An application that helps pair portable smartwatches produced by the giant Samsung with smartphones running Android.

SamsungGear is an application that helps you unlock all the capabilities of your smartwatch from the Korean manufacturer.

SamsungGear helps you synchronize your smartwatch with your mobile device. This application is designed not only to unify smart watches, but with their help you can also configure priority applications to receive notifications directly on the watch screen. Also, through the application, you can manage installed programs on your smart watch through the official Gear Apps application.

The functionality of a third-party utility allows you to:

• pair with the device;
• edit the list of applications to receive notifications;
• install smart watch software updates;
• change the location and layout of existing widgets;
• edit the list of applications from Gear Apps;
• optimize clock operation;
• edit the list of emergency messages;
• look for your watch if it disappears, through the “Find my Gear” menu item.

Device synchronization

Data exchange between the smart watch and the smartphone is done according to the standard method, using the Bluetooth module. When you open the application for the first time, you will be prompted to pair devices for further synchronization. Unfortunately, at the moment only mobile devices are supported; this software will not work for tablet owners. Therefore, you can only use the pairing application on smartphones. The manufacturer also took care of the owners of all mobile devices; Samsung Gear is optimized for all smartphones running Android; you don’t need to have a Samsung smartphone to use a smart watch comfortably. But for owners of low-power devices on an older version of Android, this application is most likely not suitable.

Key Features

• a friendly interface makes it easy to set up SmartGear;
• pairs the watch with a smartphone;
• built-in search for a lost device;
• works only on smartphones;
• no tablet support;
• Suitable for owners of Gear S3, Gear S2, Gear Icon, Gear Fit2;
• does not support devices with outdated Android;
• intuitive interface.

The first local applications for Samsung Gear S2

At the end of 2015, a competition was launched in which everyone could develop their own programs for the Samsung Gear S2 smart watch and submit them for consideration by a competent jury. More than 400 developers took part in the competition, including both experienced specialists and beginning developers. As motivation, they were invited to compete for valuable prizes.

There were 13 participants in the finals of the “Ukrainian Inside” competition, whose works successfully passed the jury selection and international verification. Ultimately, the top three applications were identified and awarded to the Samsung Gear S2 smartwatch, the Samsung Galaxy S7 flagship smartphone, and other Samsung smart devices.

The winner of the Grand Prix award was Ruslan Kudryachenko, who received as a prize a Samsung Gear S2 smart watch, plated with 18-karat gold, as well as the flagship smartphone of 2016 - Samsung Galaxy S7.

Ordinary users of the Samsung Gear S2 smart watch received their gifts in the form of an increased number of related programs, made specifically for the Ukrainian market. Among the most interesting and popular are:

• Ukrainian Life is a container application created for conveniently launching local applications by clicking on an icon on the screen of the Ukrainian watch dial. There are plans to expand the number of applications in various areas: exchange rates, ATM maps, contactless payment and account status, ordering a taxi, ordering food delivery, reminders about train and air tickets, concert and theater tickets, informing about all discounts in retail, monitoring of urban transport, information about football, a guide to interesting places.
• Currencies FinanceUA is a convenient application that allows you to view official, commercial and market exchange rates. Accordingly, there is no longer any need to waste time searching for the current course on numerous sites in the browser of your smartphone. The service is provided with the support of the Finance.ua portal.

• Privat24 - the application will allow you to make contactless payments in each of the 74,500 contactless payment terminals of leading retail chains, check the status of your account in real time, and also view statements for the last month. No less important is the ability to pay for travel on the metro and high-speed trams thanks to contactless terminals from MasterCard. Currently, all 52 stations of the Kyiv metro and 10 stations of the Kyiv high-speed tram, as well as several stations of the Lviv tram, are equipped with them.

• Ukrainian Watch is an application thanks to which Samsung Gear S2 owners will be able to find their unique Ukrainian style. Inside the application there are more than a dozen unique dial designs in the national style, created for the Sport, Classic and Premium versions. At the same time, double-clicking will activate the editing mode, and the user will be able to customize the smallest components of the watch face to their liking.

• Taxi Uklon is a simple and fast way to call a taxi service at the right place and at the right time. Now, to pick up a car, you don’t have to look for a taxi number, call and wait for a connection with an operator. All it takes is a few taps on the Samsung Gear S2 display. The service is provided by the taxi call service Uklon.

