While the whole world is busy looking at Samsung's latest and greatest in Barcelona, the Galaxy S7 and Gear 360, the guys back home in Seoul have silently filed for protection of the trademark Gear Iconx.
Sometimes, trademark filings reveal exactly what product the registration is for. With Gear Iconx this is, unfortunately, not the case, as the documentation mention several broad product categories ranging from glasses to earpieces, and from headsets to calorie-intake, exercise and heart rate monitoring sensors. Most likely, we're looking at an earpiece with extended smart functionality – an earable, if you will.
We've been tracking progress on a similar device dubbed Earcle for while now, which seems to be a more traditional hearing aid. Gear Iconx is likely heading for a broader market, and will fill some open slot in Samsung's existing Gear line-up. Hopefully, more details will surface in the near future, as a trademark application is often (though not always) filed for a product not too far away from commercial release.
Of course, we've all but forgotten about Samsung's long-rumored smart glasses. Though we have stopped holding our breath for those a long time ago, we have not completely giving up hope. Still, whether Gear Iconx is somehow related to actual smart glasses remains to be seen.
