Right now, every electronics company is trying to figure out what the special sauce is that will help it bring smartwatches to the wrists of mainstream consumers.

A variety of apps optimized for the Gear S2‘s circular user interface will be available at launch, the company announced. Samsung Germany revealed the prices as: Samsung Gear S2 price:?379 in Germany (expected to be?349 in other markets, retail price in the U.S. expected to be $349) Samsung Gear S2 release date: October 2015 Samsung Gear S2 3G price: not announced yet Samsung Gear S2 3G release date: after Gear S2 Samsung Gear S2 Classic price:?449 in Germany Samsung Gear S2 Classic release date: October 2015 In many ways, this is Samsung’s response to many other wearables that have been released by its rivals. It’s really simple, and there are always the two buttons and the touchscreen for additional functionality.

The Gear S2 is the first Tizen-based smartwatch to support Android phones. If you’re deeply tied into the Samsung ecosystem across your television, phone and appliances, this might not be so bad. This is a good move considering Samsung’s newest Gear S2 faces competition not just from Apple but also from a variety of manufacturers using Google’s Android Wear software. When it comes to all things mobile, more connectivity, more compatibility and more universal interactions never hurt. This puts it head-to-head with the Apple Watch. It promises two to three days of battery life, compared with Apple Watch’s 18 hours. Perhaps unsurprisingly the spokesperson wasn’t willing to commit to a timeframe on when that could happen only saying, “We are positively looking into opening it up”. With a quote like this, though, you should be covered for at least that first full day. Tizen is also lacking apps, something the company readily admits, so that is definitely something you need to consider before jumping into the Gear S2. The users of Gear S2 will also be able to see breaking news headlines on the home screen of the watch which can later take you to the whole story in the app once you tap it.