Galaxy Gear Smartwatch Leaks Bring New Details, and Contradictions

Over the weekend, VentureBeat got hold of a prototype of the new Galaxy Gear smartwatch through an anonymous source. They were not impressed. The site wrote about the Galaxy Gear this weekend, with the headline: "This is Samsung's Galaxy Gear smartwatch: A blocky health tracker with a camera."

Basically calling it a glorified Fitbit health tracker, VentureBeat suggested that, "perhaps you'll opt out of purchasing either [the Galaxy Gear or Google Glass], and wait to see whether apple will enter the space." That space is the market for wearable computing, which VentureBeat thinks is "not ready for primetime," even with a credible name like Samsung jumping in the ring.

But was that prototype all we can expect from the upcoming Galaxy Gear? Not according to other anonymous sources, especially one familiar with GigaOM. According to GigaOM, the Galaxy Gear will be "a different, more finished product" than the prototype seen ahead of the "Samsung Unpacked 2013: Episode 2" event, which is on Wednesday Sept. 4. That event is expected to be when both the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and the Galaxy Gear smartwatch are unveiled.

Taking details from both reports, and from leaks and rumors released in the weeks prior to this week's build-up to Samsung's announcement, we can get a clearer picture of what Samsung has in store for us on Sept. 4.

VentureBeat may have had a prototype device, but they did get a lot of details about the Galaxy Gear that have probably carried over to the final launch device.

Appearances

First is the look of the device. In the screenshots that VentureBeat leaked in their report, it looks like a rather clunky rectangle that houses a square touchscreen in the center. Electronics makers don't often go for panache with their prototypes (see also, Google Glass), so it wouldn't surprise Samsung watchers if the finished Galaxy Gear isn't as awkward as it appears in the leak. The same goes with the color of the device, which the VentureBeat report called "fairly basic" in its dark black and gray, while previous leaks have the smartwatch coming in several colors. We can expect the device to be about 3-inches diagonally, as previous leaks have also detailed, and VentureBeat said it was a high-quality OLED display (earlier leaks put the resolution at 320 x 320p).

Hardware

VentureBeat confirmed that the Galaxy Gear has a 4-megapixel camera, and interestingly added that the camera is built into the strap of the device - not the main body. This means a couple of things about the functionality of the Galaxy Gear. First: say goodbye to your "Dick Tracy"-based fantasies of a visual wrist communicator, as the camera will be pointed away from your face (and the screen). The second implication of the watch's camera placement is that you won't be replacing the wristband depending on your mood, the way you can with Sony's SmartWatch offering.

Other new tidbits of information from the VentureBeat report include easy access to apps using a swipe function, a heart rate monitor, and Wi-Fi Internet access even when it's not connected to a smartphone.

Contradictions

GigaOM's report states that there is no built-in browser though, and will need a phone to use the Internet. But the site confirmed that the Galaxy Gear will run the latest Android 4.3 Jelly Bean operating system. It also said that the Galaxy Gear will have Bluetooth LE, and that the Galaxy Gear will be able to pair with the iPhone 5 and other Android devices - not just Samsung's latest smartphones - although, contradictorily, the report states that "it will need a Samsung device with a watch-focused app store to install apps on the watch." The tech site also reported that the smartwatch's battery life does drop drastically with regular usage (previous reports were worrying about a maximum of 10 hours) but that with "modest use," the device's battery should last about 24 hours.