The April commercial availability of the innovative Gear Fit solution prompted me to a thorough investigation of the wearable phenomenon in general and Gear Fit in particular. This is also a follow-up to my earlier Companion Device Computing as envisaged and implemented by Pranav Mistry and his TTT team from Samsung: the case of Galaxy Gear + Galaxy Note 3 [‘Experiencing the Cloud’, Sept 12, 2013] post.
My current findings are detailed in the following sections of this post:
I. POST-PC DEVICE MARKET: SMARTPHONES—>TABLETS—>(NOW) WEARABLES
II. THE ONGOING WEARABLE REVOLUTION
III. THE SAMSUNG GEAR FIT WEARABLE SOLUTION
IV. COMPONENT LEVEL DETAILS
V. LEADING WEARABLE COMPONENT SUPPLIES: MCU SOCS AND SENSOR SOCS*
*As these type of components are driving the emergence of innovative wearable gadgets
I. POST-PC DEVICE MARKET: SMARTPHONES—>TABLETS—>(NOW) WEARABLES
During the investigation of the overall wearable phenomenon I found especially interesting a couple of things in terms of device market perspectives:
While 7 years ago the venerable PC in its various incarnations—desktop, notebook/laptop, and the brand new netbook category—was ruling the device scene, in 2014 smartphones and tablets are the kings of the device market.
Moreover, such a disruption was lead by Apple, not by Microsoft as earlier:
- 6/29/2007: iPhone, iPod touch (ARM 1176JZ(F)-S @412 MHz, 128MB, PowerVR MBX Lite, GPRS/EDGE 2.5G for iPhone, 3.5” display of 480 × 320 pixels, 2MP)
- 7/11/2008: iPhone 3G (the same except 3.6 Mbps UMTS/HSDPA) & App Store
- 6/19/2009: iPhone 3GS (the same except ARM Cortex-A8 @600 MHz, 256MB, PowerVR SGX535, 7.2 Mbps UMTS HSDPA, 3MP camera)
- 4/03/2010: iPad (ARM Cortex-A8 @1 GHz, 256MB, PowerVR SGX535, 9.7” display of 1024×768 pixels, WiFi [+3G])
(As it was described in Apple’s Consumer Computing System: 5 years of “revolutionary” iPhone and “magical” iPad [‘Experiencing the Cloud’, July 9, 2012].)
The already 4 years old Android project was fundamentally affected by the new iPhone, and the subsequent touch-oriented redesign of this open-source OS led to the first commercial device release almost 2 years later (see Android – History [Wikipedia]). Its open-source nature and easy to adopt reference designs by leading SoC vendors lead to a booming Android smartphone market which in 2010 overtook the iPhone market thanks to an ever expanding number of vendors, from tier-1 multinationals to the lowest cost white-box vendors of Mainland China. So the year 2013 ended with an indisputed long-term dominance of the Android smartphones:
According to a quarter earlier post of mine: Q3’13 smartphone and overall mobile phone markets: Android smartphones surpassed 80% of the market, with Samsung increasing its share to 32.1% against Apple’s 12.1% only; while Nokia achieved a strong niche market position both in “proper” (Lumia) and “de facto” (Asha Touch) smartphones [‘Experiencing the Cloud’, Nov 14, 2013]. So Samsung became the only true beneficiary of the Android wave, which enabled the company to reap extra profit (a’la Apple) from its smartphone business but also achieve a significantly higher market share (32.1%) than that of Apple (12.1% only). Meanwhile Nokia was unable to establish a viable foothold with its “third ecosystem” Windows Phone approach (announced in February 2011) despite of having 2 years in row for that and huge marketing subsidies from Microsoft to the tune of $250M per quarter:
As a further effect of both Apple, Samsung and Android dominance on the device market I was able to point (just a month ago) to The lost U.S. grip on the mobile computing market, including not only the device business, but software development and patterns of use in general [‘Experiencing the Cloud’, April 14, 2014] with
as reflecting a longer term perspective of having Apple, Samsung and white-box vendors of mainland China to dominate not only the smartphone but the tablet market as well, in detriment to PC OEMs.
