In an expected news, Samsung announced the successor to their smartwatch announced last year together with the SG Note 3 phablet, the Galaxy Gear. Reliable leak provider @evleaks tweeted that the 2 new smartwatches from the Korean tech giant will run on Tizen OS, instead of Android. What came off as unexpected is that the Samsung opted to drop “Galaxy” from name of the devices, hence dubbed as Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo.

The Gear 2 smartwatches got a very noticeable improvements compared to the aesthetics of its predecessor, as well on the inside. The Gear 2 smartwatches are now more health conscious as it now comes with new features such as heart rate monitor and pedometer, as well as a dedicated music player, an IP67 certification for water and dust resistance and an IR blaster that can be used to control your TV. Samsung has also decided to reposition the Home button on the front just a little below the display, as the original Gear’s home button can be found on the side of the device.

Both the Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo sports a 1.63 inch touch display, a 1GHz dual core processor with 512 MB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage and a battery that promises up to 2 to 3 days of use on a single charge. The main difference is that the Gear 2 comes with a 2 megapixel camera, while the Gear 2 Neo has none and weighs lighter than the former.

Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo official specs:

• Samsung’s Tizen OS
• 1GHz dual core processor
• 1.63 inch ( 320 x 320 pixels ) AMOLED touch display
• 512 MB of RAM
• 4 GB of ROM
• 2 megapixel autofocus camera, 720p video recording @ 30fps (Gear 2 only)
• Bluetooth 4.0 LE, IR blaster
• IP67  certification for water and dust resistance, Noise Cancellation
• 300 mAh battery
• 68 grams (Gear 2); 55g (Gear 2 Neo)

The Samsung Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo comes in three different colors: Charcoal Black, Gold Brown and Wild Orange for the Gear 2, while Charcoal Black, Mocha Grey and Wild Orange for the Gear 2 Neo. Both smartwatches are scheduled to hit the shelves worldwide come April, at a yet to be disclosed price tag. [via]