Samsung gear fit 2 does not connect. Samsung S Health app

The manufacturer of 4K TVs, smartphones and refrigerators continues to develop gadgets for a healthy lifestyle. In addition to developing smartwatches, the electronics giant has decided to focus on a special line of fitness-only trackers, dubbed Gear. The latest fitness tracker is the Samsung Gear Fit2 Pro, an updated version of the Samsung Gear Fit 2, which is one of the best designs on the market. With built-in GPS, Spotify support, and a new water-resistant design, the Gear Fit 2 Pro expands on the capabilities of its predecessor. Is this $200 tracker worth choosing over a sea of ​​competitors? This in-depth review of the Gear Fit 2 Pro helps answer that question.

Packaged in a square box, the Samsung Gear Fit 2 Pro comes with either a large or small band—unlike the Ionic Fitbit, which comes with two straps. The kit also comes with a standard charging dock, as well as instructions for use. Most often, the tracker is already charged and ready to use, and all you need to do is sync the device via Bluetooth with your smartphone and download the accompanying Gear Fit app.

Gear Fit 2 Pro design and features

Benefits of Gear Fit2 Pro:

• great display
• offline spotify
• more fitness options

Flaws:

• inaccurate sleep and heart rate monitoring
• Some connection/sync issues
• Battery could be better

Today's fitness tracker market seems crowded with devices of varying sizes, shapes, and functionality, to the point where making a decision becomes a daunting exercise in itself.

Despite this, Samsung released the excellent Gear Fit 2 last year, including all the functionality you need and more. It's not surprising that instead of releasing a completely new device this year, the company decided to slightly improve last year's already high-quality product. This improvement was the protection of the case from water, thanks to which the word Pro appeared in the name.

Few other fitness trackers can be used while swimming. Some will like it, some will not need it, it all depends on the needs of a particular person.

Design

Almost a clone of its predecessor, the Fit 2 Pro doesn't deviate from the established design. The tracker is tiny, but wide, light and unobtrusive.

As for the straps, there are a couple of changes. Firstly, there are two new color options, black and red. They look better than last year's straps.

Secondly, they had improved latches. Last year's trackers often accidentally opened and fell, but here this problem is solved due to the traditional latching mechanism, which is used on almost all modern watches.

Interface and applications

The Fit 2 Pro interface does not depart from the extreme austerity of its predecessor. Almost all apps, menus, and watch faces use a black background. This was probably done to minimize energy consumption by the AMOLED screen. The screen looks like last year's, and the specifications say the same.

Using the Fit 2 Pro is a breeze thanks to the familiar combination of touch input and two physical buttons on the side. The tracker runs on the Samsung Tizen operating system; the interface consists of a number of applications, each of which is dedicated to one part of the device’s functionality. The central home screen contains the main watch face and several customizable widgets.

There are occasional stutters when opening and closing applications, but in most cases the interface is fast and responsive. The only exception is the screen gesture to turn it off, which periodically does not work.

The device also offers some rudimentary smartphone controls. There's a notification center that lets you respond to text messages with a preset set of responses, and there are built-in audio controls. You can answer phone calls, but there is no microphone or speakers in the case. Calls can be rejected if necessary.

The Gear Fit 2 Pro does not claim to be a smartwatch, as evidenced by the range of available apps in the Galaxy Apps store. There are more than 3,000 of them, Samsung says, but most are just watch faces. Other apps include the music service Spotify, which brings a new feature to the Gear Fit line: you can now download playlists to the internal memory and listen to more than 500 songs via Bluetooth headphones without Internet access. This makes listening faster because streaming music via a smartphone or Wi-Fi requires a long download time.

Fitness

Naturally, the most important part of a fitness tracker is the fitness and activity functionality. The Gear Fit 2 Pro does this very well, with modes for walking, running, cycling, yoga and other activities.

You can start them all manually or let the device automatically detect when they start, which works great but can be annoying. Just because you walk doesn't mean you need to fire up a fitness tracker every time.

A key new feature, swim tracking, works within the built-in Speedo On app, so you can't just jump in the water and expect your fitness tracker to know about it. Surely swimming enthusiasts will be delighted to be able to recognize their swimming style.

Ease of use and autonomy

The presence of Wi-Fi support means that the device does not have to be constantly connected to a smartphone, but deeper access to data will not be possible without it. The Samsung Health app works great on Android, but it's not available on Apple iOS, so iPhone owners will have to make do with the tracker interface.

As for battery life, Samsung's official estimate of 3-5 days is overly optimistic. In fact, three days is the maximum; the device will have to be charged regularly, just like last year’s model.

Since the Fit 2 Pro will often be used outdoors, the visibility of the screen in the sun is an open question. This parameter is at a high level, although the curved reflective glass sometimes creates problems.

For swimming, you can turn off touch input completely. Although the tracker doesn't recognize when you're underwater, touch input is automatically disabled when you're swimming.

Conclusion

One thing is clear: the word Pro in the name only applies to swimmers. For everyone else, the advantage of the new model over last year’s is a slightly cooler design and support for the Spotify service, which is not relevant for Russia (unless you use a proxy).

At the same time, we cannot say that the fitness tracker turned out to be bad: it is still one of the best models. But if you don’t swim, there are many alternative options on sale that can do the same thing and at the same time cost less than 12,000 rubles. The device is not yet available on Yandex.Market, but Samsung Gear Fit 2 costs 11,500 rubles.

If you're looking for a device that does it all while still looking stylish, the Samsung Gear Fit 2 Pro is your option.

pros

• Stylish appearance
• Comfortable to wear
• Improved straps
• Simple interface
• Swim tracking

Minuses

Samsung is one of the leaders in the wearable electronics market. A key success factor is that the company has in-house technology for each and every aspect of such devices. High-quality, including curved screens, microprocessors and memory chips, operating systems - the company spends enormous amounts of money on R&D. As a result, its bracelets are the most advanced in both hardware and software.

