As always, Samsung took advantage of IFA to make several announcements, especially regarding wearable devices this time. In addition to the new Gear IconX headphones and the Gear Fit2 Pro fitness tracker, the South Korean manufacturer also announced the release of a new Gear S series, still running Tizen, called Gear Sport. But what does Gear Sport offer? Find out in our full review below!
Rating
pros
- Sizes suitable for all
- Water resistant up to 5 ATMs
- Two sizes strap included
- Swivel frame for navigation
- Swimming programs
Cons
- Speaker for missing calls
- S-Voice Voice Assistant
- Several third-party applications
Samsung Gear Sport Release Date and Price
Samsung Gear Sport is now available for purchase at a price of $ 299. Two colors are available: black and blue. Samsung also offers 23 different 20mm straps made of plastic, leather, or a combination of both. Other 20mm bracelets are also suitable.
In the package (in addition to the charger and watch) you can find two straps of different sizes.
Samsung Gear Sport design and build quality
With this new generation of Gear, Samsung is showing that it is not abandoning smart watches as a category. On the contrary, according to the manufacturer, by 2021 the market for wearable devices will double. Therefore, unlike the Gear S3, the new Gear Sport seems to be designed for both male and female audiences. Its design has been slightly redesigned to look good even on the smallest wrists. As a result, the screen shrank from 1,3 to 1,2 inches. The dimensions (42,9 x 44,6 x 11,6 mm and 49 x 46 x 12,9 mm) were reduced, and the weight decreased (from 59 to 50 g). Smart watches look more restrained, but at the same time retain a certain elegance.
At first glance, the new Gear Sport is slightly different from the previous generation. Gear Sport has more in common with Gear S2 than with Gear S3. The metal case and accents remain very serious, with various aluminum textures, brushed or polished, on different parts of the watch.
Of course, an excellent navigation dial to help navigate the menu remains. It is a pity that the ring nut (at least in my sample) seems to fit slightly, although it works satisfactorily during use, tends to move slightly and vibrate when touched. This is a pity because it affects the overall quality of the watch. SmartWatch still offers two slightly textured physical buttons to make them easy to find, to the right.
The Gear Sport still has a heart rate monitor on the back of the smartwatch. In combination with the activity measured by motion sensors, this allows you to measure calories burned. However, these are approximate and not accurate data.
Finally, you cannot ignore the time zone, as this is a large part of the design of any watch. By default, Gear Sport offers either a blue or black plastic bracelet (two sizes included), which is pretty nice on the wrist. Rubber material is comfortable and never annoying. Be sure that if you don’t like it, any 20 mm watch strap will do.
The watch adapts to situations of intense physical activity, and is quite restrained to please a fitness fan who cares about fashion.
Display Samsung Gear Sport
The Gear Sport is equipped with a 1,2-inch Super AMOLED display protected by Gorilla Glass 3. This time the definition remains the same, with a resolution of 360 × 360 pixels (302 ppi). The display is definitely one of the best in this category. Tizen takes full advantage of the AMOLED screen with a user interface that makes icons appear on a black background.
The brightness is excellent and there are no problems with glare or reflections. An ambient light sensor can help adjust the brightness of the screen depending on the lighting conditions. The brightness can be manually adjusted up to 10 levels, despite the presence of an external brightness sensor, which serves only to reduce the level in the dark. The implementation is a bit confusing because there is no real auto brightness.
Thanks to the great contrast between the dark background and the light letters, the readability is excellent in any situation. With AMOLED technology, you can also use the always-visible dial without much impact on the overall battery life.
Features Samsung Gear Sport
Compared to its predecessor, one of the most important changes in this smartwatch is to increase water resistance to 5 atm. In particular, the Gear Sport is waterproof to a depth of 50 m and can be taken in the shower or while swimming. Diving, however, will not work.
Another interesting feature is that Gear Sport can act as a remote control for Samsung presentations or virtual reality headsets. The smart watch is then only compatible with Samsung Pay via NFC (without magnetic stripe readers). You won't find Bixby here (yet), but Samsung's older voice assistant, S-Voice, will help you with voice commands. Honestly, I do not know if I am happy or not. If Samsung cannot offer its own voice assistant, compatibility with Google Assistant would be appreciated.
