Samsung Gear S3 smartwatch: classic design and full set of functions. Smart watch Samsung Gear S3 frontier (SM-R760NDAASER) - Reviews

We recently published our first look at Samsung's new product - the Gear S3 smart watch. Now a detailed review of the new smartwatch has been released on 4pda.

It seems that smart watches are a very recent invention that has yet to prove its viability. But this year, Samsung released no less than the fifth generation of its smart watches - the Galaxy Gear S3 Classic. The South Korean manufacturer did not return to using a curved display, but noticeably “pumped up” the gadget, which received a new “stuffing” and, most importantly, a rotating bezel for controlling the device. How convenient the innovation turned out to be, and what other surprises the Gear S3 has in store – we’ll tell you in the review.

Specifications Samsung Gear S3 Classic

Screen: Super AMOLED, 1.3", 360x360, 278 ppi
Processor: dual-core Samsung Exynos 7270, 1 GHz
Graphics accelerator: ARM Mali-T720
Operating system: Tizen 2.3.2
RAM: 768 MB
Built-in memory: 4 GB
Memory card support: no
Wireless interfaces: Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, NFC, MST
Navigation: GPS, GLONASS
No camera
Sensors: accelerometer, microgyroscope, barometer, heart rate monitor
Battery: 380 mAh, Li-Ion, non-removable
Dimensions: 49x46x12.9 mm
Weight: 59 grams

Packaging and equipment

The smart watch comes in a cylindrical box, the design of which is made in blue and black. Inside, the gadget itself is fixed in a vertical position, and in the compartment under it there is a wireless charger, an additional, shorter strap and a power supply with a micro-USB connector.

Appearance

Samsung offers smartwatches in two versions: Frontier and Classic. The first is distinguished by support for eSIM cards and cellular communications, but the classic version has been tested, which is named so for good reason: from a distance, the Gear S3 is indistinguishable from a regular mechanical watch (or electronic, depending on what dial you have installed). There are no color modifications; if you buy the Classic model, you will receive a mirror-silver stainless steel case and two black leather straps of different sizes. However, you can buy absolutely any strap - a standard 22 mm mount is installed on the gadget’s body. The gadget is sealed and certified to the IP68 standard, which allows the device to continue operating at a depth of more than 1.5 meters for longer than 30 minutes. Despite this, you should not swim while wearing a watch, especially in salt water.

The front panel of the watch is occupied by the display, which is located in a small recess - this should protect it from getting scratched too quickly. The outer contour of the bezel protruding above the display is covered with notches for more convenient rotation.

On the right side of the watch there is a microphone, a back button and a home button, which, despite the specific name, is multifunctional. The buttons are quite large and have a clear tactile response. An unpleasant feature noticed by the author is that when wearing the watch on the right hand, the buttons can be accidentally pressed by the sleeve of the jacket. This cannot be called a disadvantage, but left-handers should keep this nuance in mind.

There are no buttons on the left, but there is a perforation behind which the speaker is hidden. The reverse side of the watch case is made of plastic; a heart rate monitor is located in the middle of the rear panel.

Ergonomics

The Gear S3 Classic is no larger or heavier than almost any mechanical watch of the same diameter. However, we advise you to try on the gadget before purchasing, especially for girls.

The feeling of a watch on your hand will be purely individual - for some, like the author, the gadget will instantly become an extension of your hand, while for others it will seem too big.

Screen

The watch is equipped with a fully round display with a Super AMOLED matrix with a diameter of 1.3" and a resolution of 360x360 pixels, which gives a density of 278 ppi. In terms of characteristics, the display is practically not inferior to the screens of Samsung flagships - it has excellent color rendition and picture clarity. Pixelation when using the watch is not noticeable, but The maximum brightness of the display is even excessive when using the device and will only be necessary on the sunniest days. The screen is protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass SR+, which has a high-quality oleophobic coating. The watch supports adaptive brightness control, but it is not clear where exactly the manufacturer placed the light sensor. succeeded. At least the presence of the sensor did not prevent the manufacturer from making a completely round display.

Like Samsung smartphone screens, the Gear S3's display has a high-sensitivity mode that allows you to operate the device even with gloves. The display can simultaneously recognize up to two touches, although multi-touch gestures in the Gear S3 are rarely used and only in third-party applications.

Interface

Gear S3 runs on Samsung's own operating system, Tizen 2.3.2, which allowed the manufacturer to implement an unusual interface and functions that are not found in Android Wear. The fastest and most convenient way to control the new interface is the bezel. It is used to scroll screens and lists, switch tracks in the player, change brightness, volume, and has a number of other functions that depend on the running application. Thanks to this method of controlling the watch, interaction with the gadget has been made extremely simple: in most standard programs, the required action is selected by rotating the bezel, and confirmation is carried out by pressing the center of the screen. Of course, the clock also supports a more familiar control method - scrolling by swiping and selecting the desired icon by tapping, but this is not so convenient.

In smart watches, by analogy with desktops on a smartphone, the concept of widgets was implemented. The first widget on the home screen is the watch face. It cannot be removed, but, of course, it can be changed. Additionally, most standard watch faces are customizable in some way. Typically, the user has access to a choice of colors and display of additional information.

The rest of the widgets, which are located clockwise from the dial, can be customized by the user: add, delete, and change the order.

Most widgets are added to the main menu only once, but some (such as widgets with app shortcuts and favorite contacts) are allowed to be duplicated.

Counterclockwise from the dial are cards with notifications - they can come from applications on the watch itself, or duplicated from a smartphone. The text of smartphone notifications is always displayed on the watch, but reactions for it are not available for all applications. For example, clicking the “Reply” button on a Hangouts notification will only open that messenger on your phone. To remove any notification, simply swipe it up.

