Earlier today, Samsung took the wraps off of its new Gear Fit 2 Pro and Gear Sport wearables. In addition to these two announcements, Samsung also unveiled an updated version of its Gear IconX wireless earbuds. With this latest entry, Samsung is focused on two main upgrades – access to its Bixby virtual assistant and improved battery life.
The addition of Bixby on the Gear IconX shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise seeing as Samsung likely wants to have its own assistant available on as many of its products as possible. You’ll be able to use Bixby on the IconX for a variety of things, including pausing a song, skipping to a different track, and controlling your volume. In addition to this, you can also ask Bixby for the weather, answer incoming calls, read off your calendar appointment, and most other things that you can do with the assistant on Samsung’s Galaxy S8 and S8+.
Another big improvement to the IconX is the battery life. Samsung says that the new Gear IconX will be able to provide 5 hours of battery life when streaming music and 6 hours when listening to tunes that are saved to the 4GB of internal storage on the earbuds. And, just like the current model, you’ll be able to charge the earbuds by placing them in the included carrying case.
Samsung has also updated the overall ergonomics of the Gear IconX so that they’re more comfortable to wear and have a lesser chance of falling out of your ear. And, to match the fitness-focus for the Gear Fit 2 Pro and Gear Sport, the Gear IconX will also come equipped with a Running Coach mode that will provide real-time tracking and updates when you go on a run, jog, or walk with the earbuds.
We don’t have a release date for the new Gear IconX quite yet, but when they do, they’ll be available in Black, Gray, and Pink. Samsung also hasn’t talked about pricing, but we can probably expect them to cost either the same or around the suggested price of the current Gear IconX ($200 USD).
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