SamsungGear S2. Kembali lagi pada Samsung Gear S2. Smartwatch ini menampilkan edisi klasik dengan gaya desain konvensional namun bergaya sporty dengan tali yang terbuat dari bahan silikon yang bisa dilepas, dan berarti dapat pemiliknya dapat menggantinya sesuka hati. Whilethe Gear S2 Classic, with its leather strap, looks more in line with a Fossil watch, the plastic strapped Gear S2 has more in common with a Swatch. This is key for a couple of reasons. First SamungGear S2 kembali dengan bodi anti karat tahan lama yang tetap tipis dan ramping di pergelangan tangan. Gear S2 adalah perangkat serba bisa. Samsung Galaxy Gear S2 smartwatch Harga dan Spesifikasi - Terbaru Galaxy Gear S2 Harga, Spesifikasi, Fitur s health, Kamera dan Gambar 2016 oleh Samsung Indonesia. ReviewSamsung Gear S2 Indonesia | Harga Samsung Gear S2 ini kami dapatkan dengan harga 3,6 jutaan, jika ada pertanyaan seputar smartwatch yang satu ini bisa GearS2 runs the Tizen operating system which works well. The UI is intuitive and vividly displayed on the sAMOLED, touch screen display. I liked using the combination of the rotating bezel and touch to interact with the device; my processscroll using the bezel and select via touch. Pairing is simple. . Samsung Gear S2 MSRP $ “The Gear S3's release is imminent, but the S2 remains a beautiful piece of industrial design, and a decent smartwatch.” Pros Beautiful round design Elegant, fluid user interface Rotating bezel is a true innovation 2-3 day battery life Cons Barely any usable apps Reactivation Lock is buggy Fitness functions are very limited Smartwatches have gotten better and better looking since the the Gear S2 watch first blew us away at the 2015 IFA trade show. Maybe it was the Berlin goggles, but Samsung’s was the best-looking, easiest-to-use watch we had ever seen, from an interface standpoint. And over time, the watch’s beauty held out. In many ways, the Gear S2 was the best Samsung product in years. Unfortunately, since strapping the final version of the watch on our wrists — and over the months since then –the experience hasn’t been all daisies and daffodils. Samsung has updated the software to address some of the bugs we detected last fall and has released a handful of key apps — including Samsung Pay support for Uber. These improvements to one of the most compelling smartwatches yet are great; the company seems to finally understand why folks might want a watch at all. But concerns about usability remain, and ultimately, there’s no killer app that makes this a must-have device. Updated on 10-03-2016 by Jeremy Kaplan Updated to reflect bug fixes and new apps, and added experiential testing with the S Health app. Beautiful and comfortable The user interface of a watch is important, but an attractive and comfortable design is more important. Watches are fashion statements, and no one wants to wear something crappy or huge just for some notifications. A lot of post-Apple Watch wearables are looking more acceptable on the wrist, but the Gear S2 is one of the best-looking, best-sized smartwatch yet. That said, the competition in recent months has gotten quite stiff. The Huawei Watch is better looking, for example, though the interface is less intuitive and elegant. And the Gear S3, which should be released shortly, promises competition and adds some crucial missing features, though Samsung says it is will not replace the S2. Jessica Lee Star/Digital Trends Jessica Lee Star/Digital Trends But back to the S2 itself! Perfectly round and sized at a comfortable inches 42mm total case size, it’s an optimal size to fit on a large variety of wrist shapes and sizes. It’s in between the two Apple Watch sizes, and comes in two designs a sporty version and a Classic version. The Classic also has a ribbed watch face and traditional lugs, making it compatible with any 20mm watch band. There are versions of the Sport with added 3G/4G connectivity as well. The Gear S2’s secret weapon is the bezel surrounding its tested the stainless steel I tested the stainless steel Sport version with Bluetooth, which has a brushed metal finish and winged-style straps that make it look a little more elegant on smaller wrists. The strap that comes with it is a rubbery silicone, which feels a lot like the Apple Watch Sport bands. The bands on the Sport are easily removed via a button on the bottom of each, and replaceable with other Samsung-made straps. There are already a number of choices at launch, though if the Gear S2 doesn’t take off, early adopters will have a hard time finding straps in a couple years. Samsung is known for iterating fast and abandoning losing ideas pretty quickly. It calls this cut-and-run philosophy “relentless innovation.” The button layout on the Gear S2 is straightforward and better than any other smartwatch. It has two navigation buttons on its right side. The bottom one acts as a power button and Home button, which brings you back to the home screen, and the top acts as a Back button, bringing you back into the previous menu, like an Android phone. Both buttons are comfortable to press and easy to find, even in the dark. The Gear S2’s secret weapon, however, is the bezel surrounding its screen, which turns and twists like a radial dial of sorts, allowing you to easily select and scroll through onscreen menus. Operating like a tiny little steering wheel, it has a pleasant click to it as you turn, giving light tactile feedback so you know how fast you’re wheeling around. Finally, there is a heart-rate monitor on the bottom of the watch which is pretty common these days. It also tracks steps at all times. Operating system Samsung’s Tizen interface is brilliant — the best around — blending Apple’s best innovations with smart, thought-out designs. All of the menus are built with a round screen in mind, and using the rotating bezel to scroll through menus, or swipe around as you would on a phone, is incredibly intuitive. Seriously, there are almost no apps for this Samsung’s best innovation is simplicity. It’s a button click or swipe to get to the radial apps menu, a swipe down to access the battery life and connectivity menu, a swipe right to check notifications, and a simple swipe left to see your widgets. And, of course, you can do all of this with the rotating bezel as well, which clears up valuable screen space that your fingers take up when swiping. Every menu and app is designed to perfectly fit this easy, round design philosophy, with the exception of the square calendar app. Samsung definitely stole a note from Apple with its watch customization menu. It looks and operates identically to the Apple Watch, but we can’t complain a ton, because it works. An added bonus Samsung watch faces can be interactive. Several baked-in faces animate to show if you’re meeting your fitness goals, and companies like CNN have created special watch faces with their headlines scrolling past. You would never know, but this entire watch runs on Samsung’s own Tizen operating system, which is in its new smart TVs but absent from its Android-powered phones. It wasn’t fun to use on the original Galaxy Gear, but six watches later, the Gear S2 shows that maybe Samsung can do its own thing. Except for one major problem There are no apps. Really. When we first reviewed this watch in late 2015, we complained about the dearth of useful apps. And now, fully a year later, there are still almost no apps for this watch. For example, let’s take a spin through the travel apps available for Apple Watch. There are apps for every major airline United, Delta, JetBlue, Alaska, Lufthansa, apps to buy tickets and read reviews Priceline, TripAdvisor, Expedia, taxi apps Uber, Lyft apps for lodging Starwood, AirBnB, and apps to tell you what to do when you arrive Yelp, Foursquare. Not a single one of those is available for the Gear. Correction two are. Sort of. Samsung has its own app store, and claims that there are thousands of apps, but aside from the Flappy Bird clone, Yelp, Nokia Here Navigator, ESPN, Bloomberg, and CNN, there’s nothing you’ll want to use. Samsung’s apps are fantastic, especially its fitness app, but there just isn’t anything else. Samsung touted the release of a few high profile apps, notably the Uber app the other item from that list of Apple apps is Yelp. Adding Uber was great for Samsung phone owners, not so much for everyone else. You see, the company offers two separate and distinct app stores. Read that again, because it’s total madness. If you own a Galaxy phone, you have access to the Uber app. If you use a phone by a different maker, you won’t see it. This is unacceptable, a clear effort to replicate Apple’s walled garden, which we also find maddeningly restrictive. Likewise, Samsung rolled out Samsung Pay over the last few months; you can download a “beta” of the app — how is it a beta if it’s released to the public? — and pay for products with a wave of your wrist. The app works great, in my testing, but again, it’s only available through the Samsung Gear app store, not the Android Gear app store. Samsung argues that the Knox security features in its phones are required for the app. Oh, really? Hmm. If Samsung wants to keep running a store independent of the Android Wear app market, it desperately needs to attract more developers to its platform. Massive connectivity bugs and lag, fixed at last As much as we love wearing and using the Gear S2, it was for a while one of the most frustrating products we had ever reviewed. In testing the device paired with a Nexus 5X and Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus