Samsung Electronics said Tuesday that it will release its new smartwatch, the Gear S3, in Berlin later this month.

The unpack event will take place at 6 p.m. on Aug. 31, just two days before the German capital holds the Internal Funkausstellung (IFA) tech fair, a leading annual trade show for consumer electronics and home appliances. 


The invitation sent by the South Korean tech giant suggested that the new smartwatch will inherit features of its predecessor the Gear S2 including its round shape and a rotating bezel. Other specs were not available, but the upcoming device is likely to be operated by Samsung’s own software Tizen as well as its mobile payment system Samsung Pay, according to industry sources. The new smartwatch will be charged wirelessly and is waterproof, they added.

Samsung release of the Gear S3 later this month is seen as an attempt to enter the market prior to Apple’s planned release of its new iWatch in September. The electronic giant released Galaxy Note 7 in New York earlier this month, sooner than expected. The phablet features iris scanning technology for enhanced personal security.

Industry watchers say that the Gear S3 could also have upgraded software including health tracking features.

The electronic giant is also known to have partnered with Swiss luxury jeweler de Grisogono to launch a super-luxury edition of the Samsung Gear S3, with a planned release later this year.

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)