Pressing the bottom button while the watch face is open launches the application menu. The program is selected using the bezel, and to launch it, just tap on the center of the screen. If you hold down your finger, the menu will go into edit mode, from which you can remove third-party applications and change their order, including moving shortcuts between pages.

In addition to controlling the bezel and taps, the smartwatch also supports S Voice - voice input of commands. To launch it, just double-click the bottom button, or say the phrase “Hello, Gear.” Smart watches can use voice commands to launch programs, set a timer and alarm, show the weather and perform a number of other functions.

Swiping down from the top of the watch face opens the quick settings panel, where you can adjust the brightness, volume, enable Airplane or Do Not Disturb modes, and launch the audio player.

On those rare occasions when you need to enter text, you can use either S Voice or the keyboard. Switching between layouts, number pad and emoticon panel is done using the bezel.

In the dialer, the keyboard is designed differently and is located in a ring. You can use your watch to receive incoming calls from your smartphone, and then talk using the built-in microphone and speaker of the watch, or a headset.

Synchronization with smartphone

To control your watch from your smartphone from Google Play, you must install the Samsung Gear application. The application can’t do almost anything that the watch itself can’t do, but it allows you to conveniently and quickly configure the gadget.

Among the functions available only in the application, it is worth noting the setting of an emergency mode (sending messages and calling selected contacts when you press the Home button three times), sending music and images to the Gear S3, as well as a watch search, when activated, the device will begin to vibrate and make sounds. loud noise. It is worth noting that the search function also works in the opposite direction: it turns on a melody on the smartphone when activated from the watch.

You can view activity data both from a smart watch and in a more convenient form on your smartphone in the S Health application. In automatic mode, the Samsung Galaxy Gear S3 can record information about steps and floors traveled, heart rate and sleep, and during training, the watch must first activate the appropriate mode.

Another thing you can't do directly from the watch is install apps (with the exception of a few watch faces). To do this, you will need the Galaxy Apps application store, in which programs for smart watches are collected in the Gear section. The selection of programs (except, again, watch faces) for the Tizen platform cannot be called too large, but it is quite sufficient to expand the capabilities of the Gear S3 for certain needs. It's nice that Russian developers didn't stand aside either. For example, a number of Yandex programs are available for Samsung smartwatches, including Metro, Transport and Taxi.

Among other applications, we would note a program for remotely controlling a smartphone’s camera and a convenient stopwatch and timer from Samsung.

Also among the auxiliary programs that require installation of the main application on a smartphone, it is worth highlighting Navitel and Uber.

The device in operation

The smartwatch uses Samsung's own SoC - Exynos 7270. The processor is made using the most modern 14-nm process technology, has two ARM Cortex-A53 cores clocked at 1 GHz and an ARM Mali-T720 graphics accelerator. The amount of RAM has increased to an impressive 768 MB of the LPDDR3 standard, but the amount of internal memory of the eMMC 5.0 standard has not changed and is still 4 GB. Out of the box, the user will get only 1.5 GB of internal memory, so, unfortunately, it will not be possible to download the entire music collection to the gadget.

The Samsung Galaxy Gear S3 is perhaps the most powerful smartwatch on the market and, given the optimized operating system, you won't have to think about the lack of performance for a very long time. The gadget’s interface works as smoothly as possible, and there are no slowdowns in third-party applications.

In addition to the obligatory vibration motor, the new Samsung product also received a surprisingly loud speaker. However, it is used quite rarely - for playing a melody on an incoming call, listening to music from the internal memory (although hardly anyone will use a smart watch for this purpose) and for talking on a cellular connection. In the latter case, the speaker volume is enough for conversations even in noisy places, but placing the watch against your ear is inconvenient, and it looks quite strange. In short, the speaker in a smartwatch is more of a nice additional feature than something you will use often.

Wireless interfaces

The watch does not have a single wired interface, but the Gear S3 was fully “charged” with wireless standards. First of all, it is worth noting the energy-efficient Bluetooth 4.2 for connecting the watch to a smartphone and headsets, as well as Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, operating in the 2.4 GHz frequency band. The watch needs Wi-Fi to stay connected even when there is no connection to a smartphone.

To support Samsung Pay, the watch is equipped with NFC and MST modules, but in order to pay for purchases, you need to have support for this system on your smartphone. This means that unless the Gear S3 is connected to one of Samsung's latest flagships, you won't be able to use this feature.

Among other things, the watch received support for GPS and GLONASS. The gadget needs navigation to more accurately track activity during training, but using it will reduce the battery life to just a few hours.

Autonomous operation

The smart watch is equipped with a non-removable 380 mAh battery. The operating time of the Samsung Gear S3 Classic with standard settings is a fair 3-4 days, depending on the intensity of use of the gadget. This became possible thanks to several factors at once: a relatively large battery capacity, the use of its own operating system and the use of an AMOLED display, which, when using dark themes, consumes energy quite economically.

If you want to see the dial all the time, you can enable this mode in the watch settings. At the same time, after the timeout expires, the display backlight is reduced to a minimum, and the dial itself is simplified. This mode only works if the watch is on your wrist, and reduces its battery life to approximately two working days.

The watch is charged using wireless charging. Fully charging the battery takes about 2.5 hours.

Results

If you don't take into account professional gadgets like Garmin Fenix, the Samsung Gear S3 Classic can easily be called the most advanced mainstream smartwatch on the market. The functionality of the device is impressive even out of the box, not to mention the ability to install third-party programs and watch faces. Activity tracking apps work completely automatically - you just wear the watch on your wrist, and in the evening you open S Health and get detailed statistics. If you do sports or fitness on a regular basis, you can tell the watch which of the 16 exercises is worth tracking and, while you strain your muscles, the gadget will do the rest for you, in the end, again, providing detailed statistics. At the same time, the watch does not look like a sports accessory and successfully combines the features of classic and modern design. Samsung Gear S3 can be safely recommended to those who care about their health and love new technologies.

