The Samsung Gear S3 is the latest smartwatch model from the South Korean company. It was presented in August, just under a year after the launch of the Samsung Gear S2, and has now landed in Spain with a price of 399 euros. We have thoroughly tested it, so we inform you that we have a very precise idea of its weaknesses. And that’s exactly what this analysis is about.
Because the Gear S3 is a special watch for several reasons. It does not work with Android Wear, but brings Tizen, Samsung’s operating system. It has a mechanical sphere, at least «mechanical» in the sense that it has a mechanism that makes the bezel rotate. It is compatible with almost any Android mobile (Android 4.4), and… and everything else you can find out with our analysis.
Made the presentations, here begins our analysis of the Samsung Gear S3.
The smartwatch with mechanical bezel
As shallow as it may sound, in this watch thing what counts are the first impressions. The Samsung Gear S3 – or any other watch that brings the «smart» colletilla – is burdened in advance by the difficult task of convincing not only by its functions, but also by its appearance. If the design doesn’t accompany everything else, it’s no use how good or bad the watch is in everyday use. Especially if it costs 399 euros.
Let’s start by clarifying the model of the watch that has passed through our hands. What you’re seeing in the images is the Samsung Gear S3 frontier, which Samsung presents as the sports version; the other version, the Gear S3 classic, has a more elegant design oriented mainly towards formal use.
This watch has a dial that combines a black base with a grey bezel. The strap that has come to us was black, and had an elastic sporty finish with rubber feel. This same strap is available in other colors, and in the Samsung store you can also choose between more elegant, simple or discrete straps. In fact, the watch is compatible with any standard 22 mm strap.
The support that allows us to close the strap on the wrist is metal (so says the inscription itself on it), as is also for granted the case surrounding the watch face (class 316L steel, to be exact).
The Gear S3 features two physical buttons located on the right side of the dial. These are two buttons that have a rough design, and both have a firm ride that conveys that feeling of fortitude that anyone would demand in a watch of this price range.
As far as dimensions are concerned, we are talking about a clock of 49 x 46 x 12.9 (height x width x depth) millimeters, with a weight set at 63 grams.
But what we’ve told you so far is nothing you can’t see in the image gallery we’ve prepared for the watch. Now it’s my turn to speak personally, so you can get an idea of how I’ve felt using this watch in my day-to-day life.
When it comes to such a personal product, it is advisable to tell you a little about the context in which I used this watch. For me, the sporty style is the one that best fits my lifestyle, and I took a joy when I saw that the version I was going to be able to try was the Sport (black bezel + black rubber strap). The other version, the S3 Classic (it’s the one with the silver bezel), seems too formal for my context.
I like Casio’s Edifice watches – the different models of Casio’s ECB-500DC range are the best example of a watch that enters my eyes. In this analysis I have to say that the Samsung Gear S3 I liked at first sight, and it has exactly the design that would ask a watch to wear with me 365 days a year.
The Samsung Gear S3 is big, very big. The dial is larger than watches such as the Moto 360, although those with a small wrist should know that a size S strap (i.e. smaller than the L-size strap that the watch is installed) also comes in the watch case.
1.3″ Super AMOLED display (and it’s touch)
The Samsung Gear S3 is led by a 1.3-inch display that is contained in the 49 x 46 millimeters that the watch face is in size. It is a Super AMOLED display -touch, of course- and reaches a resolution of 360 x 360 pixels.
The first concern that assaulted me at the start of the watch test was whether the screen would have enough brightness for outdoor use. My worst fears have not been fulfilled, because I have seen that the Screen S3 looks really good in daylight. I didn’t need to pass even the seventh brightness level (the ten is the maximum).
As for the quality of the image, little can be said about it considering that we are looking at a screen that is just over an inch in size. The virtual designs of the spheres look as sharp as you’d expect, and even surprise the good quality with which the images are displayed.
The most interesting thing is the choice of Super AMOLED panel, since Samsung has managed to make the darker colors (and in this watch there are many dark colors, starting with the design of the dial that comes by default) are seen with a few hundred percent blacks true to reality. No wonder other models like the Huawei Watch have also opted for AMOLED.
The watch can be controlled both through the touch screen and by rotating the bezel to one side or the other. The bezel has a point-guided movement, so that each time you rotate to one side or the other you can notice a small click confirming that the bezel has changed position.
I have to say that, personally, I have ended up using more the bezel than the touch screen itself when moving around the interface. I found it much easier to turn the bezel to one side or the other if I wanted to see a notification, weather information or news, and I think that’s much more comfortable than swiping your finger across the screen. And, above all, this prevented me from staining the screen with the prints.
That’s how to use the Samsung Gear S3 every day
But the Samsung Gear S3 is a smartwatch, and even this part of the analysis we’ve talked more about the watch part than the smart one. Precisely the latter we will highlight this part of the review, so that you know what it is like to use this watch in a daily routine from Monday to Sunday.
The Gear S3 is compatible with any Android mobile – whether it’s Samsung or not – as long as it meets two requirements: it runs under Android 4.4 KitKat or higher and also has 1.5 GB of RAM or more. In my case I have used an ASUS mobile, so my experience may also clear some doubts for those who plan to buy this watch without owning any Samsung Galaxy at home.
What we can confirm is that it is not compatible with iPhones. In theory, the application that allows the Gear S3 to be used 100 percent on iPhones should come over the next few months, but to this day that option is non-existent. We’ll need whether or not an Android mobile.
The watch incorporates GPS (with Glonass), WiFi, NFC and Bluetooth 4.2, and it is precisely the latter that you have to use to connect the watch to the mobile. In order to make the connection between the mobile and the watch, it is first necessary to have the official Samsung Gear app downloaded to the phone; from there, the whole initial bonding process is a breeze.
Well, we’ve got the clock set up, and now what? Since there are so many things to talk about in this analysis of the Samsung Gear S3, it’s best to go in parts. Let’s start with the interface.