in November of 2015, we encountered tremendous issues connecting to our phones — issues that have subsequently been fixed. Here’s the scoop. The setup process for the Gear S2 is fairly straightforward when it works. You download the Android app the Gear S2 is Android-only, for now, though the company recently launched a long overdue beta test for iOS support in Korea, find the watch, and then hit Yes on both devices. This will probably work the first time you set up your Gear. If the Gear S2 runs out of battery, it will never reconnect to your phone again. We uncovered a massive bug with the Gear S2 last fall, however If you wear it until it runs out of battery, it will never reconnect to your phone again. The only solution is a factory reset, where you lose all your data and apps. I’ve had to do this three times now. Other users and reviewers have reported similar issues. This bug makes the watch nearly unusable. I don’t know if every Gear S2 has this problem, but several other reviewers — AndroidPit, GreenBot, AndroidHeadlines — have struggled with the exact same problem. The problem, fortunately, has been rectified, but for a time, it was pretty hairy. Switching the phone you use it with is another ordeal. It will require a factory reset, but if you had a different Samsung/Android account connected to the Gear S2 on one phone, factory reset it, but enabled the Reactivation Lock feature, you’re in trouble. This feature is meant to prevent a thief from stealing your watch, factory resetting it, and reselling it, but Samsung has not worked out the kinks. The Reactivation Lock is a nightmare if you are the person trying to switch phones or users. DT Mobile Editor Malarie Gokey and I swapped the Gear S2 between us a family might try to do this as well, but even though she factory reset it, it would not connect to my Galaxy S6 Edge Plus because she had turned on the Reactivation Lock. There were no good on-screen prompts for how to proceed — a hard reset and debug menu didn’t help, either. In the end, I had to log in as Malarie on my phone to make it work. It was a colossal pain in the ass. Don’t ever factory reset a Gear S2 before you disable the Reactivation Lock. Notifications seemed to never arrive on the Gear, or came slowly, when we first reviewed it. This issue too seems to have been resolved. Finally, we never encountered much lag in the OS, but if you scroll quickly, it will fail to keep up. More annoyingly, if you have an app that sends multiple notifications, such as a chat app, Samsung’s swipe-up-to-delete gesture will fail to work. Instead, it will just scroll through the notifications. Eventually, if you press hard enough or get lucky, these notifications will vanish, but they do so in an ugly, laggy way. Using it as a fitness band Given the near total absence of smartwatch apps here, I tend to use the Gear S2 as a fitness tracker more than anything else. So how does it perform in this capacity? It does … okay. The Gear S2 has S Health, a very full-featured suite of tools to track your activity. We’ve ran hundreds of miles with the watch, and biked just as many. We’ve tried golfing with the Gear S2, cross-trained, hit spinning class, and more. Across those activities, the watch appears to track step counts reasonably well, though no fitness band seems to count the same number of steps nor log the same distance. For example, we recently ran miles on a treadmill in the gym; the Gear S2 recorded the distance as miles. What happened to that last half mile? Examining that run after the fact on the app yields an abundance of data heart rate over time, calories burned 615! Woo hoo!, average speed and pace, and so on. However, as a fitness band, the Gear S2 is limited by the absence of GPS functionality. Unless you carry your phone with you on that run, you’ll have no way to know exact distances or to track your path. We’re glad to see Samsung adding this feature into the S3. Also, while the watch charges quickly enough, it has died in the middle of several runs for us, meaning all data is simply eliminated. Additionally, the app makes it easy to select the last used activity but doesn’t make it easy to change it. If you recently went for a run, just scroll the dial right to get to the Start Workout widget and quickly start another run. Want to go cycling instead? Scroll right once, push apps, select S Health, scroll right to the green screen, push the arrow at the bottom of the screen, and select a different workout type. Whew! There are only eight types of activity, unfortunately, another limitation of the app. Cross training? What to select? Solid specs The Gear S2 has a gorgeous 360 × 360 pixel Super AMOLED screen that couldn’t look nicer. It’s covered by Gorilla Glass 3, runs Samsung’s Tizen OS, and has a 1GHz dual-core Qualcomm MSM8x26 processor, 4GB of internal storage, 512MB of RAM, Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth NFC, a heart-rate monitor, an accelerometer, a barometer, and a 250mAh battery. The NFC connectivity allow it to work with Samsung Pay, though that payment platform is still in beta, as we noted earlier. It still doesn’t work on Android Pay, and we have little expectation that Samsung will add this support. Bountiful battery life The Gear S2 kicks ass when it comes to battery life. The 250mAh battery in the S2 doesn’t sound like much, but I’ve gotten about – 3 days out of every charge. I did experience a lot of connectivity issues, which may have improved battery life, but even when it was connecting regularly, the battery killed it. Most watches seem to average about 1 to days, including the Apple Watch, so it’s nice to see Samsung excel in this regard. Jessica Lee Star/Digital Trends Jessica Lee Star/Digital Trends The Gear’s charging cradle is also well thought out. Instead of a hunk of magnetic plastic that awkwardly slaps onto the back of the device, like the Apple Watch, this has a full stand that props the watch up like it’s on a pedestal, with a little indicator light that tells you if it’s charged or charging. One-year warranty Samsung’s standard manufacturer warranty is normal for a mobile device. A Gear S2 is covered for 1 year after the day of purchase for defects that occur under normal use, though Samsung determines “normal use,” so it can deny any claim it wishes. Don’t expect a repair or replacement if you get the Gear S2 wet or drop it, but if the battery gets very bad before a year is out, Samsung may replace it. You can find full details on Samsung warranties here. Conclusion Even though the Gear S3’s release is imminent, the Gear S2 remains a beautiful piece of industrial design, and a decent smartwatch. Updates to the software have come steadily, patching the serious connectivity bugs we identified in our initial review and adding some neat features, notably support for Samsung Pay. But without the enormous app market seen on the Apple Watch, it’s hard to say the Gear is a better product. Buy one and you’ll invariably find yourself wishing you could do more with it. That’s a shame, because Samsung has made a watch with possibly the best battery life, clearly the best interface to date, and one of the best designs we’ve seen. Looking for an alternative? There’s the Apple Watch, of course. Keep in mind that it requires an iPhone — and if you’re in the market for a Gear, you probably own a Galaxy or Android phone. Given the jaw-droppingly frustrating app store experience on other Android phones, we heartily discourage non-Galaxy owners from buying the Gear S2. Android Wear watches are getting better, but they still aren’t great. If you want to explore that route, try one of the new Moto 360s or the Huawei Watch, or keep your eyes out for the Gear S2’s big brother, the Gear S3. The Gear S2 retails for about $300 and most other watches hover around that price. Alternatively, you could choose to go low tech. We like the simple Withings Activite and Activite Pop, though they’re made for slender wrists. Highs Beautiful round design Elegant, fluid user interface Rotating bezel is a true innovation 2-3 day battery life Lows Barely any usable apps Reactivation lock is buggy Fitness functions are very limited Editors' Recommendations Google Pixel Watch 2 rumored price, release date, news, and more Apple AirPods Pro 2 vs. Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 4’s sleek design teased in detailed leak Samsung Galaxy Watch Active vs. Samsung Galaxy Watch Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 vs. Watch Active Spec comparison Samsung Gear S2 By Samsung As easy to get on with as a Pebble, as stylish as an Apple Watch and with that tactile, rotating bezel as its secret weapon, the Gear S2 is the kind of smartwatch you’d kick yourself for leaving at home. It’s not perfect – this isn’t that dream hybrid of fitness tracker and all-round wrist computer, and the Tizen app store is a big miss – but by giving us decent battery life without sacrificing features it feels like a leap forward. The 3G and GPS model has the chance to change what an everyday smartwatch is capable of, but the regular S2 and the Classic should be on every Android owner’s smartwatch shortlist. Rotating bezel FTW Simple, speedy to use OS Good battery life Tizen apps are limited Software extras aren’t perfect Not as customisable as rivals We first tested the Samsung Gear s2 in November 2015 when it launched. Recently, we've spent more time with the device and added our thoughts on how it holds up and compares to newer devices. When it comes to Samsung smartwatches, our Gear S2 review breaks new ground. Never before have we been able to describe a Samsung smartwatch as desirable, intuitive or – most importantly of all – compatible. Wareable verdict Samsung Galaxy Watch review With its Swatch-like looks and ability to play nicely with rival Android smartphones, Samsung has performed a spectacular U-turn. The result is a bold wearable that gets as much right as its predecessors got wrong. Read on to find out why Samsung is back in the game. Samsung Gear S2 Design It's impressive how many bases Samsung has covered in just two designs the standard Gear S2 and the upscaled Gear S2 Classic. It should be noted that the stainless steel and plastic editions look like watches and feel well made – and if you've ever worn a previous Samsung smartwatch, you'll know that is big news. If we'd had a choice of which Gear S2 design we prefer, we'd have to pick the Classic. The ridged bezel, leather strap and smaller body combine for a premium feel, and it can be easily fitted with third party straps. And both are now the same price after receiving cuts due to the arrival of the Gear S3. One note to mention, though, is that we haven't had a chance to test the Gear S2 with 3G and GPS – the obvious choice to compare to the Sony SmartWatch 3 or Moto 360 Sport if you want a cheaper smartwatch for everyday use, as well as running or training. With two different designs and a bunch of different straps, there's some choice of style in the Samsung Gear S2 line-up, though it can't rival the likes of Apple for personalisation options. While the Gear S2 Classic, with its leather strap, looks more in line with a Fossil watch, the plastic strapped Gear S2 has more in common with a Swatch. This is key for a couple of reasons. First, the Samsung Gear S2 doesn't try too hard. With its pre-loaded watch faces it looks fun and off-the-wall. It's not trying to be as classy as an Omega or as blingy as a Michael Kors. It has a confident style and it translates well. Read this Samsung Gear S2 v Samsung Gear S3 One of our only criticisms here is that the thick S2 is still quite chunky and sits quite high on the top of your wrist. This is similar to the second gen Motorola and if there's one guarantee about the next generation of devices it's that they will be slimmer, but right now smartwatches are still chunky. The Classic will work for women but it wouldn't be our first recommendation. Still, one thing is for sure – we are so far away from the first Gear watch. This is a polished, unisex, circular smartwatch that no one will be ashamed of wearing. Samsung Gear S2 That rotating bezel The Gear S2's rotating bezel is far and away our favourite thing about the piece. Rather than try to disappear the bezel altogether like Motorola or primp it up to look like a traditional wristwatch like LG, Samsung has transformed it into a satisfying, addictive and most importantly, intuitive way of interacting with the smartwatch. When you move your hand to hover over the watch on your wrist it's the exact place your fingers land, even when you aren't looking down yet, and thanks to some clever UI design in its Tizen OS – more on that later – you can switch between apps, cycle back to notifications, change volume and brightness all in the same smooth motion. In short, it's genius and we're still yet to see any rivals take advantage of the same feature, despite Android Wear possessing the power to make this happen. It's faster than Apple's Digital Crown on the Watch and the touchscreen prods and gestures of Android Wear. You can control everything with your finger on the right half of the bezel if you're right handed which means you will always be able to see the whole display. The bezel's closest rival here is actually a little known Chinese watch, designed by Frog design, called the Ticwatch which has a capacitive strip on the outer edge. There are also two buttons on the right-hand edge of the round watch body 'back' at two o'clock and 'home' at four o'clock. The first of these is in the perfect position, the second can be a bit annoying to shift your hand around to press. You can set a double tap of the home button to launch an app, such as the music player or maps, which is handy, though unlike say, a Pebble, in order to select an app or setting it's back to prodding the touchscreen. Samsung Gear S2 Screen With so much love for the rotating bezel you might forget to pay proper attention to the bright, vivid and sharp Super AMOLED screen. It's smaller than some smartwatch screens and set into the watch so it doesn't look quite as modern as the Moto 360 2. But this just increases its retro/classic charm. At 360 x 360 pixels, the Gear S2's screen has an impressive pixel density of 302ppi, which means you can choose to set the font very small and see more messages or notifications on one screen as you scroll through them. It's as pin-sharp as the smaller Apple Watch and it shows. And unsurprisingly for a Samsung product, it can go very bright – probably too bright, though, as most days we settled for a low, easily readable setting. Samsung Gear S2 Tizen Tizen has always been a gamble for Samsung but this time it has paid off. Unlike all the Android Wear watches from Huawei and LG and Motorola which benefit from recent updates but can't really move the category on, the Gear S2 is doing its own thing. And its thing is a damn well easy to use smartwatch OS. As easy to use, in fact, as our beloved Pebble OS. The home screen is the watch face screen and you simply rotate left one click for recent notifications. Rotate right to get to a screen with an apps icon, settings, buddies for quick messages and S Voice. Keep rotating right and you can get easily glanceable information – weather, S Health progress, heart rate and information from third party apps. Choose the apps menu instead and Tizen makes the most of the circular screen and bezel with round app icons around the edge of the display to cycle through. Keep going with the bezel and it simply takes you to the next screen of apps. It is much quicker than zooming in and out with a Digital Crown. Notifications are there, messages are there, call logs, third party apps… You can't get lost. One niggle is that images, say from WhatsApp, don't display on the watch but this can be excused for the time being. Tizen performs well too with no lag between transitions – the only thing that keeps you waiting is animations when apps open. Unlike Android Wear, the music player controls work without fail every time. With alerts, the vibration is quite subtle – not refined subtle like Apple's Taptic Engine but more in a you-might-miss-it kind of way. You can set the Gear S2 to long vibrate and there are levels to choose from but even 'strong' isn't that strong. Our only criticism is that it would be great to be able to customise the aesthetic of the whole UI – it looks a little clownish and in particular will probably look a little odd on the Classic. Apple's watchOS 2 is colourful but looks more suited to a stylish accessory and watches such as the Olio Model One are offering bespoke watch faces and UIs custom to each finish. Like the Apple Watch, it's missing the contextual alerts of Google Now which can be really handy, but arguably what Tizen offers is – for now – more useful; a quick way to find out and access what's happening. What we really want is a blend of the two – Google's virtual assistant is the future but Android Wear is still a work in progress after 18 months. Outside of Apple and Google, Samsung has obviously been looking elsewhere for its services and maps are taken care of by HERE Maps. It's generally accurate and you can zoom in and out of your location using the bezel but it can be rather slow to load on the watch. Directions are handled by a separate HERE app, Navigator. Tizen supports Bluetooth – the S2 works with most Android phones, another first for a non-Wear Samsung smartwatch. It also has Wi-Fi on board – pull down to see if it's in 'standalone' mode or paired to a phone – as well as NFC for Samsung Pay, its mobile payment service which is a hit in Korea, just launched in the US and is coming to the UK. We'll update this review with our impressions of using Pay with the Gear S2 very soon. There is also the small matter of the 3G and GPS Gear S2 with a bigger battery but we haven't seen this model yet, and according to a Samsung exec it's not due to come to the UK or Europe. Samsung Gear S2 Health and fitness So many health and fitness features are bolted onto smartwatches these days, we'll focus on what Samsung does well. Step counting is accurate and S Health offers some easily glanceable graphics to show your progress to specific goals set in the smartphone app. If you want to be more active, the Gear S2 can vibrate to remind you you've been sitting down for nearly an hour and also give you the time you've been inactive as well as active – all useful, motivational stuff. Other alerts include step target achieved and healthy pace. You can also input that you've drank a glass of water or cup of coffee with one tap once you've reached that screen with the bezel which is exactly the kind of thing a smartwatch can help with. The S2 isn't going to replace your sports watch, especially as neither the regular nor Classic models have GPS, but there are some attempts to give you that option. It auto tracks walking, running and cycling, with estimates of calories burned, which is perfect for the kind of casual user who would consider