[Samsung Gear S2] Silberpfeil3110:
[IMG="S2SA Title Image"]http://www.tech-services.at/fileadmin/pictures/_S2SA/title2trans.png[/IMG]

Welcome to the official project thread of the S2SA!​

This project can be supported via a Kickstarter campaign. Just take this road to get there.

I would be very pleased if you join the poll to find out the common interest in this project!​

Some of you already read from my thoughts about a new strap adapter for the Samsung Gear S2 Sport in this thread. Initially the named thread was started by our valuable member simlpyphp who also decided to do some development on a strap adapter. Unfortunately he stopped development because of prototyping reasons. If anyone wants to reuse his model and needs help, just PM me. :)

[IMG="Development Notice"]http://www.tech-services.at/fileadmin/pictures/_S2SA/development.png[/IMG]

1 - Introduction​

The year 2015 brought a big variety of smartwatches to us. Not only for me it was a hard decision which wearable to choose. Maybe the Pebble Time? Maybe the Moto 360? After some time, also Samsung came out with a great new device, the Gear S2! The rotating bezel itself as a whole new handling experience put this smartwatch at the top of my wishlist and now I have it. Samsung offers two (actually three with the 3G) versions of this smartwatch. The Sport and the Classic. While both of those versions deliver the same hardware inside (apart from the Sport 3G), they differ at their clothing. The Sport (and Sport 3G) version comes with a stylish and futuristic housing with a proprietary strap connector, while the Classic version provides a standard strap connector in a classy design.

When deciding to buy the watch I decided to choose the Sport version as I like to use it as a sports tracker, where it is more comfortable for the skin to not have a leather or metal strap at my wrist. Nonetheless I want to wear my watch at the dinner with business partners or other noble events too. So I came to the idea that it would be nice to be able to use noble looking straps in combination with our watch as well.

And thats the reason to invent the "Sport To Strap Adapter" - in short S2SA!

So those who bought the Classic version want to laugh at us poor Gear S2 Sport owners but the one who laughs last that laughs best! :D​

The BIG advantage against the Classic version IS indeed the proprietary strap connector. While Classic owners have to fizzle around to change their strap or have to put the watch off at all when sporting, we can simply change the strap as we like. Put on the genuine rubber strap and go jogging. After coming back you're under for a shower and after changing your clothes for the big business day, just simply switch from the rubber strap to the S2SA with the already attached stylish leather strap and you're done. Under 10 seconds. No fizzling! Ready for the day!

The S2SA will work of course also with the Sport 3G version, so for those of you who had no choice at all between Sport and Classic, here is your turn!

2 - Let's talk about design.​

So here we go! The following pictures represent the first designs that I created. Two different ones. One with a straight edge and one with a round. The explanation of both design will follow after the picture. I want to mention, that the plan is to create some different "clothings" for the S2SA too:

shiny polished stainless steel, that will nicely fit to the housing of both the silver and the dark grey Gear S2

matted stainless steel (maybe with a brushed steel look?), that will fit best to the housing of the silver Gear S2

and dark grey lacquered stainless steel to fit the housing of the dark grey Gear S2

[IMG="Design draft"]http://www.tech-services.at/fileadmin/pictures/_S2SA/designdraft.png[/IMG]​

While the straight version provides a more sophisticated design to meet the existing design line of the smartwatch, the round design meets a more minimalistic manner. There are two different type of people. One of you want no space between the S2SA and the strap and one of you like it to let the S2SA follow the contour of the watch. Nonetheless both designs only add up a very little amount of size to your watch!

I want to mention how the S2SA can get assembled in terms of the connecting mechanism:

While the easiest intention is to take the connecting mechanism from a spare strap that you have (what you will have, because you got two sets of straps and only use one), it is a little handicraft. This is also the cheapest method because we won't get into need of additional parts.

Another possibility would be to deliver the S2SA assembled with the parts already so you can plug&play it. That would be more expensive, also small parts are worth their money...

An alternative is to avoid Samsung's locking mechanism and instead of the seesaw (the little button inside) use two little screws that will fit into the indent on the watch.

Actually I (for my own set) would prefer the first/second kind of connecting mechanism because after some strength tests I came to the conclusion, that Samsung did a good job in designing the connector (although a common strap connection would be better :P). However, the alternative will surely be stronger but you will need a screwdriver to put on/take off the watch. The decision is up to you :good: :) !

3 - Which models are available?​

I started with one design and for now there are 6, while 4 will get relevant, so I have to summarize them to make it easier to see each benefits. I am currently working on a more detailed line-up of all the different designs (and model structures).

At first you should understand the naming of all the models, so it will get easier for you to understand the whole matter. So the model naming follows a very easy cycle:

S2SA X YY​

X : S - straight edge, R - round edge

YY: nothing - Samsung standard connector, SW - screwed connector

The following pictures shows a quick comparison between all the recent designs. While you can see the common design differences, you will get more information about advantages and disadvantages as well as measurements of all the models after the picture in the given table. If you have any other questions regarding other properties, please post them and I will add the to the table.

[IMG="Full lineup"]http://www.tech-services.at/fileadmin/pictures/_S2SA/Lineup.png[/IMG]

You can view this picture in full size by right-clicking on it and selecting "Show in new tab".

[IMG="Full lineup table"]http://www.tech-services.at/fileadmin/pictures/_S2SA/lineup-table.png[/IMG]

You can view this picture in full size by right-clicking on it and selecting "Show in new tab".

4 - What should it cost?​

As XDA-Devs is not a selling platform, I also won't sell anything here. The development will get funded by interested people mainly on kickstarter. I surely understand, that not everyone is registered at kickstarter and not everyone wants to do that. So for those of you, there are several ways to support developers work here at XDA. You can show the project to friends or help in acquiring possible suppliers to manufacture the parts or even donate some coins over the donation button near my profile picture... You know how to go ;) !

Because some of you asked already for how to accomplish donations over PayPal!

When using the Donate-Button at the left side, you can donate any amount you want via PayPal, but that is regardless to this project (it is a private-to-private-donation with no additional securities). While I would appreciate your donations directly via Kickstarter, I want to give you the possibility to get the same benefits like when backing at Kickstarter with the same amount of security. SO: All of you, which want to donate something via PayPal to this project, please CONTACT ME FIRST! When it comes to donations, you have to donate not to private but to a commercial reciever. In this case you got the additional security from PayPal for a refund, when needed. We will talk about all question in detail via PM if you have some.

The price in the future depends on how much people support the work (in several sights) and how much are even interested in getting the S2SA. The more people want to have it, the cheaper it can be. Easy calculation. While it is possible to manufacture one set itself, it gets much easier when it comes to big series. To be able to make a better estimation, I would appreciate your votes at the given poll at the beginning of this thread! But for now it is not the right time to talk about that. But it should be effordable and should stay in a good ratio to the watch and straps itself.

[IMG="Development Notice"]http://www.tech-services.at/fileadmin/pictures/_S2SA/development.png[/IMG]​

Thats all for the moment! I would like to hear your thoughts and wishes! Every advice is welcome so let us come together to make our sweet smartwatch a little bit better! :)

Best regards

Gerhard