Samsung Smartwatch Design Leaked in Patent Applications

Samsung's new smartwatch design has been revealed via patent applications published by United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Samsung has been rumoured to launch a new standalone smartwatch that will enable users to make and receive calls without being tethered to a smartphone.

Samsung is said to be in talks with network operators in the US, South Korea and Europe about the smartwatch, expected to be unveiled in between June and July. The Tizen running smartwatch is expected to take photos and send mails and feature GPS, Bluetooth and a heart-monitor.

The small, round device is offered up as whatever you’d like it to be. A necklace, key chain — even not on your person. The device could easily be placed around the home, car, or anywhere else given its new method for interaction. While controlling a device via gestures may not be new, it’s a new frontier for wearables. Gesture controls here not only involve you waving or motioning to the device, but also movement you make while wearing it. A wave from the left or right may bring up different options, while a shake of the wrist may perform another. The possibilities there are nearly endless.

The smartwatch comes with a built-in camera in the wristband, similar to the Galaxy Gear smartwatch. The camera offers a new set of touch-less gestures to control the device including finger and hand position detection and movement recognition. The patent reveals that the camera is mounted so low along the back-side of the band, that you perform the gestures below your watch attached arm. Other features supported by the built-in camera include image/object recognition, text OCR with translations and bar code scanning.

Samsung is also working on a stand-alone version of its Gear smartwatch called the Gear Solo. The wearable will come with a SIM card allowing it to make calls on its own, send text messages and even browse the web. The smartwatch may not be named the "Solo", but will certainly run on Tizen-powered Samsung Gear lineup. The device will come with a GPS, Bluetooth, a camera, and a heart rate monitor. According to reports, Samsung is currently in talks with telecommunications carriers in the U.S., South Korea and Europe and is planning to release the device sometime over the summer. No word has been mentioned about the pricing of specs yet.