
Watch Yourself
The Galaxy Active2 (no space!) will be available in late September, starting at $280 for the 40-mm watch and $300 for the 44-mm watch. An LTE version of the watch will also be sold starting on September 27, though Samsung hasn’t released pricing on that one yet. And, note, those are entry-level prices for an aluminum watch; a premium stainless-steel model will cost you more, putting the Active2 more in line with Apple Watch pricing. The Apple Watch Series 4, the newest version of the best-selling smartwatch, starts at $349.Samsung now has three different smartwatches in its lineup, the Galaxy Watch Active, the Galaxy Watch Active2, and the Galaxy Watch. The Galaxy Watch Active, first launched in February of this year, is considered the entry-level model. The Galaxy Watch Active2 iterates on that, while the Galaxy Watch—which replaced the old Galaxy Gear line of smartwatches—is considered the flagship.Samsung has taken a very different approach to smartwatch releases than Apple, which has introduced one new marquee wearable every fall for the past four years. But then again, Samsung tends to do things differently in general. It unveils a new “flagship” phone every six months, whether that's the Galaxy S or Galaxy Note, and wants to be perceived as being at the front edge of innovation, even if that sometimes results in product fails .In this case, Samsung’s release of slightly differentiated smartwatch models either shows a lack of imagination, a kind of Fitbitification if its wearable line; or the company genuinely believes that offering consumers a few different options is a better strategy than a one-watch-fits-all approach. At the end of the day, a smartwatch’s success may have less to do with wrist-worn hardware anyway, and more to do with the software ecosystem the wearer wants to live in––and where they want their health data to live.- High drama: A cannabis biotech firm roils small growers
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