An Apple Watch is shown during an Apple event at the Flint Center in Cupertino
IN PHOTO: An Apple Watch is shown during an Apple event at the Flint Center in Cupertino, California, September 9, 2014. REUTERS/Stephen Lam

Apple has unveiled its new wearable gadget, the Apple Watch on Sept 9. It will battle against a slew of other smartwatches like the Samsung Gear S, LG G Watch R, Moto 360 and Asus Zenwatch that were announced very recently.

Samsung has always been one of the major competitors for Apple. The Gear S is the sixth smartwatch from the South Korean giant, whereas the Watch is the first ever smartwatch iteration from Apple. Let us compare the Apple Watch with Samsung Gear S to see how they stack up against each other.

Design

Apple Watch comes with a rectangular-shaped bezel and changeable wristbands with up to six choices. The stainless steel and aluminum versions of Apple Watch will be released with an affordable price tag.. An 18-karat gold Apple Watch edition called Watch Edition will also be rolled out in the near future. The stainless steel version is dubbed as Watch Sport.

The digital crown sitting on the right side of the watch can be used to scroll through the user interface. The digital crown can also be used to zoom into maps and photos.

The Samsung Gear S is also a rectangular-shaped smartwatch that comes with waterproof chassis. It appears like a wider Gear Fit device. Its wristband is as wide as its screen. It measures 39.8 x 58.3 x 12.5mm. It will be available in two colors, black and white.

Display

The Apple Watch will be available in two sizes, namely, 1.5-inch edition and 1.65-inch edition. The sapphire display screen does not remain on all the time but it gets activated when the user lifts his wrist. The touchscreen can sense the difference between touch and press. The Glance feature allows the user to swipe across the screen to access menus and apps.

The Gear S is housed with a 2-inch curved display equipped with Super AMOLED technology. It supports a display resolution of 360 x 480 pixels. There is a small button placed below the display of the watch which gives access to the other features.

Features of Apple Watch

The Apple Watch features the Watch OS, which has a home screen quite similar to that of iOS.

The digital face allows user to draw something on the screen of the watch and send it to a recipient. Also, when a user receives a text message, the Apple Watch will automatically suggest the user with possible replies.

Users can also dictate a message to the Watch and send it. Siri, the voice assistant, will be able to deal with voice commands.

There are several health and fitness features on the Apple Watch, such as heart rate monitor, calorie count, distance tracker, and it can also calculate time spent sitting and standing. The accelerometer can measure the overall movement of the body.

The ApplePay, the NFC-enabled secure payment service from Apple, will also be available for Apple Watch.

Features of Samsung Gear S

The Samsung Gear S is running on Tizen OS. The smartwatch supports 2G and 3G connectivity. The QWERTY keyboard allows the user to create short text messages. The S Voice feature will help users in dictating text to the smartwatch.

The Gear S is powered with 1GHz dual-core processor, along with 512MB RAM. It comes with a built-in storage of 4 GB.

The other connectivity features of Gear S include Bluetooth v4.1, Wi-Fi, GPS and USB 2.0. By hooking up a Bluetooth accessory called the Samsung Gear Circle, users will be able to make and answer phone calls through the Gear S.

Samsung Gear S is also equipped with health centric sensors like heart rate monitor and UV sensor.

Battery

Except for saying “charge it at night,” Apple did not reveal anything significant about the battery of Apple Watch. As of now, the battery life of Apple Watch remains a mystery. The Verge says that if Apple had provided a powerful battery inside the Apple Watch, they would have spoken on it on the launch day.

The Samsung Gear S is fitted with a 300mAh battery, which can last up to two days on normal usage.

Price and Release Date

The Apple Watch base model is available for $349 and it will be available for purchase by early next year.

The Gear S is expected to go on sale by October. The official price for US audience has not been disclosed. In the U.K., it is rumoured to come out with a price tag of €299.

Apple has not disclosed the dimensions, weight, storage, connectivity features and battery capacity of the Apple Watch. So, which one is the best smartwatch between the Apple Watch and Gear S? Do let us know your views through comments.