In September, at IFA 2015, Samsung introduced the Gear S2 smartwatch. At the same time, we prepared the first review of this model, telling you in sufficient detail about the design and key features. Now, on the eve of the start of watch sales in Russia, the time has come to take a closer look at those aspects of the new product that were impossible to recognize and study under the conditions of the exhibition.

We outlined the history of the appearance of the Gear S2 and information about the Gear family as a whole in the already mentioned material, so we will not repeat ourselves and recommend that you read it before reading this text. However, at that time it was not yet known when the watch would be available in Russia and at what price. Now Samsung has released this information: sales should start this month (although the exact date has not yet been announced), and the price will be 21 thousand rubles for the regular version and 25 thousand for the classic version.

The pre-order, opened on the Russian Samsung website, was closed quite quickly due to the exhaustion of the first batch of devices, and the more expensive Gear S2 Classic was sold out first, but by the time the article was published, the regular Gear S2 had also run out. This, of course, indicates high interest in the new product, so it’s time to study it closely.

We tested the standard version of the Samsung Gear S2 with a dark gray body and a gray strap.

Let's take a look at the device specifications.

Specifications Samsung Gear S2

• CPU @1 GHz (2 cores)
• Touch round display 1.2″ Super AMOLED, 360×360, 302 ppi
• Random access memory (RAM) 512 MB, flash memory 4 GB
• Bluetooth 4.1 LE, NFC
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
• Microphone
• Gyroscope, accelerometer, heart rate sensor, light sensor, barometer
• 2G, 3G (e-SIM support for Sport variant), call transfer to smartphone via Bluetooth
• Lithium-ion battery 250 mAh
• Tizen operating system
• Compatible with Samsung devices running Android 4.3 and later
• Degree of protection from moisture and dust: IP68
• Dimensions: 39.9 × 43.6 × 11.4 (Classic version) / 42.3 × 49.8 × 11.4 mm (Sport version)
• Weight 62 g (Sport version, our measurement)

For clarity, we decided to make a table with the characteristics of other top smartwatches (including the previous version of Gear S), adding into it those parameters that are currently key when choosing a device of this type.

	Samsung Gear S2	Samsung Gear S	Motorola Moto 360 2	Apple Watch
Screen	round, flat Super AMOLED, 1.2″, 360×360 (302 ppi)	rectangular, curved Super AMOLED, 2.0″, 360×480 (300 ppi)	round, flat, IPS, 1.65″, 360×325 (290 ppi) / 1.8″, 360×330 (304 ppi)	rectangular, flat, AMOLED, 1.5″, 272×340 (290 ppi) / 1.65″, 312×390 (304 ppi)
Protection	yes (IP68)	yes (IP67)	yes (IP67)	No
Strap	removable, leather/silicone	removable, silicone		removable, leather / silicone / metal
SoC (CPU)	2 cores @1 GHz	2 cores @1 GHz	Qualcomm Snapgragon 400, 4 cores @1 GHz	Apple S1, 1 core @520 MHz
Connection	3G (Sport version only), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth	3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth	Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth	Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
Camera	No	No	No	No
Microphone, speaker	There is	There is	microphone only	There is
Compatibility		Samsung devices running Android 4.3 and later	devices running Android 4.3 and later / iOS 8 and later	devices running iOS 8.3 and later
operating system	Tizen	Tizen	Android Wear	watchOS
Battery capacity (mAh)	250	300	300 / 400	not reported
Dimensions* (mm)	40×44×11.4 / 42×50×11.4	40×58×12.5	∅42×11.4 / ∅46×11.4	39×33×10.5 / 42×36×10.5
Weight (g)	62 (Sport version)	83	doesn't communicate	25 / 30 (Sport version)*

*according to manufacturer information

We commented on this table in the first review of the Samsung Gear S2, so we won’t repeat it, but we note that there will be no 3G versions of the watch on official sale in Russia. The fact is that the Gear S2 uses a virtual SIM card format - e-SIM, but it is not yet supported by Russian operators. This is, of course, a minus compared to the Samsung Gear S, which used a regular Nano-SIM.