Pros:

moisture protection;
convenient control;
Great functionality out of the box.
high autonomy.

Minuses:

not a very large selection of applications;
Samsung Pay only works with smartphone support.

Video review of Samsung Gear S3 Classic

Samsung Gear S3 Classic - new or restyling?

New flagship smartphones are released once a year, despite what changes have been made, the new model receives a new digital index. But in the automotive industry, everything is a little different. For example, let's take BMW, they don't release a new 7 every year. They do this once every 6–7 years. Of course, during this time, many new technologies are being developed and implemented in the auto industry, and BMW understands that the 7 needs to be updated, but it still does not match the new index. This is how reystaling models appear. They improved it a little here, adjusted it a little there, and now - a new car. But in reality it's still the same old 7.

This is the analogy I see in relation to the gadget that we will look at today. The manufacturer assures everyone that this is a new model, but it seems to me that it is just a restyling of last year’s device. Whether this is true or not is up to the buyer to decide. And all I can do is test drive the new product - Samsung Gear S3 Classic - today in our review.

Design and ergonomics of Samsung Gear S3 Classic

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to compare the Gears S3 head-on, since I tested from the previous generation, and now I have a classic watch on test. But nevertheless, the differences are noticeable. The hours have become larger. If the Gear S2 Classic was 40 millimeters in diameter, then the Gear S3 Classic grew to 46 millimeters. Now the previous generation can be called female, since now the watches have become truly masculine, large and heavy. And since the size has increased, the mass has increased accordingly. Now it's 57 grams, instead of 42 grams excluding the strap.

The main part of the watch case, as before, is made of stainless steel. Outwardly, they resemble high-quality Swiss watches. The materials are chosen very well, and the leather strap complements all this splendor. It is removable and has a standard watch mount. Thanks to this, you can use any 22mm strap with the S3 Classic.

As before, the main part of the watch is occupied by the display. As the dimensions of the watch have grown, so has the display. It has become 15% larger. In terms of management, everything is the same as before. There is a rotating ring around the display. On the right side there are two mechanical keys “Back” and “Home”, as well as a microphone, on the left side there is a speaker. The bottom of the watch is covered with black plastic, on which there is a heart rate sensor and a connector for wireless charging.

Display and control

I already said that the display has become 15% larger, but now let's talk about this element in more detail. The diagonal has increased from 1.2 inches to 1.3 inches. But the resolution remains the same - 360x360 pixels. The pixel density has dropped to 278 ppi. But even with this density, the pixels are impossible to see. AMOLED matrix, everything is unchanged here. If you know the features of the AMOLED matrix, then it is already clear to you that the screen is good. Contrast, brightness, color saturation, viewing angles - everything is in place.

The Gear S3 Classic has 10 backlight levels. I, as before, use level 7. I feel comfortable with him at any time of the day. And for those who can’t decide on the brightness level or often switch it depending on the situation, there is an auto-brightness sensor that behaves quite correctly and does not raise any questions. The display is protected by special protective glass Corning Gorilla Glass SR+.

Like Samsung's flagship smartphones, the watch now has the Always On Display feature. Your display will always be on in clock mode. For example, my main dial is yellow with black accents, and when the watch goes to Always On, the colors are inverted. The dial turns black with yellow numbers and hands. And since the black color in the AMOLED matrix is achieved by turning off the pixels, the battery charge is practically not consumed. What is this for? For example, I’m driving or typing on a laptop, the clock is in my field of vision and, glancing at it, I see the time. Previously, you had to make a characteristic hand movement to turn on the screen.

In terms of management, everything remains the same. You have a rotary ring, which has become even more functional, a touch display and mechanical keys.

Interface

In terms of the interface, everything remains almost the same, only cosmetic changes have occurred. The main screen is the clock, this is logical. At the top there is a curtain that contains the battery level, brightness settings, sound profiles, enabling Do Not Disturb and Airplane modes, as well as launching the music player.

All notifications are collected to the left of the clock, widgets are located to the right. Pressing the Home key takes you to the main application menu. In the third generation of Gear S, Samsung focused on sports. The Gear S3 Classic has GPS and GLONASS modules. Thanks to them, you can track your activity during a workout, and things like a barometer, altimeter and speedometer will determine the level of atmospheric pressure, altitude and your speed while jogging or cycling. This way, you no longer need to take your smartphone to training.

Let's continue the theme of sports in watches. The S Health app is well integrated with the one on your smartphone. You can measure your heart rate, steps, time, get data on running, cycling, and so on. Surprisingly, the watch measures heart rate quite accurately, although there is still some error. You can also use the watch to track the number of cups of water and coffee you drink.

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The watch also has an NFC chip, thanks to which you can make purchases using Samsung Pay. Since Samsung's payment system does not work in the Ukrainian market, do not think that you do not need NFC at all. Just install the Privat24 application on your watch and pay for purchases with a Privat Bank card.

It is worth noting the presence of moisture and dust protection according to the IP68 standard. You can not only wash your hands, but also take a shower without taking off your watch. But there is no 3G module in the classic version of the device. The Gear S3 Classic can only be used as a smartphone headset. This is convenient when you are driving.

What we couldn't test was the watch's integration with BMW's Connected service. Samsung says that using BMW's proprietary app, you can get notifications on your Gear S3 about upcoming trips, information about gas levels, open/close the car using the watch, and much more.