As a result of all that I already used the following 3d party propositions Mobile Cloud Computing: proven questions and statements about the current and future state-of-the-market [‘Experiencing the Cloud’, March 21, 2014] to highlight the essence of changes:
- Is Android Becoming the New Windows?
- Tablets to Outsell PCs Worldwide by 2015
- Android Blows Past iOS in Global Tablet Market
- Android To Retain Big Lead In Maturing Smartphone Market
- The Price Gap Between iOS and Android Is Widening
- In Just 2 Years, Google And Facebook Have Come To Control 75% Of All Mobile Advertising
As far as the current wearable wave is concerned we have already 15 Years of Smartwatch Evolution [Teardown.com, April 25, 2014] if counted from innovations which are still essential in wearables, like a GPS sensor (first in PRT-1GPJ from Casio introduced in June 1999), an integrated MP3 player (again a Casio device, the WMP-1V introduced in March 2000), or an integrated digital camera (once again a Casio device, the WQV-1 introduced in June 2000), as the previous “smartwatches” were rather computer enhanced digital watches, like the Seiko RC series released in 1985. The above “smartwatch evolution” post is giving a brief overview of the state-of-the-art in terms of Basis Carbon Steel (release date 1/3/2014), Qualcomm Toq (release date 12/02/2013), Samsung Galaxy Gear (release date 9/15/2013) and PebbleWatch (release date 1/23/2013). Thus it is giving ground for comparison with the latest 2014 products, like the Gear Fit detailed in this post. As such it will also show how a relatively slow pace of innovation leading to those products could substantially be accelerated this year and the next 1-2 years lying ahead.
Galaxy Gear vs Pebble [Pocketnow YouTube channel, Oct 21, 2013]
As far as other wearables with similar long time evolution are concerned there is the fitness/activity/health tracker/band category which seems to come to end as a distinct device category. As it has been pointed out in The end of fitness bands? Wearable tech feels ready to move forward article on April 21, 2014 from CNET: “Suddenly, it looks like a good handful of fitness band companies are in a state of flux. Nike’s future in FuelBand hardware is coming to an end. Fitbit is lacking its top-end product, the Fitbit Force, after a recall this winter. Basis has been acquired by Intel [yes the maker of the Basis Carbon Steel itself called “the most advanced health tracker in the world” in a smartwatch disguise]. … ‘There’s probably an analogy with MP3 players,’ says Sonny Vu, CEO of Misfit Wearables, maker of another fitness tracker on the market, the Shine. ‘Even more so with GPS units. The latter are still bought by some people, perhaps because of the various benefits of having dedicated hardware. In a similar vein, activity trackers will need to provide for use cases that are compelling enough to justify their existence.’ ”
CNET Top 5 – Best fitness trackers [CNET YouTube channel, May 2, 2014]
Wearable tech that will inspire you to get in shape.
Why Wearable Fitness Trackers Are Just A Fad That’s Going To Die from Jason Jacobs, CEO at fitness app vendor Runkeeper goes even further on May 8, 2014: “While the fitness device category has soared in recent years, most of these products will eventually be swallowed up by smartphones and smart watches offering ‘good enough’ functionality. Even the winners of the fitness tracker race will face an uphill battle against a legion of smart devices. … So what will the winning tracking solution look like? There is no doubt it will be software-only. With better and better devices available, like the iPhone 5S with its M7 motion co-processor or emerging smart watches like the Pebble and the rumored iWatch [from Apple], the need for dedicated fitness tracking devices is being diminished by the day. No one wants to purchase, wear and maintain a redundant device. The winning software will come as an integrated suite.”
As far as the market volumes and segments are concerned we can rely on Worldwide Wearable Computing Market Gains Momentum with Shipments Reaching 19.2 Million in 2014 and Climbing to Nearly 112 Million in 2018, Says IDC press release from IDC as of April 10, 2014:
According to new research from International Data Corporation (IDC), wearables took a huge step forward over the past year and shipment volumes will exceed 19 million units in 2014, more than tripling last year’s sales. From there, the global market will swell to 111.9 million units in 2018, resulting in a CAGR of 78.4%.