As for comparison with the Apple Watch, we note the lower price of the Samsung Gear S2 in Russia (if we compare the sports model with the Apple Watch Sport, and the classic model with the Apple Watch). But the Apple Watch has many more watch and band combinations available. That is, even if you have an Apple Watch Sport, you can buy a leather or metal strap for it, and vice versa, you can attach a silicone strap to the Apple Watch, while with Samsung the “watch/strap” ratio is strictly fixed (silicone - for the Samsung Gear S2 , leather - for Samsung Gear S2 Classic).

Well, let's move on to getting to know the device.

Packaging and accessories

The watch comes in a medium-sized square blue-gray box.

We open the box and see a watch inserted into a mold made of thin white plastic. It should be noted that although there are no complaints about the packaging, Samsung nevertheless approached this task formally. Unpacking the Gear S2 doesn’t give you any emotions (unlike the Apple Watch).

Under the plastic form are located: an additional strap of the same color, but of a different size, wireless charging 5 V 0.7 A, a charger with the same parameters (however, you can use any other smartphone charger), a small warranty booklet and a fold-out leaflet with instructions ( We had it in French, but it is obvious that the Russian version will be sold in Russia).

We were very pleased with the presence of an additional strap - moreover, there are both halves, and not just the one that has a different size. So if something happens to the main strap, one of the two halves can be replaced without any problems.

As for wireless charging, it is good for its compact size and the presence of a magnet inside the wall against which the watch rests with the back of the case. Thanks to this, the watch does not dangle or fall out of this miniature charger.

On the back of the round charging base there is a Micro-USB connector, to which the cable must be connected. Unfortunately, there is no way to connect the watch to a computer via this charger. On the front of the base you can see an LED indicator indicating that charging is in progress (red) or that the device is already charged (green).

In general, the package can be assessed positively: wireless charging and an additional strap are what were missing in the case of previous Gear models.

Design

We told you our first impressions of the design of the Samsung Gear S2 in the material from IFA 2015, and in general they did not change even after a closer look at the device. The watch looks minimalistic and moderately strict. In our opinion, they lose in comparison with the Gear S2 Classic, but the design itself leaves a pleasant impression.

The streamlined shape of the case and its smooth transition into the halves of the strap evoke associations with something futuristic - the “cool” design of the watch would fit perfectly into the interior of some space station. If we think in a more realistic manner, then Samsung Gear S2 will be quite suitable for different types of clothes (from casual to business style), but we cannot say that they will attract attention or become the highlight of your appearance. The design is too neutral or something.

However, the watch fits well on the hand, and its case does not look thick. That's a plus. Here is a profile photo of the watch. Here it is worth paying attention not only to the thickness, but also to the presence of two buttons. The larger one is “Back”, the smaller one is “Home”.

Between the buttons you can see the hole for the built-in microphone - it is needed to work with the S Voice voice assistant, however, alas, there is no way to answer calls directly from the watch (there is no speaker in the watch). This is a disadvantage of the Samsung Gear S2 both compared to previous models of the Gear line and compared to the Apple Watch.

On the back of the watch case you can see the heart rate sensor (in the center) and clips for attaching the strap. To detach the halves of the strap, use your fingernail to slightly bend the clip away from the body and pull the strap down. At first it’s unusual, and it’s not immediately possible to understand how to disconnect the strap, but when you finally understand the essence of the fastening, then disconnecting and attaching is quite simple. And yet this mechanism cannot be called intuitive and elegant (unlike, again, the Apple Watch).

Well, the main design feature (common to both the regular and classic versions of the Gear S2) is undoubtedly the rotating bezel. In the watch industry, a bezel is a bezel on which traditional watches usually have notches for easy reading of the time. The Samsung Gear S2 does not have notches on the bezel, but it is possible to rotate it around the screen, thus either flipping through the screens or doing vertical scrolling (if such is suggested in the application).

In our first article about the Samsung Gear S2, we praised this solution, and after more thorough testing, our opinion has not changed. This is incredibly convenient, elegant both in concept and in appearance, and in addition, this becomes an additional weighty argument in favor of a round screen, since, obviously, such a solution would be impossible on a rectangular case. And here we again remember the Apple Watch, but not in favor of the product from Cupertino. We can say that despite such methods of interacting with the Apple Watch as Taptic Engine, Force Touch and Digital Crown, Samsung engineers were able to achieve more in making it easier to control the watch. Although, of course, the rotating bezel also takes some getting used to.