the Gear S2 as an all-rounder. Though it did detect our evening jog, it also had a blip when it once – only once – classed sitting on the sofa as light activity. Nike+ Running is also preloaded and is a better choice for regular runners as it shows time, distance and pace right on the watch face. The heart rate monitor on the underside of the Gear S2 is a cut above too, and while it's no more accurate than the tech you'll find on an Android Wear watch, it's a lot more useful. It can take on the spot readings and can also be set to continuously take your pulse at intervals with two settings, moderate or frequent. When you're not exercising, you can also tag your bpm readings as 'resting', 'before exercise', 'after exercise' or with moods such as 'excited' and 'angry' so you can keep an eye on your heart's health. The app also lets you know if your resting heart rate is average or lower/higher than average, though the stats get annoying fairly quickly. Samsung Gear S2 Apps Here's the part of the Tizen gamble that might not pay off. There are a handful of preloaded watch faces to choose from – both analogue and digital style, customisable and some with 'complications' to show the date, the weather or whatever you want instant access too. As for apps, Samsung promised over 1,000 Tizen apps designed for the Gear S2's circular screen and it gave developers plenty of notice to get them ready. What we have is a bunch of big names like Nike, CNN, Yelp and Twitter as well as some smart home control options, and then a lot of, shall we say, interesting apps to sift through. Interesting may be generous. You can head to the Samsung Gear Apps store via the Samsung Gear app to see the limited selection for yourself, but chances are you won't be too impressed. But this is Samsung and the Gear S2 has the potential to outsell all Android Wear watches. We haven't seen anything available for Tizen so far that pushes the boundaries of what smartwatches can be great at – we're thinking of standalone options that are genuinely useful. Things have improved since the early days of the app, but there's no hiding from the fact that Tizen's app support is the weakest of the proverbial 'Big 3'. Samsung Gear S2 Battery life and charging Wareable The battery life on the Gear S2 is slightly above what you'd expect for smartwatches - it's still not going to blow you away, but also won't kill you within a day. Of course, this also depends how you use it – whether you go for the always on screen, how much you use apps like S Voice and Maps, etc. But when using the S2 as much as we've used Android Wear watches day to day, Samsung's smartwatch is the one left standing. The 300mAh battery inside is officially good for three days – we haven't got more than two and a bit days out of it, even without the screen 'always on', but we're sure it can go for longer with lighter use. To find out the battery level, you swipe down from the watch face, exactly the same as on Android Wear. Especially worth mentioning is the superb Power Saving mode. We left the house on 15% battery one morning having forgotten to dock the S2 in its tidy wireless charging dock overnight. We popped power saving on and it got us home from work before the Gear conked out. This switches the watch face to a simple grayscale screen, disables everything apart from alerts, calls and messages and turns off Wi-Fi. In short, it's wonderful and it means you won't be wearing a blank circle on your wrist on your commute home. As for that dock, it's the spitting image of the Moto 360 dock a little smaller and helps to build charging into your daily routine. The only annoyance comes with needing to charge your watch at work or when travelling, but nine times out of ten we prefer this kind of dock to a random proprietary cradle. Amazon PA Samsung Gear S2 Samsung Gear S2 Voice Voice controls on the S2 are actually a bit of a letdown – it's one of the only areas Samsung needs to improve on. S Voice can be accessed on the first screen right of the watch face and it can also be set to open by double pressing the home button as can any app. The software uses Nuance voice recognition tech, like Pebble watches, and this just isn't as reliable as Google Voice or Siri. The watch's mic picked up what I was saying without having to bring the device up to my mouth, choosing to open a result on my phone was quick and reliable and it's nice being able to add your own command phrase. I also recorded a voice memo with Samsung's built-in app which handily transcribed my mutterings. Annoyingly though, it was with only around 75% accuracy. It's much the same with voice searches, plus it's a bit of a pain that it defaults to Yahoo search results, rather than Google, on the watch. That can make for some odd results. As ever, voice needs to work more times than it doesn't in order to get people trusting the technology. It could have been a great anti-touchscreen one-two with the rotating bezel, but S Voice isn't quite there yet. Perhaps we'll see improvements with future devices taking advantage of Bixby. Samsung Gear S2 Long-term view It's been a long time since the Gear S2 launched and marked Samsung's shift to its own Tizen platform, so we've decided to go back and live with the smartwatch to see how well it stacks up to its rivals 18 months on. However, unlike in the initial review above, we've been strapping the Gear S2 Classic onto our wrists, as opposed to its plastic twin. And while the latter is by no means provides an uncomfortable fit or ugly look, the leather strap gives the device a more classy feel. For our money, the overall design holds up well with the current crop of flagship devices, and many would prefer the smaller bezel over the hulking, rugged successor. If you're used to larger watches or you simply have a bigger wrist, it may take some time to the S2, but generally this is a neat and versatile look. We reckon it's a more reasonable size than the S3. Its small screen does have the potential to dampen notifications, but thankfully its brightness and sharpness are still up there with the best. When you compare it across the board, only really the Apple Watch Series 2 can leave it trailing behind. And while we're on the topic of hitting its strong points, it's worth noting that we still find getting around the device via the rotating bezel better than any others — it just works, and makes going back to other devices and swiping screens feel like a chore. Now, for the not so good. While the Gear S2 3G and GPS model dropped outside the US and Korea six months after the original variants, we've been testing the standard non-GPS model. With smartwatches adding an increasing amount of sensors since the S2's release, it's been left behind as a device for those in need of an exercise companion. When you get used to running with an in-built GPS in your watch, it's rough to go back to tethering. And as with any heart rate monitor from the wrist, it can suffer when playing at high intensity, despite offering helpful features to help you keep track of your long-term heart rate. The lack of support in terms of apps is also a big problem that Samsung has improved over time but ultimately failed to resolve. Strava is a perfect example of this; there's no native app available and only Android smartphone users are able to sync activity data from S Health. Overall, Samsung's Gear S2 is still a viable smartwatch for those looking to get in on the ground floor with a major player. There have been moves to add more apps and also cater for iOS users, but this still adds up to a slightly feature-dry package when compared to fresher devices. Update You can now read our Gear S3 Frontier review!Introduction Samsung is no stranger to making wearable gadgets. About two years ago, it brought us the Galaxy Gear, which was the company’s first attempt at making a modern smartwatch. Then came the Gear 2, which filled many of the gaps its predecessor missed, all while adding extras like a camera and a speaker. And for the Gear S, Samsung threw in a larger screen along with a SIM card slot for cellular connectivity. The Samsung Gear S2, however, is shaping up like the first smartwatch by Samsung that holds potential to make a splash on the market - the first that may appeal to a broad audience of geeks and non-geeks. And we’ve been excited to review it ever since it got announced - we’ve been looking forward to test-driving its unique rotating bezel and to give its circular user interface a try. All in all, we’re not sure if the Samsung Gear S2 is the best smartwatch ever, but it is most likely the best smartwatch that Samsung has made so far. Is that really the case, and can it justify its $350 starting price? Time to pair it with our Galaxy S6 smartphone and find out!In the boxSamsung Gear S2 smartwatchA small and a large wristband pairMagnetic charging cradleWall charger with non-detachable MicroUSB cable Output 5V, Start GuideDesign This is what a modern smartwatch for non-geeks should look and feel like. The Gear S2 is pleasant to look at, and the rotating bezel is convenient to say that the Gear S2 is designed well would be an understatement. Both visually and functionally, it is one of the best smartwatches we’ve reviewed so far - it is a modern, premium timepiece with a minimalist, gender-neutral appearance. It is neither too aggressive, nor too boring, nor too geeky with its looks, and we feel like that’s a recipe for success when it comes to smartwatches. Having that in mind, it comes as no surprise that the