Connection and notifications

In this regard, everything is quite familiar for wearable devices from Samsung. To connect the Gear S3 Classic, you will need a smartphone with Android version 4.4 or higher, 1.5 gigabytes of RAM and Bluetooth 4.1 or Wi-Fi for remote connection. The Samsung Gear application itself also received cosmetic changes, but this did not affect the functionality in any way. In the application you can see brief information about the watch: battery charge, information about permanent and RAM. Below is a selection of watch faces and apps from the store. The second tab contains everything for setting the clock. Select and style your watch faces, manage notifications, manage apps, send files to your Gear, and more.

On your watch, you can not only read and delete notifications, but also interact with them. For example, you can reply to an SMS using your voice, a preset phrase, or the built-in keyboard. You can also interact with e-mail clients, instant messengers and many other applications.

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Autonomy

Compared to the previous generation, the Gear S3 Classic received a larger battery, but this had virtually no effect on operating time. The watch has a 380 mAh battery and its autonomy depends on your usage style. My S3 Classic works for 2 days, this is with Active Display activated, but without GPS. If you also turn on GPS, autonomy will drop to 1 day. But if you turn off both GPS and Active Display, you can count on 3-4 days of work.

The watch also has an energy-saving mode. As before, the Gear S3 Classic will turn off all smart functions, the display will turn black and white and the smart watch will turn into a pumpkin, or rather, into a regular watch. The Gear S3 will be prompted to activate this mode when the charge drops to 15%. Then it will remind you again at the 10% and 5% marks.

conclusions

Summarize. I still haven't gotten around to using the Apple Watch, which may be why I still consider Samsung's Gear S line to be the best smartwatches on the market. I used to say this about the second generation, but now about the third. If you are going to join the world of smart wearable devices, if you need a high-quality and beautiful watch, if you are ready to pay ₴10,000 (about $380) for it, the Samsung Gear S3 Classic is exactly what you need. But if you already have a Gear S2, then I don’t see much need to buy a new watch. As I said at the beginning of the article, the Gear S3 is just a restyling of the Gear S2. And if they were called, for example, Gear S2s, it would be justified.

Prices in online stores

It is possible to display similar models if this one is not in the catalog for your region.

In this review we will again talk about smart watches - Samsung Gear S 3. A freshly launched representative of the line, which was supposed to become an “antagonist” to a similar device from Apple. Samsung Gear S 3 is an expensive and high-quality smart watch that is not just another electronic device, but a truly stylish accessory. The South Korean manufacturer even took care of user preferences by releasing two solutions - Classic and Frontier. What did the company get this time – the right assistant or just another toy?

Samsung Gear S3 – model review

Samsung Gear S 3 is not Samsung's first attempt to create a truly beautiful and useful gadget in one bottle. True, those devices never became widespread. Not every user was ready to part with a sum of money that would be enough to buy a quite good smartphone. And, to be honest, previous Gears did not get what users expect from a watch – the classic watch form factor. Samsung simply made regular, albeit “sophisticated”, electronic devices. Just remember the first Gear – a mini-smartphone on your hand. The second generation was already noticeably moving towards classic watches.

Well, the company invited watch designer Ivan Arp to create Gear 3. And the South Koreans were right! Arpa created a new product, looking at the creation as a watchmaker, and not as a manufacturer of consumer electronics. And now the market received two new models - Classic and Frontier. The first are typical Swiss classics, the second are a rougher version with additional features (protection from vibrations, water, 3G / 4G support). If previously the number of functions and hardware seriously affected the price of Samsung products, then the Gear S 3 seriously wants to stand on a par with classic watches, where design and convenience are valued first and foremost, and only then power.

We can say with confidence that the new product will become more popular than its predecessors. By the way, the Gear S 2 smartwatch will not disappear from the shelves, it will be produced and sold. Gear S 3 is interesting not only to geeks who want to have a small computer on their hand, but also to ordinary people, those who still view watches as an accessory and a device for displaying time. Samsung's new product will, of course, affect other companies, especially Chinese ones. Therefore, users who do not have the opportunity to purchase the Gear S 3 can count on interesting analogues.

Characteristics

Photo: Smart watch Samsung Gear S3

So, let's start with the characteristics of the Samsung Gear S 3.

Screen: 1.3 inches, 360x360 pixels, Super AMOLED, Corning Gorilla Glass, glove support
Operating system: Tizen
Platform support: Android; iOS 9
Dimensions: 46x46x12.9 mm
Weight: 57 grams (62 – Frontier)
Silicone or leather strap, any
Protection according to IP 68 standard (water, dust); Frontier has protection against shock, temperature and vibration
Processor: Exynos 7270, 2 cores, 1 GHz
RAM: 768 MB
ROM: 4 GB
Navigation: GPS, GLONASS
Interfaces: Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi, NFC
Battery: 380 mAh
Communication: eSIM, 3G/4G (Frontier only)
Additionally: monitoring of sleep, calories, physical activity; heart rate sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope, altimeter; Samsung Pay, voice control, SOS function

Packaging and delivery

If we can forgive Chinese “state employees” a simple cardboard box, given the cost, then with the Samsung Gear S 3 the demand is completely different. The manufacturer himself understood this, putting a price tag of 25,000 rubles, so the packaging corresponds to the level of the accessory. We receive a smart watch in a neat cylindrical box. Made from quality materials, you don’t even want to throw it away. Immediately the buyer is greeted by the Gear S 3, located in a vertical position. Under them there is a compartment for the delivery kit, where there is:

Additional strap (shorter)
Power adapter
Manual

Design

Let's move on to the most delicious thing about the Samsung Gear S 3. As already mentioned, the smartwatch is available in two versions. The first, and at the same time less “sophisticated” one, is Classic. From a distance it strongly resembles a classic mechanical watch. Quite large and massive, but this is only a plus. There are no different color variations - only a mirror-silver body (Frontier has black). The watch was assembled, needless to say, very high quality and neatly.

