Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 Release Date, Price: Wearable Flagship’s 2nd Version Expected To Be Cheaper Than Original; New Smartwatch To Be Launched At MWC 2014
Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 release date, price: Samsung’s wearable flagship, which was launched last year to much fan fare with the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, is expected to get a second iteration coming end of February. The price of the new wearable is expected to be much lower than its first generation model.
“Samsung Electronics is mulling over the price range of its soon to be announced next-generation watch device as a threat of a cheaper counterpart by Apple looms this year,” says an unknown industry official according to a report by ZDNet.
It is important to note that there have been numerous reports that Apple will be releasing a smartwatch, dubbed the iWatch sometime this year.
According to Trusted Reviews, reports have claimed that the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 will be offered at a much cheaper price than its first generation counterpart. The second generation model is anticipated to be unveiled with the Samsung Galaxy S5 at the Mobile World Congress end of this month.
The move to reduce the price of the Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 is due to low Samsung Galaxy Gear sales, blamed primarily on its $300 plus price tag.
Trusted Reviews, citing an official Samsung spokesperson, says that the company has made mistakes with the original Samsung Galaxy Gear.
“In terms of our addressable market, making the Gear compatible only with Samsung-branded handsets has made it a harder proposition because we have limited ourselves,” Kyle Brown, Samsung’s Head of Technical Product Management for IM admitted, as published by Trusted Reviews.
The Samsung official who spoke exclusively with Trusted Reviews added that “to make a compelling companion device at the price point that it’s at we had to have these limits.”
The current Samsung Galaxy Gear is compatible with the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy S4, Galaxy S23 and Galaxy Mega. Based on its official page on Samsung.com, Samsung Galaxy Gear is available via AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon and U.S. Cellular.