Samsung knows Galaxy Gear flopped. It will do better.

A new Galaxy Gear smartwatch in April, alongside a new S5 with iris-scanning technology

Samsung didn’t do so well last quarter. Sales of the Galaxy S4 slowed after the release of the iPhone 5S, its Galaxy Gear smartwatch was widely panned, and the company posted a loss for the first time in nine quarters. What’s up, Samsung? Didn’t eat your Wheaties last quarter?

Well, now it looks like Samsung is going to make a stronger push to get back on track this quarter. For starters, it looks like it may include iris-scanning technology in the Galaxy S5—slated for release in April—and it’s going to rework its Galaxy Gear smartwatch, according to a report from Bloomberg.

Sales of the S4 stagnated after the release of the iPhone 5S, which came with fingerprint identification technology. Samsung is rumored to be considering topping Apple’s fingerprint sensor with iris-recognition technology, though Samsung’s EVP of mobile, Lee Young Hee, wouldn’t confirm the reports at CES this week.

“Many people are fanatical about iris recognition technology,” said Lee. “We are studying the possibility but can’t really say whether we will have it or not on the S5.”

No, really. That’s awesome. Because I’m toooootally not sick of hearing my deranged cousin yammering on about how Apple is in cahoots with the NSA to create a giant, global logbook of every human being’s fingerprints. Yeah. Let’s get started on how Samsung’s iris scanner is working on a mode of identification for all the non-iPhone people.

Lee added that the Galaxy Gear will be updated with more advanced functions and a sleeker, less bulky design. She said (without indicating whether she was referring specifically to the next iteration of the Galaxy Gear smartwatch) that future smartwatches will include health monitoring features, such as calorie counters, heart rate monitors, and functions to measure stress levels.

“Health-care related functions will be the most inherently tied functions to future wearables,” she said in an interview with Bloomberg. “We see a very big potential from there.”

Speaking of wearables, Lee hinted at the unveiling of another wearable alongside the Galaxy S5 and the revamped Galaxy Gear smartwatch, but she didn’t go into detail.

The Galaxy Gear smartwatch was revealed in September as…a big ass watch. The smartwatch came with a bunch of cool features, including a pedometer, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and a 1.9 megapixel camera, but it lacked finesse. For starters, reviewers noted that the battery life is pitiful—approximately 25 hours, which doesn’t offer much leeway for health monitoring. It also doesn’t work with the entire array of Galaxy devices. And it’s just effing huge. Look at the size of that thing!

Samsung shipped 91 million smartphones last quarter, according to KB Investment & Securities. Samsung accounts for 32% of the global smartphone market, while Apple accounts for 14%.  

Image source: Mashable