Content
- Contents of delivery
- TECH SPECS
- Positioning
- Design, dimensions, straps
- Display
- Battery
- Communication capabilities
- Hardware platform
- Interface, work with the clock, preinstalled programs
- Smartphone app – Galaxy Wearable
- Impressions
Contents of delivery
- Watches
- Leather strap in one size
- Charging unit
- Instructions
| TECH SPECS | |
| Dimensions and weight | Stainless steel case – 45 mm model: 45 x 46.2 x 11.1 mm, 53.8 grams Stainless steel case – 41 mm model: 41 x 42.5 x 11.3 mm, 49.2 grams |
| Case materials, strap | glass, metal (stainless steel), titanium version available (45 mm)
Rotatable bezel 41mm models: 20mm interchangeable 45mm models: 20mm interchangeable |
| Display | 45mm Models: 1.4-inch (34mm) 360 x 360 Super AMOLED, Full Color Always On Display, Corning® Gorilla® Glass DX +
41mm Models: 1.2-inch (30mm) 360 x 360 Super AMOLED, Full Color Always On Display, Corning® Gorilla® Glass DX + Automatic brightness control |
| Operating system | Tizen 5.5, OneUI Watch 2.5 |
| Platform | Exynos 9110 dual-core up to 1.15 GHz |
| Memory | 1 GB RAM, 8 GB ROM (free 6.2 GB) |
| Wireless Interfaces | Wi-Fi a / b / g / n, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC LTE versions |
| Сеть | In Russia, only the option without eSIM is available, calls via Wi-Fi |
| Navigation | A-GPS / GLONASS / Galileo / Beidou |
| Sensors and connectors | Heart rate sensor (with 8 photodiodes), electrocardiogram (ECG), blood pressure measurement, accelerometer (measurement limit – 32g), gyroscope, barometer, light sensor |
| Battery | 45mm model: 340mAh
41mm model: 247mAh Working time with the always on screen – a little more than a day, with the inclusion of gesture and notifications – 2-3 days |
| Degree of protection | 5atm + IP68 / MIL-STD-810G |
| Colours | Black Bronze Silver (black-silver) |
| Payment System | Samsung Pay |
Positioning
Samsung has chosen a win-win option for smart watches – one universal design in the Watch Active line. No moving bezel, solid and nice looking case. This is a unisex offer for everyone, the watch is suitable for both women and men, you just need to choose the size for your hand.
But at the same time, the line of conditionally men’s watches, launched by Frontier in 2016, has not disappeared anywhere, these are relatively massive watches that look in the style of such a popular mechanical watch for the sea. And many people like this style, I am no exception.
Since the positioning of such watches is different, they decided to create them only from stainless steel (there is an option in a titanium case, it is the most expensive), no aluminum. As the design echoes the Galaxy Watch, this watch becomes out of date and is no longer produced.
A few years ago, Samsung smartwatches showed everything that can be imagined, and today, in terms of functions, they are replenished with certain little things. We’re used to this routine, but the Galaxy Watch 3 is becoming a major upgrade from previous generations as it introduces ECG and blood pressure measurements for the first time (this is not a medical device and should be understood). Initially, these features will be blocked in the watch, but with the update they will appear in the coming weeks. The company does not officially name the date, but it will happen in late August – early September, the likelihood of this event is maximum. It turns out that the Galaxy Watch 3 will be the first watch with similar functions officially available in Russia. And for many it will be a pleasant surprise.
For those who are actively involved in sports, for example, running, this watch will also offer an update, namely an autonomous analysis of your workouts, as well as measuring the volume of oxygen consumed (VO2 Max), how this option works, you need to check, but it all sounds interesting. The watch turned out to be universal and designed for the widest audience, the main thing here is that you like their design, everything else is secondary for such an accessory.
Design, dimensions, straps
Two sizes of watches – 41 and 45 mm, the latter are very massive, and without any discounts this is a men’s model, they will not look on a woman’s hand.
Color solutions for each model are different, but everywhere there is bronze (why is it in a men’s watch at 45 mm?).
The case is matte, it does not shine in the sun, it is made of stainless steel. There are no complaints about the quality of performance, everything is fine.
Strap width – 20 mm or 22 mm, you can use any straps, including third-party manufacturers. Installation is straightforward, pull back a small lever and the strap is removed.