Samsung smart bracelets are well known to me since their appearance in Ukraine in the summer of 2014. The distinctive features of the family that attracted the attention and wallets of users were a curved AMOLED display with a large diagonal, discreet high-quality design, good battery life and excellent implementation of basic functionality. My wife is still wearing the very first version of Gear Fit, for three years now, because she has not found an adequate replacement. You can read about how the Gear line began in my opus from those times.

The distinctly sporty design of the second version instantly narrowed the potential audience to people who, firstly, play sports or lead a healthy lifestyle (healthy lifestyle, wellness) and, secondly, do not feel the need for a bracelet outside the gym. I was almost one of the first in the country to buy a gadget, but my wife refused it for aesthetic reasons. For my wife, the main value of the Gear Fit is the call and message alert function. She doesn't carry her phone in her pocket; she has a bag for such things. And a bag is far from the place from which you can hear a call or a squeak from a messenger, especially on the street, in the subway or in a crowded place.

What does the Gear Fit 2 Pro have in store for us?

The first thing that catches your eye is the long-awaited return to the original style of the Gear line. Strict black color sets the overall mood, geometric patterns and red elements add the right drop of emotion. The Gear Fit 2 Pro can once again be worn under office clothes, which is good. The bracelet clasp has changed: instead of pins, the time-tested classic scheme is used. The bracelets are sold in two sizes - S and L. The second one is definitely not suitable for ladies, and it won’t fit every man - it’s better to try it on before buying.

Gear Fit 2 Pro

Like the flagship smartphones S8/S8+, the bracelet features the AlwaysOn function. This radically simplifies the use of one of the main functions - time display. You no longer need to choose between convenience and autonomy, practice the correct “raise your arm with a turn” gesture and annoy your neighbors in the cinema hall. In standby mode, the screen displays a minimum of information with low brightness. Enabling this feature slightly increases power consumption, which is what it is intended for.

In general, the Pro version is exactly an update of the Gear Fit 2 model. There are differences and it cannot be said that they are insignificant, but in general we are talking about working on bugs. Among other things, increased water protection is announced: now you can safely swim in the bracelet, including in open water. Unfortunately, I didn't have the opportunity to explore this aspect, so I can't say anything about it.

Samsung Gear Fit 2 Pro and healthy lifestyle

Samsung continues to focus on health and sports features. For example, Gear Fit 2 Pro was designed as an ideal gadget for swimming enthusiasts. In addition to the corresponding hardware capabilities, it was packed with software features, including software components developed jointly with Speedo. I have seen absolutely rave reviews in this regard, however, I repeat, I have not had the opportunity to personally verify these aspects.

The possibility of continuous and fairly accurate, with an error of less than 10%, instrumental measurements of physiological indicators directly during training has made a real revolution in both amateur and professional sports. This is like the appearance first of adding machines and then of electronic calculators in accounting. Representatives of the old school may indeed be more comfortable the old fashioned way, with abacuses, but this, let’s face it, is already pure archaism like fountain pens. For people over 40, monitoring their heart rate during any intense exercise is a requirement for health insurance in some countries. On the other hand, I know people who had no idea how little their children moved until they had the opportunity to find out for sure by giving them bracelets with a step counting function.

First the "pros"

I'll start with a function that is implemented in the Gear Fit 2 Pro really well, a solid five. Unlike most competitors, the device accurately recognizes sleep at any time of the day, confidently distinguishing it from just passively sitting on the sofa, for example. Most likely, the built-in heart rate sensor (pulsometer) is used for this. Having detected prolonged immobility, the device additionally checks the pulse and, if it has dropped to certain values, defines this state as sleep. For comparison, professional fitness devices Garmin and Polar consider only what happens within a specified period of day to be sleep. Some fitness bracelets even require you to manually indicate your bedtime.

The bracelet automatically recognizes different types of exercises. Squats, push-ups and press - almost without mistakes. You set the number of approaches and repetitions, the interval between approaches and move on.

Who might need this? I will assume that during high-intensity training, when the number of repetitions goes into the tens, and attention has already “floated” from fatigue, automatic calculation may be in demand. The bracelet, in fact, did not count exercises such as jumping “feet together, legs apart” with clapping hands above the head. Out of ten jumps, he recorded two or three, or even less.

Now the cons

Samsung still hasn't implemented support for Bluetooth-enabled heart rate monitors. This makes the Gear Fit 2 Pro useless for professional sports activities. The fact is that the built-in sensor of the bracelet uses the photoplethysmography method - optical, simply put. When the heart rate (HR) rises above 110–120 beats/min, artifacts, obviously unreliable pulse surges, begin to appear. The sensor, simply put, begins to lie and quite noticeably. As an experiment, I put on a regular electrocardiography-based chest sensor (Polar H7) and ran, measuring my heart rate simultaneously with the bracelet and the chest sensor. The average indicators differ insignificantly, but the maximum (peak) indicators differ too much.

Excessive error under high load does not allow the Gear Fit 2 Pro to be used as a tool for operational control of full-fledged training in cyclic sports - running, cycling and other “cardio”. But with low physical activity and at rest, the Gear Fit 2 Pro copes with the task perfectly. The sensor is also suitable for measuring the overall load level, since artifacts do not greatly distort the final data. In constant operation mode, the battery is discharged in 10–14 hours, that is, during daylight hours. This is quite enough for collecting statistics or testing hypotheses. If you switch the sensor to periodic measurement mode, you get a little more than a day of operation.