Gear S2 draws attention and becomes a conversation topic when noticed by people around us. The casing of the Gear S2 is made of 316L stainless steel, which is a material with excellent corrosion resistance. It has been treated to a matte finish, while the beveled edges of the bezel and the buttons have been polished to a shine. Mind you, the metal is tough, but will get damaged if not treated with care. Bumps against hard, rough surfaces will most likely result in scratches on its surface. It is nice knowing that the bezel has a raised lip, which serves as a bumper protecting the of the bezel, it is one of the Gear S2’s stand-out features. By rotating it, one can navigate through the smartwatch’s menus, scroll down emails, and interact with apps, having to touch the display only to confirm a selection. The solution is elegant, convenient, and superior to anything similar that we’ve seen on a smartwatch to date, not to mention that you get to scroll down that email without your thumb obscuring the display. Better yet, every rotation of the bezel produces a satisfying click, giving you that pleasant tactile feedback response. There are two physical buttons found on the Gear S2, both placed on its right side. The upper takes us a step back, and the bottom one takes us “home” by bringing us back to the watch face. A second press of the latter key displays the list of apps. All in all, the buttons work fine, although bit more travel and tactile response would have been welcome. We didn’t use them very often, to be honest. Instead, we mostly used a swipe down gesture on the touchscreen to go a step of the box, the Samsung Gear S2 is equipped with an L-size wristband. L stands for “large”, as you can probably guess, and it allows the smartwatch to fit on the largest of wrists. Also included is an S-size wristband, which is of length suitable for people with smaller wrists. The material is rubbery, flexible, and soft to the touch. Now would be a good time to mention that the Gear S2 uses proprietary wristbands. In other words, you can’t put a standard, 20-millimeter wristband on the wearable, although you will be able to purchase alternative bands with funky designs from Samsung Gear S2 is shielded from the elements, carrying an IP68 rating. In plain words, it is resistant to dust and water ingress. You can’t go scuba-diving with it, but you shouldn’t worry about sweat or tap water damaging its internals. DisplayA high-resolution AMOLED display produces clear visuals and glows brightly outdoors. But tough luck if its diameter is too small for you. The Samsung Gear S2 sports a Super AMOLED touchscreen display with a round shape. It measures inches millimeters in diameter, meaning that it is smaller than the screens of many competitors. The LG Watch Urbane, for example, has a screen, and the smaller of the two Moto 360 2015 models has a one. On one hand, the Gear S2\s display doesn’t feel small by any means and we’re content with its dimensions - the UI does not feel cramped, and we can operate its touchscreen with relative ease. But on the other, some buttons and UI elements do feel kind of smallish, and we’re sure some folks would have loved having a bit more screen space or the option to choose a bigger aside, the display on the Gear S2 has a resolution of 360 x 360 pixels, producing 302 ppi for crisp and clear images. Even text of small size is easy to read, not only due to the pixel density of the display, but also because it is usually displayed in white letters against a dark background for optimum of the advantages of AMOLED screens over LCD ones revolves around power efficiency. Basically, pixels that display black consume no power. Because of that, you may choose to enable the Gear S2’s always-on display feature without worrying about battery drain. We did and found it to be pretty neat as the time is shown constantly on the screen. On a related note, using a watchface that has a bright, colorful background instead of a black one has a noticeable impact on battery the Gear S2 has an ambient light sensor, it can adjust its brightness depending on the environment. We noticed that its screen automatically gets brighter under bright light to improve visibility. Another effective way of adjusting its brightness is manually, from a pull-down screen or the settings menu. Overall, the Gear S2 is usable outdoors as it glows brightly enough, although we really wish that the glass cover protecting the display was less reflective. A weakness we had to deal with was that the Gear S2’s display becomes less responsive when moist - during an intense exercise, for example. Sure, you still have the convenient rotating bezel at your disposal, but that is of little use when the touchscreen fails to register your taps or switches between menus on its own. The quick takeSamsung was a pioneer in the new generation of smartwatches, but it hasn't produced the best overall products in its past few tries. With the Gear S2 it finally has a lot of things right — the watch looks nice, has a good screen, is built well and is now a proper size for most wrists. The Tizen-based operating system doesn't have as many restrictions as before and now works properly with non-Samsung phones, which is huge. Unfortunately the software still feels a little rough around the edges, and tries to do far too much considering the screen size it has to work goodCompact and lightInnovative rotating bezelGreat screenGood battery lifeThe badSoftware still tries to do too muchNative apps offer poor experienceMore complicated than Android WearNotification support not entirely universalSamsung's best watch yetGear S2 Full ReviewWhen you look at the history of the modern smartwatch, it's hard to ignore Samsung's involvement in the process. Though it hasn't necessarily made blockbuster products that have led the wearable industry, Samsung has been eager to keep trying new things with each generation — whether it's large screens, new software interaction or standalone cellular connections in watches. Samsung also hasn't shied away from different operating systems, starting with Android, trying Android Wear and finally settling on the launch of the Gear S2, it's clear that Samsung has been learning from its mistakes as well — and this is finally the first watch from Samsung that feels like a complete product. The new watch is compact, capable and designed to look like a watch — and the new rotating bezel is a truly innovative way to interact with it. Perhaps most importantly, the Gear S2 works with Android phones other than Samsung's own, which was a bigger issue for most people than the overall quality of its previous while the Gear S2 is a better product than any previous Gear, the competition is a bit stiffer now as well. Android Wear finally has some legs, and Pebble has released new versions of its own watches. Does the Gear S2 have what it takes to be considered as your new primary wrist computer? We're here to answer that question in our full review — read this reviewI Andrew Martonik am writing this review after a little more than a week using a silver and white Gear S2 with a cameo appearance by Phil Nickinson's black and dark grey model. It's a standard Bluetooth and Wifi model not 3G, and for the entire review period was connected to either a Samsung Galaxy Note 5 or Moto X are two distinct designs of the Gear S2. There's the "standard" model which I have here that's a bit sporty in design, and then there's the Gear S2 Classic, which has a more standard watch design with proper lugs and a standard watch band on it. Both are roughly the same internally — the only difference is the case design. There is also a 3G model of the standard Gear S2, which is slightly larger and has a bigger new take on GearGear S2 Hardware and displaySamsung has tried various approaches to its smartwatch designs, but the one unifying feature — from the original Galaxy Gear to the gigantic Gear S — was that they kind of just felt like little phones. They were all bulky for smartwatches, had relatively large and rectangular screens and some even integrated cameras into the bodies or the straps. It doesn't make sense to do so much on a watch, and with the Gear S2 Samsung no longer tries didn't just move down to the competition, it went smaller with the Gear than just drop down to the same size on offer by the current crop of Android Wear devices, Samsung went a step further with the Gear S2 and went smaller than what's out there already. The Gear S2 has a slightly smaller display, and is thinner and lighter than your average LG Watch Urbane or Huawei Watch. The only downside here is that there aren't two different case sizes on offer like the Moto 360 2015 and ASUS ZenWatch 2 — you'll have to like the one size off, let's talk display. Samsung went with a relatively small circular Super AMOLED screen, at 360x360 resolution, and it looks beautiful. The reliance on black backgrounds in the interface make the whites and colors pop, and while there's no automatic brightness mode I found myself comfortable with brightness set to 80 percent. The resolution is plenty high for this screen size, and it has good viewing angles as well. I just expect Samsung's displays to be good at this point — no matter what the size — and the Gear S2 doesn't display is really great, and the simplistic stainless steel case is of top-notch display is surrounded by a solid casing made of 316L stainless steel, available in a light silver or a dark grey, with a plastic and glass insert on the bottom to