You knew it was eventually coming—you just didn't expect it to come from Samsung. Yet, the South Korean manufacturer has just revealed a unique pocket watch concept for its Galaxy Gear S3 smartwatch. This pocket smartwatch is currently on display at the Baselworld 2017 Watch and Jewelry Show in Basel, Switzerland, where it is almost certainly stealing the show, at least as far as smartwatches are concerned.
To be fair, the Gear S3 pocket watch concept is not strictly a Samsung creation. The company teamed up with watch designer Yvan Arpa, who came up with the unique design alongside two other Gear S3 concepts. These other concepts are less exotic. One offers a variety of new finishes for the Gear S3, while the other replaces its digital innards with high-quality Swiss-crafted mechanical components, essentially transforming it into a traditional watch inside a Gear S3 shell. The latter concept also features a transparent face that shows off the watch's mechanical movements.
The pocket watch concept goes further than either of those designs. At first glance, it looks like a traditional mechanical pocket watch, complete with moving hour and minute hands. But this mechanical portion rests on the watch's backside; turn it over and you get a full-fledged smartwatch. One version of the pocket watch also provides a peek into its mechanical insides. Of course, a see-through smartwatch/mechanical watch hybrid is never enough, so the pocket watch's lid (yes, it has a lid) features a working compass for good measure.
For now, the Samsung Galaxy Gear S3 pocket watch concept is just that, a concept, and Samsung has not announced any plans to mass produce and sell it or its sister concepts. Of course, that does not mean that it won't eventually sell them, but for now Samsung is content to dream and allow us to dream alongside it.