Samsung Unveils Hot New Gear S3 Classic And Frontier Smartwatches

Samsung just wrapped up an event at the IFA expo in Berlin, at which the company unveiled a duo of new Gear S3 branded smartwatches. The new Samsung Gear S3 Classic and Gear S3 Frontier leverage many of the design elements from last-year’s sleek Gear S2, like the rotating control dial, perfectly round screen, and fast wireless charging, but many other aspects of the Gear S3 have received significant upgrades.

Although they are internally similar, there are a few external differences between the Gear S3 Classic and Frontier. The Gear S3 Classic is the sleeker, more streamlined version of the two. The Classic has a polished finish, with round buttons at the 2 and 4 o’clock positions and no addition protrusions on its chassis. The Gear S3 Frontier is more rugged and has a darker, brushed finish, with flat, rectangular textured buttons and protrusions on either side of the body to shield the buttons from accidental presses or damage.


Both of the new Gear S3 devices, however, are built from the same high-end 316N grade stainless steel as many top-shelf traditional watches, and they feature distinctive knurling around their rotating control dials. Both the Gear S3 Classic and Frontier are also outfitted with Gorilla Glass SR to protect their circular, Super AMOLED displays, and they’re both compatible with industry standard 22mm watch bands too. Like the previous-gen Gear S2, the watch-face on the Gear S3 is completely customizable as well – users can choose from thousands of available options or even design their own. We should also note that the Gear S3 Classic and Frontier are IP68 rated, so they’re able to withstand dust and dirt and are water resistant for up to 30 minutes under 1.5 meters of water.

We are still waiting on additional technical details on what has changed internally, but we’re certain the devices are built around low-power ARM cores and that the battery has been beefed up significantly. We’re told the Gear S3 – depending on how heavily it is used – can last roughly 3 – 4 days on a single charge, even with its always-on display. The Samsung Gear S3 is also packing support for NFC (which is compatible with Samsung Pay), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and it has a built-in heart rate monitor, altimeter/barometer, and GPS as well. There will be versions with standalone LTE connectivity too.


Users can answer / place calls, set reminders, and perform many other function with voice controls with the Gear S3 thanks to a built in microphone and speaker. And the devices feature the same level of KNOX security as Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones.

In all, the new Samsung Gear S3 devices look great in our opinion, and because they are so customizable, and will be available with different bodies that target different audiences, they should appeal to a very wide range on consumers. Prices or availability weren't mentioned, but the "2016.10" on the back hints at an October release -- we'll update this post once we learn more.  And we look forward to getting our hands on the Gear S3 soon.