allow for wireless charging and heart rate monitoring. And while it doesn't have standard lugs for attaching watch bands, it does extend on the top and bottom to marry up with a proprietary connector for its own bands. The bands are designed to flow seamlessly into the case, giving it a slick look, but some may still prefer the more "standard" look of the Gear S2 Classic case is nicely machined in a minimalist design, with the flat and lightly-textured steel being set off just a bit by a shiny bevel all along the rotating bezel that surrounds the screen. That rotating bezel serves as a main way of interacting with the watch, which I'll get to in a later section, but it's important to note that the bezel is very well engineered. It clicks along as a great interaction mechanism for the watch, but also doesn't look out of place or get in the way when it isn't in the same can't be said about the dedicated "back" and "home" buttons on the right side of the case, which indeed stand out as not only poor choices for usability but also kind of detract from the otherwise sleek case. A single button would've looked much better, but I can at least applaud Samsung for ditching the big front-mounted home button of previous Gear S2 comes with a flexible elastomer aka rubber band out of the box, with a standard watch buckle in matching metal to the case, and while it still has a proprietary connector it's at least easily swappable and can be changed without tools. Samsung includes both large and small bands in the box — but really they should be called "long" and short" because the only difference between the two is the length. You can mix-and-match the two bands to get the right fit, and while I just used the standard large set, those with smaller wrists will want to opt for the small only downside to the standard Gear S2's design is its sporty style, which doesn't work in all is only offering the Gear S2 in two color choices, but at the launch of the watch showed off quite a few different band color options. We haven't heard anything more about when or where those band choices will be available Samsung did eventually sell replacement bands for previous Gears, or if third parties will be able to get in on the action, but I wouldn't put much stock in them becoming available — just pick the color you'll be happiest with out of the box, and anything more is just a elastomer bands give the Gear S2 more of a sport watch feel, not unlike the Sony Smartwatch 3 or any other basic non-smart active watch from Nike or Adidas, and that can be a little polarizing. It feels right at home with casual attire and daily wear, but stands out notably if you're dressing up for a nice dinner or a meeting. Of course the opposite is true with a design like the LG Watch Urbane, which is just far too flashy, but I do wish that the standard Gear S2 band and case were a bit more neutral. At least Samsung is offering the Gear S2 Classic, which costs $50 more but has a design that should work in more How to change the Gear S2 strapsTizen is better, but incompleteGear S2 Software and performanceSamsung's Tizen-based smartwatch operating system has greatly evolved since it took over for the Android offering on the first Galaxy Gear. And just like its smartwatch hardware story, Samsung's smartwatch software often feels more like it belongs on a small phone rather than a watch. Though the latest iteration is far simpler to understand and use, I still get the impression that Samsung is just trying to do too much on the watch — particularly for a device with only a circular entire interface is navigable with swipes, but the rotating bezel is preferable in almost every this watch packs a touchscreen, there are multiple ways to interact with it that don't involve tapping the screen. The Gear S2 has two buttons on the side — one for "back" and another for "home" — as well as a rotating bezel to help alleviate navigating a rather complex interface on a small screen. The back button simply takes you back to the previous screen you were on, just like on an Android phone, and the home button returns you instantly to the watch face. You can also set a double-press of the home button to launch any app of your the entire interface is navigable with swipes, the preferred method is twisting the watch bezel. The bezel clicks while turning, with each click in position being analogous to a full-screen swipe. In most of the interface you'll turn the bezel clockwise to move right, and counterclockwise to move left. In vertically-scrolling lists, menus and apps, you'll turn clockwise to go down and counterclockwise to go up. Turning the bezel means you aren't covering the interface you're trying to manipulate, and on such a small screen it helps to just move in a series of bezel clicks rather than swiping. In multiple areas of the interface, you can highlight items from a radial list with the bezel, and then simply tap the center of the screen to select the highlighted the highest level of the interface you have a set of home screens, with your watch face of course being the primary screen — a swipe down on the screen returns you to the watch face, and a swipe down again on the watch face gives you quick controls for media playback, do not disturb mode, and brightness controlls. To the left you'll find your notifications as they come in, and to the right you'll find a succession of customizable widgets. There are 13 in total pre-loaded, and you can choose to organize, add or remove them as you see fit — by default you'll have a quick app launcher, as well as widgets for your calendar, S Health step count, weather and heart Gear S2's software still feels a bit like it belongs on a phone, and can get confusing quickly when you use the cleanest possible look you can remove all of these widgets, but you'll still get a blank page to the right of your watch face with a "+" imploring you to add more. Many of the widgets just aren't useful at all, like the full-month calendar widget, or some of the widgets that require deep multi-level dives into apps to make use of. But others, like the media playback control widget and the step counter, are genuinely useful to have at a glance over from your watch face. The best part about these is being able to choose which ones you main interface paradigm is rather simple to figure out, but it gets quite confusing once you dig deeper into it. Again you get the feeling that there's more smartphone DNA in this watch than anything else, as there are still situations where you need to be several taps, swipes or clicks deep into the interface to get things done. Diving into the settings is just a rabbit hole of lists upon lists, with every option imaginable available, and doing some things like replying to an email can take upwards of five taps on the screen. You can get by with just the simple things on the Gear S2, but there's a lot going on here that can get frustrating and confusing to navigate on such a small facesSamsung has done a pretty good job with the watch face offerings on the Gear S2. Out of the box you'll have 15 distinct watch faces to choose from, some of which are branded with pre-loaded apps like Nike and CNN, but in general run the range between modern and classic, as well as analog and digital. Most of the faces can be customized some more than others, with options to change the dial, hands if analog, colors and information can also browse through dozens of watch faces from Samsung's Galaxy Apps store, though I honestly couldn't find many that appealed to me and was more than happy with a customized version of a pre-loaded face. Perhaps these offerings will improve over time, but only time will tell there — there's nothing in the Galaxy Apps store that can rival the watch face offerings for Android Wear of the most important experiences on any smartwatch is how it handles notifications from your attached smartphone, and thankfully Samsung has made huge strides in this area compared to the original Gear S. There are two major improvements to the notification system — two-way notification sync, and actionable third-party notifications. Two-way sync means any action you take on the smartwatch is reflected on the phone, and vice-versa, while actionable third-party notifications mean you can actually do things with notifications that arrive rather than just clear notifications arrive on your phone they're pushed over to the watch and lined up in chronological order — grouped by app — on individual screens to the left of your watch face. You can also have the watch screen turn on when notifications arrive, as well as adjust the vibration intensity on your wrist for notifications. Unfortunately if you turn on this heads-up notification mode, you can't actually clear the notification right as it arrives — you need to hit the back button and then go back to the main notification area to clear it. Baffling, but that's how it you scroll or swipe through your unread notifications you'll see an app icon indicating where it came from, as well as a brief bit of information on the content — such as the subject line of an email, or the first few words of a text message. Tapping individual notifications expands them so you can view the full content — as in, you can actually scroll through a 500 word email if you want. If it's a text-based chat — like an email or Hangouts message — that can warrant a response, you can reply with quick canned responses, a set of emoji, voice dictation which is unfortunately not very well done, or even type in