smart health connected watch Review for fitness

[ad_1]

Presented at IFA 2017, Samsung Gear Sport is the newest member of the Gear family. After a successful Gear S3, we are looking at this fitness and swim oriented model.

Mark : SamsungCategory: smart health connected watchConnection: WiFi, Bluetooth, NFCCompatibility: Android 5.0 and +Samsung Gear Sport price: 349 eurosAvailability: available since the end of OctoberTested with: Honor 5C

(Embed) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocIZcyyN2hA (/ embed) 

Unboxing of the Samsung Gear Sport

Unlike the Gear S2 and the Gear S3, the Samsung Gear Sport is stowed in a cubic case. Just break the black seal marked Samsung to access the products. The glossy cardboard box reveals the watch, its accessories, and a round of foam that protects the screen when the box is closed.

The manual is blistered, while a small pouch includes the power supply that plugs into the charger at the bottom of the box. There is also a spare element for a bracelet, in case the pre-installed one is too small or broken. Like every time at Samsung, everything breathes quality and is easy to unwrap. Nothing to say.

Design and ergonomics of the Samsung Gear Sport

Attaching Sport to a product requires some assurance. Many smart health connected watch manufacturers are focusing on this market as these devices have real day-to-day usefulness. In terms of design the Samsung Gear Sport does not fully meet the requirement of its name.

Equipped with a Super AMOLED screen (diagonal 360 x 360 pixels) with a size of 1.2 inches, the watch is certainly smaller than the Gear S3. The case of the latter is 49 mm long and 46 mm wide. That of the Samsung Gear Sport is more rounded and spreads on 44.6 mm in length and 42.9 mm in width. The depth of the case is 11.6 mm against 12.9 mm for its big sister.

Like his big sister, it displays a rotating circular dial on a nearly round case with its broken angles. Two notched buttons are present and face on the right edge of the sports smart health connected watch to follow the curves of the index.

The model in Review features a midnight blue case and a navy blue bracelet. The Samsung Gear Sport is also available in black steel with a wrist twist of the same color.

The strap attachment has a wheelbase of 20 mm, a standard that allows to adapt a good number of bracelets to this sport watch.

On the other hand its too high weight makes it less pleasant to wear daily. The Samsung Gear Sport weighs 67 grams with its bracelet against 63 grams for the Gear S3 which, remember, is more imposing.

Using the Samsung Gear Sport

To use the Samsung Gear Sport, you must first download compatible applications. Yes, you read correctly, this smartwatch requires several apps that must be configured when you do not have a Samsung smartphone (they are pre-installed in this case). Once Samsung Gear, Samsung Health and their plug-ins installed, you can enjoy the watch.

First observation, the pairing in Bluetooth is immediate. The Samsung Gear Sport is quickly usable.

The smart health connected watch can be "woken up" from its watch in different ways. Like the Samsung Gear S3, a rotation of the dial allows access to different features. Simply tap in the center of the screen to engage them. Navigating the menus is also possible with his finger by sliding it from left to right or from right to left. Un up-down movement displays a menu of options: underwater lock.

Once pressed, the button at the bottom of the right slice points to the drop-down menu in which we find the other services of the Samsung Gear Sport. A double press activates the Samsung Voice, a basic voice assistant. Holding this same button brings up the option menu of the Samsung Gear Sport, you have the choice between turning off the smartwatch or changing the touch sensitivity of the screen. The push button at the top of the right button has only one function: switch back to the previous menu.

Very quickly, we take the hand and the Samsung Gear Sport is handled with ease, even in full effort. The only impediment to speed of execution is not the power of the device more than adequate, but buttons that require strong pressure to be activated. Special mention to this part swimming which allows to count the number of lengths according to the basin (25 or 50 meters) and to obtain his heart rate.

One of the biggest flaws of this Samsung Gear Sport? Its autonomy. The model under Review rarely exceeded two days of use. We reached three days by switching to energy-saving mode, to the detriment of most of the features of the smartwatch. You have to take the charger and the power supply with you. Fortunately, the charge is fast: between 2 hours and 2 hours 30 minutes for a complete cycle.

Features of the Samsung Gear Sport

For a so-called sports watch, we are served in features. Navigating the menus of the Samsung Gear Sport, there are two tabs corresponding to physical activities. The first to be called "Practice" shows the follow-up of 17 practices: from the race, through cycling, swimming, walking or hiking or the machines of steps, flexions, abdominals, Pilate, Yoga, Rower, etc.

The second tab is a shortcut with the most common activities: walking, swimming, cycling and running.

At each workout, you can customize the activity monitoring by adjusting the intervals, the objectives: calorie to burn, cardio, distance and duration of the exercise. A tapping, we launch the exercise. Three data are displayed: the heart rate, the distance traveled and the average speed. At the end of the exercise, these data appear with an estimate of calories burned.

The Samsung Gear Sport does not focus solely on physical practices. In addition to heart rate, calories burned, steps taken and floors climbed, there is access to the music present on the watch or on the smartphone, the weather, a calendar, reminders and some other options that can be activated from the application.

