Samsung Electronics on Wednesday officially unveiled three new wearable offerings, with one of them being the Gear Fit2 Pro, an upgraded version of the 2016 Gear Fit2 which is still touted as one of the most capable fitness bands on the market. The Gear Fit2 Pro has already been the subject of several rumors and reports in recent weeks, with most previously leaked information about the device now being confirmed as accurate and Samsung announcing one of its most versatile GPS-enabled fitness bands to date.
The Gear Fit2 Pro boasts a 1.5-inch Super AMOLED display panel which curves around the long edges of its body, making it visually similar to its predecessor. The screen of the wearable has a resolution of 216 by 432 pixels, thus featuring a pixel density of 310 pixels per inch, with the product itself being 25 x 51.3mm in size and its smaller version weighing 33g, one gram less than the larger model. Straps for the smaller device variant are meant for wrists whose circumference ranges from 125mm to 165mm, whereas the larger ones can fit wrists with a circumference between 158mm and 205mm, Samsung said.
Much like the Gear Sport which the South Korean original equipment manufacturer (OEM) also announced earlier today, the Gear Fit2 Pro is also powered by an unspecified system-on-chip (SoC) which was presumably manufactured by Samsung and entails two cores operating at a maximum frequency of 1GHz. Its dual-core silicon is additionally supported by 512MB of RAM and 4GB of non-expandable internal flash memory, with the package itself being powered by a 200mAh battery. While Samsung has yet to clarify on the matter, it’s understood that the battery found inside the Gear Fit2 Pro should provide you with days of use on a single charge, providing that you don’t rely on the product’s GPS capabilities. The wearable charges via regular Pogo pins and is compatible with all Samsung Galaxy smartphones running Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, as well as third-party devices with Android 4.4 KitKat and newer versions of Google’s mobile operating system. The fitness band also boasts compatibility with Apple’s offerings, being able to connect to any iPhone running iOS 9 and later versions of the proprietary OS.
Apart from GPS connectivity, the Gear Fit2 Pro supports Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi b/g/n, GLONASS, and Beidou, in addition to boasting a 5-ATM water resistance which allows it to be submerged up to 50 meters, i.e. 165 feet. The wearable still isn’t meant for extreme water sports like scuba diving, water skiing, and any other activity that could result in it clashing with water at a high velocity or being submerged to extreme depths and consequently subjected to high pressure. That isn’t to say that the Gear Fit2 Pro isn’t a durable device; despite featuring a non-rugged design, it still boasts the 810G military durability rating and should prove to be sufficiently resistant to everyday wear and tear, the Seoul-based consumer electronics manufacturer suggested. On the sensor side of things, Samsung’s latest smart fitness band comes with an accelerometer, gyroscope, barometer, and a heart rate monitor, with the latter being able to track your heart rate during fitness activities and sleep, later providing you with in-depth insight into the way your body works and acts.
Samsung revealed that the Gear Fit2 Pro will feature native support for a wide variety of third-party services like MyFitnessPal, UA Record, and MapMyRun, with the company partnering with Under Armour, Spotify, and some other platforms whose offerings can complement your fitness activities. The device also comes with support for real-time notifications which it can relay from your phone and thus serve as a reliable hardware companion even when you aren’t exercising and simply want to quickly check whether you have any unread emails or message, or whether you have missed any calls.
The Gear Fit2 Pro will be available in black and red color options, Samsung confirmed, without clarifying on whether these variants will be expanded on at any point in the future. The device will become available for pre-orders as of tomorrow, August 31, with consumers in the United States being able to place advanced orders on the wearable as of 9 AM EST. Apart from purchasing the Gear Fit2 Pro directly from Samsung, prospective buyers will also be able to get one from Amazon, Macy’s, Best Buy, and B&H, Samsung’s long-term retail partners. The wearable itself is scheduled for a stateside release on September 15 and will hence hit the market simultaneously with the Galaxy Note 8, Samsung’s newest and most powerful Android smartphone to date which is fully compatible with the company’s latest fitness band. While it seems like Sprint and U.S. Cellular won’t be offering pre-orders for the Gear Fit2 Pro, both mobile service providers will also start selling the device on September 15 along with the aforementioned retailers.
During the two-week pre-order period, Samsung and its retail partners will attempt to incentivize consumers to place advanced orders on the Gear Fit2 Pro by offering them a free pair of the U Flex wireless headphones which they’ll be able to secure by registering their purchase at Samsungpromotions.com and subsequently redeeming their pre-order bonus. While Samsung specifically stated that this promotion won’t be available at Macy’s, it didn’t list all of the retailers that are participating in the offer, indicating that the rest of the names listed above will all allow you to get a free pair of the company’s earphones together with your purchase. Apart from the Gear Fit2 Pro, Samsung also announced two new wearables earlier today, officially revealing the Gear Sport fitness-oriented smartwatch and the Gear IconX earbuds. All three offerings are likely to be showcased at this year’s iteration of IFA, a Berlin, Germany-based trade show which will open its doors on Friday, September 1. The Gear IconX and Gear Sport still don’t have a firm availability date attached to them, though their market release shouldn’t be far behind that of the Gear Fit2 Pro and all three products will presumably be available in Europe, Australia, and a number of other markets after they are released in the U.S.