words with an absolutely tiny T9-style keyboard believe me, it's not great. If you'd prefer to just clear the notification, you can swipe it up on the watch and it'll also clear on the sync and actionable third-party notifications are a minimum requirement in a modern the Gear S2 now supports more than just Samsung phones that also means it supports non-Samsung apps, and the compatibility is surprisingly good. For example when Gmail messages arrive you can actually archive or delete them from the watch, and when Hangouts messages come in you actually see the person's picture as a background and can reply properly. There are also a few glaring omissions, like a lack of turn-by-turn notifications from Google Maps, and informational pop-ups that are more watch-specific like boarding information from airline as is the case with Android Wear you can't expect every app you have to interact properly with the watch, but it seems as though Samsung has done its part to get popular apps working as expected on the Gear S2. Unfortunately it isn't likely that new apps released further down the road will be supported, and if a developer is choosing to hook into just one wearable platform on Android, chances are they're going to start with Android using Tizen for its wearable platform has many advantages, but one of the biggest downsides is in its handling of apps. Because there's no inherent link between the apps on your phone and the watch outside of just basic notifications, if you want any more complex interaction you need to install an app on the watch directly. Samsung showed off dozens of apps from well-known names at the launch of the Gear S2, but unfortunately a large number of those have yet to show up in the Galaxy Apps store for download. And those that have are quite a pain to install, involving downloading the watch app from Samsung's store, often followed by another app download from the Play Store on the phone side, and then some complicated of the big name apps aren't here yet — but unfortunately even those that are here aren't like CNN, Bloomberg, Nike+ and Here Maps are on-board, but dozens of others — like Uber, for example — aren't here and have no time frame of when they'll arrive. But I'm not losing much sleep over it, because the app experience as a whole isn't that good anyway. As you'd expect there isn't a ton you can do on a screen, and reading CNN articles three words at a time or scrolling through Bloomberg headlines just isn't in any way something I want to do on a outside of direct fitness trackers and small utilities, there isn't much you can do on a watch that would warrant a full app running on it. And while the apps do run smoothly and work, they don't offer a good enough experience to make you want to use them on the watch instead of just taking out your phone. The only real downside of not having local apps is for things like messaging, where it's impossible right now to initiate something like a Facebook Messenger message, a Gmail email or a Skype call — the only way to interact with those apps would be through a reply to a VoiceSamsung's S Voice service — think Google voice search, only from Samsung — is baked into the watch, and getting beyond the awkwardness of trying to interact with a watch for voice controls, it has some limited functionality. You can initiate phone calls by number or name, send text messages though only if you use the default app on your phone, show contact information, get calendar information, play local music, set an alarm and get current can turn on always-listening mode to respond to your command of "Hi Gear" or train it for any other phrase, which works any time the watch is on, but that feature is turned off by default, likely for battery voice command list is relatively limited, and S Voice just isn't as robust as Google's offering on Android voice commands for calls and texts seem to work, other natural language queries like "What was the Seattle Seahawks score last night?" just came up blank and queries such as "Send an email to Phil Nickinson" returned a "no matching applications found" error. It's hard to knock S Voice too hard considering that voice commands aren't the biggest feature of a watch, but when it doesn't work properly for basic Google-style searches or can't handle basic queries, it limits the number of times I'm going to actually turn to it throughout the Voice is also the speech-to-text engine when you're sending messages or speaking voice replies to messages, as an alternative to the other text input methods. Voice replies are rather accurate, but the method for taking input and sending the message is a bit clunky. S Voice doesn't do a good job of identifying when you've stopped speaking when you're replying to a message, leaving you to simply hit the "send" button to stop the recording — I really wish it would identify the end of your sentence as it does in the main S Voice ManagerIn order to get up-and-running with the Gear S2, you'll need to have the Gear Manager app installed on your phone. The Gear Manager app itself hasn't changed dramatically since Samsung's last wearable release, but quite importantly the compatibility of this companion app has opened up to non-Samsung phones. The full list of supported phones is right here{.nofollow}, but basically anything running Android or above with of RAM should work just finally supports other Android phones, and thankfully the experience is nearly Manager is the middleman that lets your phone talk to your watch, and it's necessary because Android doesn't inherently talk to non-Android Wear smartwatches. You can use the app to change your watch face, choose which apps give you notifications, and toggle a few different settings on how the phone interacts with the watch. You'll also find it puts a persistent notification in the shade, not the status bar telling you the watch is connected, but you can simply "block" it in the phone's application settings without the experience of using the Gear S2 on a Samsung phone and any other Android phone is nearly identical. Of course things are a bit more seamless on the Samsung phone on account of the Galaxy Apps store and Samsung's apps being pre-loaded on the phone, but you can overcome these things on any other device — the Gear S2 hooks right into the stock dialer, messaging app, calendar and other system-level functions on compatible phones. I never had any issues or notable differences in app performance, notifications or Bluetooth connection when using the Gear S2 on a non-Samsung phone in my case a Moto X 2014.Just charge at nightGear S2 Battery lifeWith the Gear S2 being relatively small and thin, I was immediately worried about how Samsung was going to handle battery life with the 250 mAh cell inside. Thankfully my concerns were completely overblown, as I haven't had a single worry about battery life on the watch. Leaving the Gear S2 at 80 percent brightness remember, there's no automatic brightness with its ambient display mode on, S Voice listening for a wake-up phrase, and receiving nearly all notifications on the watch, I would end each day with at least 20 percent battery life — many times ending with up to 40 that's with what I'd consider "normal" smartwatch usage, as in I wasn't interacting with it all day. I would regularly check messages, archive Gmail, check my step count, look at the weather or my upcoming appointments on the calendar — but I didn't regularly perform lots of voice searches or do anything that kept the screen on more than 20 seconds or so at a you do plan to use the watch on a more frequent basis — as in more often than when notifications arrive — I'd recommend turning off the ambient watch face mode and lowering the brightness to get the most out of the 250 mAh battery. You can also flip into a limited Power Saving Mode, just like Samsung's phones, that severely limits functionality to preserve battery. In any case, I don't think you can actually expect the Gear S2 to make it through multiple days of use comfortably, which is hardly a knock on it considering that's the case on just about any other non-Pebble smartwatch out be charging every night, but at least the cradle is well Gear S2 charges wirelessly, which is preferable from a case design standpoint but does mean that you'll need the included dock to get the job done even though it's Qi, the band design makes it tough to use on other charging pads. The dock is a simple small cradle that holds the watch with the screen vertical and the strap ends resting on the table, similar to the Moto 360 2015's cradle, but unlike that model the Gear S2 actually holds magnetically to the back of the cradle for a secure charge. The entire cradle is quite a bit smaller than Motorola's offering, which is vertical cradle style certainly looks nicer when on display on your desk or bedside table, but it's far less practical if you plan to bring it with you when you travel when compared to the flat disc-style charging attachments. That's a small deal for most, but considering the watch will need charging every day you'll have to bring this thing with you wherever you're going to be spending the best Gear, but not the best smartwatchGear S2 Bottom lineIt's hardly a stretch to say that the Gear S2 is Samsung's best effort yet at making a compelling smartwatch. The hardware is very attractive and well made, and between the standard and Classic version you'll likely be able to settle on one that fits your style. The Gear S2 is refreshingly small for a smartwatch, and the