Friday, March 29, 2024

Leak: Samsung’s next wearable will be the Galaxy Watch 3

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It’s been a year and a half since Samsung launched the Galaxy Watch, a proper smartwatch with the signature rotating bezel we love. In the interim, there was the Galaxy Watch Active and the Galaxy Watch Active 2, and now rumors are building that a Galaxy Watch 3 will be on the way soon.

The device was first spotted at the  Federal Communications Commission with SM-R8xx model numbers, in a number of variations. A diagram submitted to the FCC showed the Galaxy Watch name without a number attached. Now, in the latest Galaxy Wearable app, an image appears to bear the “Galaxy Watch 3” label, according to the sleuths at XDA-Developers.

Samsung filed six different models of the next Galaxy Watch at the FCC. There is the SM-R840 and the SM-R850, likely representing two different sizes of watch bezel — 41mm for the smaller watch and 45mm for the larger. Each device comes in standard as well as SM-R–X and SM-R–5X versions (i.e. SM-R840X, SM-R855X). These likely stand for Wi-Fi and cellular-connected versions, and possibly a deluxe titanium edition of each, as well. It is unlikely Samsung would include 5G connectivity because the power requirements would drain a wearable too quickly.

A return to the Galaxy Watch branding, leaving behind the “Active” name, hopefully, means a return of the rotating bezel that is a hallmark of Samsung’s wearables since the Galaxy S2 watch. The latest Galaxy Watch Active 2 featured a new electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor, as well as blood pressure monitoring, so we’d love to see those features come to the next Galaxy Watch 3. Of course, we hope it will retain the durability, connectivity, and top-notch screen found on Samsung’s last Galaxy smartwatches.

We can quibble with Samsung’s decision to skip the Galaxy Watch 2 name, but why bother? The Galaxy brand was originally Samsung’s exclusive Android branding, and the original Galaxy Gear ran a version of Android until Samsung “updated” the device with a new proprietary OS. The Galaxy was dropped for the Gear 2 watch, and then the numbers started over with the Gear S family.

The new Galaxy Watch 3 doesn’t run Android, and isn’t really the third Galaxy Watch but those are the least interesting things about it.

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