The new Samsung Galaxy Watch was long rumoured to use Google's Android like Wear OS. However, Samsung has decided to keep the in-house Tizen OS. Samsung will release Galaxy Note 9 on the 9th of August and many observers initially thought that the new smartwatch Samsung Galaxy Watch would be launched on the same day. The company has since sent out invitations to a special "preview event" of what's coming later this summer on the 1st of August, so it's likely that Galaxy Watch debuts then.

Naming confusion

What happened to the Gear series you might ask yourself? Samsung has decided to drop the 'Gear' name in order to employ the name 'Galaxy' for all its devices. Hence, Galaxy Watch is the successor of Gear S3 Frontier and S3 Classic even though the name doesn't suggest so. There are many theories why Samsung opted for the name Gear Watch instead of Gear S4. The company clearly wants to emphasise the watch aspect of the device more and to make it easier for consumers to associate the name with the product.

Specs

A leaked product listing on Samsung's site reveals that the new smartwatch supports Bluetooth, comes with a 42 mm band and will be available at least in rose gold colour. The fashion-inspired colour indicates that Samsung will position Galaxy Watch more as a fashion accessory rather than a techy gadget. Furthermore, specifying the width of the band implies that there will be at least one other band width to choose from.

Bixby integration

Galaxy Watch integrates the Bixby voice assistant. This implies that the user can control the device using voice commands. Avoiding typing or button pressing comes in handy given the limited screen size of smart watches.