A similar problem emerged when examining the built-in GPS/GLONASS sensor. I compared its readings with the Garmin Fenix ​​3, a professional sports device in a different price category. The Gear Fit 2 Pro showed the same path 4-5% shorter. At first I thought that a more expensive device was a priori more accurate, but I decided to check it just in case. He put the watch on one hand, the bracelet on the other, clutched the third device in his fist - a smartphone with the running program turned on - and ran. The results surprised me because all three devices produced different data.

Advantages over “professional devices”

It turns out that even seemingly professional, expensive devices determine their position in space with a fair amount of error. The same Garmin continues to use not the best, let's say, chips from MTK, which leads to systematic errors, especially when calculating vertical movement (rough terrain, mountains, etc.). Added to the design flaws are imperfect components, problems with assembly and operation, and a great many reasons why it is pointless to hope to find out “how it really is.” In fact, there is no gold standard for measuring path, speed and their derivatives. We must proceed from the fact that any device gives an error of up to 5–7, or even 10%, especially in special conditions - urban development, precipitation, etc.

Based on these assumptions, the Gear Fit 2 Pro's positioning functions are fine. The device regularly measures speed, distance, and changes in altitude above sea level. Enough for walking, jogging and other outdoor exercise. Enabling GPS/GLONASS greatly reduces battery life, so you should limit yourself to training only.

Speaking about Gear Fit 2 Pro as a device for practicing a healthy lifestyle, one cannot fail to mention S Health, a kind of software hub for everything related to a healthy lifestyle. At one time, Samsung became the first manufacturer to create and begin to promote a healthy lifestyle solution as an integral element of the functionality of its smartphones. Today, S Health provides a lot of opportunities that I won’t even list. The main thing to remember is that the most expensive and high-quality tool will only help you when you are doing something. If you are already taking care of your health, monitoring your activity and diet, setting measurable goals and working hard to achieve them, then S Health will be useful for you. Installing this program by itself will not perform a miracle and will not set you on the right path.

And about the main drawback of the device

In Gear Fit 2, the diagonal of the device has noticeably decreased: from 1.84″ to 1.5″ (although its resolution has increased from 432×128 pixels to 432×216 pixels). At the same time, there was a significant expansion of the functionality of the bracelet: both sports functions and basic ones. Interface developers could not resist the temptation to increase the density of information displayed on the screen and sharply reduced the font size. As a result, even at its maximum size, it remains not large enough for comfortable use, especially on the go. I just can’t make it out, that’s the problem.

Maximum font size

As people age, they develop farsightedness. Alas, my eyes already require glasses, and the size of the interface elements of wrist devices is becoming one of the critical factors. The interface of the first Gear Fit model is for me the standard of what it should be.

In its development, the Gear Fit line has reached the point where there is a need for differentiation, the next identification of new potential niches. The company can take the path of creating separate devices for each niche, or it can do it more elegantly. Already now, the hardware capabilities of the bracelet allow us to solve a variety of problems, satisfying completely different needs. Some people need sports functions, others are only interested in call notifications. It seems to me that it would be sufficient to provide such specialization at the interface level. Depending on his preferences, the user could change the interface and the set of functions available to him directly through the standard menu. This would greatly simplify the life of many users, saving them from having to deal with something that they definitely will not use. Reducing the functionality of a particular mode will make it possible to optimize the user interface, including the size of its elements.

Bottom line

The autonomy of the bracelet has not changed noticeably. With Wi-Fi, GPS and heart rate sensor turned off, Always On turned on, regularly viewing notifications and monitoring sleep, the Gear Fit 2 Pro worked for me for up to two and a half days.

The Gear Fit 2 Pro made an overall favorable impression on me. If you are ready to buy yourself a fitness bracelet, definitely take it. If you are thinking about a smart watch, this device is also worth considering. Functionally, it fully corresponds to expectations from a smart watch, differing only in design. The company has done serious work on the bugs, the second version of Gear Fit has become what it should have been. I put the Gear Fit 2 Pro on my New Year's shopping list. It's time to replace the veteran.

Samsung Gear Fit 2 Pro

Samsung focuses on health and sports features

The Gear Fit 2 Pro makes a good impression. If you are ready to buy yourself a fitness bracelet, definitely take it. If you are thinking about a smart watch, this device is also worth considering. Functionally, it fully corresponds to expectations from a smart watch, differing only in design.

A new generation of fitness bracelet turned into a smart watch

In 2014, Samsung released the Gear Fit fitness bracelet. The device turned out to be very successful: its main feature was a beautiful curved Super AMOLED screen, and in terms of functionality the gadget was between traditional fitness trackers and a full-fledged smartwatch. It could display the time and notifications, but did not allow the installation of third-party applications. And now, two years later, the South Korean manufacturer quietly and somehow even too modestly presented the second version of the bracelet.

The new product was called Samsung Gear Fit2 and retained the concept of its predecessor, as well as its main feature - a curved screen. However, the elements that were added took the functionality of the Gear Fit2 to a completely different level. Firstly, GPS was built in. Secondly, the gadget is now compatible not only with Samsung smartphones, but with any Android smartphones with more than 1.5 GB of RAM and an OS version of at least 4.4 (hence, even mid-budget devices are included here). And thirdly, it is now possible to install third-party applications, and this already turns the Samsung Gear Fit2 into a full-fledged smartwatch. But how adequate is the bracelet as a smart watch? And how successful was the device as a whole?

Let's look at the specifications of the new product.

