Samsung stays in the gift-giving spirit with Gear Fit2 Pro freebie for Galaxy S8 buyers

For 24 hours only, unlocked Galaxy S8 and S8+ shoppers can get a complimentary Gear Fit2 Pro wearable device from Samsung.

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Meet Samsung’s next-gen wearables: the Gear Sport, Gear Fit2 Pro and IconX 2018

The fitness-focused Samsung Gear Sport smartwatch leads the company's new pack of wearable devices also including a Fit2 Pro and IconX 2018.

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Samsung Gear Fit 2 Pro likely to cost $200 stateside, $20 more than the Gear Fit 2 MSRP

It makes sense for the upgraded Samsung Gear Fit 2 Pro to be slightly pricier than its predecessor, but discounts might be needed to make it a smart buy.

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Samsung Gear Fit 2 Pro leaked, looks like fitness band series remains alive

It's understandable why Samsung wouldn't call this a Gear Fit 3, but for swimmers, Spotify bingers and an unfamiliar crowd, this could make an impression.

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Select Samsung Gear wearables are finally properly compatible with iPhones

While Google and Apple reached a somewhat surprising agreement way back in August 2015 for the latter’s iPhones to support the former’s Android Wear smartwatches, getting Samsung Gear wearables to work alongside iOS handhelds has proven a far lengthier, more complicated and fickle process.

It’s been over a year since we first heard credible-sounding word of imminent official compatibility for the Gear S2 (to begin with), and after Verizon’s false start last spring, the only small step forward came in pre-release beta form near the end of summer.

Now it’s full-on winter, not to mention a new year, and traditional arch-rivals Samsung and Apple join hands at long last for most relatively new iPhones to properly support a trio of wrist-worn Gear devices.

Specifically, you can use the Gear S2 and S3 smartwatches in combination with an iPhone 7, 7 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, 6, 6 Plus, 5s, 5c or 5 running iOS 9.0 and above by downloading the official Samsung Gear S app from the Apple App Store. Also, feel free to sync up the Gear Fit 2 fitness band to any of the aforementioned iPhones through its own Samsung Gear Fit companion app.

Features and functions “will vary by device”, and you may still be best served by an Android phone connected to a Gear wearable. But it’s always nice to have (non-beta) options. Now if only you could also combine a Galaxy S7 with an Apple Watch…

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Best Buy shaves $150 off Galaxy S7, S7 Edge and Active prices, free Gear Fit 2 included

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‘Member when Samsung offered your choice of a free Gear Fit 2 wearable or 256GB microSD card with pre-orders of what looked like a perfectly safe to use, cutting-edge new Galaxy Note 7? Sam’s Club even upped the freebie ante by throwing in an extra $150 gift card… before it all went to ruin. Those were the days.

But what if Best Buy could bring the discount magic back, minus the fire hazard drama? By now, you must’ve come to terms with the next best thing, or perhaps understood you need to wait a little longer for the next big thing.

Your third possible play was to wait for that one unbeatable Galaxy S7 deal, which may have just been kicked off through January 15. You have until then to score $150 savings and a complimentary Gear Fit 2 from Best Buy with S7, S7 Edge or S7 Active purchases on Verizon, AT&T or Sprint monthly installment plans.

Of course, AT&T is actually the only operator carrying the Active variant, now available at $21.50 x 30, which adds up to $645, $180-worth fitness band with GPS and 1.5-inch AMOLED screen included. The “standard” Galaxy S7 starts at around $18 a month for 30 months on AT&T, $21.75 for just two years with Verizon, or $23 x 24 when activating it on Sprint.

Finally, a Galaxy S7 Edge + Gear Fit 2 bundle will set you back roughly $650 all in all through Best Buy, or you can take your business directly to Samsung’s US e-store, where the dual-curved phone is on sale with device installment plans, two-year contracts, leases, and outright acquisitions at full retail price.

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Wearables market led by FitBit and Xiaomi in third quarter

New numbers are showing off some tepid growth in the wearables market prior to the wide availability of Apple Watch Series 2 and the Samsung Gear S3. Even so, the companies behind those products gained some ground year-over-year but, as usual, fell well behind the typical fitness players.

According to IDC, 23 million devices were shipped in the quarter — a 3.1 percent improvement on last year. FitBit, Xiaomi and Garmin took the top three spots respectively for device shipments with market share growth ranging between 4 and 12.2 percent.

Infinite Loop, still running off the fumes of the original Apple Watch for most of the quarter before Series 2 came out, suffered a 71 percent decline in share to 1.1 million units. Even as main models were beginning to be sold, some other models were still held back.

