IFA 2016: Samsung Gear S3 Frontier and Classic smartwatches to offer 4G LTE and GPS support

Samsung has unveiled two variants of the Gear S3 smartwatch ahead of IFA 2016. The variants are called Frontier and Classic, and for the first time, Samsung will offer in-built GPS and 4G LTE support. It’s immediately apparent that the two watches are larger and heavier than the Gear S2 that came before it. The Gear S2 weighed a measly 51g while the S3 Frontier and Classic models weigh in at 62g and 57g respectively. The Frontier model is the only one that offers in-built 4G LTE connectivity, which explains the increase in weight. Both watches feature GPS support, however. In terms of specifications, both devices boast of the same 1.3-inch AMOLED display with a 360x360 resolution, as on the Gear S2, and both still use the crown and the rotary UI seen on the S2. They’re powered by a 1GHz dual-core processor and the RAM gets a bump to 768MB (from the 512MB of the S2). On-board storage is still only 4GB. The battery gets a bump to 380mAh (up from the 250mAh and 300mAh on the S2 models). The bodies are made from stainless steel and Samsung says that any 22mm watch strap will be compatible with the watches. Judging by the design and bulk, it’s safe to say that these are strictly men’s watches. As a bonus, both watches are IP68 certified and are thus, water and dust resistant. Samsung claims to use “military-grade” testing methods to ensure ruggedness. Wareable got a chance to speak to Samsung about the battery life, but the Samsung representatives couldn’t give any details about the battery life under regular use and with GPS. The representatives did add that iOS compatibility wasn’t on the tables just yet, however. If you opt for the LTE enabled Frontier model, you’ll have the ability to make and receive calls on the device itself. The crown can also be used to answer and dismiss calls now. The watches will be festooned with the usual assortment of sensors, including a heart-rate monitor, ambient light sensor, altimeter, barometer, etc. A new feature is an SOS mode, which will send out messages to a pre-assigned list of emergency contacts. Samsung also claims that they’re opening up the software to third-party developers and that they already have 10,000 apps for the platform. They add that gadgets like the Nest thermostat can be controlled by the crown. Pricing has not yet been disclosed.