The case is sealed and certified to the IP 68 standard, which allows you to “drown” the watch in water, but only 1.5 meters and no more than half an hour. Still, it’s not worth swimming with such an expensive device, especially in salt water. Well, at least you can walk in the rain without fear. And for lovers of extreme recreation, there is Samsung Gear S 3 Frontier, which has received a military protection standard (MIL-810G). This device now more closely matches the description of an indestructible device. He is not afraid of falls, temperature changes, or vibrations.

The front side of the Samsung Gear S 3 is occupied by a screen that is located in a recess to prevent scratches from quickly appearing. It is framed by a bezel (rotating bezel) and serves as one of the control elements. The idea, of course, is not new (used in Gear S 2), but it has become more convenient - the bezel has become ribbed. The control buttons (“Home” and “Back”) are on the right side, and there is also a microphone here. The Gear S 3 Classic has oval buttons, while the Frontier has rectangular buttons with a rough surface. On the left side you can only see the perforations of the external speaker. The back side is made of plastic; in the middle of the lid there is a heartbeat sensor.

Straps

A serious advantage of the Samsung Gear S 3 was the fastening of the straps - a standard 22 mm. This allows you to install almost any strap, even from third-party manufacturers. Replacement is not difficult. The Classic comes with a leather strap. Quite high quality and comfortable, has a classic clasp. The Frontier has a rubber strap to match the positioning of the watch. Both models fit perfectly and will, of course, look more stylish on a man’s hand. The massiveness and large dimensions only benefit, giving the device a truly solid and expensive look.

Screen

The display, in comparison with the Samsung Gear S 2 (1.2 inches), has become slightly larger – 1.3 inches. Remained completely round. The manufacturer did not increase the resolution, leaving 360x360 pixels; apparently, the reason for the decision was application compatibility. The pixel density is 278dpi. In terms of picture quality and color reproduction, the Gear S 3 display is not inferior to the screens that the company installs in its flagship smartphones, which, in principle, is not surprising. There is no graininess, the brightness is pleasing, the level of which is really sufficient, and sometimes you even have to turn it down so as not to go blind at night.

There is automatic brightness adjustment. By the way, the manufacturer managed to hide the sensor so skillfully in a small case that the user will not notice it. Gorilla Glass SR+ from Corning is installed, and there is an excellent oleophobic coating. Supports the Samsung Gear S 3 screen up to 2 simultaneous touches, there is a high sensitivity mode that allows you to operate the watch with gloves.

"Stuffing" of the watch

The Exynos 7270 processor migrated from the Samsung Gear S 2 to the S 3, and it is used in both the Classic and Frontier. It has 2 Cortex-A53 computing cores operating at a clock frequency of 1 GHz. The graphics accelerator is Mali-T720. The amount of RAM has increased slightly - from 512 MB (for S 2) to 768 MB. The permanent memory remains the same - 4 GB. Unfortunately, the system takes about 2.5 GB for its needs, so it will not be possible to download any music albums. There is no need to talk about interface slowdowns. We can confidently call the Samsung Gear S 3 one of the most powerful watches on the market. There will certainly be enough for the next two years.

The new product from the South Korean manufacturer boasts support for the most common wireless interfaces: Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi, GPS/GLONASS, MST, NFC. Frontier, in addition, adds work in 3G / 4G networks via eSIM. But in Russia this standard is not supported, which can be called a minus, although not the most serious. But the advantages include GPS / GLONASS, which in smart watches work at the hardware level, and not through a smartphone.

Autonomous operation

The operating time of the Samsung Gear S 3 on a single charge is the envy of many Chinese smartwatches. The new product is equipped with a fairly capacious 380 mAh battery, which demonstrates about 3-4 days of honest operation, depending on the intensity of use. Of course, you can discharge the watch to zero and in a day by turning the screen brightness to maximum, turning on the constant display of the dial and the navigation system. This autonomy is possible thanks not only to a capacious battery, but also to an AMOLED display that can efficiently consume energy. Comes with . The smartwatch charges from 0 to 100% in about 2.5 hours.

Operating system, interface

Samsung Gear S 3, like its predecessors, received proprietary Tizen OS version 2.3.2. Using its own system allowed the manufacturer to implement interesting features that are not available in Android Wear. Circle UI is used as the shell. In general, the control of the watch is tied to the bezel, but it was installed for a reason. Rotate actions to select what you need, and to confirm, just tap on the screen. Simple and very convenient. This way you can select watch faces, scroll through widgets, switch tracks in the player, and so on. Swipe controls are still present, but I don’t really want to return to it after seeing the rotating bezel in action.

The Samsung Gear S 3 has widgets that are familiar to many from smartphone desktops. The key is the watch face, which cannot be removed, but can be customized or changed to something completely different. The rest of the widgets took their rightful places on the desktops. They can already be deleted and changed at your discretion. To access widgets, simply turn the bezel clockwise.

Turning it counterclockwise brings up the notification menu from the watch itself and the smartphone. Here you can immediately respond to a message by clicking the appropriate item, however, this cannot be done with every notification. To delete, you need to swipe up on the notification. By pressing the bottom button, we get to the application menu. The transition between icons is carried out using the rotating bezel, and selection is done by tapping in the center (holding causes editing). There is also voice control, which is launched by the corresponding button; you can simply say “Hello, Gear” for the function to become active. She can launch programs, show the weather, set alarms, and so on.

