14 DAY TRIAL // There’s no doubt 2020 has been a crazy year so far (and it’s not even over yet), and the last nine months or so have completely changed everything, from the way we interact with each other to how we pay for groceries and buy stuff.
One of the most common recommendations coming from the WHO is to avoid using cash as much as possible and instead rely on alternative payment methods not involving physical contact, such as contactless credit cards, mobile phones, and smartwatches.
And given smartphones have become an extension to our bodies and we take them with us pretty much everywhere we go, they are also part of this new forced cleaning routine that everybody had to embrace for obvious reasons. So after going out shopping and returning home, we now must to clean not only our hands but our phones too.
One way to deal with this crazy pandemic and also follow expert advice is to stick with a smartwatch, as it allows you to view your messages, make phone calls (sometimes with options to actually talk to your contacts), and more importantly, make payments all by using an integrated NFC sensor.
In other words, the past few months have revealed another purpose of the smartwatch, as this little device that sits on the wrist can help us remain protected in front of an invisible enemy that everybody is afraid of.
And this is why Samsung’s efforts in the smartwatch market have suddenly started playing a much more important role, not only for the company itself but also for customers who rely on such devices a lot more these days.
The Galaxy Watch 3 is Samsung’s latest Apple Watch rival, and today we’re going to have a closer look at the 41mm model (the second version in the lineup is the 45mm variant).
Let’s start with the obvious: Galaxy Watch 3 looks like a watch. Thank you, Captain Obvious.
No, really, a smartwatch that looks like a watch isn’t something that’s easy to achieve, especially because building a round display that allows users to interact with it using touch input is quite a challenge since the screen estate is somewhat limited. This is one of the reasons it’s actually easier to use an Apple Watch and media like photos is displayed in a more native way on its screen.
But whoever likes the design of a classic watch will probably love this new Samsung. My hands have an average size, or so I believe, and the 41mm model fits my wrist just right. However, if you have ridiculously large hands, no worries, the 45mm should fit you, well, like a ridiculously large glove.
When it comes to the design and the build quality of the watch, there’s nothing to complain about here. Just think this is a product supposed to compete against the Apple Watch, and you’ll get the point. A smartwatch that doesn’t boast top-notch quality doesn’t stand a chance against industry leader Apple Watch, and Samsung knows it very well.
This is why Samsung has spent a lot of time refining and polishing its smartwatch, so it comes with a stainless steel body that tips the scales at just 48.2 grams for the 41mm version. Samsung is also offering a titanium model, but let’s stick with the one we can afford, shall we?
Samsung says the new model is some 14 percent slimmer than the original Galaxy Watch, but honestly, you can’t see the difference in real life. On the other hand, the Corning Gorilla Glass DX is supposed to offer extra durability, especially for those who work out hard (I’m as lazy as it gets, so naturally, I couldn’t test how durable the Galaxy Watch 3 really is).
There’s one thing that I just love about the Galaxy Watch: it’s the rotating bezel that has no real benefit for me but which feels just great to use. This bezel is supposed to help scroll the menus, but I found using touch is much more intuitive overall, so the only time I actually start rotating this signature Galaxy Watch feature is when I’m bored and I just want to feel its incredible feedback.
Trust me about this, the Galaxy Watch 3 rotating bezel has amazing feedback, and I can’t help but hope my next smartwatch would come with something like this (heard that, Garmin?).
One thing that’s rather odd is the leather strap that comes by default with the Galaxy Watch 3. Samsung has made a bit deal out of the activity tracking capabilities of this new model, yet the device comes with a band that’s totally not recommended for workouts. In some ways, this suggests the main purpose of the Watch 3 remains the smartwatch side, which allows it to play the role of an extension to the smartphone.
Wearing the Watch 3 is most of the time comfortable, and I said most of the time because the leather band really isn’t appropriate for a device you’re supposed to keep on the wrist when you sleep. Because yes, the Galaxy Watch 3 does come with sleep tracking, and Samsung has even worked together with the United States National Sleep Institute to provide a more advanced insight in this regard. You’re thus provided with sleep reports when you wake up, while also receiving tips to improve the quality of your sleep.