A correctly sized strap does not cause any inconvenience, the watch is very light and is practically not felt on the wrist, including during sleep. Samsung already has a ton of straps for every taste and color.
The set comes with a dark-colored leather strap (manufactured by ECCO), the outer side is artificially aged, and the inner, on the contrary, has been strengthened for long-term use.
The disadvantage of Samsung’s approach here is simple – for such a watch, a silicone strap is more appropriate, and everything is done so that you buy it right away. The branded strap will cost you 2 rubles. It seems like you were given a nice strap and it is. The only drawback is that it will not work to swim in it, as well as to play sports (it will quickly deteriorate when it gets wet, and for this it is not intended). In a word, you need to think about it.
The watch has applied shock protection, there is support for the MIL-STD-810G standard. In addition, it is indicated that the watch can dive, it can withstand diving up to 50 meters (5 ATM).
The quality of the case is excellent, it is extremely difficult to scratch it.
On the inside, you see a heart rate sensor hidden behind glass. Everything is standard here, the inside of the watch is well implemented.
All control of the watch is carried out by fingers, a rotary bezel and two keys on the right side surface. Each button has a different coating, they can be distinguished even by touch, which is nice.
The top key allows you to measure the ECG. But more on that in the full review.
Display
The screen is 1.2 inches in 41 mm models or 1.4 inches in 45 mm, the resolution is the same everywhere – 360×360 pixels. The screen type is SuperAMOLED, it is perfectly readable in the sun, there is an automatic brightness control. Regardless of the diagonal of the screen, ergonomics does not suffer in any way, it is equally good.
The AlwaysOn Display function is supported, that is, the screen can work constantly. A watch with an always-on screen will easily last more than a day (if night mode is on, then two days). The screen is covered with Corning® Gorilla® Glass DX +. Of the additional chips – you can enable increased screen sensitivity in the menu, then it will support pressing with gloves.
Automatic backlight dimming works well, I prefer to use it as the watch adjusts itself to the lighting conditions. In AoD mode, the screen is a little muted, but raise your hand and it lights up brighter.
Battery
The watch has a Li-Ion battery of 247 mAh (41 mm) or 340 mAh (45 mm). Samsung claims about 2-3 days of work with active use, but here a lot depends on the scenarios, the number of notifications and the brightness of the screen. At maximum brightness, the watch will last for two days with the screen turned on non-permanently. At 60% brightness, that would be two and a half days of work. With AlwaysOn Display turned on – up to one and a half days (subject to night mode, which is activated automatically and the watch falls asleep). If you turn off all sync options, the watch can run with the screen always on for weeks. Fine-tuning notifications and synchronization will give you the freedom to use your watch for as long as you want. Time of continuous playback of music from memory – up to 8 hours. Talk time is about 2 hours.
Desktop charger wireless (WPC standard), full charging time approx. 2 hours.
For those who do not use the watch for training in the air, it makes sense to turn off GPS, accurate positioning, as it drains the battery.
Communication capabilities
Bluetooth version 5.0. The watch has NFC, it works for both Samsung Pay and other applications, for example, you can pair an NFC headset with the watch. But if we started talking about Samsung Pay, then it should be noted that Samsung has abandoned the MST technology (support for old banking terminals, magnetic stripe emulation). Statistics inside Samsung say that in most countries there is a transition to regular NFC terminals and it was unnecessary to add this technology.
The watch has Wi-Fi b / g / n, this is the predominant technology for connecting to a smartphone or communicating with it, the power consumption when transmitting notifications or files is lower here, everything happens faster.
The built-in GPS supports A-GPS, as well as GLONASS, the determination of coordinates does not raise any questions, and this function is optimized, the watch in this mode shows record values of the operating time. But here it all depends on your settings, with the screen always on, the operating time will obviously be several times lower.
Hardware platform
The watch remained almost a complete cast of the previous models, with 1 GB of RAM (it used to be 768 MB), 8 GB of internal memory (here you can upload your pictures or music). It uses a dual-core Exynos 9110 processor with a clock frequency of 1.15 GHz, it is slightly faster than the previous generation.
The watch is equipped with the following sensors: acceleration, gyroscope, barometer, pulse sensor, and can measure blood pressure.
