Last month, Samsung teased that it’d soon release a Software Development Kit (SDK) for a new Gear smartwatch that looked like it’d have a round face. Now that that SDK is here, our suspicions have been confirmed.
The SDK for Samsung’s new Gear smartwatch has revealed that the device will indeed have a round face with a 1.65-inch screen that’ll have a resolution of 360x360. The device will also include an array of sensors and antennas like an accelerometer, heart rate monitor, pressure sensor, Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth and a cellular radio. Unfortunately, the documents only refer to the device as “The New Gear,” so we don’t yet know what the new smartwatch will be called, but it’s said to be codenamed “Project Orbis.”
What’s interesting about The New Gear is that it looks like you’ll be able to rotate its bezel to navigate through the smartwatch’s user interface. For example, you can rotate the bezel to scroll through lists, zoom in and out of images, change the volume, and more. You’ll also be able to perform typical smartwatch operations like connect to a Bluetooth headset and see notifications from a connected smartphone.
We’ve seen round smartwatches from Motorola and LG lately, and considering the praise that those devices have gotten, it’s no surprise to see that Samsung is going to try its hand at a round smartwatch as well. The rotating bezel is a feature that we haven’t really seen on other smartwatches, so The New Gear has that going for it, but we’ll have to wait until we’ve got the thing on our wrists before we know exactly how well it’ll work compared to just using a touchscreen.
It’s suggested that The New Gear will be released alongside the Galaxy Note 5 during IFA 2015, which takes place from September 4 through September 9.