Samsung Gear S2 Review
Samsung Gear S2 Review:
We all know that Samsung has been producing a lot of different gadgets. Smartphone like Samsung Galaxy is one of their best products. Besides smartphone, they are also selling SmartWatch. Today we are going to discuss one specific watch, and that is Samsung Gear S2. If we look at it, we can see that the manufacturer has learned from their failures. Compared to the predecessor, this watch looks much better and feels more comfortable to wear. What’s more, they have used the updated version of Tizen OS. It looks perfect on the screen.
What makes this model different from the previous one is the compatibility. The previous model is only compatible with Samsung smartphone. In contrast, this one works well on other Android phones. In fact, it is even compatible with iPhone too.
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The price set for Samsung Gear S2 is started at USD299.99. This makes the watch to have such a competitive price with other products like Apple Watch and Moto 360.
If you are an Android user, Samsung Gear S2 is already a good choice for you. But, you may want to include the successor, Samsung Gear S3, into your consideration. This latest smartwatch is more advanced. It has built-in GPS, larger battery, and also more RAM. If you find those features to be crucial, then you can go buy that model instead of the gear S2.
Recently, Samsung has released an update of the S2 watch. It is said that this watch has gained some improvements. One of them is the compatibility with iOS support. That means we can easily sync it to our iPhones. Moreover, it also has several additional features such as S Voice Commands, automatic sleep tracker, and the ability to import some photos as a watch face. There is no doubt that we can put Samsung Gear S2 into the list of best smartwatches. This watch will be very competitive with other brands like Apple, Huawei, LG, and many more.
Design
Samsung Gear S2 Review – Design
Speaking of design, there are 2 models of Samsung Gear S2 you can choose. The first one is the original version featured in this review. It is more durable and look sportier. The second one is the Classic edition, which has a more conventional construction. The lugs at the top and bottom enables you to replace the straps easily.
In the original version, the silicone straps are connected to its body through a specific connectors. That means you will not be able to change the look of your watch. About the body, it is made of stainless steel. On the right side, you will see a couple of buttons that you can use to go to the home screen, return, or open the apps. There is also a heart rate sensor on the back side. The most important part of the watch is the bezel. Its rotating ability lets users to interact with different elements and screens.
In term of comfort, this watch is quite nice to wear on our wrist despite of having no various sizes. It will not look out of place on most wrists. Moreover, the round construction makes it insconpicuous.
Although most people will prefer the Classic edition, we must say that the original version is not that bad. Sure it looks not suitable with formal wear, but we still can make it fit with other styles.
Display
Samsung Gear S2 Review – Display
Samsung Gear S2 uses 1.2-inch Super Amoled display. The resolution is 360×360. With this display, you can expect the watch to have high saturation and clear colors. It looks even better with the Tizen OS user interface. And, we can keep the display on thanks to the Amoled. Although it is unadjustable, the brightness level is good enough already. Meanwhile, we can see that Samsung had difficult times in adapting the apps and menus due to the round shape.
Performance
Samsung Gear S2 Review – Performance
Inside the watch, there is a dual-core processor in 1GHz with 512MB of RAM. This is enough to keep the device moving well. Moreover, you will no longer experience any stutters here. The menus and elements can move smoothly, and the bezel allows us to move the screens easily.
Hardware
Unlike its predecessor, the gear S2 watch does not have speakerphone anymore which eliminates the voice call feature. The S Voice does not offer as many options as other bigger systems although you still can operate the voice command and dictation. This watch is wearable with connectives like Bluetooth and WiFi. It is compatible with non-Samsung devices, but you will need to install a number of specific apps to make everything work.
Gear s2 smart watch is still able to receive notification and alerts despite of not being connected to the paired phone. Yet, both devices must has connectivity and been signed up to the same Samsung account. We can store music files in its 4GB storage and listen to them with Bluetooth headset. You can use the bezel to control the tracks.
For health feature, the S-Health can work like a coach by tracking your heart rate during workout. You can use the GPS support to save running route, but you can only do it with 3G-version phone. For running feature, Nike app is the only one that works in current version of Tizen.
The battery capacity of this watch is 250mAh. It may be small but still can work efficiently. It even can last for 2 days long in general use.
Software
In software side, Samsung Gear S2 relies on Tizen OS. This system has both good and bad sides. Let’s start with the good ones. The rotating bezel is really helpful in operating the watch. It allows users to swipe around the screens and dismiss any notifications. When you want to read the notification, you only need to use the bezel to scroll through the text. Hence, you will not be bothered with your fingers covering the screen. There is a small button on the right side you can use to do some actions like replying or muting the apps.
For the bad sides, there are a number of apps which are not ready to use yet in this smartwatch. Those apps are like Google Maps, Evernote, or RunKeeper. The widgets on the right side of the watchface are also limited to Samsung and S-health information. All in all, you will have a limited experience when it comes to the software of Samsung Gear S2.
The Pros and Cons
The pros of the smartwatch:
- The design is durable and accessible
- Premium version is available
- The size is adjustable to fit on wrist
- The rotating bezel is useful
- It has impressive battery life
- The display is good
- The performance is smooth
The cons of the smartwatch:
- Lack of apps
- No adjustable setting for the brightness
