Samsung unveils Galaxy Gear smartwatch; only compatible with Galaxy smartphones

At its press event at IFA, Samsung has finally shown its first steps into the wearable computer space. The company unveiled the Galaxy Gear smartwatch, which, sadly enough, will only work with Samsung’s current crop of high-end smartphones. At launch, it will only work with the Galaxy Note 3, but the Galaxy S4, S3 and Note 2 will be getting software updates for Galaxy Gear support.

The Galaxy Gear is Samsung's first major foray into wearable devices

The Galaxy Gear is capable of showing users notifications that could otherwise only be seen on the phone. These notifications include incoming messages, calls, texts, emails and alerts. It shows a preview of these notifications and lets users accept or dismiss them right from the Gear. It also has the Smart Relay feature, which opens the content of the notification on the smartphone as soon as it is pulled out of the pocket. The Gear is primarily used by either using the swipe-based interface or Samsung’s S Voice feature.

The Gear is equipped with a 1.9 megapixel shooter on the wristband which works with the Memographer feature. Users can essentially record videos or take pictures to create quick visual records of important information. These pictures and videos can then be instantly shared on social networking services. Other ways to save information include Voice Memo which lets users record voice and have it transcribed into text.

The Gear is equipped with a bunch of extra features. For example, Auto Lock automatically secures the smartphone’s screen any time the Gear is more than 1.5 metres away from it, and then unlocks it when the smartphone is closer again. Find My Device helps users find the location of their smartphone when they have been misplaced by making them beep, illuminate and vibrate.

Look at the pretty colours!

The Gear can also be used to control the music player on the paired smartphone. As with traditional music players, it helps users browse, play and pause songs even when their device is not within reach. The Gear also works like a pedometer to track physical activity via built-in sensors. This feature systematically and automatically monitors users so they can track key personal data such as calories burned, steps taken and distance covered.

The Galaxy Gear will be available in six colours at launch black, gray, orange, beige, gold and green. It will be hitting stores alongside the Galaxy Note 3 on September 25.