Separately, I note the presence of hardware GPS / GLONASS, respectively, there is a full-fledged navigation right in the watch, without a companion smartphone. The cards are, as before, Here.
The SOS function allows you to transmit your coordinates and a message to the specified numbers, plus we added the automatic operation of this function when you fall and motionless for a minute. Also, within an hour, your location will be available to your emergency numbers.
If you are logged into Samsung Account, then if you have the same Wi-Fi network with your smartphone, you can receive calls on your watch. For example, being in another room at home or when the phone is lying somewhere else. When traveling, I use a router, and the watch is online along with a smartphone, here you can also talk on it.
Compared to Galaxy Active 2
Interface, work with the clock, preinstalled programs
There is Tizen 5.5 and OneUI Watch 2.5. The circular menu for applications can be accessed by pressing the lower button, the exit to the up level is carried out with the upper button. The menu contains your applications, and there may be several circles with them. You yourself sort out where and how to place the labels, so that you feel comfortable.
Unlike previous watches in the Active series, there is a mechanical rotating bezel. This is a quick way to scroll through the menu to get to the desired screen.
Having found the desired item, icon, you click on it, then you can scroll the page.
You can change the font size in the settings, there are three scaling options.
Pay attention to how the default watch faces look, each of them can be further customized, changed colors, for example, from black to white and vice versa.
Notifications come to the watch in the usual manner, plus there is S Health (the watch can measure steps, heart rate (both constantly and on demand). Automatic detection of what you are doing works better, this is not only software, but also a hardware function.
There is an interesting thing in S Health, now you can compete with your friends, which of you will take the most steps. And there is a widget on the watch that shows your progress.
The S Voice function is now called Bixby, but, unlike smartphones, it supports input in Russian (input only, you won’t be able to talk to an assistant). The quality of OCR is at the level of Frontier, there are no differences here.
It’s very easy to deal with the watch, but questions arise about how to view the gallery (photos become round), and the gallery view painfully resembles a cloud of icons on the Apple Watch. Despite the fact that there is 8 GB of memory inside, only 200 photos from the gallery can be copied to the phone.
Navigation works on Here maps, everything is quite simple, including routes (on foot, by bike or by car, with approximate travel time) are shown. Nothing special, it is unlikely that such navigation will be in demand among ordinary people.
Music can be controlled directly from the watch, and you can also load your songs into the watch’s memory. If you wish, you can connect a wireless headset directly to the watch, then you don’t need a phone to listen to music.
The app store is available directly on the watch, that is, you can download apps directly, which is very, very good, the watch is becoming smartphone-independent in a full sense.
Smartphone app – Galaxy Wearable
When setting up the clock for the first time, you need to pair it with a smartphone; it is impossible to set the clock without such a connection.
I downloaded all applications from the old clock to the new watch, as well as the settings, which is nice. An archive of settings and content is created for your watch in the cloud or on a smartphone.
Many settings are duplicated with the clock, but it’s easier to work with it on a large screen, and it’s also more pleasant. But there is nothing that would be unique to the application, except for transferring music to the watch, as well as photos from the gallery (you can set up automatic transfer, but the pictures themselves are hardly important to you on the watch). Look at the application, I will not describe all its features.
Impressions
This watch provides much needed variety and replaces the Galaxy Watch in the line, bringing this design to the latest features on the market. Excellent design, maximum possibilities (we will talk about sports modes separately in the review, this is a first glance, albeit a detailed one). For any person who has used the Galaxy Watch of previous generations, this watch will be familiar, everything is familiar here and there are no special differences. The possibilities in the little things are growing, although ECG and blood pressure measurements are what many have been waiting for. In the review I will focus on these points and consider them under a magnifying glass.
The cost of a 45 mm watch is 34990 rubles, for a 41 mm one is 29990 rubles. Here you need to compare this watch with the previous generation, for example, Watch Active 2, they are available at a cost of 26990 rubles (steel, 40 mm) or 31990 rubles (steel, 44 mm). But the Galaxy Watch can be found for 27 thousand rubles in federal retail, although the model de facto left the market before the release of the new item. Prices remain, plus or minus, at the same level, nothing has changed (even taking into account the fact that the dollar has changed again).
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