Samsung unveils the Gear 2, its Apple Watch challenger

Samsung unveiled its latest smartwatch on Tuesday as the South Korean tech giant seeks to challenge Apple's global domination in the fast-growing wearable device market.

Samsung Gear S2 smartwatch. Photo: AFP

Samsung unveiled its latest smartwatch on Tuesday as the South Korean tech giant seeks to challenge Apple's global domination in the fast-growing wearable device market.

The round-faced Gear S2 is fitted with a 1.2-inch (30 millimetre) circular screen and allows for mobile payment and remote control over home appliances as well as common phone calls and text messaging features, according to a company statement.

Samsung is hoping the new watch will compete with similar Apple products, after the US company became the top provider of wearable devices worldwide only months after the Apple Watch was unveiled in April.

The new smartwatch -- the latest model by Samsung since last November -- will be officially released later this month during the IFA trade fair in Berlin.

Samsung has released a series of smartwatches since 2013. However, most of the models have been met with lukewarm responses from consumers.

Apple has dominated the wearable device sector, shipping about four million smartwatches globally in the second quarter -- about 75% of the overall market -- market researcher Strategy Analytics estimated in July.

Samsung came in second by a wide margin, after shipping 400,000 units during the same quarter.