Samsung Gear S2 Smartwatch Review

Throughout IFA 2015 in Berlin, Samsung unveiled its most current smartwatch, the Samsung Gear S2. The circular smartwatch is the first of its kind from Samsung, and is following in the steps of other circular smartwatches like the Moto 360 and, more just recently, the Huawei Watch. Throughout its statement, Samsung assured exciting things relating to the Gear S2, but did the company deliver? We’ve invested some time with Samsung’s offering to learn.

SAMSUNG GEAR S2 REVIEW

The Samsung Gear S2 is available in 2 editions, the conventional Gear S2, and one for those people that love the classic wrist watch look, the Gear S2 Classic. Samsung says the smartwatch is designed for those who choose a more timeless design, and we think they’ve struck the mark. We got our hands on the conventional Gear S2, which is available in both silver and a somewhat darker grey.

DESIGN AND BUILD

On the wrist, the Gear S2 feels quite light-weight and comfy to use. Though it measures in at 42.3 x49.8 x11.4 mm compared with the 11.5 mm width of the first generation Moto 360 which people say is rather bulky, the Gear S2 doesn’t seem like a large watch. In truth, its weight and basic build make it feel solid and premium, a problem that (in our viewpoint) Samsung has had with its previous smartwatches.

The real appeal of the design of the Gear S2 comes not with the circular screen itself, however with the bezel of the watch. Instead of directly communicating with the screen of the Gear S2, users have the alternative of utilizing the rotating watch bezel to scroll through the various menus and apps of the smartwatch.

SAMSUNG GEAR S2 WATCH DESIGN

When you turn the bezel, you’ll feel a gentle click which Samsung says will permit muscle memory to eventually begin and allow you to choose apps without needing to look at the screen, although after making use of the watch for 2 weeks we still could not manage it. It’s not a click produced by a vibration motor either, it’s mechanical. This means that there’s no battery life drain for those of you (and believe us, there will be a couple of) that simply like the feeling of turning the bezel. It is pretty satisfying, we can’t lie.

Naturally, users have the freedom of freely tapping and swiping directly on the watch face, however this isn’t really how Samsung means the device to be made use of. Although with this being stated, we discovered using the bezel a little complicated when browsing the brand-new circular UX, specifically in the beginning– but we’ll pertain to that listed below. Although with this being said, early adopters of the Apple Watch had the same issue and we do not hear lots of complaints about it months down the line, do we?

Samsung included Android-style back and home buttons on the side of the smartwatch to make using it a simpler process, though we discovered it to be a little bit of a fiddly procedure and we kept confusing the buttons as there is no genuine indicator which is which simply by looking at it.