Samsung Galaxy Gear Smartwatch: Live Photos Leaked, Critics Laugh At 'Ugly' Design

A few days before Samsung announces its new flagship the Galaxy Note 3, and its highly-anticipated smartwatch the Galaxy Gear, live photos of the latter leak online, providing us a good overall view of the device's appearance. 

VentureBeat was able to get their hands on the smartwatch and even conducted a short hands-on video. While they were not allowed to take any stills of the Galaxy Gear, they were permitted to get snapshots from the video. 

According to previous rumors, the Galaxy Gear will sport a 3" OLED screen. However, the video nor the report did not disclose the screen's resolution. It would also feature built-in speakers on its strap, as well as a 4MP camera for taking shots. 

GSM Arena also reports the device may come in a variety of colors, though information about it has not been confirmed yet. 

In the hands-on video, the Galaxy Gear also showcases Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support, S-Voice and social integration with Facebook and Twitter. 

Here are some of the photos:

As you can see in the photos above, Samsung has indeed instilled the word 'gear' into the device in every sense of the word. But while the Korean company managed to squeeze in all those functions and features into one smartwatch, critics and consumers have already expressed their dismay of the 'ugly' design. 

Most of the concerns include the watch's large and bulky size, the absence of stylish curves, and even a way to balance the device while wearing it on your wrist. 

Venture Beat reported that the Galaxy Gear will only last for 10 hours or so, which means it would only be able to serve its main purpose of being a watch for almost half a day. 

Obviously, the device is still a prototype and we don't know if this is the unit Samsung would showcase on Wednesday.