Samsung Electronics’ 10th-generation Galaxy S smartphone may not be the only product the tech giant is planning to unveil during its annual “Unpacked” event scheduled in San Francisco on Feb. 20.

In a bid to wow participants at the launch, Samsung reportedly has a set of new products that includes smartwatches and wearable bands up its sleeve.

Believed to be on display are the wireless Galaxy Buds that are similar to Apple’s AirPods, smartwatch Galaxy Watch Sport and fitness band Galaxy Fit E.

Galaxy Gear Sport

Judging by recent leaks that have gone viral online, the Galaxy Watch Sport features a circular screen with two buttons that will likely perform key functions. It is expected to have sensors for sleep and heart rate monitoring, an activity tracker and GPS.

The wireless earphones, which will succeed the Gear IconX earbuds launched in 2016, are said to charge upon being placed on the back of Galaxy S10.

The anticipated launch of the new Samsung wearable products is thought to be the firm’s countermeasures to Apple’s increasing efforts to rein in the segment.

Some market watchers have said the Korean tech giant cannot easily give up on wearables because of the US firm, even though Samsung’s presence in both the smartwatch and wireless earphones sectors is relatively small, and sales from those products pale in comparison to its smartphones.

“As Apple, which wields a great amount of influence over the mobile sector, continues trying to nurture its wearable business and to create new opportunities by incorporating health care into its devices like Apple Watch, other companies like Samsung cannot just stop producing the wearable products,” a market official said.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a recent media interview that the US tech giant’s health care-related technology, not iPhones or iPods, will be “Apple’s greatest contribution to mankind.”

The US tech firm holds the lion’s share of the global smartwatch sector at 45 percent of the market as of the third quarter in 2018, according to market research firm Statista.

Samsung, which had 11 percent market share, came third after wearable devices maker Fitbit, which stood at 15 percent.

Global smartwatch shipments, which stood at 43.6 million last year, are expected to double to 84.1 million in 2022, according to research firm IDC.

The market for wireless earsets, meanwhile, is expected to grow rapidly in coming years with overall shipments surpassing 100 million in 2022, according to a report released by research firm Strategy Analysis.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)