rotating bezel is a genius way to overcome issues related to interacting with a very small touch screen. The screen is absolutely top-notch, and the battery lasts a full day without the software on offer is still a bit of a mixed bag on the Gear S2. It's very capable when it comes to handling basic notifications, giving you glanceable information and using native functions provided by Samsung. On the other hand, the third-party app support is anemic and poorly implemented at best, interaction between the watch and the phone can be a bit clunky, and voice commands and speech-to-text leave something to be clearly learned a lot of lessons from the original Gear S, but with the Gear S2 it's still trying to do far too much in the software considering the limitations of the screen size. Having lots of options and features on a watch is great in theory, but those extra options and interactions get in the way of getting things done on the watch — and in the end the goal should be to interact with the smartwatch less, not you buy it? Android Wear is still in the leadOne of the biggest hurdles facing Samsung on previous Gears was its limited support of just its own phones, which with this generation it has finally eliminated. Though that opens up the Gear S2 to dramatically more people, it doesn't mean the Gear S2 has vaulted to the top of the list of smartwatches to buy if you have an Android the hardware on the Gear S2 is really great, and surely on-par with other Android Wear offerings in the same price range, the software doesn't quite offer the great experience it may have seemed to at first glance. And even though Samsung has made leaps in adding support for third-party apps and improving its overall interface, there's no getting around the fact that Android Wear more seamlessly integrates with all Android phones and is simpler to there are places where the Gear S2 beats Android Wear — namely in the use of widgets, the rotating bezel for interaction and albeit limited on-watch apps — but those few wins don't overtake the issues in interface and interaction that are handled much better on Android Wear. And when we're talking about a $299 or $349 smartwatch, I don't think you should feel the need to settle for something that doesn't work as well as the other offerings out to buy the Gear S2Amazon BestBuy Samsung Macy's Expansys UKWhere to buy the Gear S2 ClassicAmazon BestBuy Samsung Macy's Expansys UK{.nofollow .cta .shop} Andrew was an Executive Editor, at Android Central between 2012 and 2020. Most Popular Good points The product's best features and benefits Bad points Drawbacks or issues you need to know about Unlock our expert review and more Reviews and ratings you can trust Easy side-by-side comparison Recommended products at a glance Test Results Test Results Specs Specifications Features Features Type View more details. There are three main types. Fitness bands, smartwatches with fitness tracking features and smartwatch style fitness bands. These share the smartwatch design and a few features but they are primarily built for fitness tracking, unlike smartwatches which include additional smartphone features. Smartwatch style fitness tracker CHOICE Expert Rating View more details. This overall score consists of ease of use 30%, comfort 35%, pedometer accuracy and distance accuracy Ease of use score View more details. We set up each fitness tracker on Android, iOS and Windows where available and score how easy they are to set up and wear, and how well they track information via the band and via the related app. Comfort score View more details. We use a panel of six people 3 men and 3 women and get them to try on each fitness tracker. They rate how easy it is to put on and take off the band, how easy it is to adjust to get the best fit, and how comfortable the band is to use and wear daily. The scores are then averaged. Step count accuracy score View more details. We measure how accurately each fitness tracker measures steps. Accuracy depends on what you put in as your height, weight and, in some cases, pace length, and the technology used by the fitness tracker. Distance accuracy score View more details. We measure accuracy of distance and how well it tracks how you move. The fitness tracker uses a number of technologies to track how far you've travelled. Accuracy depends on what you put in as your height, weight and, in some cases, pace length. Resting heart rate accuracy View more details. We measure five different people tried on each fitness tracker and readings are taken against a medical-grade monitor. Each tracker is given time to stabilise. Note, we no longer test resting heart rate accuracy as of 2022. Active heart rate accuracy View more details. We measure accuracy and how well each tracker responds to changes in heart rate, and how it deals with adverse conditions, such as sweat and motion. Note, we no longer test active heart rate accuracy as of 2022. Year tested View more details. Models tested in, and after, 2022 are no longer assessed for resting and active heart rate. Pre-2022 Satisfaction score View more details. Results taken from CHOICE reliability survey 2018 of 2105 members, where possible. Does not contribute to the overall score. Reliability score View more details. Results taken from CHOICE reliability survey 2018 of 2105 members, where possible. Does not contribute to the overall score. Shop Ethical rating View more details. Shop Ethical rates the environmental and social impact of the company not the product using independent sources. This rating is not included in our total score. N/A means there is no rating for that company. F Waterproof or resistant claims View more details. There are a variety of certifications that indicate the degree of dirt, grime, grit and water protection these include ATM, IP ingress protection and WR water resistant. The rule of thumb is, the higher the number, the greater the protection. Some manufacturers may make broad claims instead such as "water resistant." IP68 Android app View more details. Whether or not the device works via Android, the smartphone operating system. Yes iOS app View more details. Whether or not the device works via iOS, the Apple smartphone operating system. No Windows app View more details. Whether or not the device works via Windows, the Microsoft smartphone operating system. No Screen View more details. Models with screens display some or all relevant information on the band/smartwatch. Models without screens convey all information on the accompanying app. Some can provide basic information such as time or battery life using a series of LEDs. Yes Digital clock View more details. Most trackers can eliminate the need for a standalone watch as they present the time on your wrist. Yes GPS View more details. Built-in GPS. Some models also include GLONASS the Russian version of GPS. Models that support GPS and GLONASS should deliver the fastest position identification. No GLONASS View more details. Built-in GLONASS the Russian version of GPS. Models that support GPS and GLONASS should deliver the fastest position identification. No Weight g 63 Claimed battery life without GPS days View more details. Activating GPS/GLONASS will significantly reduce battery life. 4 Bluetooth View more details. Bluetooth 5 is the most recent, widespread version which improved battery life as well as speed, signal strength and performance over longer distances. But fitness bands and fitness features on smartwatches don't really require features beyond the slightly older Bluetooth "Smart" Bluetooth is more or less the same as Some brands do not specify the version used. Warranty years 2 Website Notifications View more details. While fitness tracking is the main purpose for these devices, notification of a text or phone call coming in from your smartphone can be very handy. Yes Webpage tracker View more details. Does the fitness tracker have a webpage that you can access via your PC to see your stats such as steps taken, calories burned, etc? No Alarm View more details. An alarm can be a useful thing, especially if it's a silent alarm that just buzzes on your wrist to wake you up without waking up anyone next to you. Yes Altimiter claimed View more details. As claimed by the manufacturer. Most fitness bands and smartwatches measure this by assessing barometric pressure. Yes Heart rate monitor View more details. Heart rate monitors are a useful barometer of effort for some people and can act as a way to measure your fitness regime more precisely. Yes Sleep tracker View more details. A sleep tracker claims to be able to measure when you are active in your sleep. Yes Session tracker View more details. Some fitness bands have a session tracker which means you can trigger an activity type such as a run or a cycle and note it via the tracker rather than having to log it manually later. This means it can assess the number of calories you've burned in this period. Yes Food tracker View more details. A food tracker built into the smartphone app used by the fitness band means you can log your intake of food throughout the day. Yes Milestones View more details. Motivational points in your training regime. Models vary between supplying preset goals and allowing you to customise your milestones. Yes Shares results via social media View more details. Some devices allow you to share milestones reached via various social media. Most can share these with a few different social platforms. Yes Write a review

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