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Samsung's 'Flow' ties devices together like Apple's Continuity
Samsung makes a lot of products, from wearables to phones to large-screen televisions. So why not try to tie everything together? That's the idea behind Samsung's Flow, which could be seen as the company's answer to Apple's Continuity. Announced today at Samsung's Developer's Conference, Flow lets you move tasks from one device to another and even do things like view incoming calls and messages on your Samsung TV. There are essentially three components: Transfer, Defer and Notify. Transfer lets you do things like read a shared article on your tablet or move a video call from your laptop to your phone. Defer lets you put off a task until you're ready, so you can fix that PowerPoint slide when you get to work, or pick up that movie on your phone when you're in the subway. Last but not least is Notify, which as we mentioned, lets you view notifications on any screen, be it your watch or your computer. You'll even get device status updates on your television, for example, so you can see if your phone is running low on battery. The Flow SDK was just released to developers today, so don't expect to see this feature on your Galaxy-branded device just yet.
Samsung releases SIMBAND fitness wearable for developers
Remember that SIMBAND wearable platform Samsung unveiled six months ago? Well, the Korean company has just announced at the Samsung Developer's Conference that the open reference version of it will be available to be ordered by developers today. We don't know too much about it just yet, but the wrist-worn device looks a lot like the Gear S, except with all of those additional sensors worked into the band. Those sensors, as was announced back in May, are modular, and can be reconfigured as the developer sees fit. Samsung says that the SIMBAND is "capable of integrating the most advanced sensing technologies in the world," which should work well with the new bio processor that the company announced today as well. The processor will apparently help developers incorporate more advanced health monitoring in their wearables.
Samsung unveils Project Beyond, a 3D-capturing camera for Gear VR
Samsung has just unveiled a sneak preview of a new camera called Project Beyond, which is a 3D-capturing 360-degree camera designed to capture videos and stream them on the Gear VR. Pranav Mistry, Samsung's VP of Research, says that Beyond is a "new kind of camera that gives a new kind of immersive experience." The camera (which apparently houses 16 full HD cameras) shows a 360-degree panoramic view and captures everything in 3D, collecting a gigapixel of 3D data every second. It promises high-speed connectivity, adaptive stitching, ultra wide-angle optics and stereoscopic depth. And, this isn't just a concept. It's actually a fully working device. This, Mistry says, is really important for Gear VR, as you can feel as if you're "literally there." You can also have it set up so that every Gear VR user that's connected will be able to see the video stream, with "no lag whatsoever." Samsung says that it's "the world's first true 3D 360 degree camera" and captures and streams "omniview videos in stunning high-resolution 3D." We're still finding out more about this, but until then, here's the product page for more info.