Specifications Samsung Gear Fit2

• Screen: touch, curved, Super AMOLED, 1.5″, 432×216, capacitive
• Water and dust protection: yes (IP68 standard)
• Strap: removable
• Compatibility: Samsung devices running Android 4.4 with at least 1.5 GB RAM
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.0 LE
• SoC: Samsung Exynos 3250 (dual Cortex-A7 cores @1 GHz)
• RAM: 512 MB
• Flash memory: 4 GB (about 2 GB free)
• Sensors: accelerometer, gyroscope, heart rate sensor, GPS, barometer
• Cameras, Internet: no
• Microphone, speaker: no
• Battery: 200 mAh
• Weight 28 g

For clarity, let's compare the characteristics of the bracelet with its immediate predecessor and some competitors we tested earlier.

	Samsung Gear Fit2	Samsung Gear Fit	Garmin vivoactive HR	Sony SmartBand 2 SWR12
Screen	touch, color, curved, Super AMOLED, 1.5″, 432×216 (317 ppi)	touch, color, curved, Super AMOLED, 1.84″, 432×128 (240 ppi)	touch, color, transreflective, OLED, 1.38″, 205×148 (183 ppi)	vibration signal, 3 LED indicators
Water protection	IP68	IP67	5 ATM	IP68
Strap	removable, silicone	removable, silicone	removable, silicone	removable, silicone
Camera	No	No	No	No
Sensors	GPS, accelerometer, barometer, heart rate sensor	accelerometer, barometer, heart rate sensor	GPS, accelerometer, altimeter, heart rate sensor	accelerometer, heart rate sensor
Microphone, speaker	No	No	No	No
Compatibility	Devices running Android 4.4 and later with at least 1.5 GB of RAM	Samsung devices running Android 4.3 and later	Android 4.x and later devices / iOS 8 and later / Windows and macOS computers	Devices running iOS 8.2 / Android 4.4 and later
Third party app support	There is	No	There is	there are extensions that allow you to control various smartphone applications from the bracelet (Android only), as well as transfer data to third-party applications
Weight (g)*	28	28	47,6	25
average price	T-14018528	T-10787829	N/A	T-12901384
Samsung Gear Fit2 Retail Deals	L-14018528-10

*according to manufacturer information

The table clearly demonstrates the main differences between the Gear Fit2 and its predecessor. The screen has shrunk a bit, and at the same time the aspect ratio has changed: it used to be about 3.5:1, and now it’s 2:1. We mentioned the rest (GPS, compatibility, third-party applications) above. Compared to its competitors, the new product also looks very good, but, however, it is inferior in compatibility. Samsung stubbornly refuses to support iOS in its wearable gadgets.

Well, let's move on to getting to know the device in person!

Equipment

The box looks quite traditional and does not evoke either positive or negative emotions. Its advantage is that you can see the bracelet itself (at least its main part) without opening it.

Inside the box we find the bracelet itself, a short manual in Russian, a warranty booklet and a charger that must be connected to a USB output or smartphone charger.

The bracelet must be placed on it so that the contacts on the back of the bracelet body coincide with the contacts on the charger.

Of course, you can complain that they didn’t do wireless charging, but we don’t see a big problem in this.

Design

The appearance of the bracelet as a whole inherited the features of its predecessor, but there are a lot of differences, and all of them are significant. And the new colors (blue and pink) are far from the most significant (yes, we had pink in testing!).

First of all, the principle of connecting the main unit with the silicone strap has changed. Previously, the strap was single, and the block was inserted into it. Now the strap is made of two halves, which are attached to the electronics unit using special latches.

Perhaps this solution is less elegant, and it is more difficult to disconnect the halves of the strap. However, in everyday life such a need does not arise. It can be assumed that the manufacturer had some serious reasons for changing the design in this way.

The second point is that the shape of the device has become less elongated. As we already wrote, the screen changed the aspect ratio, and therefore the overall shape changed. Whether this is a plus or a minus, everyone can decide for themselves. In our opinion, the first generation of Gear Fit looked somewhat more interesting and sleeker. The new product is more similar to competing devices.

However, another feature of the first Gear Fit is retained here - the metal edging around the screen. But if the first version had a shiny, glossy frame, then the Gear Fit2 has a matte edging, painted in the color of the bracelet. And therefore it does not look so impressive. Without examining the device up close, it is difficult to tell whether it is plastic or metal.

Plastic, however, is also used here: the back of the case is made of it. It contains contacts for connecting the charger and a heart rate sensor.

In addition, it is on the plastic part that there are two buttons (the first Gear Fit had only one button). Clicking on the smaller button opens the menu if we are on the main screen, or returns us to the main screen when we are on any other screen. And the larger button is responsible for taking a step back.

The bracelet sits quite comfortably on the hand, and the silicone strap with a standard clasp in the form of a metal pin is also convenient. But we can’t call the Samsung Gear Fit2 stylish and eye-catching. Yes, not bad, yes, quite comfortable, but there is no “wow” here.

This is not to say that the design of the Gear Fit2 is much worse than that of the Gear Fit, but there is a feeling that the originality has been lost here, and in general the style has become duller, despite the bright colors. However, from the point of view of convenience and functional features, we did not notice any disadvantages. And the appearance of another button is only a plus, because on the first Gear Fit you had to press a small virtual button on the screen to go back.

Screen

We only had the bracelet for a short time, so we weren’t able to carry out full testing using specialized equipment, but the screen here feels about the same as the first Gear Fit, if we mean colors, contrast, brightness and image clarity. More precisely, the last parameter, judging by the numbers, is even better for the new product (317 versus 240 ppi), but for a wearable device with a relatively small screen this is not so significant.

In general, the screen looks very beautiful, it has perfect black color (which is quite logical for a Super AMOLED matrix), rich saturated colors (in the case of smartphones, we sometimes complain about their oversaturation in AMOLED, but for wrist gadgets this is even a plus), sufficient brightness in order to use the bracelet in the sun. And, of course, the Gear Fit's screen delights with its beautiful curve. Years go by, and curved screens still do not become mainstream, remaining the lot of a few experimental devices (remember that Samsung had the Galaxy Round smartphone, and LG has the G Flex line). That's why the Gear Fit2's curved screen looks every bit as impressive today as its predecessor's screen did two years ago.

