Samsung exec officially confirms the Galaxy Gear is coming on September 4

Samsung usually prefers to keep quiet in the days ahead of a big product launch, leaving it to tech blogs and forum commenters to drum up the excitement for its products.

With the Galaxy Gear, it’s a little different – the company’s mobile division vice president  Lee Young-hee confirmed to the Korea Times that the smartwatch will be unveiled on September 4 alongside the Note 3 and even shared a couple of details about the device.

According to Lee, the Galaxy Gear, which will supposedly “enhance and enrich the current smart mobile experience in many ways”, will be marketed mostly to “young trend setters”.

The executive confirmed that the first iteration of the Galaxy Gear will not feature a flexible display, contrary to earlier speculation based on design patents uncovered in July. However, Lee hinted that “more advanced” wearable devices could be equipped with flexible displays, as Samsung holds significant intellectual property in the area.

Faced with a slowdown in the smartphone market, Samsung hopes that wearables would “lead a new trend” and add “meaningful momentum” to the mobile industry.

It remains to be seen if Samsung’s bet on wearable devices will pay off. As Digitimes recently commented based on industry sources, smartwatches are unlikely to bring Samsung a profit boost, due to the lower margins they carry. Moreover, because the technological barrier of entry in the smartwatch business is low, Samsung could quickly face fierce price-based competition from China-based low cost manufacturers.

Lee Young-hee also confirmed the impending arrival of the Note 3, though we doubt that anyone needed confirmation at this point. The executive promised “enhanced key features on [Samsung’s] Galaxy Note devices”, but she didn’t elaborate any further.

We’ll be in Berlin next week to bring you all the details on the Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy Gear, and other surprises that Samsung might have in store. Stay tuned.