Samsung has announced its latest offering in the smartwatch world, the Samsung Gear S2. With a round look and two different styles, the S2 is a departure from its 2014 predecessor, the Gear S .
The Gear S2 offers a 1.2-inch circular screen at just 11.4 millimeters of thickness. The resolution works out to a 360 x 360 (302 ppi). Under the hood, the watch has an optimized 1-GHz dual core processor and runs Tizen OS — which up until recently was exclusively used for Samsung’s smartwatch and TV offerings. Features include notifications and the ability to send emails through the watch, as well as voice compatibility for those who purchase the S2 3G model.
The Gear S2 can last for up to two to three days of continuous wear, and will be able to charge wirelessly with the included watch dock.
The watch will come in Dark Gray with a Dark Gray band and Silver with a White band, while the Samsung Gear S2 Classic (likely the higher end model compared to the sporty S2) will be available in Black with a leather band. Both the watch face and the band are interchangeable, and Samsung says it is working with partners to develop these accessories to be sold separately at retail.
The Korean company has yet to list a price for either watch. Both will be available for demonstration at IFA in Berlin on September 3.
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Review: Satechi’s USB-C 3-in-1 Combo for MacBook is the hub you’re looking for
Dongles for the USB-C port on the MacBook are easy to come by, but there aren’t a lot of really good hubs. Satechi’s latest , which cleanly match the style and color of the latest MacBooks , may be the best option.
It’s a small, sleek aluminum array of ports packing three USB 3.0 inlets, a MicroSD card slot and an SD card port. A pinhole up top lights up blue when it’s plugged in, and Satechi’s branding is hidden on the underbelly.
The hub doesn’t draw power from your MacBook; it’s simply a pass-through for peripherals. If you wanted to, you could leave it plugged in all the time.
You could use the hub to power an iPhone or iPad from your MacBook — or transfer photos — but it doesn’t allow for pass-through charging of the MacBook (even if you had a USB to USB-C cable). You also can’t use both SD card slots at the same time.
Thunderbolt and ethernet ports are also missing.
Reading and writing to an external drive was just as fast (or slow) as a MacBook Pro. Using a simple micro USB cable linked to a Samsung SSD, the speeds were identical.
Slipping USB cables in and out of the ports did give me a bit of pause, though. Its form factor isn’t the sturdiest, so be gentle when you’re removing drives. Like your MacBook, Satechi’s hub is gorgeous, but a bit delicate.
For many users, this USB-C hub will be just fine. It gives you most of what you may be missing from a MacBook Pro, and is light and durable enough for travel. I’m not crazy about the fact there’s no passthrough charging, or that the USB-C end doesn’t have a protective shield, but those aren’t deal breakers. The tradeoffs are far outweighed by three USB ports and two SD card slots; more than adequate, even if I do need extra dongles.
You can find the Satechi USB-C hub on Amazon for $34.99.