True, the bend increases the amount of glare, that is, in bright sunshine you will have some difficulty turning the bracelet towards you without catching glare. But this is not to say that this is too significant and can ruin the experience of using the Gear Fit2.

Interface

Now let's see what the bracelet interface looks like. The main screen is the watch face. Moreover, the dial can display not only the time, but also other information, depending on the specific option (date, number of steps, etc.). If you long press on the screen, you can select a watch face.

If you do not long press, but simply swipe right or left from the main screen, we will see widgets. Each widget displays some information related to the fitness functions of the bracelet, or there may be controls.

To see the application menu, you need to press the small button on the side of the bracelet. Round icons of installed applications are arranged in a vertical row, which we can scroll through using the touch screen. The applications you download from Samsung Galaxy Apps are added to the same row (in the right screenshot below you can see the icon of the third-party application FitEvolution).

In the settings menu you can see quite a lot of useful options regarding interaction with the bracelet (see two screenshots on the left under this paragraph). In general, which is significant, you can customize the Samsung Gear Fit2 for yourself practically without using a smartphone. This is the most autonomous device. But if the smartphone is connected, the bracelet displays notifications, calls, etc.

Important point: the GPS module is turned off by default (otherwise the battery consumption will be too high). In order to turn it on, you need to select the “Exercise” application and there any type of activity (see screenshot above this paragraph on the right). And below the “Geodata” item should be activated. After you press "Start", the bracelet will activate GPS and build a track. Of course, the track and other training results can be viewed not only on the bracelet screen, but also on the smartphone after synchronization. But you don’t need a smartphone to record the track itself.

Smartphone pairing and functionality

Like the Samsung Gear S2 smartwatch, the new product works with any Android smartphone that uses Android 4.4 or later and has at least 1.5 GB of RAM. We used a Sony Xperia XA for testing and there were no problems with it. True, the need to install four (!!!) applications in order to work with the Gear Fit2 seems excessive to us. In addition to Samsung Gear and S Health (it is with these two applications that we will interact while using the bracelet), this is also Gear Fit2 Plugin and Samsung Accessory Service.

Another oddity: to launch the S Health application for the first time, you need a SIM card in your smartphone. Without it, launching is impossible. But if you launch an application with a SIM card and then remove it, then the SIM is no longer required for subsequent launches.

So, the Samsung Gear application is necessary to control the bracelet itself, and S Health is necessary to receive and display fitness data. Let's start with Samsung Gear

Samsung Gear

The application interface is very simple and intuitive. We can select a watch face, mark which applications the bracelet can receive notifications from, change the order or remove applications we have installed from the bracelet, transfer music from the smartphone memory to the bracelet's built-in memory, make the bracelet vibrate if you can't find it and finally open it Samsung Galaxy Apps store. There is nothing interesting in the “Settings” item (there is purely auxiliary information there).

Let us comment in more detail on the most interesting of these points. In the “Watch Faces” menu, you can access settings for the bracelet’s main screen. You can choose from available options (including those installed from the app store), and some watch faces have fine-tuning options. For example, this could be the choice of color or some features of information placement.

"Send Music to Gear" is a very valuable option for those who like to play sports with music. So, you can use this command to download several hundred songs to the bracelet's built-in memory, and then connect a Bluetooth headset to the bracelet and control music playback directly using the bracelet. This means you don’t have to take your smartphone with you to class. This is a huge plus, since the first Gear Fit could only control music on a smartphone. Below are screenshots of the Gear Fit2: on the left we see the music player icon among the applications, and on the right we see the music control widget.

The Samsung Galaxy Apps store deserves special attention. As we remember, the first generation Gear Fit did not have support for third-party applications. Now it is, and Samsung Galaxy Apps already has a lot of interesting things for the Gear Fit2. Basically, of course, these are dials, but there are also some programs that expand the capabilities of the device. In general, the store’s assortment is still very modest, and there are a lot of paid applications/watch faces. But let's see what happens next and how Samsung will attract developers for the Gear Fit2.

Applications installed from the store appear in the bracelet's main application menu, and the location of the icon can be changed by moving it higher.

Once you have downloaded music and the necessary applications/watch faces to the bracelet, and also configured the basic settings, you will not need to launch Samsung Gear on any regular basis. But what you will need constantly (if, of course, you are going to use the Samsung Gear Fit2 intensively) is the S Health application.

S Health

We have already told you about this application more than once in connection with other Samsung wearable gadgets. Let us remember that this is a single aggregator of fitness information for Samsung devices, that is, all Gear Fit2 measurements will also be provided in S Health. Here's what the app's home screen looks like before you start using the Gear Fit2 (screenshot on the left) and after daily synchronization (screenshot on the right).

When it comes to sleep and step tracking, there's nothing out of the ordinary here. We just note that the bracelet can determine when you fell asleep and woke up, and does it very accurately. But what’s interesting is the automatic operation of the heart rate sensor - including during sleep. Measurements are taken every 10 minutes. Including when the user is sleeping. This probably also affects how the bracelet interprets the user's passivity - as wakefulness (in which case it can remind you to be active) or as sleep.

All measurement statistics are saved and accumulated. Then you can see the dynamics of changes in your heart rate for the whole day, including data for each measurement separately.

Another interesting thing is determining the number of ascents per floor. For the bracelet to record that you have climbed one floor, you need to rise three meters (the elevator, of course, does not count).

Of course, S Health saves all your workouts, including those that were recorded with a track (you can then see your route on the map). In addition, the bracelet and the application offer to record the amount of water and coffee drunk, but this, of course, must be done manually, so only the most meticulous users will be able to do this.