However, if you’re like me, there’s a chance you’ll be annoyed by the Sleep Score feature. This one is supposed to provide a score for the way you sleep, and the whole thing is based on a complex algorithm that looks at how much you spend in bend, how long you stay in every sleeping stage, and things like that. And given I typically sleep just a few hours every night (because, you know, that PlayStation 4 won’t play games on its own), it goes without saying my score was fairly low.
In terms of features, you get pretty much all the bells and whistles of a modern smartwatch, and these include a SpO2 monitor, ECG, blood pressure monitoring, fall detection, VO2 Max readings, and several others.
When it comes to the activities it can track, there are a lot of them, and the watch can actually automatically start tracking a handful of them, such as walking, running, and cycling. In other words, even if you forget to start the tracking, the Watch kicks in all by itself after 10 minutes, provides an estimate for your progress, and continues monitoring the way you exercise. It automatically pauses the tracking when you stop and waits for input to end a session.
Most of these features work pretty accurately, though I noticed that if you run for a few minutes and then suddenly start walking because you can no longer breathe (as it typically happens in my case every time I’m in a rush and I run towards my car), it automatically pauses the tracking because, theoretically, you’re no longer running. This is obviously the correct way to go, but it’s something you should be aware of at the end of the session.
Like the new-generation smartwatches, Galaxy Watch 3 can also monitor swimming, but obviously, I couldn’t test this feature since it’s a pandemic and I’m not yet in the point where I live in a mansion with my own swimming pool. However, this is another thing that makes me wonder why Samsung offers a leather band by default on a device that’s supposed to be used for swimming too.
The performance of the Galaxy Watch 3 is just as good as you’d expect it to be. I’ve seen plenty of people complaining about the processor available on this model – for some reason (which most likely comes down to costs), Samsung installed the same processor it used on the original Galaxy Watch, this time with 1GB RAM and 8GB of storage.
Let me tell you one thing: the processing power of the watch is just enough and there’s absolutely no need for a faster chip. The Galaxy Watch 3 doesn’t feel slow, and it responds blazing-fast 24/7.
Faster processor, more RAM, and things like that make more sense on a phone or a laptop, not on a smartwatch where the running apps are typically rather lightweight and don’t require an insane amount of resources. So yes, the Galaxy Watch 3 copes with pretty much any task you throw at it, even with this old processor.
And partially to thank to is Tizen OS 5.5, Samsung’s very own operating system that powers its smartwatch lineup. As one would easily figure out, Tizen comes with heavy optimizations in every single area, and this helps not only the performance but also the battery life.
And yet, the battery specs aren’t as good as you’d expect them to be, and on average, I’d say that recharging the Galaxy Watch 3 daily is a good way to make sure you’re not running out of battery. Other than that, the best I could get was close to 2 days, though it goes without saying the more you work out, the bigger the impact on the battery.
For someone coming from a Garmin fenix 6s, whose battery can go up to 7 days per charge, this is quite a downgrade, though again, a rotating bezel is missing on this one.
One shortcoming of Tizen is the lack of apps, something that typically affects proprietary operating systems (of course, not Apple’s). So if you’re the kind of user who installs 100 hundred apps on their smartwatch, this might be an issue, especially because some high-profile names are missing.
But other than that, Tizen is supposed to be for Samsung what watchOS is for Apple: an in-house developed operating system that the South Koreans have full control over and which can heavily optimize in any direction they want.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Samsung describes the Galaxy Watch 3 as the right device for pretty much everything, including notifications, payments, running apps, activity tracking, stress monitoring, and things like that.
While it’s pretty clear this depends on a series of factors and can rather be a subjective opinion, I believe the Galaxy Watch is first and foremost exactly what its name suggests: a smartwatch.
It’s not necessarily an activity tracker, and in some ways, it looks like Samsung agrees with it too: why else should you offer a device you’re supposed to use in a swimming pool with a leather band?
I know it looks and feels more premium, but the correct way to go would be to include a silicon strap in the box, thus making sure the smartwatch is ready to do everything it promises without customers having to spend extra.
Leaving all of these aside, the Galaxy Watch 3 remains one of the best smartwatches around. But at the end of the day, there’s still plenty of room for improvements in areas that for some users, including myself, matter the most: app support and battery life.