Complex accessories (e.g., Nike+ FuelBand, Jawbone UP, and Fitbit devices) will lead the wearables market through 2018 as users continue to embrace their simplicity and low price points. These devices are designed to operate partially independent of any other device, but fully operate when connected with IP-capable devices such as a smartphone, tablet, or a PC. “Complex accessories have succeeded in drawing much-needed interest and attention to a wearables market that has had some difficulty gaining traction,” said Ramon Llamas, Research Manager, Mobile Phones. “The increased buzz has prompted more vendors to announce their intentions to enter this market. Most importantly, end-users have warmed to their simplicity in terms of design and functionality, making their value easy to understand and use.”
Another segment of the market, smart accessories, will gain momentum through the forecast period and surpass complex accessory shipments by 2018. Similar to complex accessories, with their dependence on connecting with IP-capable devices, smart accessories allow users to add third-party applications that boost features and functions for a more robust experience. While not quite ready for prime time, the smart accessory market will continue to mature as users better understand and accept the value proposition and vendors refine their offerings.
The third segment of the wearables market is smart wearables, such as Google Glass, which function with full autonomy, independent of any other device except to access the Internet. To succeed, smart wearable vendors must convince users to shift to a new user experience while offering them a robust selection of third-party applications. It is not a question of “if,” but “when” wearables as a whole will extend into the enterprise.
Finally, according to the latest IDC ConsumerScape 360° survey of more than 50,000 consumers in 26 countries, Samsung, which has already unveiled multiple wearable computing devices, was identified as the most trusted brand for wearables, ahead of Apple, Sony, and Google.
Then we should examine How Big Can Wearables Be For Companies Like Apple? [The Motley Fool YouTube channel, April 24, 2014]
I’m [i.e. Andrew Tonner, a Motley Fool contributor] a firm believer that wearable are perhaps the best bet to become the most immediate, mass growth market in tech as companies like Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) should help push this market into the mainstream in the months ahead.
However, there’s just one problem that should have tech investors scratching their heads on the eve of this emerging tech trend.
Few people have a handle on just how significant a growth driver the wearables market could be for names like Apple. Thankfully, one well-respected research firm recently attempted to clear up the confusion.
As you many have rightly assumed, the growth potential for the wearables market is truly awesome, or so said researcher IDC in a note published earlier this month [see the point #9 above].
In fact, IDC estimates that the wearables market will reach shipments well over one hundred million within five year, providing plenty of profit potential for tech giants like Apple.
However, as someone that’s spent quite some time following this nascent market, I believe it will actually be up to Apple to truly infuse enough intelligence into the modern smartwatch to make it worth the average consumers’ money. And until Apple changes the game later this year, tech and telecom specialist Andrew Tonner argues in the video below above that the smartwatch market will likely be stuck in a holding pattern.
With expectations for Apple’s new Magic device in the wearable space starting in 2013 here is the latest Apple iWatch rumorus round-up [T3 - The Gadget Experts YouTube channel, May 1, 2014]
Apple iWatch rumorus round-up. With Nike dropping the Fuelband could we see the tech inside the first iWatch? We round-up all the rumours of Apple’s wrist-bound device.
Here is also a speculative article Apple iWatch Release Date, Specs, Features & Design: WWDC Sneak Peek? [Know Your Mobile, April 28, 2014] from which I will include here the rumors about their critical supply chain partner in terms of premium differentiation:
LG to produce displays for Apple iWatch
Details on Apple’s long rumoured smartwatch have been sparse over the past few months but a report from Korea is starting the ball rolling again. The report which came out on Monday states that LG Display will exclusively produce displays for the iWatch.
There will be a mass production of the screens from July through until September to make 2 million units in total, according to the report. The technology is similar to that used by the Korean manufacturer in the LG G Flex handset and the display will measure 1.52-inches. In terms of the glass, it will be P-OLED or plastic OLED.
But will it be bendable and feature the same anti-scratch technology which the LG G Flex boasts? What does give this report some credence is the July to September production dates. Apple has experienced some difficulties in getting the iWatch off the ground. Problems have included the screen technology, battery power and other corporate problems.
The LA Times reports that the latest patent granted to Apple shows that the company is making a curved screen iPhone – following in the footsteps of of Samsung and LG.
KoreaHerald, also reported on LG’s apparent deal with Apple and quotes an anonymous source saying,
“LG Display has been in talks over flexible organic light-emitting diode panels for quite a while and it looks like it will be sealing the deal with Apple.”
