Samsung’s Gear SDK reveals design, UI and specs of its round Project Orbis smartwatch
Samsung has released its next-generation Gear smartwatch SDK to developers. The most interesting nugget of info found inside relates to Samsung's upcoming round smartwatch, Project Orbis (a.k.a. Gear A), with several images showing its design, as well as some sample apps and possible specs.
Samsung has released its next-generation Gear smartwatch SDK to developers. The most interesting nugget of info found inside relates to Samsung's upcoming round smartwatch, Project Orbis (a.k.a. Gear A), with several images showing its design, as well as some sample apps and possible specs.
According to the SDK, the watch will have a round face with metal frame and crown. Most interestingly, the watch will have a rotating bezel that can be used to navigate software. You'll be able to use it to navigate through lists of items, switch between screens, zoom in and out of images, change certain values in the UI, and to change the volume. Compared to tapping a tiny watch display, this actually seems like a really good idea, and is definitely one of the more elegant interface decisions we've seen on a smartwatch.
The watch will have a 1.18-inch circular display with a 360 x 360 pixel resolution (305 ppi), which is higher than any other smartwatch from Samsung to date. As with most smartwatches, the device will also be packed with sensors including an accelerometer, gyrosensor, heart-rate monitor, pressure sensor, and magnetic sensor. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth and cellular radio.
As with most of Samsung's smartwatches, Project Orbis will be running on Tizen, not Android Wear.
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