Early signs suggest that the round-faced Samsung Orbis smartwatch will launch later this year as the Samsung Gear A. Not only will it sport a round display but it is also rumoured to come with a rotating bezel and digital crown to control various watch functions. New trademark filings with KIPRIS (Korea Intellectual Property Rights Information System), South Korea’s equivalent of the USPTO, may have revealed how Samsung plans to market these innovative controls. The new trademark filings are for Wheel UX and for Gear W.
The former appears to be a good match for the Samsung Gear A’s new bezel and digital crown controls. It remains to be seen if this is a sign that Samsung is planning to offer this UX on other smartwatches. A rotating bezel would not work on smartwatches that are not round but the digital crown could certainly be offered on non-circular models.
Speaking of new smartwatches, the Gear W filing suggests that Samsung is standardizing its smartwatch naming convention to one that follows that of its smartphones. It also suggests that Samsung is readying not just the Gear A but at least one Gear W device.
The trademark filings reveal little else but the names. We’ll have to see if future rumours can shed more light on exactly what each will be for.
The Samsung Gear A is expected to launch sometime this fall. It could be announced at CTIA 2015 in September.
Sources : Kipris (Gear W) // Kipris (Wheel UX) // SamMobile