As per previous rumour, Apple is thought to still be in a prototype testing phase and has multiple models with different sized screens in testing. These are said to inlcude a 1.4-inch model, a 1.5-inch model and a 1.6-inch model.
The Chosun Ilbo, citing unnamed “industry sources”, reports that Apple is currently working with three design prototypes with flexible plastic OLED screens. One such prototype with a 1.5-inch flexible OLED panel appears to have been given a limited production run, presumably for test units, while the other two with 1.3-inch and 1.4-inch screens are still being worked on.
And—finally—here is A look at LG G Flex’s Flexible OLED display [‘AnandTech Video Reviews’ YouTube channel, Dec 3, 2013]:
LG G Flex has a 6 inch 720p (RGB stripe) flexible OLED display with a plastic substrate and up to 400 mm radius of curvature, G Flex is 700 mm radius of curvature natively.
With that in mind I can proceed now to the other sections of this post:
II. THE ONGOING WEARABLE REVOLUTION
III. THE SAMSUNG GEAR FIT WEARABLE SOLUTION
IV. COMPONENT LEVEL DETAILS
V. LEADING WEARABLE COMPONENT SUPPLIES: MCU SOCS AND SENSOR SOCS*
*As these type of components are driving the emergence of innovative wearable gadgets
II. THE ONGOING WEARABLE REVOLUTION
It is clear that a wearable revolution is upon us. A few important signs of that:
Wearable Tech at CES 2014! [Android Authority YouTube channel, Jan 14, 2014]
We may not have been able to look at all of the wearable tech at CES 2014, but the ones we did get to certainly got us excited about the upcoming trend. Check out these clips of some of the wearable technology we got to get our hands on!
The Android Wear site became available from March 18, 2014 with Introducing Android Wear Developer Preview:
“Android Wear extends the Android platform to wearables, starting with a familiar form factor – watches. Download the developer preview at: developer.android.com/wear.” See also DevBytes – Android Wear: Developer Preview [Android Developers YouTube channel, March 18, 2014]
We know that there is an LG G Watch powered by Android Wear being developed in close collaboration with Google [LG press release, March 19, 2014], it “… will be compatible with a wide range of Android™ smartphones. … LG is planning to introduce its first watch powered by Android Wear in the second quarter of 2014.”
On May 11, 2014 we had also an LG G Watch : Product Movie promotion with a new LG G Watch site for marketing (it was rumored to arrive in June):
Sleek and lightweight for all-day comfort. Metal body for a timeless look. Ready for anything, anytime with a single charge. It is time to experience LG G Watch.
Microsoft will also join the wearable platform race according to CEO Satya Nadella making the following remarks on the MSFT Earnings Conference Call, April 24, 2014: “Fundamentally, we participated in the PC market, now we are in a market that’s much bigger that the PC market. … Then, when it comes to new opportunities from wearables to Internet of things, we want to be able to participate in all of this with our Windows offering, with our tools around it, and we want to be able to price by category. … because in a world of ubiquitous computing we want Windows to be ubiquitous. That doesn’t mean it’s one price, one business model for all of that. And it’s actually a market expansion opportunity, and that’s the way we’re going to go execute on it.”
The context in which Microsoft’s “mobile first –> mobility first” and “cloud first” approach gets real meaning IMHO is consisting of a set of solutions, mainly:
platform solutions: this is where wearables are a distinct solution category
productivity solutions
leisure and entertainment solutions: here wearables are a distinct solution category as well
Then we should remember Nadella’s answer to his question posed in his email to employees on first day as CEO [Feb 4, 2014]
What do we do next?
This starts with clarity of purpose and sense of mission that will lead us to imagine the impossible and deliver it. We need to prioritize innovation that is centered on our core value of empowering users and organizations to “do more.” We have picked a set of high-value activities as part of our One Microsoft strategy. And with every service and device launch going forward we need to bring more innovation to bear around these scenarios.