By pressing the button at the bottom of the right section, you have access to a drop-down menu displaying the link with the phone, contacts, summary of the application Samsung Health, the Galaxy Apps (an application store) , an image gallery, the news via Flipboard, the function (very useful for stunned people) "search his phone", an altimeter and finally a PowerPoint controller.

We must add to this rather complete table the Samsung Voice function. It can interact with the voice with the smartwatch to call someone on their smartphone, send a message, view the weather, start music, search the web, etc.

It will be understood that the Samsung Gear Sport has common features with the Samsung Gear S3 and does it well. Everything works and is quick to configure. For example, you can directly transfer music from your smartphone or connect from Spotify. Sadly, it is no longer possible to take calls since the model under Review does not have a speaker. Pity.

Samsung Gear Sport Apps

The Samsung Gear Sport does not have one, but two applications. If they are both functional, we regret the separation that requires the user to sacrifice storage space available on his smartphone and time when it comes to juggling between the two services: Samsung Gear and Samsung Health .

The first of the applications gives access to the parameters of the watch. This is where you can configure quick responses, add music titles, manage notifications, download applications even if it's already possible from Samsung Gear Sport, etc.

The second, Samsung Health, concentrates health data and summary of sports activities. At the top, there is sleep tracking, the number of steps, and each new sporting practice is added to the user's personal assessment. Daily information is easily searchable, it's a bit more complicated when you have to explore those days and months past. You must always tap on trends and set a tab.

Moreover, the data is not exploited enough and correlated so that everything makes sense during a daily training. It is better to move to other dedicated applications available from Galaxy Apps or Samsung Gear.

Against the competition: Samsung Gear Sport VS Fitbit Ionic

The Samsung Gear Sport has a competitor all found: the Fitbit Ionic. This first smart wristwatch manufacturer's smart health watch was released a month earlier than the Korean firm's knockout. They have in common to address the same public: athletes and people who want to take care of their health. The price of entry being identical, 349 euros, impossible to separate them from the financial argument. From an aesthetic point of view, the modern proposal of the Fitbit Ionic is preferred. It is also lighter: there is 20 grams difference with the Samsung Gear Sport. From an ergonomic point of view, the rotating dial is a big argument for the latest product of the Korean brand.

We must therefore look at the features offered. The Samsung Gear Sport and the Fitbit Ionic offer activity tracking while relying on identical criteria to judge the wearer's performance: distance traveled, heart rate, calories burned, etc. They are both waterproof and compatible with swimming practice.

In contrast, the application proposed by Fitbit is more user-friendly, easier to use and allows a relevant analysis of the performance of the wearer. The same can not be said of Samsung Health. Only, the Samsung Gear Sport has a greater number of applications, is a real smart health connected watch simple to configure, and if it does not have contactless payment, its compatibility with Spotify allows it to easily establish itself as a sports and everyday companion. We will Review the Garmin Vivoactive 3, sold at 329 euros and placed on the same segment, to find out if it rivals the product of the Korean firm.

In our eyes, the real competitor of the Samsung Gear Sport is the Gear S3more masculine, certainly, but better equipped in terms of features (who has never dreamed of taking himself for James Bond by calling from his watch?), and cheaper since it is found on the Web at prices varying between 250 and 300 euros.

Conclusion

The Samsung Gear Sport is a successful sporting adaptation of the Gear range. Thanks to its integrated GPS, the watch can move away from the smartphone and fulfill its office. Having real smart health connected features associated with an activity tracker allows him to gain interest on most plans. The neophyte who wishes to follow his efforts can just as easily understand the data while listening to music from his Spotify account. On the other hand, its slightly too high weight, its reduced autonomy and a small lack of functionalities differentiate it too little from the Samsung Gear S3.

Good points

  • Breathe the solidity

  • The rotary dial always well seen

  • Waterproofness up to 50 meters

  • Easy use

Negative points

  • A bit heavy for sports

  • Does not differ enough from the Gear S3

  • Hard physical buttons to press

Design and finishes – 6.9
Application – 7.9
Features – 8.9
Use / Getting Started – 8.1
Value for money – 8.1

8

 

Design and Ergonomics : It is mainly for its ergonomics that we choose the Samsung Gear Sport. The rotating dial makes it easy to manipulate the object, which makes it possible to control it after a few tens of minutes of use. On the other hand, its too classic design and its high weight are negative points for the sportsmen.

Application : There is not one, but two mobile apps dedicated to the Samsung Gear Sport. Apart from a slight lack of ergonomics, we find all the features and data necessary for its proper functioning. 

features : The Samsung Gear Sport is the most complete smart health connected watch for fitness. His strong points are: a thoughtful swimming management and the ability to stream music on Spotify.

Getting Started : The Samsung Gear Sport is easily handled in full effort. We regret the hardness of the physical buttons that sometimes require to take several times to access a given feature. Its autonomy of less than three days is a defect difficult to forget.

Quality / price ratio : The price positioning of the Samsung Gear Sport (349 euros) is just in view of the features on offer. Only, she suffers from the comparison with the Gear S3 that can be found at 250 euros.

[ad_2]

 Review