Samsung is adding to its smartwatch lineup with the new Samsung Gear S, a Tizen-based device with a curved watch face.
The company also unveiled the Samsung Gear Circle, a necklace-like device that acts like a combination Bluetooth headset and earphones, which will let you take calls and vibrate to signal incoming messages.
The Gear S features a 2-inch, 360-by-480 Super AMOLED display and runs a 1GHz dual-core processor. There's 512MB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage.
The Gear S supports 2G, 3G, and Bluetooth 4.1, as well as 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi. It will tap into Samsung Gear Apps, including the usual Samsung favorites like S Health, Nike+ Running, and S Voice.
According to Samsung, users "can seamlessly make and receive calls directly from their wrist, or get calls forwarded from their smartphones." So it appears that buyers will not need to be tethered to their smartphones for the Gear S to work, confirming earlier rumors about a standalone smartwatch.
The Gear Circle, meanwhile, does require a connection with a smartphone. It drapes around a user's neck and hooks into the ears like earphones
"When paired with a smartphone, users can easily receive calls, listen to music, and make voice commands in style through a Bluetooth connection," Samsung said of the Gear Circle. "It features a magnetic lock which clasps around the user's neck when not in use, as well as a vibrate function to signal incoming calls and notifications."
Both devices will arrive in October in black or white, though Samsung did not reveal pricing. Expect more from the IFA trade show in Berlin next week.
Samsung is not new to the smartwatch game, meanwhile. At last year's IFA, it revealed the Android-based Galaxy Gear, which didn't exactly set the world on fire. By February, at Mobile World Congress, Samsung tried again with the Tizen-based Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo, as well as the Gear Fit health tracker.
The company returned to Android this summer with the Android Wear-based Gear Live. "The Samsung Gear Live puts Google Now on your wrist with Android Wear, but we're still waiting for the first must-have smartwatch," PCMag concluded in its review.
Does the Gear S fit that bill? Stay tuned.