Samsung Gear Sport release date, news and features

Update: Samsung has revealed the price and release date of the Gear Sport, and you can pre-order it now.

The Samsung Gear Sport has been officially unveiled at IFA 2017 in Berlin, and as the name suggests it's got a strong fitness focus, but there's also a stlylish metal design.

Last year we got two variants of the Gear S3, but this time around it looks like Samsung has put all its eggs in one basket with the Gear Sport.

It features GPS, a heart rate monitor, automatic activity tracking, a 1.2-inch AMOLED display, offline Spotify support and it's also swim-proof.

Read our hands on: Samsung Gear Sport review

Cut to the chase

What is it? Samsung’s new fitness-focused smartwatch
When is it out? October 27
What will it cost? $299.99/£299/AU$499

Samsung Gear Sport release date and price

Pre-orders for the Samsung Gear Sport are now live and it will cost you $299.99/£299/AU$499. The watch is hitting stores on October 27, unless you're in Australia, in which case it lands on November 1.

Samsung Gear Sport design

Smaller and lighter than Gear S3
Water resistant and swim-proof

The Samsung Gear Sport inherits the key design feature of the Gear S3 from last year, with a rotating bezel surrounding the display.

This spinning dial allows you to easily navigate around the Tizen interface and scroll lists, while it also features a button click allowing you to make selections on the watch without having to move your fingers off the bezel.

In terms of size, the Gear Sport's stainless steel body measures in at 42.9 x 44.6 x 11.6mm, and weighs 50g (without the band).

That makes it smaller and lighter than the Samsung Gear S3 - which is what you want if you're going to be working out or playing sport while wearing the watch. It's also water resistant up to 50 meters too, so it can survive a dunk in the bath and a dip in the swimming pool.

There's even a Speedo On app pre-installed on the watch to allow you to connect with other swimmers, and gives you access to training plans.

The watch case itself will be available in black and blue, while a wide range of 23
straps (20mm) will also be available launch, with more likely to follow in the coming months.

It will work with an 20mm watchband though, so you don't need to keep in Samsung's strap stable if you fancy something a bit different.

Samsung Gear Sport display

1.2-inch fully circular AMOLED display
360 x 360 resolution = 302ppi

The Samsung Gear Sport boasts a 1.2-inch fully circular AMOLED display with a resolution of 360 x 360.

That gives you a 302ppi pixel density, which in short means the screen should be sharp and clear, as well as colorful thanks to Samsung's AMOLED screen technology.

It also means the screen is a touch sharper than the Gear S3, which boasts the same resolution with a larger 1.3-inch display - reducing the number of pixels per inch.

The screen is covered in Gorilla Glass 3 which should give it a decent level of protection, but it's not the latest version of the toughened glass, with generation five being used on the latest smartphones.

It also inherits the full color, Always-On Display from the Gear S3 as well, ensuring key information - such as the time - is always displayed while using minimal power.

Samsung Gear Sport battery and compatibility

300mAh battery with wireless charging
Works with Android handsets and iPhones

There's a 300mAh battery inside the Samsung Gear Sport, and with wireless charging it should be easy to top up at night - hopefully no fumbling around in the dark for a cable.

The Samsung Gear Sport will work with Samsung Galaxy phones running Android 4.3 or later, other Android handsets with Android 4.4 or later and even on the iPhone 7, 7 Plus, 6S, 6S Plus, SE and 5 using iOS 9.0 or later.

Samsung Gear Sport performance and interface

Under the hood the Samsung Gear Sport packs in a Snapdragon 2100 chipset and 768MB of RAM, while there's 4GB of storage as well.

That storage space will come in useful if you're a Spotify subscriber, as the Gear Sport supports the streaming service's offline mode. It means you can download playlists to the watch and leave the house without your phone to enjoy songs during your workout.

On the rear of the watch you'll find a heart rate monitor, while Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and NFC should keep you well connected.

The Gear Sport comes with automatic activity tracking, and it'll sync to Samsung Health to help you keep an eye on all your workouts and activities in one place.

Perhaps one of the most useful upgrades with the Gear Sport is a new selection of fitness programs that come with video tutorials. These will work on your phone or you can even stream them to your TV if you’re working out at home.

The video will show you the exercises you should be doing for your plan and speak you through what you’re doing as well.

Plus your TV will then show your heart rate while you exercise, which should make it easier to monitor than if you had to keep glancing at your wrist.