Samsung Galaxy Watch Active review: Big things come in small packages

I am a watch guy. It has long been a passion of mine to have a watch collection made up of some of the nigh iconic timepieces that accept ever been made. Suffice to say, I capeesh the craftsmanship that goes into making a mechanical watch. Watchmakers have been able to practise incredible things even before modernistic manufacturing techniques existed. We have had mechanical movements with infinitesimal repeater or perpetual agenda complications long before companies decided to sell us yet another device to accuse.

Smartwatches have flipped this on its head. They're non near extraordinary feats of mechanical technology. They're nearly providing you with more than connectivity, convenience and features that help you stay fit. I take tried a few but I always circle back to my trusted Swiss watches. The Galaxy Lookout Active is ane that I have really put through the paces, wearing it as my daily timepiece for more than a month. Did it alter my mind nigh smartwatches? That's what we'll find out in this Galaxy Watch Active review.

Galaxy Picket Active review: Design

When companies were trying out all sorts of different designs for smartwatches, Samsung brought about a renaissance in the market with the Gear S2 4 years ago. It harkened back to the pattern of archetype timepieces and blended that with mod functionality which essentially promised customers the best of both worlds. The smartwatch they purchased did indeed look like an actual spotter but could do so much more than than but tell the time. Samsung too fabricated some other great design decision with the Gear S3: the introduction of a fluted rotating bezel.

That went out the window with the Galaxy Watch Active. It does not have the rotating bezel which had get a signature blueprint element of Samsung smartwatches. The result is a watch that merely comes in at 39.5mm with the requisite MIL-STD-810G and IP68 certifications. Information technology weighs just 25g without the strap. Smaller watches were the norm a few decades ago merely the industry has evolved over the years. Customers now prefer larger watches.

Smartwatch manufacturers are opting for larger sizes because they desire to offer larger displays. Samsung has taken a different approach with the Galaxy Picket Agile. It'south more compact, lighter and smaller than many of its rivals. So while the Galaxy Lookout may stand out because of its fluted bezel, this will attract attention for its subtle curves that are certainly accentuated past the round blueprint.

The impact on organization navigation notwithstanding, I feel that Samsung made a good decision to remove the bezel given what it was trying to accomplish with this device. Do go on in mind that this isn't a successor to the Galaxy Watch. The intention with this product was to provide a more than affordable option to customers who still want the convenience and functionality that a mod smartwatch offers merely in a more accessible way.

Virtually people may not want a chunky and bulky watch on their wrist when they're working out and information technology seems that Samsung had that in mind when this device was existence developed. I was surprised by how comfortable information technology is to wear. The interchangeable silicone strap that it comes with is also made of a very comfortable and breathable material so information technology never irritates you fifty-fifty during intense workout sessions.

The same goes for wearing the sentry to bed. Information technology's capable of tracking your sleep subsequently all, so why not wear it to bed? I have been doing then every nighttime always since I started testing the smartwatch. The Galaxy Watch won't bother you the slightest. It but exists on your wrist without an omnipresent reminder that you accept something strapped on you.

There's not much to talk near the material since its but drinking glass on top of an aluminum body. The frame y'all only really come into contact with when using the concrete buttons (placed at the two and four positions) and the glass is unavoidable considering it's on height of the brandish. There are ii physical buttons, i of which is the dorsum key, which does what the name suggests. Printing and hold it for a few seconds and it as well launches Samsung Pay. The other is the home/power button which will take you to the habitation screen and prove your apps equally well as let you ability off the device.

One matter I've noticed is that I'1000 having to be more mindful of what my watch is coming into contact with. Conventional Swiss watches utilize sapphire crystal, which is hard to scratch so bumps, dings and even contact with metal won't harm information technology. On the other hand, my smartwatch now has prominent scratches on the display drinking glass because information technology accidentally grazed the subway turnstile a chip likewise difficult. This will be the instance with whatever smartwatch, but compared to other Samsung smartwatches, the Milky way Scout Active suffers considering it doesn't take a rotating bezel. On those smartwatches, it volition be the bezel that comes into contact first and not the brandish, hence keeping the panel safe.

It too means that if the Milky way Sentry Agile is dropped confront downwardly, the brandish will comport the total affect of the drop. Equally good as that subtly curved, almost sensual all-glass front looks, information technology's not going to stay that way for long. This limitation will only ever be overcome when sapphire crystal becomes commonplace for smartwatches. I hope Samsung uses it in future models.