At the same time, an optimal combination of smoothness and elasticity of the bezel movement was found: the bezel rotates very smoothly, softly, without much effort, but accidental turns are almost excluded, and during rotation we clearly feel the divisions (“steps”).

Screen

The watch's screen is completely round, with no dead zones (unlike the Moto 360). The resolution is 360x360, which gives a fairly high density of 302 pixels per inch, close to its main competitors. Detailed testing of other parameters of the Samsung Gear S2 display was carried out by the editor of the “Projectors and TV” section, Alexey Kudryavtsev.

The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface that is scratch-resistant. On the outer surface of the screen there is a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating (effective, noticeably better than that of Google Nexus 7 (2013)), so fingerprints are removed much easier and appear at a lower speed than in the case of regular glass. Judging by the reflection of objects, the anti-glare properties of the screen are no worse than those of the Google Nexus 7 2013 screen. For clarity, here is a photograph in which a white surface is reflected when the screens are turned off:

Below on the right is the Samsung Gear S2, and on the right and above is the Apple Watch in the version with sapphire glass and a 42 mm case. The screen of the Samsung Gear S2 is slightly lighter (brightness according to photographs is 131 versus 125 for the Nexus 7). Note that there is a not very pronounced bluish halo from bright objects reflected in the screen. There is no double reflection, which indicates that there is no air gap between the layers of the screen. With manual brightness control and displaying the white field in full screen, the maximum value (10 on the scale) of brightness was about 330 cd/m², the minimum (1 on the scale) was 9.5 cd/m². There is a non-switchable automatic brightness adjustment based on the light sensor, which is supposedly located under the screen. With some difficulty, it was possible to establish that in a very bright environment (corresponding to lighting on a clear day outdoors, but without direct sunlight - 20,000 lux or a little more) the brightness increases to 495 cd/m². That is, given the good anti-glare properties, on a sunny day outdoors, screen readability will remain at a good level. In the graphs of brightness (vertical axis) versus time (horizontal axis) for high, medium and minimum brightness, only slight modulation can be seen, so there is no visible screen flicker:

This screen uses a Super AMOLED matrix - an active matrix on organic light-emitting diodes. A full-color image is created using subpixels of three colors - red (R), green (G) and blue (B) in equal numbers, as confirmed by a fragment of a microphotograph:

For comparison, you can see the gallery of microphotographs of screens used in mobile technology.

We observed a similar “structure” of the screen, for example, in the case. The spectra are typical for OLED - the primary color areas are well separated and appear as relatively narrow peaks:

Accordingly, the coverage is noticeably wider than sRGB, and there are no attempts to reduce it:

Note that on screens with a wide color gamut, without appropriate correction, the colors of regular images optimized for devices with sRGB screens appear unnaturally saturated. The color temperature of the white and gray fields is approximately 7600 K, and the deviation from the black body spectrum (ΔE) is 10 units. Color balance is acceptable. Black is just black from any angle. So black that the contrast parameter is simply not applicable in this case. When viewed perpendicularly, the uniformity of the white field is excellent. The screen has excellent viewing angles with a much smaller drop in brightness when looking at the screen at an angle compared to LCD screens. However, at large angles the white field takes on a certain blue-green tint. In general, the quality of the screen can be considered very high.

Smartphone connection and compatibility

All previous Gear devices only worked with a limited number of Samsung smartphones (mostly high-end models). This was perhaps the main drawback of Samsung watches and the Tizen OS used in them. And when it became known that the Android Wear operating system would work not only with Android devices, but also with iPhones, the limited compatibility of Gear devices became an obvious weak point.

Samsung apparently realized this too, which is why it announced that the Gear S2 will work with all Android smartphones running Android 4.4 and later. This is exactly what was said on . But is it really so?

First we tried to pair the watch with the fairly new Huawei P8 Lite smartphone. There is a link on the watch box and on the start screen where you can download the application: . When we access this page through a browser, we see two buttons: Galaxy Devices and Other Devices. Click Other Devices, the application page opens in the Google Play Store and...

