Samsung made one of the best smartwatches I've ever used, and it could give Apple a run for its money
Some of those smartwatches, especially the older ones, were large, clunky, and came with features that didn't always make sense in a gadget meant to be worn on the wrist. They weren't very comfortable or easy to use.
But that's changed with Samsung's latest release. The company's new Gear S 2 looks more like a watch than a gadget, and it has a new watch face that makes it much easier to actually navigate.
There are two versions of the Gear S2 to choose from: the classic model and the sport model. The classic version is a bit smaller and sleeker, and the bezel looks and feels a bit different.
It also comes with a genuine leather 20 millimeter strap, while the sport version is larger and comes with a an elastomer watch strap. The watch also works with all Android devices running version 4.4 and higher, which is a departure from Samsung's previous watches which only worked with the company's newest phones.
Like the first Gear S, the new model runs on Samsung's own Tizen software rather than Android Wear like some smartwatches made by Motorola, Asus, and others.
Using it
The watch, which launches in the United States in October, features a rotating clock face that you can use to control the watch's 1.2-inch circular touch screen. Samsung's previous smartwatches only had touch screens for navigation, and the user interface was more cluttered and busy.
Rather than swiping to get from your notifications to your apps, you can simply turn the bezel to move to the next screen. This means you'll be able to see everything on the watch's screen without obstructing the view with your finger as you swipe.
It's not a new idea - it's very similar to what Apple introduced on the Apple Watch with its digital crown, which lets you cycle through apps and menus by rotating the crown rather than swiping the screen. Regardless, the idea is executed very well on Samsung's new watch, and it provides a more simple experience.
It works smoothly and quickly, too - whenever I even slightly turned the outer rim of the watch, the screen would snap to the next screen. A turn to the left would pull up your notifications, while a rotation to the right would show your apps. Pressing and holding on the home screen, which displays the time, lets you cycle through various watch faces (this too is similar to the way the Apple Watch works).
Apps and watch faces
But, unlike the Apple Watch and most other smartwatches, Samsung's Gear S2 comes with tons of pre-loaded watch faces made by third parties with different themes. Plenty of smartwatches such as those made by Pebble allow you to choose between dozens of watch faces, but you have to download and install most of them yourself.
The Gear S2 comes with 26 third-party watch faces pre-installed, and many of them add new bits of information to your watch's home screen. For instance, the CNN watch face shows you news headlines just below the time. Other watch faces include those made by Bloomberg and Twitter among others. Samsung also says there will be 1,000 apps available for the Gear S2 at launch, and all of them are optimized for the watch's circular screen.
These apps run natively on the watch too, which means they're not relying on your phone to relay information. This is a big deal, since that's been one of the biggest complains about the Apple Watch so far. There have been some complaints that apps on the Apple Watch are slow to load and laggy, and that's likely because apps rely on your phone for communication. This is going to change when Apple's new software update for the watch rolls out in the near future.
Special features
There's another key factor that makes the new Gear S2 different than many other smartwatches - like the first Gear S, some models of the Gear S2 will come with a 3G radio that enable the watch to act independently of your phone. That's important, because it means you can leave your phone at home and still get full functionality from your watch.
Apple is making efforts to give the Apple Watch more functionality without a phone too, but it's more limited. When watchOS 2 launches soon, the watch will be able to remember Wi-Fi networks you've already connected to with your phone. It will be able to do this even when your phone isn't nearby, but you can only do certain things, such as send iMessages and use Siri among a few other tasks. Samsung's new watch can do this too.
Samsung will offer the S2 in both a Bluetooth only model and one that also has this 3G radio. The catch, however, is that the 3G variant will probably be much more expensive.
Although Samsung's new watch is more powerful in this regard, it does seem as if Samsung borrowed inspiration from Apple for some of its features. For example, the Gear S2 comes with a feature that nudges you to stand up when you've been sitting for an hour. The Apple Watch does this too.
Conclusion
The Gear S2 is by far the best smartwatch Samsung has ever made, and it's among the best you can buy. Not only is it one of the better-looking watches out there, but its rotating bezel makes it much easier to use. It has an interface that actually makes sense for a watch, and it's clear that Samsung put more effort into optimizing its software for the wrist rather than just shrinking down what you'd see on your phone.
That being said - it still is a bit big. Although the classic model of the Gear S2 is a bit sleeker (and probably more expensive), it still looks astronomically large if you have a tiny wrist. The Apple Watch and new Moto 360 both come in different sizes for varying wrist sizes.
We're still waiting to see how much Samsung will charge for the new Gear S2, which will ultimately determine whether or not it's a smart buy.