Samsung announces Gear S3 Classic and Frontier smartwatches with GPS, LTE, and Samsung Pay

Samsung has been making smartwatches for a few years, and the new Gear S3 models set the bar high for Apple, LG, ASUS, and other smartwatch makers.

The Gear S3 Frontier has an LTE radio, while the Gear S3 Classic serves as a Bluetooth companion to your phone. Samsung Pay is supported on these models, something we anticipated and never saw on the Gear S2.

This year we see both Samsung Gear S3 models with GPS, integrated speakers, and IP68 water resistance. The Gear S3 features Corning Gorilla Glass SR, made specifically for wearable devices.

Specifications include:

• 1.3-inch circular Super AMOLED 360x360 pixels display
• Bluetooth 4.2 and Wi-Fi radios, LTE also for the Frontier
• Dual-core 1.0 GHz processor
• Tizen platform 2.3.2
• Weight of 57g and 62g for the Classic and Frontier, respectively
• 4GB internal storage and 768MB RAM
• Standard 22mm watch straps
• 380mAh battery

Samsung Pay is fully supported on the Gear S3, including making payments via NFC and MST (magnetic secure transmission). You may recall that MST technology allows you to pay where a typical credit card is supported. The Gear S3 lets you make up to five payments with the watch without a connection to your phone. If you try to make more, then you will need to reconnect to your phone to maintain the security of the payment system.

I recently sold the Gear S2 3G in anticipation of the Gear S3, and with my fantastic Galaxy Note 7, I think the Gear S3 will be a perfect companion.

These two Gear S3 models will be available later this year in the US. AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon will carry the LTE connected version of the Gear S3 Frontier. Pricing has not yet been made available.