Samsung has been teasing some new product releases for a September 4 event called Samsung Unpacked, and the fan site SamMobile, citing an anonymous source, reports that one of the things Samsung will unveil is a “Galaxy Gear” smart watch that will act as a companion to Samsung’s Galaxy phones. Samsung has previously confirmed that it is working on a smart watch, but has not announced a date for its launch.
Apple’s rumored iWatch is, naturally, shrouded in secrecy and may not show up until 2014 if at all, though Apple has filed for a Japanese “iWatch” trademark.
A smart watch wouldn’t be much of a stretch for Samsung; Sony has already released a similar device. If the Korean electronics giant’s watch works in a similar way, it will mostly be good for displaying alerts that would otherwise appear on the phone’s screen, saving users the precious seconds they spend fumbling for the phone in their pocket.
Smart watches have thus far failed to catch fire with consumers, and Sony’s model of smart watch as phone companion is no exception. That hasn’t stopped what is essentially every major consumer electronics manufacturer from treating smart watches like the second coming of the iPhone, whether or not battery and display technology is mature enough to make them worthwhile.