Is Samsung’s Gear 3 Smartwatch Stealing Apple’s Thunder?

In the battle of the smartwatches, is bigger always better?

Samsung aims to find out by going big against Apple, Huawei and others. Mashable noted on Wednesday (Aug. 31) that Samsung is following up on what the site said was the tech giant’s “well-received” Gear S2 with the Gear S3, which is defined in part by size.

The site stated that the newest model of the smartwatch has some tech/software features that enable travel via GPS, and the smartwatches also have longer battery life. One of the defining characteristics, said the site, can be defined as “big.” The diameter now for the latest model is 46mm, compared with the Gear 2’s 42mm. Samsung has said that such watches are “trendy” at the moment. And in the name of trends, perhaps it might be a given that Samsung would throw a bigger hat in the ring versus other companies, such as Apple.

The smartwatch also has an ambition to boost service offerings, which would make the smartwatch akin to a smartphone experience. The newest Gear iteration also boasts security built in via Samsung Knox. If the watch is taken off the user’s wrist, PIN codes are required for re-entry. As might be expected, Samsung Pay also is on offer with the Gear S3.