Autonomous operation

A wrist device with a color screen that requires backlighting, a heart rate sensor that automatically turns on every ten minutes, and even built-in GPS—how long will it last on battery life? One day? As it turns out, if you do not turn on GPS (that is, in just a fitness tracker mode), it will take about three days. That is, almost the same as its predecessor. Yes, this is less than the Garmin vivoactive HR, but more than the Apple Watch (remember, it also has an AMOLED screen and an automatically working heart rate sensor). At the same time, of these three devices, Samsung Gear Fit2 is the most compact.

Enabling GPS training mode will, of course, reduce the run time significantly, very significantly, so, for example, if you plan to use it all day (for example, going on a hike or a long bike ride), be prepared for the fact that at some point an insufficiently charged bracelet will simply turn off, and you may not have time to track this moment. But, say, a standard workout for an hour and a half after a working day, the bracelet will survive without problems if you charged it the night before.

conclusions

We still don’t understand why Samsung released the Gear Fit2 so modestly, without presenting it at any global exhibition, without arranging noisy presentations and other PR activities. After all, the product turned out to be excellent: taking all the best from the first generation of Gear Fit, the new product offers a number of important improvements. This is the presence of GPS, the ability to play music directly from the bracelet (without a smartphone), an automatically working heart rate sensor, compatibility with Android smartphones from other manufacturers and, finally, the ability to install third-party applications/watch faces.

Thus, the fitness bracelet with notifications has turned into a full-fledged smartwatch, which at the right time can turn into a GPS sports watch. Perhaps, for complete happiness, the only thing missing here is serious moisture protection (the IP68 standard does not imply swimming in a pool or sea - at least the manufacturer does not recommend such experiments). Well, there are no positive changes in appearance (although we are already accustomed to the fact that each next generation of wearable gadgets should look significantly better than the previous one). But even if you like the first-generation Gear Fit a little better on the outside, there's no reason to prefer it over the new one.

Fortunately, the price of the Gear Fit2 in dollars is almost the same as the first Gear Fit: $179. In Russia, the official price is about 12 thousand rubles. And this, at first glance, is a bit much, but, on the other hand, if you compare the price with other smartwatches (namely, they should be compared with them, and not with other fitness bracelets), it turns out that the Gear Fit2 is very affordable . So we confidently recommend the Gear Fit2 for purchase and will follow Samsung's new steps in the wearable device market.

For its curved screen and rich functionality without sacrificing appearance, we give the Samsung Gear Fit2 our Original Design Award.

A full review of the Samsung Gear Fit 2 fitness bracelet and instruction manual in Russian will help you learn and set up this sports watch the right way.

The Fit 2 has a nice display, a decent design, a heart rate monitor, and also built-in GPS. In addition, it is possible to store music and play it directly from the device. With so many features, this fitness bracelet is more like a smartwatch.

The package includes the Fit 2, a charging cradle with a USB plug, and a user manual.

Design and comfort

The bracelet has an attractive and fashionable design, offering a curved responsive display with oleophobic coating and a rubber strap with a sporty style. The Super AMOLED screen size is 1.5 inches with a resolution of 432 × 216 pixels.

However, reviews regarding this form factor vary. On the one hand, this can make it difficult to absorb information, especially when displaying large text, such as in a message notification. Sports watches or fitness trackers that have a large square screen have a clear advantage in their ability to display information, as content from a wider display is more comfortable to read. But on the other hand, its curvature makes it easier to work with the gadget when you have to scroll through content with your finger.

Along with the fact that the bright colors of the Super AMOLED screen can be so intrusive that they even interfere with falling asleep, outdoors in direct sunlight the display does not look as expressive as we would like. Of course, monochrome or reflective displays are better suited for sports bracelets, but in this way the user loses the functionality of a fitness tracker.

As for the strap, it is very flexible, made of soft, comfortable elastomer material and is attached to the case using a proprietary connector. This means that it can be replaced with a bracelet of a different color or size, but only designed specifically for Fit 2.

Samsung ships the second-generation Gear Fit in two sizes:

1. small S - for wrists 125-170 mm
2. large L - for wrists with a circumference of 155-210 mm

On the “back” of the tracker there is an optical heart rate monitor. Next to the sensor are two point contacts for the wireless charging pad, which holds the Fit2 horizontally while charging. The tracker does not have ports for wired connections.

Two physical buttons on the side of the device are used to return home and move back to the previous screen. Each other button function depends on the active screen.

Interface

The Fit 2 has a series of horizontally scrolling screens, each with a specific function. You scroll through the screens with your finger, and an additional way to interact with the bracelet is the “back” and “home” buttons located on the side of the device.

You can also cover the screen with your palm to turn it off.

Informs about the time, and also provides data on the number of steps taken, steps and calories burned.

Swiping left brings up the notifications screen, while swiping right lets you scroll through widgets, which we'll discuss in more detail below.

• 24 hour log. Shows a linear progression of your activity over the past days: periods when you were inactive, active, asleep, or not using the fitness tracker on your wrist.
• Exercise. Allows you to start a sport or workout by setting the type of activity, time goal and other parameters. You can also view a history of previous active activities.
• Steps. Step counter and indicators of how close you are to your daily goal.
• Steps. The number of steps you have climbed/descended today is shown, with the ability to view historical data for the week.
• Heart rate. Shows your most recent heart rate and when it was recorded, as well as your highest and lowest heart rate for the day. You can view weekly data here.
• Water. Record the number of cups of water you drink per day.
• Caffeine. Note how many cups of coffee you have consumed today.
• Together. Set up challenges to tally your scores against your friends' scores and track your progress against them.

