Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 Smartwatch Debuts With Touch Sensitive Bezel And LTE

by Brandon Hill — Monday, August 05, 2019, 12:15 PM EDT

It's only been six months since the original Galaxy Watch Active launched, and we're now staring at its successor: the Galaxy Watch Active 2. When the Galaxy Watch Active launched earlier this year, one of the big things missing compared to its more expensive Galaxy Watch sibling was the a rotating display bezel. This made navigating through the UI a bit trickier and less intuitive.

However, Samsung has improved upon that downside with the Galaxy Watch Active 2. While the smartwatch doesn't implement a physically rotating bezels like the Galaxy Watch, it does include a touch sensitive bezel that allows you to run your finger around the edge of the case to circularly navigate through the UI. Samsung says that this setup allows it to retain the popular control scheme while maintaining the lightweight aspects of the smartwatch. You'll know when you've hit the right area on the display as you'll feel a haptic response as you swipe your finger around.

Samsung produces the Galaxy Watch Active 2 in two different case sizes: 40mm and 44mm, which have displays measuring 1.2 inches and 1.4 inches respectively. No matter which size casing you choose, you'll get a display resolution of 360x360.

The Galaxy Watch Active 2 features a dual-core 1.15GHz Samsung Exynos 9110 SoC that is paired with 768MB of RAM and 4GB of NAND on base Wi-Fi/Bluetooth models. If you opt for the LTE-equipped versions of the Galaxy Watch Active 2, RAM doubles to 1.5GB, while NAND storage remains at 4GB.

We should mention that the usual sensors are included here like a heart rate sensor and an accelerometer. However, the Galaxy Watch Active 2 adds in an electrocardiogram (ECG) as well, putting it on equal footing with the Apple Watch Series 4 that was released last fall.

Samsung says that the Galaxy Watch Active 2 will be available for preorder starting on September 6^th, and will be released on September 27^th. Prices will start at $279.99 for the 40mm model, while the larger 44mm model starts at $299.99. Pricing has not yet been announced for the LTE-equipped models.

Tags: Samsung, (krx:005930), galaxy watch, galaxy watch active 2

Brandon Hill

Brandon received his first PC, an IBM Aptiva 310, in 1994 and hasn’t looked back since. He cut his teeth on computer building/repair working at a mom and pop computer shop as a plucky teen in the mid 90s and went on to join AnandTech as the Senior News Editor in 1999. Brandon would later help to form DailyTech where he served as Editor-in-Chief from 2008 until 2014. Brandon is a tech geek at heart, and family members always know where to turn when they need free tech support. When he isn’t writing about the tech hardware or studying up on the latest in mobile gadgets, you’ll find him browsing forums that cater to his long-running passion: automobiles.

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