Edward C. Baig, and Eli Blumenthal

USA TODAY

NEW YORK — Samsung is clocking in with a brand new smartwatch.



The company unveiled its Gear S3 wristwatch in Berlin, just ahead of the IFA trade show that kicks off in the German capital later this week. The watch will be available in two styles, the Gear S3 Frontier and Gear S3 Classic, but both offer similar features.

Samsung hasn’t announced pricing for the new watches yet, which won’t hit the market in the U.S. and around the world until the fall. There will be models that rely on Bluetooth alone and versions that can also tap into LTE wireless, from carriers AT&T, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile.

These are still relatively early days for the smartwatch category, though Samsung has been selling a high-tech timepiece since 2013. Market leader Apple is likely to chime in next week with what is expected to be the first major refresh of its own Apple Watch.

The latest Samsung watches build on last year’s Gear S2 models with an emphasis on a sleek redesign and Samsung Pay.

The devices are now fully compatible with the Samsung Pay mobile payments system, which the company claims meshes with about 90% of the checkout terminals out there, both the type of registers that rely on NFC (Near field communications) technology, as well as older (and still more prevalent) magnetic-stripe terminals. Some versions of the Gear S2 could use Samsung Pay as well, but it was limited to NFC.

Moreover, Samsung Pay can work in these watches, the company says, even if you don’t carry a phone with you. You can make up to five purchases without any network connection.

While the watch can do more these days without the presence of a phone, it is compatible with a variety of Android handsets, not just Samsung’s own Galaxy devices. It is still not compatible with the iPhone.

In most other respects, the latest round-faced watches share much in common with Samsung’s predecessor models (which will remain in the lineup). They run not off Android Wear but Samsung’s own Tizen operating system. And as before wearers of the new devices will be able to navigate the watches via the bezel that borders the watch’s sharp super AMOLED-type displays.

This year's screens are also "always-on," a low power feature that lets you maintain the time even when not navigating the watch.

Like its predecessor, the Gear S3 is water-resistant (like the recently released Galaxy Note 7 phone), down to 5-feet of water for a half-hour. They're also dust resistant.

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The watches can make or receive calls too; the Bluetooth-only model means you'd have to have a phone with you, though the LTE version could make calls or receive calls on its own.

Unlike the Apple Watch or Android Wear devices from Huawei and Motorola, both versions of the Gear S3 are available in only one size, a 46mm casing, larger than the screen on S2. The Gear S3 also comes in only two colors, silver for the Classic and black for the Frontier. (By comparison, Apple's Watch is available in either 42mm or 38mm and a variety of colors). The 22mm watch bands are replaceable using the standard latch mechanism.

The device felt nice on the wrist and the Classic's simple design looked refined. It comes across more as a regular watch than computer on the wrist.

The larger profile has other benefits too, particularly in regards to battery life, now improved, Samsung says, on both the LTE and Bluetooth models to three to four days of juice.

A power save option kicks in when you're down to your battery is down to your last 5%, which would allow you to use the Gear S3, as a watch only, for a full day.

Samsung's platform for the watch currently has around 9,000 available apps, including several from big names such as Uber, ESPN, CNN, Spotify, iHeartRadio and, yes, USA TODAY. On Wednesday the company announced that Nest and ADT would also be coming to the platform, offering users to ability to control their thermostats or call SOS and emergency services right from their wrists (think of it as similar GM's OnStar but for, well, yourself).

The company is targeting to have 10,000 apps by the time the S3 hits store shelves. By then a new Apple Watch will presumably also be out and the battle for your wrist will rage on.

Follow Ed Baig on Twitter @edbaig. Follow Eli Blumenthal on Twitter @eliblumenthal