Samsung Galaxy Watch Active, Galaxy Fit and Galaxy Buds launched alongside Galaxy S10, Galaxy Fold

Samsung launched a slew of smart wearable devices alongside the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy Fold today at its Unpacked 2019 keynote event in San Francisco. These include the Galaxy Watch Active 9successor to the Gear Sport), Galaxy Fit (successor to the Gear Fit) and Galaxy Buds (successor to the Gear Icon X). 

An update to Samsung’s Galaxy wearable app (formerly, Samsung Gear) had already revealed each of these wearables, giving us some idea of what could be in store. Here’s a quick look.     

Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 

The Galaxy Watch Active is essentially a toned-down version of the Galaxy Watch – a successor to the Gear Sport if you may. The biggest change comes not just in terms of branding, but also in the way one would interact with Samsung’s new wearable. The Galaxy Watch Active does not have a rotating bezel, even though it still runs on Tizen OS.

One of the key features of Samsung’s Tizen-based smartwatches has been their rotating bezels that are so seamlessly integrated with the devices’ software that you don’t even need to touch their screen for day to day usage. The Galaxy Watch Active is different though, as it leaves every task dependent on actual touch-based interactions. 

Key hardware specs of the Galaxy Watch Active include a 1.1-inch 360x360 AMOLED display and a 230mAh battery - both smaller than the outgoing model. It is powered by an Exynos 9110 processor with 4GB of storage and is also 5ATM+IP67-certified. Connectivity options include Bluetooth 4.2, NFC, and Wi-Fi.  

The Galaxy Watch Active supports wireless charging and packs sensors for tracking linear acceleration, gravity, and stress monitoring in addition to heart rate and step tracking. 

The Galaxy Watch Active starts at $200 and will be available for buying from March 8. 

Samsung Galaxy Fit/Galaxy Fit E 

Samsung is also updating its Gear Fit fitness band both in terms of branding and in terms of feature set with the Galaxy Fit – it is available in two variants, a standard and an e-version. 

While not as curvaceous, the Galaxy Fit has a watch-like buckle that would remind you of the Gear Fit 2 Pro. There is a 0.95-inch AMOLED display on-board, 32MB storage and Bluetooth along with NFC connectivity. The 5 ATM-certified Galaxy Fit packs a heart rate monitor, accelerometer, and gyroscope, and can be used for step and sleep tracking.  

The e-version has a smaller screen and a smaller battery, and also misses out on the gyroscope. 

The Galaxy Fit/Galaxy Fit E will be available in Q2 2019. 

Samsung Galaxy Buds 

The Galaxy Buds pack 58mAh batteries while their charging case adds 252mAh more. This is smaller than the capacities of the existing Gear Icon X but Samsung seemingly has a workaround this constraint in that the Galaxy Buds support wireless charging. And the Galaxy S10 supports 9W reverse wireless charging. This means that the Samsung Galaxy S10 will be able to wirelessly charge the Galaxy Buds. This is possibly why Samsung is bundling a few pair of Galaxy Buds with Galaxy S10 pre-orders in select markets. 

Moving on, the Galaxy buds support Bluetooth 5.0 and Samsung’s Bixby assistant.

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