Samsung is an experienced player. If you talk about smartphones, laptops, refrigerators, Air Conditioners, or maybe any gadget, Samsung manufactures it. With smartwatches being in their infancy, the Gear S2.
We live in a time where you will barely see someone wearing a smartwatch, mainly because of their expensiveness and also because people aren't really aware of the options they have with such a gadget, and also the capability of a smartwatch. Also, people think that having a watch might be necessary, but the watch being smart, might not be.
Anyways, when a person who knows about the watches sees one, is filled with fascination and really keen to test it out, and the end reaction is not so satisfying for Samsung's Gear S2.
With Android Wear being the best smart watch platform (hands down), Samsung is providing you with a $400 dollar alternative which runs Tizen OS and the only feature that you might find fascinating about it, is the rotating bezel.
We have also done a 60 second Review of the Smartwatch which can be found here!
Although there are plenty of watches by smaller companies, such as the Intex iRist and Wickedleak Alpha, the market is still dominated by Pebble, Android Wear, and The Apple Watch.
The smartwatch is built beautifully. There is no doubt that I would prefer a round smartwatch anyday over the squarish or some other shaped smartwatch. This smart watch looks absolutely fantastic. It doesn't even look like a smart watch. On the first glance, it looks like a simple analogue watch. The display of the watch is a 360 x 360 pixel 1.2 inch display with Samsung's AMOLED Technology. The bezel is primarily made out of metal with a brushed feel to it which gives an amazing in hand feel to it. This watch is a perfect mixture of functioning as a smart watch and looking like an everyday normal watch.
The Gear S2 is having a 1.2 inch 360 x 360 pixel display which looks really fabulous. The display is an AMOLED panel which provides an amazing experience. The colors are realistic, black are really deep, and by far, the best on any smart watch that I have used ( I haven't used many :P). The display can get really bright at times and to change the brightness levels, you need to go to the home clock face, then swipe down, click on the sun icon, and rotate your bezel to change brightness.
We live in a time where you will barely see someone wearing a smartwatch, mainly because of their expensiveness and also because people aren't really aware of the options they have with such a gadget, and also the capability of a smartwatch. Also, people think that having a watch might be necessary, but the watch being smart, might not be.
Anyways, when a person who knows about the watches sees one, is filled with fascination and really keen to test it out, and the end reaction is not so satisfying for Samsung's Gear S2.
With Android Wear being the best smart watch platform (hands down), Samsung is providing you with a $400 dollar alternative which runs Tizen OS and the only feature that you might find fascinating about it, is the rotating bezel. We have also done a 60 second Review of the Smartwatch which can be found here!
Although there are plenty of watches by smaller companies, such as the Intex iRist and Wickedleak Alpha, the market is still dominated by Pebble, Android Wear, and The Apple Watch.
Samsung Gear S2 Review!
Up for grabs for Rs 24,500, this watch is not at all cheap. In fact, for what it delivers, you might think it is indeed expensive, and you are not wrong. I think the same. The best thing is that this smartwatch is not only compatible with Samsung devices but also non Samsung devices. The highlight of this smart watch is the rotating bezel which is really neat and cool to rotate.
Design (9/10):
A really good thing about this watch is that it is perfectly round. Even the Moto 360 series is perfectly round but there is a traditional flat tire on the bottom of the display which is really irritating. The Gear S2 has no such problem. The design is really good with rubber straps and really good tactile home and back buttons.
Display (9/10):
The Gear S2 is having a 1.2 inch 360 x 360 pixel display which looks really fabulous. The display is an AMOLED panel which provides an amazing experience. The colors are realistic, black are really deep, and by far, the best on any smart watch that I have used ( I haven't used many :P). The display can get really bright at times and to change the brightness levels, you need to go to the home clock face, then swipe down, click on the sun icon, and rotate your bezel to change brightness.
One of the key differentiators between the Gear S2 and other smartwatches is the rotating bezel . The dial rotates in both directions to let you navigate around the interface, moving from one screen to the other. The bezel itself offers excellent tactile feedback as well, and it makes using the watch so much easier and more intuitive. This is a much better option than using the touchscreen to move about.
Overview and Design (9/10):
On the right hand of the watch, there is a back button followed by a microphone which is used for S Voice Commands and a Home Button. The lower button doubles up as the power button when long-pressed, and also brings up the app menu when short-pressed. Selections are made by tapping the screen, so the use of the buttons was fairly limited for us. The microphone is located between them and can be used to give voice commands to the S Voice app, or dictate voice replies to text messages. On front we have a 1.2 inch display which is protected by a rotating bezel. One thing to note here is that the bezel is a scratch magnet.On the bottom is a heart rate sensor and Samsung branding.
