Samsung to reveal new Gear S3 smartwatch on 31 August

Samsung has invited journalists to a press conference in Berlin where it will reveal the Gear S3 smartwatch. The latest wearable will arrive on 31 August, two days before the doors open at IFA, Europe's largest consumer technology show which takes place in the same city.

Although the Gear S3 is not mentioned directly in the invitation, the phrase 'Talk about 3' and an image of a watchface showing six o'clock (the time the event starts) leaves us in little doubt about what Samsung has up its sleeve.

Further confirming this, Samsung used the same event in 2015 to reveal the Gear S2. The new S3 will be immediately compared to the Apple Watch, which currently dominates the nascent smartwatch market and is expected to receive an update later this year, possibly as soon as September.

Rumours claim the new Gear S3 will have the same rotating bezel as the S2, which acts as a practical and convenient way to scroll through content without swiping at the touch screen. Three versions of the S3 are expected, called Classic, Frontier and Explorer. However, it isn't clear if all versions will be sold in the UK.

Well-informed Samsung gossip website SamMobile claims all three watches will be geared towards fitness fanatics and feature integrated GPS to track runs, a speedometer, barometer, altimeter and more.

The S3 will almost certainly run Samsung's own Tizen operating system as opposed to Google's Android Wear, which is preferred by rivals like LG and Huawei.

The Gear S3 event kicks off at 6pm local time at the Tempodrom, a venue in central Berlin just a short drive from IFA, which opens to journalists on 31 August and the public on 2 September.

IBTimes UK has accepted our invitation and will be attending the Samsung event, along with press conferences from Huawei and Sony the following day.

With the iPhone 7 and Apple Watch 2 expected in early September, it's going to be a busy few weeks for consumer technology.