From my earlier analysis of Microsoft reorg for delivering/supporting high-value experiences/activities [‘Experiencing the Cloud’, July 11, 2013] I will include here the following high-value activities based on devices and services delivery which were defined back then by the company (as no more recent definition is publicly available) and highlight those that are relevant in terms of wearables:
Reinventing expression and documents. People love and need to express themselves in new ways. Documents are going from being printed to being experienced. There are many high-value needs for personal creative expression — some just for fun, others at work or at school. We will reinvent the tools and form of expressing oneself (and expressing things as a group) from paper and slides to online. We will ensure that the tools handle multimedia (photos, videos, text, charts and slides) in an integrated way and natively online. These documents/websites will be easily sharable and easily included in meetings. They will offer complex options such as imbedded logic and yet be easy to author, search and view. These documents will be readable from a browser, but the experience will be infinitely better if read, annotated or presented with our tools.
Social communication (meetings, events, gathering, sharing and communicating). Social communications are time-intensive, high-value scenarios that are ripe for digital re-imagination. Such innovation will include new ways to participate in work meetings, PTA and nonprofit activities, family and social gatherings, and more. We can reimagine email and other communication vehicles as the lines between these vehicles grow fuzzy, and the amount of people’s digital or digitally assisted interaction continues to grow. We can create new ways to interact through hardware, software and new services. Next-gen documents and expression are an important part of online social communications. We will not focus on becoming another social network for people to participate in casually, though some may use these products and services that way.
Next-generation decision-making and task completion. Our machine learning infrastructure will understand people’s needs and what is available in the world, and will provide information and assistance. We will be great at anticipating needs in people’s daily routines and providing insight and assistance when they need it. When it comes to life’s most important tasks and events, we will pay extra attention. The research done, the data collected and analyzed, the meetings and discussions had, and the money spent are all amplified for people during life’s big moments. We will provide the tools people need to capture their own data and organize and analyze it in conjunction with the massive amount of data available over the Web. Bing, Excel and our InfoNav innovations are all important here. Decision-making and tasks mean different things in personal versus professional lives, yet they are important in both places.
Serious fun. This expression may sound like an oxymoron, yet it encapsulates an important point of differentiation for us. There are many things people do for light fun, for example play solitaire, spend three minutes on a word game or surf the TV. Although we will enable these activities effectively, our biggest opportunity is in creating the fun people feel most intensely, such as playing a game that lasts hours and takes real concentration, or immersing them in live events and entertainment (including sports, concerts, education and fitness) while allowing interactive participation. Interactivity takes engagement and makes things serious; it really requires differentiated hardware, apps and services. People want to participate at home and on the go, and in gatherings with others. We see a unique opportunity to make experiencing events with others more exciting with interactivity. We also see opportunity in fitness and health because, for many, this is serious fun much more than it is a task.
Meanwhile Samsung commercially launched next-generation wearable devices on April 11, 2014:
Samsung Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo
[they were introduced at MWC 2014 in Barcelona]
The Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo have taken wearable technology to the next level acting as an extension of a consumer’s daily life with integrated fitness applications, a standalone music player, remote control feature and compatibility with a wide variety of Samsung devices. Both devices offer a slim, lightweight design in a mere 10 mm thickness. The 2-megapixel autofocus camera is now on the bezel, so you can change the strap (Charcoal Black, Gold Brown and Wild Orange options) to match your mood or outfit. The Gear 2 is currently available in charcoal Black, gold Brown and the newly added wild Orange, while the Gear 2 Neo comes in charcoal Black, mocha Gray and wild Orange.
When paired with a GALAXY smartphone, the Gear 2 allows you to receive or ignore incoming calls and messages, and provides instant notifications. You can also control a TV or settop box via the WatchON Remote application and IrLED sensor, and listen to music via a Bluetooth headset.
The next generation of Gear devices: Samsung Gear 2 with increased connectivity, customization and control, and Gear Fit that blends style, fitness and convenience.
Samsung Gear Fit [it was introduced at MWC 2014 in Barcelona]
The Gear Fit is the perfect blend of style, fitness and convenience for a wearable device like no other. Featuring the industry’s first curved Super AMOLED display; the superior connectivity benefits of Samsung’s wearable technology with custom, real time fitness coaching provides personalized advice and workout recommendations. The Gear Fit keeps you up to date with instant notifications when paired with a GALAXY smartphone, lets you change straps and customize display themes, so you can express your individual style. The Gear Fit is currently available in charcoal Black, mocha Gray, and wild Orange, as well as the newly added supreme Red, cobalt Blue and vital Green.