We read the inscription “Not supported on your device.” How so? Samsung representatives told us that in addition to Android 4.4, the smartphone must have at least 1.5 GB of RAM. This is already quite strange, since Android 4.4 works even on devices with 512 MB of RAM, which means that in fact not all smartphones running Android 4.4 are supported! But even this does not explain why the Huawei P8 Lite is not supported by the Gear Manager application, because it has 2 GB of RAM. Okay, attempt number two: Sony Xperia Z3 Compact. Here we were able to download everything, and it seemed like the connection process was even underway, but in the end we saw this amazing screen (see right screenshot).

That is, at the top it says that the Gear S2 is connected, and at the bottom it says that the Gear was not found. An obvious flaw! Repeated attempts to make friends between the two devices did not yield results. We won’t bore the reader with a detailed description, but let’s just say that the Gear S2 could not be connected either to the LG G4 Stylus (the watch started setting up the configuration, and the process froze), or to the Elephone P8000, or even to the Samsung Galaxy Xcover 3.

According to Samsung representatives, everything should have been operational by October 16, that is, by the start of global sales of the Gear S2. But it didn’t work. Therefore, if you are planning to buy a watch, be sure to go to apps.samsung.com/gear before purchasing and try downloading Gear Manager to your smartphone. This still doesn't guarantee anything, as we were able to verify, but at least at the time of purchase you can immediately check whether the watch is connected to your smartphone. But in general, it’s surprising that Samsung was able to afford such a flaw!

In the end, we managed to connect the watch only to the Samsung Galaxy Note5 smartphone, and here everything went like clockwork. Although there are some oddities here too.

Smartphone applications

The Gear Manager application required for operation was already installed on our test unit. However, in the process of connecting to the watch, the smartphone also wanted to download a certain Gear Plugin, apparently developed specifically for the Samsung Gear S2. All further work took place in this application (it’s not clear why Gear Manager is needed then).

The application menu is quite simple and generally familiar to us from previous watches in the Gear line. Here you can view and select watch dials (the same can be done directly in the watch, but choosing on a large smartphone screen is, of course, more convenient). If you're not happy with your current selection (we'll talk more about pre-installed watch faces later), you can head over to the Gear Store to select paid watch faces.

The next item in the Gear Plugin menu is “Notifications”. Here we see a number of settings related to notifications: the choice of applications from which you can receive notifications, display features... In general, everything is standard. Next - “Application Management”. Here we see a list of applications installed on the watch, and we can change their order, including distribution across screens.

In the following paragraphs we see options for sending a media file to the watch (audio or image), as well as settings for some applications (as a rule, these are purely auxiliary settings).

Among the settings, an interesting feature is the ability to send an emergency message. You can specify contacts who, when you press the button on the Samsung Gear S2 watch three times, will receive an alarm message with your coordinates.

Watch interface and pre-installed applications

Now let's look at the interface and applications of the watch itself. Let's start with what the user will see most often: watch faces. In total, the watch has 14 dials, and all of them are designed specifically for the round screen (that is, these are not cropped square dials from other watch models on Tizen).

The dials, in our opinion, are beautiful. We will describe only a few of them, while the rest are also very good, there are practically no unsuccessful ones. So, first of all, let’s note the minimalist dials: on a dark neon background, as well as on a black background with a spectacular green circle (see screenshots above this paragraph). In addition, the animated dials are very good: on one there are neon sparkles floating, on the other there is a conventional image of a heart, the color shade of which depends on the last pulse measurement using the watch (the higher the pulse, the more saturated the color).

Of course, there are also all kinds of chronometers and digital menus. And among the unusual options, we were pleased with the dial with two circles, one of which displays the amount of time spent in a sitting position, and the other - your activity. Accordingly, the longer the activity lasted during the day, the larger the second circle will be. Visual and very motivating! At the same time, the minimalistic style of the watch is not violated.

To change the watch face without using a smartphone, just long press on the current watch face - and a ribbon of all available watch faces will open, where you can select the one you need. If we swipe the dial from right to left, we will see the main menu from which we can get to settings, open contacts, launch the S Voice voice assistant and open a list of all installed applications.

If you scroll further, you will see widgets for various applications: information about the number of steps per day, calendar, weather, music playback control (this screen looks like an elegant stylization of a vinyl record), results of the last heart rate measurement (by clicking on this widget you can start a new measurement) and a summary of different types of activity during the day. The last screen is to add widgets from other applications.

You can switch between widgets not only by swiping, but also by rotating the bezel. It's incredibly convenient! You can return to the watch face from any widget by pressing the Home button. And the “Back” button is very useful in the application menu - in order to move from one screen with icons to another.

