Google Smart Watch Specs On-Par With Samsung Gear 2
Are Google and Samsung About to Wrestle?
The rumor mill for the new Google smart watch continues to heat up.
This evening, industry insider @evleaks tweeted what appear to be the hardware specs for the new Google smartwatch, code-named “Gem”.
Here’s the original tweet (click the date to view it on Twitter):
More Google (LG) smartwatch specs: 1.65″ IPS LCD @ 280×280, 512MB RAM, 4GB internal storage, processor TBD.
— @evleaks (@evleaks) March 13, 2014
According to #evleaks, the Gem will sport a 1.65-inch screen with a resolution of 280 x 280 pixels. The Gem’s memory footprint is the same as the new Samsung Gear 2, at 512MB of RAM and 4GB of storage. CPU is a mystery at this point.
In contrast, the new Samsung Gear 2 watches feature a smaller 1.63-inch screen with higher 320 x 320 resolution; a 1 GHz dual-core processor; and, a battery that lasts 3 days.
Screen resolution puts the Gem right below the Samsung Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo, but otherwise the two devices are very comparable.
Google Is ‘Geared’ Up And Ready To Rock
Google has made several announcements and advances recently that prepare them well for a successful entry into the wearable devices category.
For example, their upcoming Android 4.4 KitKat update addresses battery and power management issues specifically required for small footprint devices. Google also recently revealed they will be releasing an SDK for wearable devices.
All of this news certainly makes it look like Google and Samsung will be duking it out for the high-end portion of the market by mid-summer.
Given the slightly lesser display spec, it appears that Google may be pursuing its well-honed strategy of pricing products competitively to take market share. If this holds true, we expect the Google Gem (or ‘Nexus’) will probably hit the market priced somewhere between $150 and $199, or slightly below the prices for the lower-spec’d Samsung Gear 2 Neo and Gear Fit.
Twitter user @evleaks has been a reliable source of insider leaks regarding Google. S/he also revealed that LG would be manufacturing the device.
Right now, all signs seem pointed towards a new smart watch announcement at Google’s upcoming I/O developer conference, scheduled in San Francisco for late June.