SIM carrying Samsung Gear 2 Solo on the way – an actual smartwatch

Granted, Samsung’s latest wrist tech, the Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo, have only been out for a matter of weeks but that hasn’t stopped rumours of a successor to land on the interwebs.

According to import-export database Zauba, Samsung has shipped a SIM card-toting Gear 2 variant – reportedly called the Gear 2 Solo and sporting model number SM-R710 – to India for testing purposes.

There are currently no specs or pictures to shed any more light on the new wearable device, but it’s likely to be almost identical to the current Gear 2, which includes an IR blaster, OLED display and a Tizen-based operating system.

It’s unclear whether or not the Gear 2 Solo will retain the Gear 2’s camera, or, like the Gear 2 Neo, ditch it entirely which would be a shame as having a camera and SIM slot would make it more practical.

You see, the current Gear 2’s functionality is almost zero when it’s not tethered to a smartphone as it won’t allow you to read your messages or notifications without that necessary connection, although it still allows you to listen to locally stored music.

A SIM-packing Gear 2 would let you read (and even reply to) texts and emails as well as make calls, instead of merely answering them. Like what I would actually class as a smartphone.

This would also prepare the battlefield for when the, apparently already in production, Apple iWatch lands.