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Sarah Tew
Samsung’s newest wearable gadget goes on sale in the UK this Friday — but only those with deep pockets need apply.
The Gear S , which features a curved, 2-inch screen, was unveiled earlier this year. Its superpower is that, unlike other smartwatches, it doesn’t need to pair with a phone, but can make and receive calls all by itself — although you will need a Samsung phone running Android 4.3 or later to download and install apps.
Samsung Gear S: curved, big, and it’s a phone (hands-on pictures)
That independence comes with a hearty price tag, however. The Gear S will come with a recommended retail price of £329, which is much higher than other smartwatches. The LG G Watch R , for instance, is on sale from Amazon for £231, nearly £100 cheaper than Samsung’s model. Motorola’s Moto 360 , another recent smartwatch, costs £200 to pre-order from Expansys.
Another reason to think twice about the Gear S is that it’s powered by Tizen, instead of Google’s Android Wear platform, which arguably stands a better chance of getting new apps and features as the nascent smartwatch market evolves.
If you’re still keen on the Gear S, which has 4GB of internal memory, a heart-rate monitor and is water resistant, can be snapped up from Samsung Experience shops, Samsung’s website or from O2.
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