Samsung Gear S3

Video By: cnet

The Gear S3 Frontier has a bigger 380mAh battery, than the S2, its life was nearly identical, coming in at three days and two nights. While looking at an analysis of the Gear app, it appears S Health uses the most battery life on the device, while without the usage of S Health on either device the battery will last at least 30 percent longer.

Samsung Gear S3’s features

The Gear S3 includes all of the same features that the Gear S2 has and more. The device uses S Health to monitor fitness and track steps, can also keep tabs on the user’s heart rate and record how many flights of stairs have been climbed. Unlike the S2, the Gear S3 also includes GPS, allowing it to always follow the wearer’s location so you won’t get lost on your next run.

The Gear S3 also brings back a feature that should have been in the non-3G/4G model of the Gear S2 –the Gear’s phone-like capabilities. The Gear S3 functions like a phone strapped to your wrist. Users can answer phone calls on the device, though it sounds like a speakerphone call and the person you’re talking to might find it difficult to hear as the microphone on the device is not the greatest.

Similar to the S2, I found S Voice with the S3 to be rarely useful, though the feature functions how I expected. You are able to give the device commands via S Voice and the smartwatch performs them, though it’s definitely not a smart assistant like Cortana or Siri.

The Gear S3 also came with other useful features such as the ability to take screenshots, an always-on display and enhanced typing capabilities in comparison to the S2 — though writing on the smartwatch still isn’t good enough that users won’t want to pull out their smartphones instead.

Furthermore, the Gear S3 and Gear S2 both run on Samsung’s Tizen operating system (OS). Tizen is a Linux-based OS developed by Samsung that is typically used in the company’s smartwatches, though there are a few smartphones that also feature the operating system. The Samsung-made OS can also be found on the company’s fitness devices, TVs and smart appliances.

Since I haven’t spent much time with Android Wear or watchOS, it’s difficult for me to compare Samsung’s Tizen operating system to its competitors. Though I felt like it didn’t offer very much especially compared to what an Apple Watch offers, both devices, especially the Gear S3, featured everything I need from a wearable.

Verdict

The Samsung Gear S2 and the S3 Frontier include many of the same features and even share some faults, such as it being difficult to type on the device. However, the latter device definitely offers a better package. Its gear-like bezel, GPS and calling functionalities make it a better wearable if you don’t mind a bulkier watch on your wrist.

The Samsung Gear S3 Frontier is $469.99 CAD while the Gear S2 is $229.99.

Note: The Samsung Gear S3 Frontier and the Classic are almost identical devices. Their screen sizes are the same and they also have identical  Exynos 7270 chipsets with a dual-core CPU. Nearly everything is the same about both smartwatches, though the Frontier is bigger than the Classic and heavier.