Of course, in this menu the rotating bezel also turns out to be very useful: with its help we can quickly move from one icon to another by seeing the name of the application. And here we note a very important point: as you already understand from the appearance of the screenshots, the interface of the Tizen operating system, on which all watches in the Gear line operate, has been completely redesigned for a specific model. That is, if round watches on Android Wear (LG G Watch R, LG G Watch Urbane, Moto 360) use, in fact, the same version of the OS as regular applications (see our articles), then the entire Samsung Gear S2 interface was specially drawn specifically for a round screen, taking into account the advantages and limitations of this format. And it should be noted that it turned out very well: the interface is convenient, intuitive, and beautiful.

What else can a watch do and, conversely, cannot do? They can show information about traffic jams and the speed of travel to a selected address using Google Now.

They can show your current location and search for nearby objects (for example, parks) using Here maps. They also allow you to find the nearest public transport stop, but, frankly, the latter takes a long time and is actually of little use for real use.

There are also quite wide possibilities for working with SMS. In particular, you can send a response using one of the templates (you can edit the templates using a smartphone application), or send an emoji. The most interesting thing is that, if you wish, you can even type the answer on the virtual keyboard, although it’s hard for me to imagine a person who would actually do this.

In general, sometimes we got the feeling that the functionality of the watch was even redundant - in addition to the examples given, this is, say, the ability to dial a phone number on the watch. Are you serious? Why, if you can’t call them anyway? Why not immediately dial on your smartphone if you still have to use it for conversation?

However, excess is not a deficiency. Moreover, the presence of these features does not overload the interface at all. In general, the set of pre-installed applications covers all the main tasks that are assigned to smart watches today. There are no revelations here, but there are also no things that are sorely lacking for those users who are familiar with other smartwatch models. Except for the ability to answer calls right on the clock.

If you still need something beyond the existing set of applications, you can turn to the assortment of the Samsung Gear Apps store. Alas, the choice here is small, mostly watch faces, and as for useful applications and games (the latter is very small), there are a lot of paid ones. Third-party applications must be installed via a smartphone.

Nevertheless, it’s worth a look at the store - even despite the modest assortment, you can find useful and pleasant things here. For example, a calculator from Samsung (yes, not all Samsung applications are pre-installed!) or a cute game made in the image and likeness of Flappy Bird (but a little easier, which is nice).

Let's hope the number of apps in the store optimized for the Samsung Gear S2 continues to grow. It is clear that there is almost no chance of catching up with the Apple Watch and even Android Wear, but it is too early to talk about anything. Perhaps if the model is successful, developers will pay more attention to it.

Conclusions

Well, after a more detailed acquaintance with the Samsung Gear S2, our first impression only intensified: this is indeed a very interesting, worthy device, which can rightfully be called one of the most successful smartwatches on the market. The main advantages include an interesting appearance, ease of use, largely due to an excellent discovery (rotating bezel), an interface fully optimized for a round screen, a large set of pre-installed applications and excellent watch faces.

It’s obvious that they tried; It's clear that they worked on a lot of details. It is even more strange that by the time the product was released, Samsung did not have time to provide the promised wide compatibility, which should have become another trump card of the device. We were never able to connect the watch to any third-party Android smartphone, and we have some doubts that Samsung will be able to solve this problem quickly and fully. That is, let’s say, there will be compatibility with the most famous flagship models, but with different “Chinese phones”?

Plus, it's not very clear how much the watch's functionality will differ when used with third-party devices. S Voice will not work, this is already known, but what else? When the Samsung Gear S2 Classic version goes on sale, we will try to return to this issue - let's hope that the connection problems will be resolved then. At the same time, we’ll figure out the battery life of the watch. So far we have not had the opportunity to get any long-term experience using the watch in real life to understand how long it will last under different usage scenarios (for example, with the screen always on or, conversely, in economy mode). Presumably, one charge will last from one to two days. But, we repeat, we will return to this later, since the model clearly deserves close attention.

One way or another, we congratulate Samsung on a truly bright and original concept (which is important!) product, which we boldly award with our Original Design award (previously the Samsung Gear S2 Classic version had already earned it), and not only for its appearance and controls, but also for the interface design.

