Samsung Galaxy Watch 2: what we want to see

Update: A brand new Samsung smartwatch has been rumored, however we do not assume it is the Samsung Galaxy Watch 2. Instead it appears to be like to be a Samsung Gear Sport sequel, and you’ll learn all about what we know so far here.

The Samsung Galaxy Watch is notable for lots of causes, not least of which being that it’s a extremely succesful smartwatch that doesn’t run Wear OS or watchOS, relying as an alternative on the Tizen working system.

With a trendy design, lengthy battery life and a great deal of monitoring expertise it does sufficient to compete with any wearable working these better-known working methods, nevertheless it isn’t excellent by any means, so we’ve give you a listing of enhancements that we need to see on the Samsung Galaxy Watch 2.

You’ll discover them additional down this text, however earlier than that you just’ll discover our predictions for the Watch 2, together with the potential launch timing, worth and options. As information and rumors begin rising we’ll add them to this text too.

Cut to the chase

• What is it? The subsequent smartwatch from Samsung
• When is it out? Maybe late 2019
• What will it price? Probably a minimum of $329 / £279 / AU$499

Samsung Galaxy Watch 2 launch date and worth

The Samsung Galaxy Watch landed on August 9, 2018, alongside the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, so there’s a good probability that the Samsung Galaxy Watch 2 will land in or round August 2019, presumably on the similar occasion because the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.

However, there’s no assure of that and there aren’t any launch date rumors but. But a launch roughly a 12 months after this mannequin would make sense, particularly because the Galaxy Watch is in some methods a successor to the Samsung Gear Sport, which landed in August 2017, and the Samsung Gear S3, which landed in November 2016. 

In different phrases, there was roughly a 12 months between all these fashions.

There aren’t any worth rumors but both, however the Samsung Galaxy Watch launched for $329 / £279 / AU$499 for the 42mm model or $349 / £299 / AU$549 for the 46mm mannequin, with costs going up if you need a model with LTE. So we’d anticipate the Samsung Galaxy Watch 2 will price a minimum of that a lot and it might price extra.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 2 information and rumors

There aren’t but any whispers concerning the Samsung Galaxy Watch 2, nevertheless it’s very doubtless that Samsung is engaged on it, and we are able to take some educated guesses as to sure options that it might have.

For instance, it’s positive to retain most or the entire options discovered on the Samsung Galaxy Watch. That contains GPS, a coronary heart fee monitor and NFC, together with monitoring for numerous sports activities, sleep and stress.

It’s additionally more likely to have a round face and a rotating bezel, particularly because the likes of the Gear S3 even have these issues.

What’s much less sure however nonetheless very doubtless is that the Galaxy Watch 2 will run Tizen. Samsung has been utilizing Tizen on wearables for some time and though a transfer to Wear OS was rumored for the Galaxy Watch, no such change occurred in the long run.

It’s potential that Samsung will swap to Wear OS for the Galaxy Watch 2, particularly as Google’s smartwatch working system has a more healthy app ecosystem. But there are many causes to love Tizen and Samsung hasn’t proven any actual signal of giving up on it.

What we need to see

The Samsung Galaxy Watch is a superb smartwatch however one with loads of room for enchancment. The following seven options are issues we’d actually prefer to see on the Samsung Galaxy Watch 2.

1. More third-party apps

The Samsung Galaxy Watch runs Tizen, relatively than one of many big-name wearable working methods, and one draw back of that’s that there are fewer apps obtainable than you’ll discover on Wear OS or watchOS.

So by the point Samsung launches the Galaxy Watch 2 we’d prefer to have seen it work with builders to get key apps like WhatsApp, Google Maps and Facebook Messenger on the platform.

2. Better stress monitoring

The Samsung Galaxy Watch tracks lots of issues and largely does job, however stress monitoring is certainly a weak hyperlink.

While it’s obtainable, it required us to manually measure our stress ranges relatively than monitoring them robotically in our checks (regardless of claiming that it could actually do it robotically), and its accuracy may very well be questionable, because the knowledge appears largely based mostly simply on coronary heart fee. So we’d prefer to see this function overhauled for the following mannequin.

3. Group challenges

Competing with pals could be a huge motivator to get extra lively and handily the Samsung Galaxy Watch helps you to do that. Your pals don’t even want a Galaxy Watch of their very own – a Gear watch or the Samsung Health app will just do tremendous.

However, you possibly can solely problem pals individually, relatively than having a bunch competitors. It looks as if this could be an apparent and simple function so as to add, so hopefully Samsung will.

4. Compatibility with extra wi-fi chargers

The Samsung Galaxy Watch costs wirelessly, however not simply any wi-fi charger will do, you want a proprietary one which comes with it. This is inconvenient and if you happen to’re ever with out your charger means you’re more likely to quickly have a lifeless watch (although the Galaxy Watch a minimum of has good battery life).

So for the Samsung Galaxy Watch 2 we would like it to work with normal, on a regular basis wi-fi chargers. That method if you happen to’re on the workplace or a pal’s home with out yours there’s a minimum of an opportunity somebody may have one you possibly can borrow.

5. Big enhancements to Bixby

Another draw back of utilizing Tizen relatively than Wear OS is that the Samsung Galaxy Watch is reliant on Bixby relatively than Google Assistant.

This is an issue, as a result of Bixby is nowhere close to pretty much as good as Google Assistant (or Siri or Alexa for that matter), with one notably main problem being that it merely struggles to know us.

While you don’t have to make use of Bixby to work together with the Galaxy Watch, it has the potential to be a significant function, however till it will get lots higher it gained’t be.

6. Better iOS compatibility

The Samsung Galaxy Watch works with each Android and iOS, nevertheless it’s positively higher with Android, as a result of whilst you can learn notifications on the watch when paired with an iPhone, you possibly can’t reply to them or provoke communications, making it much more restricted.

This will not be one thing Samsung can clear up, as it will doubtless require a change on Apple’s finish, nevertheless it’s one thing we’d prefer to see nonetheless, because it might make the Galaxy Watch 2 an actual various to the Apple Watch 5, or no matter we’re as much as by then.

7. Wider LTE availability

There are variations of the Samsung Galaxy Watch that assist LTE, however solely on choose networks, which gained’t swimsuit everybody. For the Samsung Galaxy Watch 2 we’d prefer to see an LTE mannequin obtainable on roughly all networks, so it’s an choice for everybody.