaxy Gear, and nothing has changed in that regard. I understand that the original wearable was meant to test the waters, to see what customers wanted and what they didn't like, but for such a device it cost quite a bit of money. The argument to make it cheaper, so more people could try it out seems almost too easy.
But, here we are, less than a year later and we've got two new watches, instead of one. Unfortunately, they pale in comparison to Samsung's other wearable. That's right, they've got one more. And it's, arguably, even better than the watches.
It's called the Gear Fit, and it's meant to be a wearable device that's geared towards you leading a healthy life. It's got a built-in heart monitor (much like the Galaxy S5), and it's a band, rather than a watch. It's got a curved AMOLED display, and simply put it looks *really cool*. Admittedly, Samsung did a great job toning down the Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo, so that they aren't as bulky or ridiculous looking while on the wrist, but they just pale in comparison to how nice the Gear Fit looks when it's strapped around an arm.
You might think I'd suggest that Samsung just drop the Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo completely in favor of the Gear Fit, since I like it so much better than the watch alternative, but that's not the case. I think the Gear Fit works best when it's put into the family of wearable devices. More than anything else, though, it's just about consumer choice and that's something that Samsung understands down to the very basic level. Samsung has no qualms about releasing plenty of devices for any particular market, and they're just showing that even more now with wearables.
Don't like the way the watch with the camera feels? Try the one that doesn't have a camera. Don't want a watch at all? How about a wearable that has a curved display, and takes up just a little bit less of your arm? Samsung has you covered, with whatever type of accessory you may be looking for.
As long as it's a watch or band.
It's ultimately going to come down to pricing, I think. If we're looking at the market as it stands right now, comparable devices to the Gear Fit are between $100 and $150, with some outliers at both end of the spectrum. If I had to guess right now, I'd think Samsung would price it right around $250, with maybe the Gear 2 Neo maybe at $200. The Gear 2? Probably $300, but who knows.
It's anyone's guess at this point, but it will come down to that price tag no matter what. So, my question to you is: how much are you willing to pay for something like the Gear Fit? And, perhaps more importantly, are you already preparing your wallet for the hit later this year? Let me know!