All the new Gear devices (Gear 2, Gear 2 Neo and Gear Fit) come with a built-in heart rate sensor and real-time fitness coaching. They are also dust and water resistant (IP67), so you don’t have to worry when you are out and about.
The Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo next-gen Samsung smartwatches are based on the new Tizen OS, on the Tizen Wearable Platform version of it, and Samsung released the v1 of Tizen SDK for Wearables on March 17, 2014. With it the active Tizen app developer community will “provide users with enhanced wearable experiences for fitness, shopping, social media, music, news, and sleep management”. In addition the new Samsung Mobile SDK 1.5 introduced at MWC 2014 in Barcelona provided a new Accessory Package for communicating between the Host-side Application and Wearable-side Widget (developed with Tizen SDK for Wearable). With all that Samsung is now offering the following types of Gear applications:
In fact the Accessory capability is meant to be a very general architecture for connecting various accessory devices to Samsung smart devices (phones, tablets etc.), and thus it is providing the underpinning for a whole “Samsung Accessory Eco-system” under development by the company:
“Samsung smart devices are equipped with the Samsung Accessory framework, which supports various accessory services. Accessory devices use the framework to interwork with Samsung smart devices.
The Accessory package provides a single protocol that supports multiple connectivity technologies, such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth classic, and BLE (Bluetooth v4.0). The Samsung Accessory framework supports service discovery that is independent of the connectivity technology, and establishes connections between applications for data exchange. You need no technical knowledge of each connectivity model to develop Accessory services.
Accessory devices communicate with Samsung smart devices through the various connectivity channels supported by the devices. Samsung smart devices can be connected to many accessory devices to implement services in applications. Connection between the Samsung smart device and an accessory allows the accessory device to offer more with the functions supported by the Samsung smart device.”
Samsung also developed a wearable only connectivity architecture with its smart devices. Gear Fit is the first implementation of that. On the wearable device only Samsung provided widgets are available for creating the Gear Fit UI and controlled with commands initiated on the Gear Fit application host, a Galaxy phone or tablet, i.e. an Android application. The Samsung provided Gear Fit SDK is essentially providing another Samsung Mobile SDK 1.5 package called CUP (Companion UI Profile), and on the Gear Fit there is a CUP Browser containing a CUP Service that translates the commands from the CUP host. For connectivity here only Bluetooth is used.
The company is also using a specially developed real-time operating system (RTOS) on the wearable device here. “It’s a much simpler OS, and it helps us keep the battery life three to four days whereas Gear 2 is [about] two days,” Seshu Madhavapeddy, senior vice president of product and technology at Samsung Telecommunications America, told CNET. Gear Fit and other wearables like it could also have a much better response time to events, the memory and processing power requirements will be less than it would be in the case of Tizen-based devices (like the Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo), and consequently the devices could also be much lighter.
Gear Fit has a weight of 27g while the Gear 2 is 68g and the Gear 2 Neo is 55g. Gear 2 (as well as Gear 2 Neo) has a dual-core ARM Cortex-A7 based Samsung Exynos 3250 SoC running at 1GHz (specs are not public yet) paired with an ARM Cortex-M4 based STMicroelectronics STM32F401B microcontroller SoC running at 84MHz. (Note that this is for downloading the control for heart rate and motion sensor functionalities to this very low-power CPU from the main SoC, and thus conserving a lot of battery power). Meanwhile Gear Fit has a single SoC, the ARM Cortex-M4 based STM32F439ZIY6S microcontroller from STMicroelectronics running at 180MHz. Also this microcontroller has a 256KB SRAM and 2MB flash memory on the chip itself, while for the Gear 2 devices the 512KB DRAM and 4GB flash memories are off the Exynos SoC. (For details about these devices see the Introducing Samsung Gear, Samsung Unpacked 2014 Episode 1 [Feb 24, 2014] presentation.)
III. THE SAMSUNG GEAR FIT WEARABLE SOLUTION
Samsung Gear Fit – Official TVC (Design) [Samsung Mobile YouTube channel, April 14, 2014]
Wearable innovation is here to change the way you live.
Introducing the world’s first curved Super AMOLED display on a wearable device.
Receive texts, emails, meeting notifications, and reject calls right from your wrist.