In addition to these screens, by pressing the side-bottom home button, you can bring up Music Player, Find My Phone, Timer, and Stopwatch. There's also the option to record how many cups of water or coffee you've drunk, start a timer, or use the Find My Phone feature.

Here you can see icons for network indicators, battery indicator, screen brightness level and more by scrolling down on the Home screen.

Applications

You can use all the functionality of the tracker if you download the mobile application to your phone. Paired with a sports watch, it will help you keep track of all your workouts and will generate graphs and display statistics of your daily physical activity and other activities.

Samsung S Health app

S Health displays everything the Fit 2 collects, and also opens up even more options for inputting data through your phone, like your weight or food intake. It's a fairly user-friendly piece of software that displays information well, but keep in mind that if you've used a fitness tracker before and already have a lot of data stored elsewhere, importing into S Health won't be possible. The program is freely available.

The separation of functions between S Health and another application called Gear can confuse the user. In this case, you can use the Gear to control the Fit 2's connection to your smartphone without having to resort to S Health.

On the other hand, Fit 2 is capable of working autonomously, without a connected phone, but it is unlikely that anyone will wear a fitness bracelet without the ability to view statistics in the mobile application.

The Gear mobile application is a channel for connecting a smart bracelet to a phone and is available for almost any smartphone running Android 4.4 KitKat and higher. You can download it.

Here you can control which apps can send notifications to Fit 2, change quick replies to messages, switch and customize watch faces, change app layout, and install more apps when they become available.

With the Gear, you can use music files from your phone to play them on your device without using your smartphone.

If your Fit 2 gets lost, the software's Find My Gear feature will vibrate the tracker to help you find it. In addition, before the smart bracelet is detected, you can remotely block it from reconnecting from another device.

Functions

Fit2 is not just a gadget that counts steps and distance, shows time and heart rate, but also a multifunctional tool for monitoring health and communicating with other users of the same device.

Notifications

Fitness watch Samsung Gear Fit 2 (Gir Fit 2) provides the ability to receive notifications sent to your smartphone. However, responses will be limited due to the small screen size of the device. Through a program on the phone, the user is given the opportunity to choose which software can send alerts to the smart bracelet. You can only reply with quick messages, which are also configured in the mobile application.

Alarm

Despite the fact that the device detects sleep phases, the bracelet does not have a smart alarm clock. And in order to use a regular alarm clock in your watch, you need to install it by first downloading it from the Gear Market.

According to user reviews, the tracker emits rather weak vibration signals to wake up the owner. Therefore, if you sleep soundly, you may not feel the slight vibration on your wrist.

Heart rate monitoring

The heart rate monitor requires several seconds of standing still to measure your heart rate. Fit2 automatically records and tracks your heart rate when you're at rest, but when you're active you need to stop for a moment to check your pulse.

The optical monitor also performs automatic tracking, focusing on your heart rate through measurements every 10 minutes.

When Auto HR control is turned on, Fit 2 will track your heart rate whenever it detects rest periods. The results are displayed in heart rate widgets on the tracker itself, and you can also view them in the S Health app.

In order for the tracker to track your sleep, you must make sure everything is set up correctly in the S Health app. If you are an iPhone owner, this may be difficult since the device is designed to work with the Android app.

Launch the program and go to the “Options” section, select “Manage Elements”, activate the “Sleep” item.

You also need to register your device to create a connection between your phone and Gear Fit2. In the mobile app, the device breaks sleep quality into three categories - restless, light and restless - and displays them on a graph with a corresponding timeline.

Active Activity Tracking

Samsung has packed a variety of sensors into the Fit2, including a pedometer, GPS, and a heart rate monitor. Most of these sensors function automatically depending on the selected function or fitness panel. They also automatically detect when you exercise and what exactly you do. Fit2 clearly tracks walking, running and lap running. Additionally, it recognizes when the user has been stationary for too long and advises them to move a little (these notifications, as well as exercise detection, can be turned off if desired).

There are various activities that you can choose from and they include:

• walking
• hike
• Bike Lane
• orbitrek
• exercise bike
• elliptical trainer
• treadmill
• lunges
• twisting
• squats
• Pilates
• rowing
• other workouts

You can set goals based on pace, duration, distance, calories, or core workout. Whatever aspect you choose as your goal, the Samsung Gear Fit 2 fitness bracelet will show you your best result. Once you start an exercise, you'll get updated information with important metrics like pace, calories burned, time elapsed, and more. It also notifies you when you reach half of your goal and when you complete a given goal. If you are stationary for more than an hour, the tracker nudges you to take a walk.

During and after a tracked workout session, the user can access information such as:

• duration of training
• distance
• calories
• speed
• maximum heart rate
• % time in active intensity zone

Training with GPS

With built-in GPS, Fit2 can track your walks and runs and record the route you take. However, it will not track location when automatically detecting exercise. You need to manually set up your runs through the Exercise panel. After entering your activity type and desired run time, Fit2 will track your movements as soon as you press Start.

The tracker will record your location and display the shape of the route you choose yourself (you can check it in the watch's exercise log). But it won't display a map to provide details and surroundings of your route until you sync it with your smartphone so it can download map information. Once this is done, the results will be detailed and accurate.

Your heart rate and speed graph, along with a map of your tracked GPS session, are shown on the display of the Fit 2 itself, provided location detection is turned on.

During the GPS-enabled workout itself, swipe the screens right or left to view duration, distance, heart rate, pace, speed, and calories burned.

Static exercises

There are a total of three types of exercises that can be performed under the close supervision of the tracker: lunges, crunches and squats. By following the recommended methodology for performing them, you can be sure that the device will accurately count the number of repetitions and record them directly into the tracker.

The ideal method of execution is displayed immediately before the start of classes on the bracelet display.

