Thursday, June 2

Samsung splurges on GPS in new Gear Fit 2 fitness watch

NEW YORK—Samsung came out with the original Gear Fit activity tracker in 2014, but the company has remained mostly quiet about this device line until now. At an event today, the company announced an upgrade to its fitness tracker offerings with a new model, the Gear Fit 2. It'll cost $179 (the first Gear Fit came out priced at $200).

The new wearable matches the leaks we've witnessed within the past few weeks. While it looks very similar to the original Gear Fit, the Fit 2 is more curved to better hug the wrist. Its 1.5-inch super AMOLED display takes up most of the module that sits on the top of your wrist, and its band is nicely flexible. The curvier design should make the Gear Fit 2 easier to wear since there's much less distinction between the module and the surrounding band.

To upgrade the fitness specs, Samsung added a GPS to the Gear Fit 2. Both the original Gear Fit and this new device have heart rate monitors, but as wrist-bound HRMs become increasingly common, GPS has become more of a differentiator. This feature also tends to increase the size of a device (since it's a separate chip) and usually the price, too. Surprisingly, the Gear Fit 2 has been slimmed down from the original design in spite of the addition. Samsung also emphasized the ability to track a workout using the GPS and share it to Facebook instantly.

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