Samsung challenges Apple Watch with its new Gear Sport smartwatch

 Samsung has expanded this heart-rate-monitor-equipped device’s app menu with new exercise-tracking options from Under Armour (UA) and Speedo. You’ll be able to scroll through your software choices using the spinning-bezel control Samsung introduced in 2015 on the Gear S2, though the prototypes I used weren’t working.Samsung isn’t talking about battery life, but a peek at the Settings app on two of those models revealed “default” battery-life estimates of about 31 and 35 hours. Their “power saving” run times, in which the screen switches to grayscale and only displays basic notifications, showed up as 89 and 100 hours.Like many smartwatches, the Sport’s screen automatically shuts off, requiring a tap or a flick of the wrist to check the time.The Gear Sport runs on Samsung’s own Tizen software instead of the Google (GOOG, GOOGL) software in its first smartwatches.

Gear Fit2 Pro

The Fit2 Pro fitness tracker keeps most of the Gear Sport’s activity-tracking capabilities, as well as its water resistance, heart rate tracker and 4 GB of storage, but lacks the watch’s app choices.The apps available on the Fit2’s curved 1.5-inch AMOLED screen were much simpler and focused far more on what you do, eat and drink — I saw apps to record water and app intake, but not one’s booze consumption. It also connects to iOS and Android phones via Bluetooth to receive basic notifications.The Fit2 goes on sale Sept. 15 for $200 at Amazon (AMZN), Best Buy (BBY), B&H, Macy’s (M) and Samsung’s own site. Samsung doesn’t list a battery life for the band, but a Samsung rep said to expect about four days.

IconX

Samsung gets accused often, and often unfairly, of copying what Apple does, so I won’t be surprised to see people calling these upgraded versions of the company’s existing IconX earbuds “Samsung’s AirPods.” And much like the wireless earphones Apple introduced when it rolled out the headphone-jack-deprived iPhone 7, these come in a compact case that doubles as a charging dock.But unlike AirPods, the IconX comes with 4 GB of storage per earbud. They can also track your run times and distances using a built-in accelerometer. You can invoke a running-coach routine that speaks updates about your pace by tapping them.