Garmin might be the biggest name in adventure watches right now, but it looks like Samsung is planning to steal a slice of the action. Samsung's executive vice president TaeJong Jay Yang has hinted that the company's next smartwatch will be built for people with a "passion for the outdoors", and it might be available to buy as early as next week.
Samsung is no stranger to sports watches, but so far it's struggled to find its niche. Its first sports watch, the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active, went on sale in March 2019, and was followed just six months later by the Galaxy Watch Active 2.
Both were decent but unremarkable, and as you'd expect considering the timeframe, the second-generation watch wasn't hugely different from the first. The biggest drawback of both was their two-day battery life, which is far shorter than any Garmin, Polar, or Coros watch you could buy today.
Take it outside
Now, things might finally be about to change. As Advnture's sister site TechRadar reports, a new blog post by Yang suggests that a brand new wearable is coming soon, and it may finally be able to keep pace with the best GPS watches from the big names.
"In the last few years, many people around the world have adopted new habits and interests," wrote Yang. "For many, these include a greater awareness of physical, mental and sleep health. To meet this demand, Samsung is excited to continue expanding our Galaxy Watch lineup to better cater to the many unique needs of our users – especially those with a passion for the outdoors."
Samsung is likely to show off its latest watches at its annual Unpacked event, which will take place on Wednesday August 10 at 9am ET. Will it finally be able to compete with the best Garmin watches? Longer battery life seems like a prerequisite, along with a tougher build and new training and recovery tools, but we'll just have to wait and see.
