LIVE FROM IFA 2015: Samsung surprised by unveiling its Gear S2 smartwatch ahead of its press conference here on Thursday.

While Samsung has traditionally used IFA to unveil the latest version of its Note device line, this year it held a separate event in mid-August to this end. And while this led to the belief that Gear S2 would be the star of its IFA show, the company instead announced the product ahead of the first round of press conferences.

The big feature of Gear S2 is its round design, echoing a form factor favoured by rivals such as Motorola’s Moto 360. It is said to feature a “unique rotating bezel”, along with home and back buttons, to provide users with a “quicker, more precise” method to access notifications and apps.

The smartwatch will come in two flavours: normal and “classic”, the latter of which is “made for users who prefer a more timeless watch design”.

Features include new fitness functions, and NFC “which will enable mobile payments without the need for a wallet”.

Samsung said it is “working with a wide selection of partners across different industries to expand the usability of wearables and streamline consumers’ mobile lives in a variety of ways, including smart car keys, residential room keys, and remote controls to manage a connected home”.

It is also promising a battery life of up to “2-3 days”.

As with Samsung’s previous smartwatches, Gear S2 is powered by Samsung’s own Tizen platform, rather than Google’s Android Wear.