Galaxy Watch Active functioning

The Galaxy Sentinel Active is powered by an Exynos 9110 processor with 768MB of RAM. That'southward standard fare for smartwatches and it'south non something to write home most – you get the same packet on the Milky way Sentry as well. The package does what information technology'southward supposed to exercise for the most function and you're non going to be doing things that require more computing power on the smartwatch anyway. The lag in swiping betwixt notifications and widgets can sometimes exist noticeable, though.

Yes, Bixby is present, and there's not much to say nearly it that nosotros haven't already said in our Galaxy Sentinel review. It nonetheless struggles with recognizing voices and volition by and large direct me to the phone in response to voice commands. The but real use I got out of information technology was telling it to set up an alert every night.

While the smartwatch does have 4GB of internal storage, non all of information technology is available to you lot. In one case all the essentials are said and done, you really get just over 1.5GB of storage for your apps and music. So if y'all plan on using a lot of apps, you may have to constantly switch upwards your playlists since you tin't dump a substantial music library on the watch and forget about information technology.

Back up for Samsung Pay is present merely with a big asterisk attached to information technology. In that location'south no MST back up so y'all tin only brand mobile payments on NFC terminals. MST was what set Samsung Pay apart since information technology immune you to brand contactless payments with even conventional credit carte du jour readers, and it isn't available on the Galaxy Watch, either.

Every bit many of you would probably know by at present, the app landscape for Tizen isn't as light-green equally it is for Vesture Bone. There's no native Google Maps, which is a bummer. The native version of Samsung'south messages and email apps are present and then the notification support works well. They get in instantly and your watch will notify you with a vibration that'southward hard to miss. You can respond to messages and emails from supported apps with some canned responses.

There's voice dictation and emoji support as well. It'south also possible to scribble your own by drawing each alphabet or simply typing them out using the unique keyboard layout. Your mileage will vary if you use the Milky way Sentry Active with an iOS device since text messages will only arrive as notifications and you won't be able to reply to them. Smartwatches work at their all-time when they're used within their own ecosystem and then as you'd look, the user feel will be much better when using it with a Samsung smartphone.

Galaxy Sentinel Active brandish

The 1.1-inch 360×360 pixel resolution display panel is one of the best that y'all can get on a smartwatch. Information technology'due south exceptionally bright and the colors are crisp. You won't accept any problems with legibility when using the watch outside even under intense sunlight. It does accept Gorilla Glass for protection merely you're going to accept problems with scratching the brandish just based on daily usage scenarios.

Tap and agree on the watch face to switch to another one from the collection provided. You can likewise purchase lookout faces from the Galaxy Store. Dark spotter faces look the best on the ane.1-inch display considering of the fairly chunky bezels. Not to mention that the blacks on this display are so deep that it just seems to fuse with the black bezels, and that looks really nice.

While the brandish may feel cramped, it's good enough for notifications and text previews. Let'southward be honest, smartwatches accept not been made for having full blown conversations or emailing. They work well for when you desire to shoot a quick reply without having to accept out your smartphone. They're as well good for glancing at your notifications to make up one's mind whether something demands your immediate attention.

Galaxy Scout Active interface

Despite the rotating bezel existence removed, Samsung has retained the side-swiping arrangement UI on Tizen 4.0 for the Galaxy Watch Agile. It works in the aforementioned mode information technology does on the Milky way Spotter only the user experience is unlike here. For example, launching apps is at present a two-tap process. One to highlight the app you want and the other to actually launch information technology.

Navigating the UI is otherwise fairly simple. Swipe to the left for your widgets and workout routines and to the right for your notifications. You tin likewise swipe downwardly from the top bezel to access the quick settings which firm the toggles for core features such every bit Bluetooth, do non disturb, airplane fashion and more.

Since information technology'due south the same Tizen 4.0 Os that the Galaxy Scout came with, you'll find the aforementioned features here. In that location'south the theater style, for instance, which basically disables everything on the sentinel and so that your Galaxy Watch Active doesn't bother fellow cinemagoers. Airplane mode does what the name suggests. The Water Lock mode is present likewise – it will lock the display during your exploits in the swimming pool and even present yous with an option to eject water when you're washed (past producing vibrations using audio waves, as Samsung puts it).

The Watch But mode deserves an honorable mention. Information technology was nowadays on the Galaxy Sport as well. This mode will disable everything and basically make this smartwatch a regular watch. This tin can extend the battery life to several weeks, a good option for when you're not going to be near a charging port for an extended period of time. There are other power saving options that aren't every bit nuclear and enable y'all to squeeze more life out of the battery.

