Rumours that Samsung was working on a round-faced smartwatch have been around since the start of the year. Details have slowly been trickling out since then and we now expect Samsung to unveil the Samsung Gear A in the fall, possibly at CTIA 2015 in September. Samsung today effectively confirmed it is working on a round-faced smartwatch when it announced the Software Development Kit (SDK) for its “next generation of the Gear device.”
“Samsung has actively adapted its approach to wearable device development as the leader of the rapidly developing category,” said JK Shin, CEO and Head of IT & Mobile Communications Division at Samsung Electronics. “Through meaningful and progressive innovation, Samsung welcomes to developers and industry leaders to join this open collaboration effort to enrich and create unique user experiences for a new smart mobile life.”
Samsung reveals little about the new watch itself but the press release includes a round watch face and apps from companies such as alongside apps from CNN, Yelp and Apposter, all with round watch faces.
Once developers get access to the SDK, we will hopefully get confirmation of new features to come with the Samsung Gear A, including the rotating bezel ring and digital crown.
As Samsung points out, it is the first time that it releases its wearable SDK to third-party developers ahead of an official product announcement. Just how far said announcement is remains a bit of a mystery for now.
Sources : Samsung Mobile // Android Central