Samsung’s Apple Watch-Fightin’ Gear S2 Smartwatch Paraded In Fresh Video Teaser

We first got a quick glimpse of the upcoming Gear S2 smartwatch at Samsung’s Unpacked event for the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ last week. As the days progressed, the round-faced smartwatch showed up again in Lookbook, where it was paraded around by fashion models.

Now, were getting perhaps our best look yet at Samsung’s Apple Watch killer in a 30-second teaser video. Gone is the rectangular display that has dominated Samsung’s previous smartwatch efforts; in its place is a fully circular display (flat tires need not apply here). Compared to the last smartwatch that Samsung released — the Gear S — before going on a lengthy hiatus, the Gear S2 is a breath of fresh air when it comes to looks. It also serves as a stark contrast to the Apple Watch, which has adopted a rectangular display that is more efficient at displaying information and notifications, but is arguably not as stylish as a more traditional round watchface.

As the video quickly bounces through shots of the interface, you’ll notice a number of built-in apps including a stop watch, fitness tracking, a heart rate monitor, messaging and even phone capabilities. You’ll also notice that the Gear S2 makes use of round icons — something that many observers in tech circles have used as evidence that Samsung is copying the look and feel of watchOS on the Apple Watch. However, anyone that has used Samsung’s Tizen OS knows that round app icons have been staple long before the Apple Watch became a [public] reality last September. It would make sense that a Tizen-based smartwatch would use circular app icons, so we’re going to have to give Samsung a pass on the “theft” accusation.

As for the hardware lurking beneath, the Gear S2 will reportedly be powered by a 1.2GHz Exynos 3472 processor paired with 768MB of RAM. Also on tap are 4GB of internal storage, a 250 mAh battery, Bluetooth 4.1, 802.11n Wi-Fi and of course optional 3G cellular call capabilities.

With that being said, we should learn more about the Gear S2 at this year’s IFA consumer electronics conference which will take place early next month in Berlin, Germany.