The releases for the strap clamps are also here, and the entire watch weighs a rather comfortable 47g, with a thickness of 11.4mm.
The rubber strap goes well with the IP68 water resistance, which means you don't have to worry about taking the watch for a swim or getting it a bit wet in the rain or wash basin, though you should avoid doing so as much as possible. On the whole, the Samsung Gear S2 is comfortable to wear and use.The strap that is included by default with the Samsung Gear S2 is made out of rubber. Although it is detachable, it's a proprietary design and only straps made especially for the Gear S2 will fit onto the watch. If this is a problem for you, we suggest you go for the Samsung Gear S2 Classic, which comes with a detachable leather strap and allows for standard 20mm straps to be fitted. Apart from this, the differences between the S2 and S2 Classic are purely aesthetic. The former is larger and slightly heavier with a modern and smooth look, while the latter looks more traditional, with a patterned rotating bezel and traditional lugs.
The releases for the strap clamps are also here, and the entire watch weighs a rather comfortable 47g, with a thickness of 11.4mm.
The rubber strap goes well with the IP68 water resistance, which means you don't have to worry about taking the watch for a swim or getting it a bit wet in the rain or wash basin, though you should avoid doing so as much as possible. On the whole, the Samsung Gear S2 is comfortable to wear and use.The strap that is included by default with the Samsung Gear S2 is made out of rubber. Although it is detachable, it's a proprietary design and only straps made especially for the Gear S2 will fit onto the watch. If this is a problem for you, we suggest you go for the Samsung Gear S2 Classic, which comes with a detachable leather strap and allows for standard 20mm straps to be fitted. Apart from this, the differences between the S2 and S2 Classic are purely aesthetic. The former is larger and slightly heavier with a modern and smooth look, while the latter looks more traditional, with a patterned rotating bezel and traditional lugs.
Specifications:
- 1.2" 360 x 360 pixel display(CG3 Protection)
- Qualcomm MSM 8x26(Dual Core 1.0GHz)[Gear S2 3G]
- Exynos 3250 dual[Gear S2 Standard]
- 512 MB RAM/ 4 GB Internal Storage
- 250 mAh battery
- INR 23000/$300
- Samsung Pay Certified
Software (6/10):
The smart watch runs on Samsung's very own Tizen OS (not android). Keeping the fact in mind that Samsung is really Android friendly with their devices, not only smartphones, but refrigerators and televisions, having Tizen OS on their smart watch is not the best decision. With a minimal os Like Tizen, Samsung isn't just experimenting things, they might have had something in their mind before having made the decision to have Tizen based smart watches.
Tizen OS is really minimal. The software is really basic with not a lot of options to explore and mess around with. There isn't even a maps app, which is a basic necessity of a smart watch. You don't have basic apps like Facebook, Twitter etc. which is a really big disappointment. You have a few games which can be downloaded from Samsung's App Store. You have some games like flappy bird and some really low graphic intensive racing games which are a nice time pass. The software is really undernourished and you have to blame for the options Samsung chose for that.
Tizen OS is really minimal. The software is really basic with not a lot of options to explore and mess around with. There isn't even a maps app, which is a basic necessity of a smart watch. You don't have basic apps like Facebook, Twitter etc. which is a really big disappointment. You have a few games which can be downloaded from Samsung's App Store. You have some games like flappy bird and some really low graphic intensive racing games which are a nice time pass. The software is really undernourished and you have to blame for the options Samsung chose for that.
Performance (8.5/10):
In my days of usage, the watch performed really good. With little to no lags at all, the watch was fluid and a breeze to use.
Under the hood, it runs on a 1 GHz dual core CPU and 512 MB RAM. These specs might look a little old but as for a smart watch, running Tizen OS (which is extremely light), it keeps everything working without any issues. The Gear S2 is as smooth as it gets. A very good thing is that this watch has got the most buttery smooth smart watch performance out of those I have used.
I really envy the performance of the Gear S2, apps open up fast, even on many apps opened in the background, the watch doesn't really go slow! The watch can also measure your heart rate, steps and the Kilometres you cover, and also, it can make voice commands via S Voice and the microphone on the right.
Verdict:
This is a really nice package. But you are paying a little extra for this. It is a cool watch which doesn't look like a smart watch but is a really functional one. If it is available for around INR 15K, it will be a really good option to consider if you are thinking of buying a smart watch. The only and the biggest let down for it is the OS, which is really not App friendly. But as time passes, more and more apps will roll down for it.
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