However, it is not entirely convenient to start and end each time by pressing a button on one or another exercise and move on to another. It would be much more practical if the user was given the opportunity to create his own training sets from these three proposed types.

In addition, training mainly focuses on the legs and abs, neglecting the arm muscles. Although you can download third-party software from the Samsung app store.

Peculiarities

The fitness bracelet has some features that allow the user to use it comfortably: these include battery life, moisture protection, the ability to play music without pairing with a smartphone, and others, which we will discuss in detail below.

Hardware

The Samsung Gear Fit 2 comes with a bunch of extras a proper fitness device needs, including GPS, Bluetooth, a heart rate monitor and 4GB of internal storage.

While the Gear Fit2 connects to your smartphone via Bluetooth, it also has a Wi-Fi connection, allowing your network data to be automatically transferred from your phone.

Compatibility

The Fit 2 has one drawback: it only works with Android smartphones (4.4 or higher).

Samsung notes that it can be used independently of a mobile phone, so if you have an iOS device and would really like to wear this particular fitness tracker, it can be done. But in this case, you will not receive smart notifications from your phone, and you will have to view your workout data directly on the bracelet display.

You don't have to use a Samsung smartphone to enjoy the benefits of the Fit 2, as the device can be paired with other phones that have Gear Manager and S Health installed. From other devices you can also view the information transferred to them through the S Health program installed from the Play Store.

The sports band is certified and IP68 water resistant, meaning you can submerge it up to 1.5 meters for 30 minutes without worrying about water damage. However, this does not mean that it is seaworthy. It is also not recommended to wear the tracker while showering: water pressure varies depending on the type of shower head, and the device may not be able to handle high pressure.

Moisture protection is designed for intense sports with high sweating and accidental splashes when washing hands and rain.

Fit 2 without phone

You can use Fit 2 without a mobile device. However, some functions will not be available without connecting to a smartphone.

Obviously, notifications, music downloads, and fitness information syncing won't be able to happen when the tracker is in phone-free mode, but it can still do a lot. Fitness elements will be available, including heart rate monitoring, as well as a variety of options and customizations, such as different watch faces and changing the order of apps in the Fit2 menu. The fitness band also works great, allowing you to set the display to always-on and manually set the time via the touchscreen.

Battery life

According to the company, the tracker is able to hold a sufficient charge of its 200 mAh battery for 3-4 days of use. Standby time is 5 days. Samsung estimates that running GPS during exercise drains the battery within 9 hours. But even turning off GPS while tracking your exercise will reduce battery life expectancy to about 2 days.

Keep in mind that the brighter the display, the faster the battery will drain. The display is not always on, you can choose a timeout of 15 seconds, 30 seconds or 1 minute.

Fortunately, the manufacturer has included a special power saving function for the gadget, which is very similar to the Ultra Power Saving mode for smartphones. When the power is insufficient, you'll be prompted to turn it on, effectively disabling most features (except exercise and time) and turning the interface into a single workspace, entirely in grayscale.

The proprietary charger includes a magnetic stand in its design. It has a magnetic clamp, which should hold the tracker well in a vertical position. The charging cable connects to a standard USB port.

Full charge time is about 40 minutes.

How to extend battery life

Your device provides various options to help you save battery power.

• When you're not using your device, switch to standby mode by covering the screen with your palm.
• Turn on power saving mode.
• Turn off Bluetooth
• Deactivate the Wi-Fi feature when not in use.
• Reduce screen brightness.
• Deactivate the "always on" function.
• Configure notification settings in the Samsung Gear app on the connected smartphone.

Besides GPS, one of the best features of the Fit 2 is the 4GB of onboard storage, which you can use to upload music to your band. Those who listen to music while working out can use the Spotify app on the Fit 2, but it requires the phone to be in range. On the other hand, users can transfer local music files to the device through the Gear Manager and listen to music that way - just connect a Bluetooth headset to the Gear and it will play music from the built-in music player.

The player works quite well and provides a convenient way to stream audio while playing sports without having to rely on your smartphone. Audio prompts about how long or how far the physical activity has progressed are also transmitted through the headphones, which is very convenient and useful for the user.

Gear Fit 2 specifications

Weight	28 g, 30 g
Band size	Large: 108 mm x 95 mm (4.25 x 3.74 inches), for wrists with a circumference of 155-210 mm Small: 84mm x 95mm (3.3 x 3.74 inches), fits 125-170mm wrists
Screen	Super AMOLED 1.5-inch display with 432 x 216 pixels resolution
CPU	Dual-core, 1 GHz Exynos 3250
Battery	Li-ion 200 mAh. Charging time 40 min
Battery life	Up to 4 days
Bluetooth	v4.2, USB 2.0, NFC, Wi-Fi: 802.11 b/g/n
GPS	Yes
WiFi	Yes
Sensors	accelerometer gyroscope heart rate monitor barometer
Smart alarm clock	No
Player	Yes
Audio formats	MP3, WMA, WAV, AAC, M4A, AMR, AWB, OGG, OGA, 3GA
Protection	IP68, not suitable for swimming
Color	Black, blue, pink
OS	Tizen
Memory	RAM - 512 MB For storing music - 4 GB no support for iOS smartphones The Samsung Gear Fit2 SM-R360 fitness bracelet comes in dark gray, blue and pink and costs $179. For a mid-range sports watch from a major brand, the price is quite reasonable, although e.g. , Fitbit Alta as an alternative to Samsung Fit 2 is more attractive with its price of $130. While the tracker has features like GPS and a music player and is priced lower than some competitors, the lack of iPhone support and short battery life limit its appeal. Assuming Samsung can iron out some issues, the Gear Fit 2 could be one of the best fitness trackers out there, although it does need a lot of work.