Be in tune with your body with the built-in heart rate sensor, and stay fit with a real-time coaching assistant.
To find out more about Samsung Gear Fit, click here:
http://www.samsung.com/global/microsite/gear/gearfit_features.html
Samsung UNPACKED 2014 Episode 1 [Feb 25, 2014] “Stay in shape with Gear Fit”:
As the world’s first curved Super AMOLED wearable device, the Samsung Gear Fit is ready to revolutionise the way you exercise. It features a 1.84-inch touch screen, changeable straps and instant notifications for incoming calls, emails, texts and much more. However, what makes the Gear Fit so life-changing is its built-in fitness manager. This includes a Heart Rate Sensor and real-time fitness coaching, and is the perfect companion for anyone looking to keep a close eye on their wellbeing. Add to this the enhanced connectivity – now compatible with up to 20** Galaxy devices via the new Tizen OS – and you really do have the smartest fitness band.
** Note that as of April 27, 2014 Samsung Gear Fit (as well as Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo) is compatible with 18 types of device models : Samsung Galaxy S5 / Galaxy Grand 2 / Galaxy Note 3 / Galaxy Note 3 Neo / Galaxy Note 2 / Galaxy S4 / Galaxy S3 / Galaxy S4 Zoom / Galaxy S4 Active / Galaxy S4 mini / Galaxy Mega 6.3 / Galaxy Mega 5.8 / Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 Edition) / Galaxy NotePRO (12.2) / Galaxy TabPRO (12.2/10.1/8.4) – Compatible device models to be further expanded.
So let’s see first Samsung Gear Fit Features Overview – Feature Focus [Android Authority YouTube channel, Feb 27, 2014]
The Samsung Gear Fit is a hybrid of a smartwatch and a fitness band – and here are the things it can do.
and then Samsung Gear Fit Review [Android Authority YouTube channel, April 17, 2014]
Samsung’s foray into the world of fitness bands brings some smartwatch capabilities along for the ride. But is everything we hoped it would be? Josh Reviews the Samsung Fit Gear.
Then have a look at the internals (teardown):
1.84” Curved Super AMOLED touchscreen display (432 x 128 pixels)
180 MHz ARM Cortex-M4 CPU
Accelerometer, gyroscope, and heart rate sensor (an optical one, see right:)
Battery good for 3-4 days of normal use
Bluetooth 4.0 LE
See The Samsung Gear Teardown Review (Gear 2 and Gear Fit!) [iFixit Video YouTube channel, April 11, 2014], for the Gear Fit starting at [2:45]:
Hot on the heels of Samsung’s latest flagship phone the Galaxy s5 turn on our teardown table, we are turning our attention to the wearables, the Galaxy Gear 2 and the Galaxy Gear fit. Lets take a look inside and tear them down! Check out the full teardown at iFixit http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Samsung+Gear+Fit+Teardown/24029
Gear has a special USB charging solution as shown below:
Gear Fit development:
From Samsung Developer Day 2014 at MWC – Keynote
[19:51] The easiest way to think about the Gear Fit that it’s an extended screen from your Android application running on a Galaxy phone or tablet. [20:02]
From Samsung Developer Day 2014 at MWC – Samsung Gear SDK session
[20:00] … Gear Fit [Android] Application Structure … [27:30]
From Develop Apps for Samsung Gear 2, Gear 2 Neo, and Gear Fit [Samsung Tomorrow, Feb 27, 2014]
Samsung released the Gear Fit SDK for Gear Fit exclusive apps. The major difference between Gear 2 SDK and the Gear Fit SDK is that Gear 2 apps can be standalone apps developed through Web platforms, whereas Gear Fit would require 2 different kinds of app and Android OS.
More specifically, a Gear Fit app needs to have a host app for the device that needs to be developed with Android and Gear Fit exclusive, whereas Gear Fit SDK has two parts: the host app and the CUP (Companion UI Profile) browser. Gear Fit SDK allows you to easily control wearable devices (CUP browser) by using Android device (Host) which is connected in the Bluetooth environment. The host of Gear Fit SDK has two elements: API that can control 12 different kinds of widgets through CUP Browser and the Host application developed by the developers with the Gear Fit SDK.
CUP Browser consists of Service for G