![s gear 2 watch review s gear 2 watch review](https://cdn.pocket-lint.com/r/s/1200x/assets/images/128352-smartwatches-review-samsung-gear-2-review-image15-wV6zBaNXHt.jpg)
Having to carry this extra bit of gadgetry around annoyed me, but thankfully the dock also houses a 350mAh battery, which means it can be used as a backup charger (the watch itself only has a 300mAh battery built in). The cradle itself charges via a micro-USB cable.
S gear 2 watch review portable#
By default, a double-tap on the home button brings up S Voice, Samsung's voice-dictation service, while a long-press will bring up quick options like powering it off, restart, mute, WiFi and airplane mode.īundled along with the Gear S is a portable charging cradle - the only way you'll be able to charge it, thanks to the watch's proprietary pins. Our particular Gear S runs on Sprint, so it doesn't have a nano-SIM card slot, but in GSM models, you'll find one located above the heart rate sensor. If you leave it alone for a few minutes, the watch does go back to a dimmer mode before going dark again.īeneath the display is a physical home button along with the ambient light sensor and a UV detector, while the heart rate monitor and charging pins are on the watch's rear. There's also an ambient light sensor, so the screen will adjust its brightness automatically depending on the available light. Also, thanks to the internal accelerometer, the watch face automatically comes on when you lift your wrist up to read the time - a common feature for most smartwatches. The only time it lights up is when there's a notification like an incoming call. When it's simply sitting there on your wrist, the display remains dark most of the time. It does look pretty washed out in direct sunlight, but not so much that it's unreadable. The blacks look really black, and the dark background looks almost indistinguishable from the surrounding bezel. It's slightly less saturated than the S5, but that doesn't matter too much on such a small screen. The display's 480 x 360 resolution (300 ppi) is also pretty easy on the eyes - text was easy to read and images generally looked bright and colorful.
![s gear 2 watch review s gear 2 watch review](https://icdn.digitaltrends.com/image/digitaltrends/samsung-gear-s2-review_8821.jpg)
Of course, that big display really comes in handy when you're dealing with visually dense apps like the Opera Mini browser, where an on-screen keyboard made even a 2-inch screen feel restrictive (more on this in a moment). Tapping on selections and swiping through the different widgets and apps felt smooth and intuitive, and I liked being able to see so many menu options at a glance. That's not as much of an issue with the Gear S. We've complained in previous smartwatch reviews about how tough it is to navigate menus on such a tiny screen. Right now you can choose among blue, black, red and white options.Īdditionally, though I've been moaning about the size of the display, that extra screen real estate does have its merits. Still, it's unfortunate the wristband is proprietary and if you want to swap out straps, you'll need to use Samsung's own offerings. Though it doesn't exactly exude the premium feel of a luxury watch, it does feel surprisingly comfortable for such a chunky device. It's certainly on the hefty side thanks to that bulky screen, but its curved shape transitions seamlessly to that plastic strap so it wraps smoothly around the wrist. Still, that's not to say the watch isn't comfortable to wear. There are also noticeably thick bezels above and below the display that make the screen seem much bigger than it actually is. It does fit under long sleeves comfortably though, so you can hide it if you find it embarrassing. The thick housing, chunky metal clasp and rubbery strap material do nothing to elevate the watch's style quotient either - the design here is decidedly more geek than chic. The result is a monstrosity of glass and steel that looks, frankly, pretty ridiculous when strapped to my dainty wrist. With a 2-inch curved AMOLED screen framed by metal sides, the Gear S looks like someone took a shrink ray to a Galaxy S5, bent it and wedged it into a plastic strap. Sure, most smartwatches tend to be bulky anyway, but the Gear S takes it to another level. When I say that the Samsung Gear S is like a phone for your wrist, I don't mean just functionally - it looks like it too.