Samsung has continued its commitment to bringing Tizen to more form factors, announcing today two new wearables, the Gear Fit 2, a fitness tracker and the Gear IconX, a pair of wireless earbuds.
The Gear Fit 2 is the successor to the original Gear Fit, launched in mid-2014 to middling success. It offers a more heavily curved 1.5-inch AMOLED display, compared to the predecessor, and higher performance with a 1GHz dual-core processor, 512MB of RAM, and 4GB of storage. Samsung says the Gear Fit 2 should last for four days without charge.
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Samsung has added a heart-rate monitor to the Gear Fit 2, alongside most of the other common sensors found in fitness trackers. It is also water resistant, so wearing it in the shower shouldn’t damage it.
The Gear Fit 2 is available for pre-order now, starting at $179.
Samsung hears a what?
The more exciting announcement comes in the form of a “hearable”, a device for your ear that does more than project sound. The Gear IconX is a set of Bluetooth earbuds that are capable of tracking heart-rate, distance, and running speed, all while playing your favorite tunes, similar to the Bragi Dash.
All of the fitness information is sent to Samsung Health, the company’s dedicated health and fitness application. Sadly, like most Tizen based products, it does not work with some third-party services.
Users will be able to stream music or play music stored internally (up to 1000 songs). Samsung says that the Gear IconX will last two days without charge. No price was announced, and it will launch later this year.
Samsung is not turning its back on Tizen yet, even though its more lofty ambitions of Tizen smartphones that compete with Android seem to have disappeared. The OS is starting to become Samsung’s go-to for appliances and electronics like smart TVs, fridges, and smartwatches.
