Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) is gearing up (no pun intended) for the release of their Galaxy S5 smartphone and Galaxy Gear 2 smartwatch. The original Galaxy Gear watch came out with the Galaxy Note 3 tablet. Unfortunately, the excitement for the device just isn’t there.
Samsung exec touts revamped Galaxy Gear 2
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) executive Lee Young Hee spoke in an interview recently with Bloomberg about the possibility of a new Gear watch the the S5 smartphone. She explained, “We’ve been announcing our first flagship model in the first half of each year, around March and April, and we are still targeting for release around that time. When we release our S5 device, you can also expect a Gear successor with more advanced functions, and the bulky design will also be improved.”
Beyond that, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) remained mum on the other details. Fans want to know the price of the new devices and whether Galaxy Gear 2 could operate independently from other Samsung devices. Bloomberg added, “Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930), which sells one of every three smartphones globally, is adding new features and models to fend off Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the high-end market and Chinese makers luring budget customers with handsets for $100. Asia’s biggest technology company will announce at least one other wearable device this year, Lee said without elaborating.”
Samsung’s first Gear wasn’t great
There are several reasons the first Galaxy Gear smartwatch failed to make a splash. These reasons include expense, poor battery life, limited device compatibility, and a poorly-designed voice command feature. What can the South Korean tech giant learn from their mistakes to prevent from repeating the mistake? The three things Samsung should learn from their mistakes and include more available information on the phone, a replaceable band, and more voice control. People want to use the watch for more than just a watch, they want another interactive device that allows them to get things done.
