The Samsung Gear S3 smartwatch packs LTE into a giant 46mm case

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/08/the-samsung-gear-s3-smartwatch-packs-lte-into-a-giant-46mm-case/ Samsung announced a new smartwatch today, the Gear S3. Like the Gear S2, this is a Tizen-powered smartwatch with a stainless steel case and a rotating bezel. Samsung is packing everything it can into its smartwatch this year. There's a bigger, 1.3-inch 360×360 display, an optional LTE version, the addition of MST (Magnetic Secure Transmission) technology for Samsung Pay, a speaker and microphone for calls, GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and a barometer. Bigger isn't always better in the smartwatch world, though, and the Gear S3 sounds like a behemoth—the case has grown from 44mm to 46mm. Compare that to the Apple Watch, which comes in 38mm and 42mm sizes. FURTHER READING Samsung reveals luxury Gear S2 Classics, brings iOS support to smartwatch line For specs, the S3 has a dual-core 1GHz "Exynos" chipset (no model given), 786MB of RAM, 4GB of storage, and a 380mAh battery. The watch is IP68 rated for water and dust protection. There are two different styles to choose from this year: the traditionally styled "Classic" watch—which does not have LTE—and a more rugged-looking "Frontier" version, which comes with LTE baked in. Samsung is promising "3-4 days" on a charge, but that's probably not with LTE turned on. Both watches are 12.9mm thick and are compatible with most 22mm watch bands. The Galaxy Gear S3 has Corning's new Gorilla Glass SR+ for the cover—a new formula that Corning says is specifically aimed at wearable devices. Corning says the new formulation has "superior scratch resistance approaching that of alternative luxury cover materials, while delivering up to 70 percent better damage resistance against impacts and 25 percent better surface reflection than those alternative materials." We're guessing that "luxury cover material" is sapphire. There's no word on pricing yet, but the watch should be out sometime before the end of the year.