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Samsung to unveil new smartwatch on Aug. 31

Posted August. 17, 2016 07:14,   

Updated August. 17, 2016 07:29

한국어
Which smartwatch will people really want to wear? Samsung Electronics and Apple are unveiling new smartwatches the Samsung Gear S3 and the Apple Watch 2. They will head-on compete after having avoided simultaneous launch last year with the former releasing its watch in the first half and the latter in the second half of last year.

○ Samsung, Apple lead smartwatch generation shift

Samsung will be unveiling its product first, as it uses the same playbook as with its Galaxy S7 and Note 7, which can be interpreted that the Korean tech company wants to get ahead of the release of the Apple Watch 2.

According to Samsung on Tuesday, it will unveil the Gear S3 at the Tempodrom in Berlin, Germany at 6 p.m. on August 31 local time.

The invitation card comes with a black background with a blue circle frame on it that hints at the Gear S3's shape. The time of release, 6 p.m., was symbolized with hour and minute hands. The message "Talk About 3" clearly shows that it is a public Gear S3 event.

The Gear S3 will embed Samsung's Tizen 3.0 operation system, according to SamMobile, an exclusive blog for Samsung Electronics. Three models are anticipated to be displayed at the show, each adopting Samsung Pay and GPS functions.

Meanwhile, Apple Watch 2 is known to come out in two models that will introduce improved water resistance function, GPS and a barometer. Apple has also brought some design changes including a slimmer body. Yet media reports say that calling function will still be excluded in the latest version. An LTE supported Apple Watch will be released after next year, which will enable phone calls without an iPhone, industry sources said.

○ Smartwatch war enters round 2

According to global research firm IDC, the shipping volume of global smartwatch declined by 31.4 percent in the second quarter year-on-year, from 5.1 million units to 3.5 million units. This is due to reduced shipment volumes of Apple, which holds the biggest market share, by 55.6 percent from 3.6 million units to 1.6 million units, shrinking the overall smartwatch market.

Over the same period, Samsung Electronics sold 600,000 units of its smartwatch, 17.1 percent of the global market share, while its shipment volume increased by 50 percent year-on-year, with market share more than doubling from 7.8 percent.

Based on figures, Samsung appears to have caught up a significant share encroaching on Apple that has been leading the market since debuting the Apple Watch in September 2014. With Apple delaying launch of new products, Samsung has showed solid performance by launching the Galaxy Gear in August 2013, the Samsung Gear S in August 2014, and the Samsung Gear S2 in September last year.

Industry sources say the true winner will be decided this fall when the two tech giants release new products simultaneously. "Market share appears to have fallen as people delayed buying smartwatch until Apple releases its new product," an industry source said. "We will have to see whether Samsung can increase market share this time by head on competing with Apple."



박성진 기자psjin@donga.com