Samsung Gear S

Samsung’s sixth — sixth! — smartwatch announced in the last year. (No shipping date or price on this device, either.) The curved screen helps, but it still looks like a small phone strapped to your wrist, not a watch. Like something you’d wear while working out, not something you’d wear all the time. One cool new feature: you can put a SIM card in it, letting it work as a standalone communicator rather than a tethered companion to a standalone phone.

Judging from the videos I’ve seen (see also: The Verge), Tizen, which the Gear S is running, is a bit of a turd in terms of animation fluidity and touch responsiveness.

★ Wednesday, 3 September 2014