There are already quite a few apps available for the Samsung Gear S 3, and their number is only growing. However, some of them are useless trash. Quite a lot of applications are represented by ordinary watch faces, many programs have not been updated for months. And only a small percentage of those who are really needed. Be that as it may, there will be more and more adapted applications, and their quality will be higher.

Synchronization with smartphone

Despite the fact that the Samsung Gear S 3 is a device that can function perfectly on its own, many will still benefit from the functions that are available when used together with a smartphone. To synchronize, you need to download the Samsung Gear application from the Play Market. Pairing occurs via Bluetooth and does not take much time. A window is immediately available in which basic information about the watch is displayed (charge level, free memory, both RAM and permanent memory). Here you can also see a set of recommended watch faces and applications.

In the Settings menu, you can completely customize the Gear S 3, from the watch faces to the notifications that will be displayed on the watch. Among the interesting functions available in the application, we can note the SOS mode, which is activated after pressing the “Home” button three times, as well as sending files to the watch. In a separate menu you can view information about user activity, but doing this is much more convenient on a large smartphone display. In addition, you will have to install applications on the watch from your smartphone; for this, the Samsung Apps service is used. One of the interesting ones is the control of a mobile phone camera through a smart watch.

Samsung Gear S 3 in action

The new product from Samsung not only boasts a stylish design, but is also not deprived of a range of features. Yes, we can say, what’s surprising about a pedometer or heart rate sensor when every second Chinese-made Smart Watch, which is two or even three times cheaper, has these functions. But not a single device from the Middle Kingdom can boast of such high quality workmanship (with the exception of more or less well-known brands). And the heart rate sensor is far from the only function of the Samsung Gear S 3.

Monitoring sleep, calories, physical activity. In general, everything is the same as the Chinese “budget” ones, only there are more functions, and the translation is of high quality.
Sensors A whole bunch of sensors that will measure height, user position, and lighting.
NFC, MST. Technologies make it possible to pay for purchases contactlessly. You just need to pair it with a smartphone that supports Samsung Pay, that is, the flagship from a company from South Korea.
3G, 4G. The features are interesting, they work via eSIM, which was only supported by the Frontier modification. Oh yes, it is not supported in Russia.
Calendar, alarm clock, weather, translator, reminders. Well-known and useful functions.
Search for smartphone/watch. It will help you find a smartphone forgotten somewhere. In the application for mobile devices there is a “Search for watches” item.

Price and where is the best place to buy

Samsung Gear S 3 went on sale at the end of autumn 2016 at a price of 25,000 rubles (both modifications) for Russia. You can expect the price to drop slightly in the near future. Of course, it is better to buy the Gear S3 in local electronics stores, since the price is far from budget, few people will want to tempt fate by ordering online. On Chinese sites you can buy watch straps, which have a very “delicious” price.

The Gear S2 generation of smartwatches was already sufficiently balanced and functional to speak of their versatility. Three variations gave a choice to girls and boys, housewives and businessmen. Not forgetting, of course, about the group of technology geeks, for whom the main criterion is the need to flash screens and diodes from different places - from pockets to wrists.

Probably based on the sales of these three variations of the Gear S2, the decision was made to update only the Classic and Frontier models. At the same time, the sporty Gear S2 remained available for sale to its audience.

We tested the Gear S3 Classic version, which differs from Frontier in the design of the case and strap, as well as its resistance to high temperatures, shocks and vibrations.

Appearance

As for the design, at the presentation we noted the skillfully made case in the style of premium versions of the classics. The set includes a 22 mm leather strap, which can be replaced if desired. The watch case itself is made of 316L stainless steel and is protected according to the IP68 standard. It is more massive than the second generation.

At one end there are two buttons for navigating the menu. There is a microphone hole under them. On the opposite end there are three speaker holes. Thus, you can use the watch as a hands-free headset.

Very convenient while driving - and absolutely inappropriate when used on the street. Imagine a more or less familiar picture when a passerby speaks in front of him or shouts at his wrist. Now add to that the clock screaming back at him.

The screen is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass SR+, specially released for wearable devices. The display is round in shape, with excellent color reproduction and contrast, inherent only in Super AMOLED technology. Mechanical dials look quite natural. Only the absence of shadows when the lighting changes will reveal their artificiality.

One of the significant design moments is the navigation ring in the Samsung Gear S watch. The process of scrolling texts or selecting the desired item in the menu can be repeated again and again. I want the sound of clicking hinges and the accompanying vibration to never stop.

Personalization - don't be like everyone else

Making something more extravagant out of such a “round” classic is as easy as shelling pears. There are hundreds of watch faces in the app store. Here you will find everything from simulated mechanics with penumbra and moving gears to Lego-style dials, old-school Casio, steampunk or themes from the films “The Matrix”, “Alien” and “Star Wars”. In addition, some splash watch faces have additional color options.

After a positively received function Always On Display in the Galaxy S7 smartphone it also appeared in watches. Yes, the watch screen can work constantly, and some screensavers-clock faces coolly play up the transition from passive to active mode.

A curious thing: the watch monitors whether it is on your hand or not. The Always On feature will only work while you are wearing them.

Really smart

In a sense, the Samsung Gear S3 is a smartphone on your hand. And it’s not just the presence of a dual-core processor and RAM.

While Samsung was developing a community of software developers for the Tizen OS, many popular programs and even games appeared on the market. Yes, yes, the company believes that play Asphalt 8 and Fruit Ninja at a resolution of 360×360 - convenient.

After launching the taxi call application or maps, the watch may not use the smartphone navigation, but can independently navigate the terrain thanks to built-in GPS and GLONASS.

Thus, in Ukraine with the help of a watch you can call an Uber driver, look up traffic jams on Yandex Maps, pay for utilities in Portmone.com. Why “in Ukraine”? Well, because just recently we almost said by rote that almost all services in our country are not supported.

