Samsung has unveiled two smartwatches as well as a wireless earbud that is equipped with Bixby, the digital voice assistant of the South Korean conglomerate. The smartwatches are geared towards sports and fitness and this is being seen as a challenge to Fitbit Inc (NYSE:FIT) and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) which dominate the health space currently.
Tizen operating system
Samsung’s new smartwatch, Gear Sport, possesses a circular touchscreen measuring 1.2 inches and is available in both blue and black colors. There is a rotating bezel which allows for options to be cycled through. Gear Fit 2, Samsung’s fitness band, has a rectangular face and a slim band. The two devices are capable of being immersed in water of depths reaching 50 meters without being harmed and this will allow owners to engage in swimming while still wearing them.
Both Gear Fit 2 and Gear Sport run on Tizen, an operating system developed by Samsung. Samsung’s new wireless earbuds are known as IconX 2018 and one of the key features is the ability to issue commands by just touching the earpods.
Big health push
The launch of the devices by Samsung is the biggest so far in the health and fitness categories. The South Korean conglomerate also has an app known as S Health which is a health and fitness monitoring hub. Coming alongside the launch were deals such as one with Spotify which allows owners of Gear Fit 2 or Gear Sport to download music tracks onto their devices so that they can listen while offline later. This will ensure that they participate in outdoor activities without being require to carry their smartphones with them for internet access.
The smartphone feature which allows music downloads for offline listening has been available on Spotify’s smartphone app for a while though this is the app’s first appearance on a wearable. The launch of the new products has come at a time when Apple is just about to launch its latest version of the Apple Watch.
On Wednesday shares of Apple Inc rose by 0.27% to close the day at $163.35.