Samsung has arrived at IFA with the new wearable devices. The tech giant has introduced Gear IconX wireless earbuds along with Gear Sport and Gear Fit2 Pro at IFA 2017 held in Berlin. This is the second generation of its Gear IconX lineup – A wireless pair of earbuds that not only works as a Bluetooth headset, but tracks all your fitness activities including heart rate, calorie meter, steps count, and so on.
Just like the predecessor, this one boasts the same features that the original Samsung Gear IconX (2016) had, however, according to Samsung, these are more ergonomic and lightweight weighing 8 grams per earbud. They are also available in different colors – Black, Pink, and Gray.
The Gear IconX 2018 features include a heart rate monitor, a new Running Coach mode that tracks running in real-time, standalone music player and more. These earbuds are also Bixby-friendly so you can trigger Bixby assistant with tap and hold on your Bixby-enabled devices. You will require a Samsung smartphone (Galaxy Note8, Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8+) to make use of Bixby Assistant.
As for the battery, it is said to be improved as compared to its previous generation. The Samsung Gear IconX 2018 comes with an improved battery life allowing you to stream music for up to 5 hours via Bluetooth (7 hours when in standalone mode) or 4 hours of talk time. Each earbud comes with 82 mAh battery and 4 GB onboard storage (total 8 GB). They also come with gesture touch control, round pins as charging connectors aided by a charging case. It uses 4 microphones with ambient sound support.
The charging case is smaller than before with 340 mAh battery and supports quick charging. Samsung claims that 10 minutes of case charging will give you battery enough to last you 1 hour of exercises.
As of now, there is no pricing or release date information for the Samsung Gear IconX (2018), but we will keep you posted. The first generation Gear IconX was priced at $199 so we can expect the new Gear IconX to be around $200.
Samsung Gear IconX (2018) Specifications:
- Earphone Type: Wireless Earbuds (Cordless)
- Protection: Splash Resistant (P2i Nano Coating)
- Storage: 4 GB onboard (3.5 GB usable)
- Connectivity: Bluetooth, 2 Microphones per Earbud
- Sensors: Heart Rate Monitor, Accelerometer, Capacitive Touch
- Frequency Range: 20 Hz – 20 kHz
- Sensitivity: 89.5 dB ± 3 dB / 1 mW
- Impedance: 16 ohm
- Driver Units: TBD, Dynamic Driver
- Max. Power: Battery powered
- Port: N/A (Wireless)
- Battery: 89 mAh (Earbuds), 340 mAh (Case)
- Compatibility: Android 4.4 or above, 1.5 GB RAM
- Others: Fitness Tracking, Standalone Music Player – (MP3, M4A, AAC, WAV, WMA v9), Voice guide (multilingual)
- Weight: 8 grams per earbud (Earbuds)
- Colors: Black, Pink, Gray
Samsung Gear IconX (2018) Price & Availability
- Expected Price: $199 approx.
- Availability: TBA
