Samsung has filed for a trademark of the word “Bean” for what appears to be an ear-worn fitness wearable. The trademark was first spotted by Dutch web magazine LetsGoDigital and, more directly, applies to a listening device. But it also applies to a device that includes software tracking distance, speed, time, changes in heart rate, activity level, and calories burned.
The primary purpose of this wearable, however, is described as earphones. So the implication is that Samsung Bean will be wireless earbuds that also track health metrics. That’s if the South Korean company is awarded the trademark.
Details are still slim here but not altogether absent
Aside from the incorporation of fitness metric tracking, Samsung Bean is described by the trademark as holding several other big features too.
Not least of all, Samsung is including a “sensor for detecting” whether or not the earset is on or off. That seems to imply that these earbuds will be able to sense whether the user is wearing them or not. That would allow the headphones to be paused or unpaused depending on whether or not the user has them in their ear.
Conversely, while the feature isn’t at all new, Samsung could go so far as to turn them off and on entirely. Or to put them into or out of standby using that same sensor.
On the software side of things, Samsung’s description also indicates that software will provide a “fitness guide” with the Bean-branded earbuds. That would likely tie into another feature found in prior Samsung headphones. Namely, that’s a built-in ability to automatically detect just when the wearer is working out.
If that’s the case, Samsung Bean may be able to detect a workout and then provide not just music and metric tracking. It may also be able to provide full-blown guidance depending on the type of workout detected. Or at least it may be able to provide more general fitness guidance based on the health metrics the earphones are measuring.
One aspect not covered by the EUIPO trademark filing is the wearable’s design. But that may be revealed in the naming convention used.
Specifically, Samsung may be looking to use a design that closely resembles the familiar shape of a bean. That would equate to smoother edges and corners than seen in previous designs. Samsung Bean may be more comfortable and easier to put in or take out due to its scaled-back size.
Is Samsung Bean a direct follow-up to Gear IconX?
Samsung Bean appears to be an entirely separate approach to wearable devices from the company’s current headphone iteration. Those are Samsung’s Galaxy Buds and Galaxy Buds+, which followed on the tech giant’s Gear IconX earbuds back in 2018.
Samsung Galaxy Buds weren’t necessarily a successor to those earbuds though, although that was the initial expectation. Rather than focusing on fitness, Samsung Galaxy Buds centered around a comfortable design, audio quality, and wireless charging features. Samsung’s Gear IconX headphones were decidedly more fitness-focused, with workout detection, an IP67 ingression resistance for dust and water, and 4GB of built-in storage.