Samsung Gear S2 - smartwatch review

The Samsung Gear S2

Is this the smartwatch for me...? Well, I must decide by tomorrow for the deadline to return to eBay.com ends on April 28, 2017. Yeah, I know, how amazing is that to have a return policy via an auction website - amazingly geeky! Here is some of are thoughts compiled after nine days of usage.

Tuesday, April 18, 2017
My first night sleeping with the watch on was different, quite different than most smartwatches or fitness bands worn during my four years of testing. The watch is heavier than #Fitbit Surge or Blaze and thicker than the Apple Watch. I painstakingly had the brightness turned on too high and forgot to disable to raise to on mode so it really lite up the bedroom. The sleep data popped up on the screen nicely after the Gear synchronized with the Samsung Gear S (app) on my iPhone. Without the Gear S app "open at all times" the watch has much trouble functioning smartly. That being said, the standalone features are still amazing when your iPhone is left at home and you're venturing about with only one device. 

Thursday, April 19
After the 48 hour mark one begins to know if they wish to keep a device. Yeah, I didn't want to return it after I switched my iPhone into Italiano mode for the Gear automatically updating the interface language and it was fabulous. The translation verbiage was not only easy to read, but also intuitive and fun. 

Tuesday, April 25

Finally got around to and rang AT&T to activate the Samsung Gear S2 smartwatch and... they were unable to do so. Tried again online via the AT&T iOS app on my iPhone 7+, nope, no dice again for it gave me some lame error message. Called AT&T back and they said I needed to visit a local store if I wanted to active the on-board SIM card. Overall, the iPhone connectivity and communication to an Android watch is amazing!

Thursday, April 27
It was a good day using the GPS mode to track a walk and then a run. I quite enjoyed the displayed stats. That being said, the lack of reports, the lack of leaderboard, and having no website to view more detailed data, yeah, it is a deal breaker. I tested the Samsung S Health Android app on the new Galaxy S8 phone and it was incredible! Alas, I would expect a much better communication between Android devices. I was hoping that before my trial period ended Samsung would update the iOS app, nope, not rumors or hints found as of yet. As it turns out the Garmin interface is becoming more attractive for it synchronizes quite nicely with both Android and my current Apple smartphone. Perhaps, I was a little too optimistic in thinking Apple and Android could ever play nicely.

A rough night for battery life. 

Have you ever wanted to use a GPS map on your watch? Yeah, me too so I tried this feature. I clicked on an address connected to a calendar appointment and the Google maps app quickly opened with a spinning icon. Minutes later the app closed, so I thought. One hour later I received a low battery warning of 14% left and before I could place the Gear into a power-save mode it shut off and would not not turn back on. After using Garmin, Withings, Fitbit, Mio, and many others I really wanted to like and fall in love with this smartwatch, alas, it is not logically acceptable nor financial viable to switch smartphone and leave the Apple ecosystem for a watch. Perhaps Fossil has solution?

Here's my list of pros and cons:

Pros

- ability to change and browse the app is pretty good

- text message come through great

- calendar reminders are wonderful

- alarms on the device great

- phone call notifications function smoothly and there is an option to answer or decline the call on the watch face

- app notifications are easily read and blocked

- through the Samsung Gear S iOS app notifications are easily unblocked

- customization of the Gear S2 sport is fun, intuitive, and well designed

- Heart Rate data appears consistently accurate (in comparison to Garmin and Fitbit HR data)

- the HR data acquired during sleep is quite useful

- sleep data is great; however, if the sleep is missed or inaccurate, the sleep cycle cannot be edited with in the iOS app or on the watch

- Find my Gear - yeah, such an amazing feature to quickly locate your lost smartwatch

- reactivation lock, worked smoothly, and helps prevent thieves from benefiting from a stolen Gear 😃

- Send image - this is a feature within the Gear S app, and it worked easily sending photographs to my watch

- App layout - yes, you can change the layout of your watch app from the iPhone

Cons

- no ability to share sleep, exercise, workout, any data collected from the Gear S2 from the watch or app

- no leaderboard or social interaction with other friends that use a Samsung Gear watch for fitness

- no customization or cool tweaks for the watch faces

- not all apps are applicable when connected with an Apple iPhone (shockers since Apple and Google are arch enemies)

- no notification withing the Gear S app when the device is fully charged

- find my phone, yeah, doesn't work
- GPS map may lock-up the device and drain your battery by 81% over a one-hour time frame. 
- Battery life - a smartwatch truly needs to last at least through the weekend with moderate use. 


So, what is your favorite smartwatch or fitness tracker? Feel free to leave comments below. 

Sincerely,
Orange Runner