According to technology watch websites such as VentureBeat (VB) and Engadget, Samsung is preparing to launch “Gear IconX”, its wireless Bluetooth earbuds, as one of two new products in its line of Gear accessories.

Images making the rounds this week suggest Samsung could be the first of the big name players to get into the “truly” wireless headphones game. Until now, the fast-growing category has been dominated by new players, like Bragi. (Apple is now also rumored to be working on truly wireless headphones).

Both sites noted that Samsung’s new earbuds bear a striking resemblance to start-up manufacturer Bragi’s hearable, “The Dash“, which was introduced in January 2016 at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). (We filled you in about the groundbreaking product, “The Dash” back in January, and have a posting on our Facebook page as well as in our blog about it).

 

Bragi CEO, Nikolaj Hviid, stated that his team had to overcome many technological obstacles to make all the sensors in the Dash fit in such a small space. When asked if Samsung tried to tap Bragi’s expertise for their own product Hviid will only confirm that Bragi wasn’t involved in the Gear IconX. Hviid doesn’t seem worried though. He is said to welcome the competition, and casually stated, “All those solutions Bragi had to invent mean it has a robust patent portfolio, the largest in the hearables space.”

 

Because Samsung’s Gear IconX wireless earbuds have not yet been released to the public, only a few features have been revealed in product previews. Some of the IconX features that have been shared, include the fact that these earbuds operate via touch-controls,these touch-controlled earbuds are completely wireless, are dust and water resistant, the IconX buds double as both a fitness tracker and a standalone digital music player. To perform this latter function, one of the buds contains 4GB of flash memory storage. Touch control is said to work similarly to the Gear Circle, another Bluetooth headset, (but one whose earbuds are tethered to a controller that sits on the back of the neck). They are also housed in their own charging case. (The release date and anticipated retail price have not yet been revealed). Let’s hope that the Gear IconX has some additional software tricks, and a competitive price point to make them really interesting. Existing products retail for between $250 and $300, this could be Samsung’s easiest way to stand out.

 

Source: Engadget, VentureBeat, Samsung

Image credit: Samsung