Details about the availability of the Samsung Gear S3 are starting to surface, and it looks like most interested buyers will get a chance to check out the device pretty soon, if the latest reports are correct. It will first hit Northern America, with a release in Canada and the US in the middle of November, after which Samsung are planning to release it to Europe.
We still have no official dates for the release of the watch in any of those regions, but some retailers have reportedly put up store pages listing the product as available on November 18. Users should be wary of trusting these sites too much however, as it commonly happens that retailers get these dates wrong and set up pages with incorrect information.
Along with the release date, there are no details on the potential price of the device in countries other than Canada, and users have been making various guesses. If we did a direct conversion from the Canadian price, it comes out to about $360 USD, which seems like a reasonable price point for what the smartwatch should offer.
Speaking of that, Samsung have reportedly made various improvements to the design of the device, from the exterior to the internals, and it’s shaping up to be one of the most interesting releases in the Android smartwatch market at the moment.
It’s more durable and rugged than its predecessor, coming with a stronger body and a more modern glass panel; at the same time, the Samsung Gear S3 will offer a smoother Android experience with more powerful hardware, and it will last longer on a full charge as the company has increased its battery by about 50%.
Some users have been making jokes about the extra battery life, pointing out that the extra high capacity of the Galaxy Note 7’s battery was reported as the main reason for the device’s instability. Hopefully we aren’t going to get any reports of smartwatches exploding on people’s hands.
The situation with the Note 7 has actually brought some interesting discussions to the spotlight, such as the suggestion by some people that Samsung might try to be more active in the smartwatch market after the recent fiasco. According to those people, the company has lost a lot of reputation on the smartphone market, and they may try making up for it by expanding in other areas of the Android market.
It’s true that there are various types of devices that run Android, but pretty much every niche of that market is very overcrowded at the moment, and competition is next to impossible. Samsung is still a strong company with a lot of experience, and they may have some tricks up their sleeve to make the transition easier.
But it will still be a difficult battle for them, and they will have to work extra hard to convince users that it’s safe to invest in their devices. We fully expect the company to undertake some aggressive marketing campaigns soon.
And while Samsung may be doing great on the Android smartwatch market for now, the same can’t really be said for their position globally. Apple have a solid lead in smartwatches in general, controlling almost half of the entire market. Meanwhile, Samsung have just under 20% of the pie, so they will have to work a lot harder if they want to get a more advantageous position.