Near the dial, you can place a screen dedicated to training. From here, you can start walking, cycling, cycling and swimming, and continuous monitoring of the heart rate on the screen will be activated, and GPS will be used to track your route, thereby increasing battery consumption.
Physical activity is also automatically determined, but the results are more approximate, sometimes it happened that after playing table football my Gear Sport reported that I had just participated in a cycling race. The watch will also keep track of how much time we spend on a chair in the office, advising us to do quick exercises from time to time.
Samsung Gear Sport Software
Like the Gear Fit2 Pro, the new Gear Sport is equipped with the latest version of the Tizen operating system, 3.0. The interface has been slightly redesigned, especially the application menu. However, usage and menu navigation have not changed. You are still using the touch screen, disc and two buttons. One is used to go back, and the other to access the menu and return to the initial screen. Tizen is sometimes considered better than Android Wear, and this new version only confirms my good impression of it. It is simple, convenient to use, and the watch makes it easy to customize the on-screen dials. Compared to Google’s competitors, the only drawbacks are the lack of Google Assistant and the relative lack of third-party applications.
Samsung has focused on fitness for this sports smartwatch. This, according to the manufacturer, is the main reason for buying smart watches. You can track calorie intake throughout the day, heart rate, steps, and more. A variety of training programs are available with the new Samsung Health app. If you have a connected TV, you can even broadcast your workouts. Keep in mind that compatibility with Bixby will follow in a later update.
This Gear Sport is compatible with Galaxy smartphones running Android 4.3 and higher, Android smartphones running Android 4.4 and higher, as well as iPhone 7, 7 Plus, 6S, 6S Plus, SE and iPhone 5 running at least iOS 9,0.
Performance Samsung Gear Sport
Compared to last year's model, Gear Sport offers relatively similar technical specifications: a dual-core processor with a frequency of 1 GHz, 768 MB of RAM and 4 GB of internal memory. The watch has Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, NFC and GPS.
The strength of Samsung wearable media has always been incredible speed and smoothness compared to competitors Android Wear. During the review period, the watch has always been fast and responsive while maintaining acceptable power consumption.
Audio Samsung Gear Sport
Gear Sport has a microphone for voice control, but no speaker. Therefore, it is impossible to use smart watches for phone calls. To answer the call from your wrist, you will have to remove the phone from your pocket.
As with Gear Fit2 Pro, you can also connect your Spotify Premium account to download music to your watch and listen to it without a smartphone using a Bluetooth headset.
Samsung Gear Sport Battery
Samsung Gear Sport is equipped with a small 300 mAh battery. The Gear S3’s battery was slightly larger (380 mAh), but the screen was 0,1 inches smaller, so there was less room for power. Gear Sport offers an energy-saving mode that extends battery life by disabling all functions except step and hour counters.
I usually have 2 full days of battery life with a constantly on dial, but without using GPS. If you turn off the dial when not in use, you can spend the third day without a bootloader (provided that you do not use GPS very often). You should have no problem arriving at night using smart watches for continued physical activity.
Like its predecessors, Gear Sport can be charged wirelessly at its base, which includes a small magnet to facilitate positioning. There are no visible contacts; charging occurs by induction.
Technical specifications Samsung Gear Sport
| Dimensions: | X 42,9 44,6 11,6 mm x |
|---|---|
| The weight: | 50 g |
| Battery size: | 300 mAh |
| Screen size: | 1,2 in |
| Display technology: | AMOLED |
| Screen: | 360 × 360 pixels (302 ppi) |
| RAM: | 768 MB |
| Internal storage: | 4 GB |
| Number of Cores: | 2 |
| Max. clock frequency: | 1 GHz |
| Communication: | NFC,Bluetooth 4.2 |
The final verdict
The Korean company Gear Sport confirms what has been demonstrated in recent years on its Tizen platform. Devices using the patented platform are fast, smooth, reliable and have all the basic functions that satisfy most users, both sports and non-sports. Although SmartWatch is designed for people who engage in a lot of physical activity, it is also a great companion for lazy people like me.
The price is not the most affordable, but for smart smart watches that look elegant and adapt to any situation, from the gym to an elegant dinner, this is a good investment. The basic functions are all there, and there was not a single day when the watch gave me problems of any kind.
After a long relationship with Android Wear, it was an instructive experience for me, since I realized that the most open operating system is not always the best. Samsung has made Tizen a real star in this device.
