Samsung To Launch Smartwatch Next Month

 

It’s official: Samsung Electronics will launch its first wristwatch smartphone in international markets by early next month, people familiar  with the plan say. The move would allow Samsung to  potentially beat rival Apple Inc. on what is expected to be the next major battleground for mobile phone makers. The world’s largest smartphone maker will unveil the device to be worn around the wrist called Galaxy Gear on Sept. 4, ahead of Berlin’s IFA, a  consumer electronics show where technology companies showcase their gadgets. It will go on sale this year, the people said.

 

But, one person said the device  won’t have flexible displays, contrary to the company’spatent filings in the U.S. and South Korea earlier this year that suggested a device with a bendable screen was in the works. Analysts had cast doubts about mass producing flexible screens for a couple of years, making the possibility of wristwatch smartphones grim. Wearable smart devices have been tipped as the next jackpot niche for leading handset makers such as Samsung and Apple as the lucrative high-end segment of the smartphone market worldwide is saturated.