Samsung likely to launch smartwatch before the iPhone event

The Apple-Samsung war could intensify further as Samsung is said to announce its new devices just ahead of the Apple’s big iPhone event in September—Apple is known to make some big announcements every year in September. Reportedly, Samsung plans on launching the Galaxy Note 3 on September 6. The company is also said to mark the debut of its new smartwatch category on this day. The accessory is likely to be called the Samsung Gear. This means when Apple launches its smartwatch in future, it would look like a follower rather than a leader.

Purported screenshots of the Samsung Galaxy Altius watch

Though we’ve seen smartwatches previously, it was earlier this year that Apple iWatch rumours re-kindled the flame. When Apple’s working on an iWatch, can Samsung be far behind? Soon we saw leaks of Samsung’s Galaxy Altius smartwatch. Even though the screenshots looked authentic, that’s the only time we have heard the Altius name. The rumours that swirled around later called it therevealed the name “Gear” for the Samsung smartwatch. The trademark application for the name says it will be used for “watches that communicate data to personal digital assistants, smart phones, table PCs, PDA, and personal computers through internet websites and other computer and electronic communications networks."

Lately, we also saw new leaks that helped get a better picture of the Galaxy Note 3 . Codenamed SM-N900, the Note 3 is expected to feature xenon flash, dedicated camera button and 5.7-inch display 1080p display. It is likely to come in two versions—one with Samsung Exynos 5 Octa processor and the other may sport a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 clocked at 2.3GHz. Samsung has also announced an improved version of its Exynos 5 Octa chipset for smartphones and tablets.

This means we can expect big announcements in the high-end smartphone category in the next two months. Apart from Samsung, Sony is rumoured to launch its new smartphone with 20MP camera in September. The LG G2 and Google Moto X are slated to release next month.