Many are waiting for the Apple Watch before they join the wearable world - after all, it promises so much. Trouble is, in recent years Apple products haven't always delivered on the pre-release build-up and they're still to announce the date you'll actually be able to buy one... could be February... could be March... who knows?
So let's deal with something I can actually put on my wrist right now, Samsung's latest offering, the Gear S...
May as well admit it straight up, it's the first thing everybody says; this thing is massive. Really far too big. Hard to know what Samsung was thinking when they decided screen size was more important than looking remotely normal. To be completely fair, because of its unique curved screen, the Gear S is a lot less nerdy looking than its predecessors, the Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo.
Because I own a Gear Neo, I'm going to be doing a lot of head-to-head comparisons and there's no question the square-faced Neo looks like a 1980's style calculator watch, while the wrist-wrapping Gear S is genuinely stylish. Still huge though. In fact, it actually felt really heavy on my wrist - maybe it's all part of Samsung's fitness regime; wear the watch, work out those forearms.
However, the bigger screen does mean you can fit more on it. Now you can choose a watch face that includes shortcuts to take you straight to your favourite apps. This is the first hint of how the Gear S is almost more phone than watch. This time there's a light sensor (just like on most phones) so now the screen can automatically adjust its brightness to the conditions, a major advantage when it comes to outdoor use.
The big point of difference with this device is it has its own sim card. While it still has to be paired with a compatible Samsung phone, you no longer need to take the phone with you to receive texts, emails and other notifications. This is great news for runners and cyclists who may still want to stay in the digital loop without wearing an oversized and uncomfortable armband.
For some reason I couldn't manage to forward actual voice calls from my phone via 3G but this may have been due to my mobile plan, which isn't actually a plan, because I'm on prepay. Once back within bluetooth range, phone and watch reconnect conventionally and you can once again make and receive phone calls on your wrist, Dick Tracy style.
So the Gear S wins over the Neo in terms of style and 3G connectivity, although loses ground in sheer size. Is there any other reason to spend the extra $200 if all you want is a smart watch that works?... Maybe not. In fact, the Gear S doesn't even have some of the features you'll find on the Gear 2 devices.
One of those features is a camera. The Gear 2 came with a camera which was a nice idea, but nobody ever used it so it was no great loss. However, both the Gear 2 and the Neo included an IR Blaster which effectively meant you could use the watch as a basic remote control. I've found this feature to be the opposite of the camera; this time although it sounds like a stupid idea, in reality, it's surprisingly useful. When all you want to do is mute the ads really quickly, or check what's on the other channel, the remote on the other side of the coffee table seems so far away when there's already one on your wrist.
The Gear S has no IR Blaster, so that's no fun.
Another feature I missed is software based, so it may be remedied in future updates, but what happened to the media controller? You can download one on the Gear app store, but the stock media controller on my Neo is elegant in its simplicity and it works well, whether I'm listening to podcasts on my run, or music through my sound system. Why Samsung would leave something so essential off the Gear S is a mystery, or perhaps just a temporary oversight.
What the Gear S DOES give you is more options. Like earlier models, it still uses a Tizen-based OS but they've given it a more Android-like look and feel, blurring the lines between phone and watch even further. This provides a more familiar experience when browsing apps and changing settings. You can only swipe left or right on the Neo, to access shortcuts to your apps. The Gear S let's you swipe in all 4 directions for 4 different reasons.
Swipe left for widgets like your daily calendar. Swipe right for notifications (email/texts/app updates) Swipe up for shortcuts to apps. Swipe down for common settings like volume, brightness and best of all, the Do Not Disturb button, a one-press shortcut that prevents your watch ringing, vibrating or lighting up in the middle of the night... or in the middle of a movie.
This adds another 3 dimensions to the previous generation and is fairly easy to learn to navigate. One small bug I couldn't seem to remedy involved the vibration setting for my notifications. I keep my Neo on vibrate and as a result, I seldom miss a text or an email. I don't keep my phone on vibrate for emails because a constantly vibrating phone is annoying for everyone. When using the Gear S however, unless I set my email notifications to vibrate on my phone, they wouldn't vibrate on my watch. A trivial inconvenience, but annoying all the same. Again, maybe this is something that will be corrected in a future update.
Finally, let's talk battery life. Given most conventional watch batteries last for years, the idea of having to charge your watch every night probably takes a bit of getting used to, but when you're powering bluetooth, 3G, a surprisingly high-end processor and a full-featured screen, there's really no way around it. Presumably the Gear S uses the latest battery technology to maximise charge time, but presumably they've also included a million new ways to drain the power too, so I didn't notice any dramatic improvement or drop-off in battery life between the Gear S and the Neo.
What I did notice was how poorly designed the charging cradle is, that's if it was designed at all. The Neo's charger was tricky enough to attach; it took me about a fortnight before I felt like I wasn't just fluking it into place, but to get the Gear S cradle to snap on is one step short of impossible. I'm guessing the attachment is built the way it is to preserve the water and dust resistance of the device - you can't just have a socket you plug things into and have it rain-proof at the same time. So why oh why oh why wouldn't they just do it wirelessly? Surely plonking the watch down on a Qi charging pad makes more sense than PULLING THE STRAP AWAY FROM THE WATCH to get the cradle in place. I'm not even kidding. The Apple Watch is claiming to attach its charger magnetically which would be a major selling point as far as I'm concerned.
There's also one of those stupid blue lights on the charging cradle we didn't have to endure on the charger for the Neo. What is this obsession with stupid blue lights that serve no useful purpose other than to light up your entire bedroom at night? We know the charger is plugged in; we're the ones who plugged it in! At least give us the option to turn it off. Enough with the stupid lights already.
All that aside, the Gear S works and that's the main thing. The extra processing power means apps seldom crash or glitch, even during vigorous exercise. The same can't always be said for my Neo which has been known to give up on recording my workout halfway through. While basically offering the same core features; heart-rate monitoring, fitness tracking, email, text, voice calls etc, the Gear S does everything just that much more thoroughly. (It's capable of stand-alone GPS navigation, for example)
At the RRP of $499, I couldn't honestly justify upgrading from the Gear 2 or the Neo, but if this is your first smart watch, I don't think you'd be disappointed with the investment. And the best thing about the Gear S - you can buy one today.
Whenever you're ready, Apple...
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