Samsung has released its first round smartwatch, the Gear S2, although its debut almost coincided with the appearance of the Gear S2 Classic model on the market.

The new product features not only design, but also longer battery life, as well as a Tizen user interface that works perfectly with the rotating round dial panel.

The appearance of the Gear S2 was a real challenge for the Apple Watch, although the new smartwatch is designed for Android devices rather than the iPhone. The new gadget from Samsung provides improved integration of fitness applications, NFC, as well as broader developer support for Tizen OS.

Design and technical features of Gear S2

The design features of the Gear S2 include not only the round shape of the watch face, but also the fact that it is much smaller than the original Samsung Gear and most competitors.

Gear S2 offers a special control system, embodied in a rotating panel. This makes it possible to control the watch without even touching the screen. The developers have provided special applications designed for this feature of the model. However, the ability to scroll through applications remains the same.

The Gear S2's screen can be customized just the way you want it, with hundreds of options for the hands and background, and the ability to use third-party products lets you create a custom look for your smartwatch. In addition to personalizing the screen, you can also change the straps. To do this, simply press a button, remove the old bracelet, and easily install a new one.

The Gear S2 boasts a good degree of protection – IP68, which is guaranteed to protect the device from dust and moisture, but you should still avoid diving to depths.

The device is equipped with a 250mAh battery, and Samsung claims that the charge will last for 2-3 days. Quite a good result for devices of this class, but the weekly record of Pebble watches still remains unsurpassed. A magnetic wireless charger is included. The Gear S2 continues to show the time while charging, making it great for use as a night watch.

It is worth noting that when a smartwatch switches to energy-saving mode, its screen turns black and white. Perhaps this will cause slight dissatisfaction with the autonomous operation of the device.

A New Approach to Activity Tracking

One of the main differences between the Gear S2 and previous models is its more advanced activity tracking features. In order to monitor what you were doing all day, what loads you received, what you achieved, only this smartwatch will be quite enough.

You also get a 24/7 log of not only your physical activity, but also your sleep periods if you leave the watch on at night, and the Gear S2 can tell the difference between a walk and a run. You will also be pleased with the economical battery consumption, which is not affected by the fact that the device has to process a huge amount of data. Your activity will be displayed on the watch face by changing the background color or by the appearance of additional objects and icons.

Gear S2 – fromBluetooth up toNFC

Thanks to NFC technology, the Gear S2 smartwatch will in the near future be able to work with Samsung Pay, a unique mobile payment service, as well as with different types of cards, including discount cards. The company is ready to go further and give its device the role of an electronic key capable of opening a car, hotel room or front door. Using Samsung SmartThings, the gadget will be able to control, for example, heating and other smart systems in your home. But today, most connections are made via Bluetooth.

Apps for Gear S2

As already mentioned, the new smartwatch runs on Tizen OS, Samsung’s own development, so compared to Android, its capabilities will be slightly limited. But this will not last long; the company has already announced that it is going to release about 1,000 applications for its device. Among them there will be versions for such popular services as Twitter, Nike, Uber, BMW, Groupon. They will be compatible with the new watch interface and will allow the OS to work with different smartphone models.

The Gear S2 has significantly expanded compatibility with Android devices. So, the watch will work with a gadget running OS version 4.4 or higher, but a prerequisite is 1.5 GB of RAM. Samsung representatives claim that the smartwatch will support most phone models, but there may still be exceptions. In any case, Tizen offers a worthy alternative to Android Wear, however, both operating systems have one drawback - iPhone owners cannot work with them.

Gear S2 is a stylish new product with huge capabilities

Samsung has considerable experience in the production of smartwatches; undoubtedly, the best achievements of the company were embodied in the Gear S2 model. This includes the exclusive Tizen operating system and a rotating dial panel. We can only hope that over time more new applications will appear that support this feature of the device.

The battery can withstand about two days of operation, which is somewhat inferior to the Pebble Time or Time Steel. However, wireless charging capability makes up for this somewhat by allowing you to charge your watch overnight. In addition, you can use the sleep tracking feature every two days.

Gear S2 is not just a stylish and compact model, this device will easily allow you to receive notifications and track your activity. Nowadays, smartwatches are becoming more of a necessity than a luxury item. And the new model from Samsung is an excellent choice for purchase.

Source Pocket-lint.com