This also includes the presence of an NFC module, which makes contactless payment possible, not only through the branded Samsung Pay, but also through the Privat 24 application, specially adapted for watches.

This model has not yet received a digital SIM card module, which would allow you not to be tied to a smartphone and still use the Gear S as a standalone cellular device. However, we have already described the scenario of working as a watch phone above using the example of a situation on the street.

Interface

Watch programs are installed using the Samsung Gear smartphone application. Not only Samsung devices are supported, but also more or less new Android smartphones. iOS support is still in conceptual plans for the future.

The clock itself is set in the same program. True, on a smartphone they are more concerned with the interaction of devices - how to send notifications, transfer music, work with SHealth.

From the watch you configure the screen backlight settings, connection to wireless networks, and notification sounds. Changing dial skins is also done from the watch, but you need to download new ones on your smartphone.

In general, when you select something that cannot be used from the watch screen, the application on the linked smartphone automatically opens.

The watch also has other “smartphone” things, such as setting a PIN code, setting an energy saving mode, the S-Voice voice assistant, reading texts and replying with templates.

You can also increase the sensitivity of the Gear S3 screen so that touches with gloves are recognized.

Anti-sports classic

Software-wise, the Gear S3's fitness features haven't undergone any major changes. The watch can count steps, steps, heartbeats, calories burned, and also give achievements for completing intermediate results, such as 1000 steps taken and a walk of ten minutes.

Yes, if in a couple of days SHealth sees that you are sitting 90% of the time, it will not only begin to remind you to move, but will also praise you more actively for even minimal activity.

Despite this, the Gear S3 Classic is poorly suited to the role of a sports gadget. Yes, the watch measures a lot and is not afraid of water, but it is large and chrome-plated. In addition, the leather strap will not allow you to swim, but it is easy to sleep with them give a black eye to your loved one in the middle of the night.

While they are perfectly suited to the role of replacing a classic or a geeky gadget, running with them is uncomfortable. In this regard, a more successful version for an active lifestyle is the Gear S3 Frontier version.

There is also baro-altimeter, a rare thing for modern wearable devices. More often it is found in specialized sports watches, tailored for specific sports.

The peculiarity of its operation is that in order to obtain data on the current atmospheric pressure, the sensor needs calibration. And for this we need current information about the pressure at a known altitude at a given geographical point. In theory, this information could be provided by a weather service. But conventional services do not update this information often enough and do not do it geographically accurately.

How long do they live?

A very important question in view of the number of sensors this watch is packed with.

The increased size of the case played into the hands in this regard. It accommodates a larger 380 mAh battery. It takes about an hour to an hour and a half to fully charge from the wireless docking station.

If you don’t receive all notifications in a row, reduce the brightness of the backlight, measure your pulse once or twice a day and check what time it is a dozen times, then the full battery charge will last for five days work.

Add to this the introductory reading of letters and SMS, increased display brightness and activity tracking, you can not charge the watch for about four days.

If you want everyone around you to check out the animation of the new screensaver dial, and to receive notifications from your smartphone about every sneeze on social networks, then prepare to charge your watch every two days.

Is it a lot or a little? Gear S2 lived for about the same four days. The new Pebble 2 with a seemingly economical E Ink screen and heart rate monitor, the test of which is already being prepared by our Test Laboratory, can last one or two days.

Taking into account the excellent screen, sufficient hardware for performance and lack of lag, and the number of sensors, we can say that the autonomy of the Gear S3 is at a very good level.

conclusions

Note that the addition of a number of features missing from the Gear 2 and Gear S2 made the purchase of the new generation more rational. You truly get a self-contained wearable gadget.

Gear S3 looks even nicer and more organic. Especially the Frontier model. The ability to change straps, the variety of dials and the always-on display only encourage the creation of an individual image.

In addition, they will have to be charged no more than once every couple of days. The set of sensors and the ever-expanding base of applications in the Gear S3 model will qualitatively expand the lineup of Samsung smartwatches.

And for all their advanced features and pleasant little touches during user interaction, we give them a well-deserved Editors' Choice.

Specifications Samsung Gear S3 Classic (SM-R770)
Screen:	1.3”, 360×360, Super AMOLED
CPU:	dual core, 1 GHz
RAM:	768 MB
Inner memory:	4 GB
Heart rate sensor:	optic
OS:	Tizen
Protection:	IP68
Communications:	Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC
Geopositioning:	GPS, GLONASS
Additionally:	Always on Display, speaker, microphone
Battery:	380 mAh
Dimensions:	49×46×12.9 mm
Weight:	59 g
Provider:	"Samsung Electronics Ukraine"
Price:	10,000 UAH

Grade:

Case design

Replaceable straps

Lots of applications

Personalization

– overall body of the Classic model

The smartwatch niche is still waiting for its dream manufacturer. Chinese companies are trying to win by mass and price, Americans - by design and ecosystem. What makes a watch from the Korean leader in wearable electronics stand out?

The Samsung Gear S3 Frontier and Classic models were presented at the IFA exhibition back in 2016. The watches differ in design, level of protection and the presence of e-SIM, other characteristics are identical. This review will look at the Frontier version in detail.

Specifications Samsung Gear S3

In the form factor of a regular watch, Samsung was able to fit the following components:

AMOLED touch screen with a diagonal of 1.3 inches and a resolution of 360x360 pixels;
dual-core mobile processor Exynos 7270 with a clock frequency of 1 GHz;
768 MB RAM, built-in memory 4 GB;
modules 4G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, NFC, MST, GPS, GLONASS;
accelerometer, gyroscope, barometer, heart rate and light sensors;
li-ion battery with a capacity of 380 mAh.