Milky way Spotter Active health and fitness

Since the focus is on keeping you fit, the Galaxy Lookout man Active volition nudge yous when you have been inactive for an extended menstruum of time. It won't tell you to become out for a run but will recommend a torso twist instead. Y'all can also meet the time elapsed since you have been inactive on some default spotter faces. You do take some popular third-party apps like MyFitnessPal, MapMyRun, Strava and Spotify, with the latter even allowing you to download tracks for offline listening.

The Milky way Sentinel Active has automatic workout tracking for six routines and can track a full of 39 different workout routines. This includes everything from running to lifting weights and swimming. In that location are dissimilar profiles for indoor and outdoor swimming. You tin can even ready your pool length before tracking your pond conditioning on the sentry.

I noticed that information technology normally takes almost ten minutes for automatic conditioning tracking to register and show up on the sentinel. The automatic rep counting, though, can exist hit or miss. The Milky way Watch Active volition actually merely get-go to count reps if it recognizes that the user is in the starting position. However, when y'all begin a workout routine it does show an animation of how to get into that starting position.

Since information technology has a GPS chip, you can besides track your runs without having to acquit a smartphone with yous. It works well and I didn't experience whatever issues with the lookout non only obtaining but keeping a GPS indicate throughout the period. It actively monitors your middle charge per unit throughout the day and uses that for its stress tracking characteristic as well. That'due south basically a mensurate of the variance in your eye rate. If it notices that you're besides stressed out, the smartwatch will recommend some animate exercises. All of the wellness and fitness data is fed to the Samsung Health app on your smartphone.

The Milky way Watch Active is capable of slumber tracking as well. It measures REM, lite and deep sleep and lists the times accordingly. I found it to be fairly authentic just there were instances when it besides logged time spent lounging on the couch and watching Netflix as sleep.

Galaxy Watch Agile battery life

The 230mAh battery on the Galaxy Picket Agile is the smallest among Samsung'south contempo smartwatches, but it punches above its weight. You can expect it to final around two days provided that the ever on display style is disabled. That'due south the mileage I got with daily action tracking while the smartwatch was constantly paired over Bluetooth to my Galaxy Note ix. It would plainly be lower if you were to play music stored locally on the watch, increase the use of the onboard GPS for tracking runs, etc. For me, though, two total days and some change were the norm for over ii weeks of using it as my only timepiece.

I switched it upward in the third week past enabling always on display mode. I had to do it because the Galaxy Watch Active wasn't proving to be a very good watch. The lift-to-wake functionality isn't that sensitive, likely a conscious determination by Samsung to conserve battery life. Then when I merely wanted to check the time by simply glancing at the sentry or simply turning the wrist slightly, the display wouldn't wake upwards. It doesn't until you lot lift your wrist right upward in forepart of your face. Sometimes, it won't wake upward fifty-fifty then if your arm is coming up from halfway, similar if your arm is resting on a table.

Enable always on display and the watch face will e'er be on and then you tin easily view the time. This, every bit you can imagine, does a number on the battery. With the overall usage pattern remaining the same, I could only become 1 full day and modify before needing to charge information technology once again. You may have to charge information technology every night if yous utilise the sentry for listening to Spotify offline while as well having it do the basics right.

Galaxy Watch Active verdict

I've got to admit the Galaxy Watch Active has grown on me ever since I started using it. I didn't switch dorsum to a conventional watch in all the weeks of testing the Watch Active for this review. The Galaxy Watch Active'due south capabilities have left me pleasantly surprised. The pattern is understated however classy, the display is exceptional, and this is without a incertitude one of the well-nigh comfy smartwatches on the market place. Some limitations still remain in the class of app support and Bixby. The former has been an issue for the longest time and isn't completely in Samsung's hands, simply the visitor certain needs to make Bixby piece of work much better, and presently.

The Galaxy Spotter Active would exist the smartwatch I'd purchase if I was getting into smartwatches. It offers a lot more than you'd expect and does a decent job of wellness and fettle tracking every bit well. At $199, it's kind of a no-brainer.

Pros	Cons
Extremely comfortable	Battery life leaves a lot to be desired
Slap-up blueprint	Samsung Pay works only with NFC
Support for more workout routines than y'all'll need	Bixby still feels like a waste of space
Onboard GPS, internal storage for saving music	Express third-political party app support
Constant middle rate monitoring	Rep counting tin be iffy at times
Affordably priced

Source: https://www.sammobile.com/samsung/galaxy-watch-active/review/

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