Samsung Unveils Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo Smartwatches, Ditch Android for Tizen

Just six months after the release of the Galaxy Gear, Samsung has unveiled two new smartwatches: the Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo. The announcement comes from Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, just one day before their Galaxy S5 event.

The biggest change in the new smartwatch lineup is the Korean company has ditched Android for Tizen, a platform being developed by Samsung. 

The two new smartwatches are equipped with a 1.63-inch 320 x 320-pixel Super AMOLED displays, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of storage, and a 1GHz dual-core processor. The only difference between the two devices is the Gear 2 sports a 2-megapixel camera located on the body of the watch, while the Gear 2 Neo does not.

Both devices include a new IR-LED sensor which allows users to control their TV or set-top box with Samsung's built-in WatchON app.

Samsung said the Gear 2 will launch in charcoal black, gold brown and wild orange while the Gear 2 Neo will launch in charcoal black, mocha grey and wild orange. The Korean company has yet to announce any pricing for either device, but expect them to arrive in the April time frame.