The watch weighs about 60 grams, and in terms of dimensions (46x46x13) it is no different from an ordinary, “stupid” watch. Frontier's protection parameters comply with IP68 and MIL-810G certificates, which guarantees safety from vibration, shock, temperature changes and dust. It is worth highlighting the water resistance of the Samsung Gear S3 Frontier, thanks to which you can freely wash in the shower or sunbathe on the beach with the device.

The watch is powered by the Tizen 2.3.2 operating system, which is a unique development from Samsung. The system is actively supported and developed, so there will be no problems with updates.

Gear S2 vs S3

In terms of hardware, the old model is inferior in almost everything: an old processor with 28 nm technology instead of 14 nm, a video processor that is three years outdated, 512 MB of RAM, a battery that is one and a half times smaller, and a 3G module.

The S2 has two noticeable advantages - the ability to work autonomously (while the S3 without a smartphone becomes almost an ordinary watch) and one and a half times lighter weight.

Screen design and performance

The appearance of the Samsung Gear S3 Frontier is not much different from ordinary modern watches for travelers. Relatively low sales of the Apple Watch and similar futuristic watches have shown that users are more interested in classic models.

Smart watches are quite large and massive. The model is unlikely to suit men with thin wrists and girls. Some users who upgraded from the Gear S2 complained of excess weight and inconvenience.

The elastic wide strap is made of hypoallergenic material and fits well on the hand. Too large a size will again become a problem for people with thin wrists: the case will constantly fall down, interfering with normal use. When playing sports, the hand under the strap sweats a lot, so for active use it is recommended to replace it with a more comfortable one.

Control is implemented using the movement of the rim, which selects the desired menu items. In addition to the bezel, you can control the watch using two function buttons on the right side of the case or by directly pressing the screen. The entire front side of the case is metal, made of 316L stainless steel, with a matte finish.

Screen

In general, the screen characteristics are similar to those of the Android flagship - Google Nexus. You can note that the color temperature is too high, but the picture quality is excellent, without any complaints.

The watch glass is made using a grease-repellent coating, so there are practically no traces of pressure left and they are easier to remove. In addition, there is protection against glare, viewing angles are also flawless.

By default, 14 watch faces are available to the user, from sports to classic. More options can be found in the internal store, with many other versions for customization.

Equipment and assembly

The flagship watch model comes in a special cylindrical package with the logo and name of the device. After unpacking the box I found:

Samsung Gear S3 Frontier watch;
additional strap;
Charger;
wireless charging dock;
instructions and warranty card.

The set for modern watches is typical; nothing particularly good or bad can be said about it.

Wireless charging this time is equipped with a powerful magnet that holds the watch in place. The smart watch is charged from either side; no fastenings or latches are provided. The station has an indicator that displays the charging progress of the device.

The strap, unlike the Samsung Gear S2, does not serve as a replacement for the main one; it is made one size larger for the convenience of buyers with wide wrists. Replacement does not cause any problems: the mount is standard, so a strap from any manufacturer will fit the Gear S3.

Watch functionality

Samsung Gear S3 Frontier is very convenient to use for calls: today this is the main feature of smart watches and Samsung developers have implemented it to their fullest. Please note that in this generation, offline calls from a watch without a smartphone are impossible: Russian mobile operators do not support e-SIM technology.

The device collects statistics about the owner’s movements and heart rate, sending data to the application S Health or any other fitness app compatible with your smartwatch. In addition, it supports the system of notifications and unlocking of the smartphone, listening to music and viewing images, installing additional applications for all occasions from the internal store.

Synchronization with smartphone

Samsung has fully implemented the compatibility of the watch with both Android and iOS. Interaction on Android OS takes place through the Samsung Gear application. Galaxy smartphone owners won't need anything else. Owners of other Android smartphones will have to install three more applications:

Gear S Plugin.
Samsung Accessory Service.
Samsung Account.

Compared to earlier models of the Gear line, this is a huge step forward, but installing 4 applications to operate a watch in 2018 is not serious. I would like the Korean company to correct this flaw in the next updates. For iOS, you will only need the Gear application, without additional installations.

Deep integration with Samsung services has been creating problems when using third-party software for many years. When using S Health, for example, the program will constantly send notifications about your step rate and water consumption, but for normal integration with Google Fit you will have to suffer.

Autonomy

The Samsung Galaxy Gear S3 Frontier watch lasts about 2 days with active autonomous use. The speed of battery consumption and application activity is detected by the same Samsung Gear, which can be configured to implement an energy saving mode. If you use the smartwatch as usual, the charge will last for a distance of 4 days to a week.

Compared to competitors and the previous version, this is a noticeable step forward: the battery capacity is equal to rivals from ASUS and LG, and the new processor with lower power consumption allows us to take another step forward.

Advantages and disadvantages

Successful design, durable body, ease of receiving important calls or sending messages - all this makes the Samsung Gear S3 Frontier smart watch an excellent choice for replacing a regular wristwatch with a smart device. However, this is not the best option for travelers: they don't like to rely on electronics that require charging every two days.

It is difficult to recommend the watch to athletes: the massive dial, the lack of a constant operating mode of the heart rate sensor and suitable software make the fitness options of the watch almost useless. A large bracelet can become a hindrance in volleyball or basketball; there are no applications for swimming. Well, the already mentioned S Health, which, after professional pedometers, causes nothing but irritation.

The Frontier model can be recommended for those who engage in extreme activities within the city or often travel in a car. The ability to quickly answer a call, view a schedule, or send a voice message can be very convenient for truckers, industrial climbers, and emergency doctors.

One can note a slight lack of progress since the previous, second model of the line. If you already have a Gear S2, you can safely skip the third version; you won’t see anything critically new in it.