Samsung rounds out the top five vendors with an even 1 million shipments — double from a year ago — and an annual share jump of almost 90 percent. The company rolled out its Gear Fit 2 fitness tracker and Gear IconX wireless earbuds during this timeframe.

Vendor 3Q16 Share 3Q16 Unit Shipments (millions) 3Q15 Unit Shipments (millions) Annual Shipment Growth
FitBit 23% 5.3 4.8 +12.5%
Xiaomi 16.5% 3.8 3.7 +2.7%
Garmin 5.7% 1.3 1.2 +8.3%
Apple 4.9% 1.1 3.9 -71.8%
Samsung 4.5% 1.0 0.5 +100%
Others 45.3% 10.4 8.3 +25.3%

Basic, health-tracking wearables accounted for 85 percent of the market. Garmin even led a smartwatch market share tracking report for the quarter. Android Wear manufacturers were not logged in the top positions and will not be for the foreseeable future.

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Amazon offers great savings on select Fitbit, Garmin, Withings and Samsung wearables

While so many major US retailers have been kind enough to share, preview and detail their full Black Friday deal collections well in advance of the year’s biggest shopping days, Amazon kept almost everything a secret until its discount avalanche began earlier today.

Hopefully, you saved a couple of hundreds of dollars in the bank after stocking up on VR gear and home entertainment products, because that Sony Xperia XZ goes perfectly with a $200 black leather Huawei Watch. Or a $149 Samsung Gear Fit 2, marked down from $180.

For an extremely limited time, you can also buy some stylish Withings smart trackers on the cheap, including a $70 Activité Pop and $90 Activité Steel. Or you can settle for an arguably uglier Withings Go, available at just $40 after a massive $40 rebate.

But if it’s a low-cost wearable from an early market leader you prefer, there are Fitbits on sale setting you back as little as $69 (the Flex 2), and as “much” as $150 (Blaze). $99 gets you the Fitbit Alta (previously $130), while the Charge 2 goes for $129 instead of $150.

Last but not least, check out the $40 Garmin Vivofit, $70 Vivosmart HR, and $99 and up Vivomove, sold at $10 to $80 discounts. ‘Tis the season to procure ultra-affordable wearable gear!

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Samsung unveils wide but underwhelming range of upcoming Black Friday deals

If Samsung perhaps didn’t need Black Friday blowouts in past years to get people excited about the company’s super-successful flagship phones for the holidays, we kinda sorta assumed 2016 would be different.

But it looks like all those Note 7-redeeming discounts on the S7 and S7 Edge got the chaebol prematurely out of the celebratory mood, at least stateside. There’s still a bunch of deals in the pipeline, some rolling out as early as November 18, others on the 20th, and a couple saved for a 28th Cyber Monday start.

Unfortunately, we don’t see anything about additional GS7 cuts previewed on Samsung’s US website. Just certified pre-owned S6 and S6 Edge units slated to cost $400 and $450 respectively before long, a fairly disappointing $70 Gear VR (2015) promo, $150 Gear Fit 2 wearable, $230 Gear S2, $250 S2 Classic, and $300 Gear S3 smartwatches.

The very recently released Gear S3 is the only one we’d wholeheartedly recommend you purchase next week at a $50 markdown in Classic or Frontier derivations, while the tablet selection on sale will include a $400 Galaxy View, $250 Tab A 10.1 with S Pen, $200 standard Tab A 10.1, $150 Tab E 9.6, and $100 Tab A 7.0. Good thing third-party retailers are always in a giving mood this time of year.

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We thought the Samsung Gear S2 iOS beta wouldn’t happen, but it’s happening

Samsung, delivering software at the speed of sound. Dull, throbbing noise through thick layers of foam and lead. Like, seriously, this would’ve been useful way before the time when you’re about to launch the next iteration of your Gear S lineup. ...

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It’s Galaxy Note 7 launch day, here are a bunch of accessories also on sale

The date is August 19 and that means it’s time for Samsung and its retail and carrier partners to move units and win hearts over the Galaxy Note 7. First shipments should be moving to mailboxes today, if not already and the chaebol is reminding us that you ...

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Apple Watch 2 cellular antennas perhaps just wishful thinking

The success of a first-generation product can be characterized by the hype that’s built around a sequel. That’s been the case for the Apple Watch as we’ve been itching to get our wrists inside of the band of an Apple Watch 2.One thing that we may not look forward to after much ...

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Sam’s Club throws in $150 gift card alongside Gear Fit 2 with Galaxy Note 7 pre-orders

The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is by no means affordable, but at least you can choose between a free Gear Fit 2 wearable and 256GB microSD card to go with the dual-curved phablet at most US carriers and retailers.Meanwhile, Verizon slightly ups the deal ante with an additional $20 in Samsung Pay rewards for ...

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