It all started with the Moto 360, as it was one of the first smartwatches that used a round screen (even though it ended up being not completely circular) while being introduced along with Android’s platform for wearable devices, Android Wear. Then, some companies started making smartwatches with round displays and making reference to the ‘classic’ and ‘timeless’ wristwatch. Samsung was one of the first makers to introduce modern smartwatches and even before Android Wear was available. However, all of them feature rectangular displays, even though the display of the Galaxy Gear S is curved. Their most recent offerings have adopted Samsung’s own Tizen operating system and the company has shown some serious investment in this OS, so it seems likely that their future wearable products will probably use it as well.
Later rumors suggested that Samsung could also be planning a smartwatch with a round display called Orbis and which could have some unique features. More recently that smartwatch has become known as the Gear A, a better-suited name as the company has adopted a new naming scheme. While no leaks of the actual watch have surfaced, we have seen some showing how the interface could end up looking thanks to an SDK which was released by the company. Additionally, there was some details about the internals of the new smartwatch which surfaced too. Now, in the Tizen Developer Summit, Samsung has confirmed that the Gear A will feature a rotating bezel which will be an integral part of how the whole UI will be controlled, although no specifics were provided. A patent for this kind of functionality was given a while ago and this could be a good way to control the device, in addition to the touchscreen. As rotating the ring surrounding the display will not cover any part of the display while scrolling through some items.
Some of the specs we know so far include a 360 x 360 pixel resolution circular display, an Exynos 3472 dual-core processor with 768 MB of RAM and 4 GB of internal storage. The battery will have a capacity of 250 mAh and the usual sensors, including a heart-rate monitor. Samsung has an event scheduled for August 13, but it is unknown if the smartwatch will make its debut there, although rumors suggest it will.