It was widely speculated that Samsung was going to unveil an update to the highly-popular Gear S smartwatch series (Samsung Gear S4) at the just concluded IFA (Internationale Funkausstellung) annual consumer electronics show which took place on the 31st of August in Berlin, Germany. At the conference, Samsung released numerous devices which include Gear Fit 2 Pro and Gear Sports. However, those awaiting the release of this device have been left waiting as it wasn’t part of Samsung’s plans for IFA 2017. While the unveiled wearables are top-of-the-line and attractive, many are still expecting the Gear S4 but as of now, we are left with just rumors.
Specifications and Features
The speculated specs of the Samsung Gear S4 will probably come with a faster and better processor which will most likely be the Exynos 7 Dual-core 7270 chipset, an enhanced battery life, and of course Samsung’s new digital voice assistant, Bixby. Samsung announced that Bixby will be updated with new features and if the Gear S4 gets this feature as speculated, it goes without saying that it will be a major advantage for this smartwatch considering the advanced nature of Bixby.
This smartwatch is expected to sport some new health and fitness related features. Some time ago, we reported that Samsung filed a patent for a special case for charging a smartwatch (it was believed to be for the Gear S3 at the time). From the patent, the Samsung wearable can be charged quickly by simply placing it on top of a special case. This feature has not been utilized till now and if Samsung must make a significant difference with the Gear S4, it should support this feature. Furthermore, it is likely that the newbie in the Gear S series will feature the latest Tizen 3.0 operating system making it the first Gear smartwatch to do so. Recall that Tizen 3.0 brought 64-bit compatibility as well as support for 4K Ultra HD graphics and image and speech recognition which will be great for a smartwatch.
Release Date
The South Korean manufacturing giant unveiled the Gear S3 smartwatch at an IFA event in August last year. However, giving that the IFA conference just ended, it is most unlikely that we will have to wait for another IFA event (IFA 2018) to see the Gear S4. Remember that it is strongly believed that Apple will launch its next-generation Apple Watch at the iPhone media event on September 12th. Perhaps, Samsung will not want to leave its new wearable too late after the Apple launch, but possibly before the holidays?
Price
At the launch of Gear S4 predecessor, its price was pegged at about $350. Considering the fact that this smartwatch will use better chips than the Gear S3, it will sport more features and might even debut some features, it will probably sell like Apple Watch 2, which started sales at a much higher price than the Gear S3. From my guess, we should be expecting a price tag above $380.
p.s. Checkout the Gear S4 concept design here.
