As the smartwatches market contains only a few brands, it is tough knowing exactly that which device in the extremely young product category is better to offer. Samsung, one of the first major companies, has introduced a new piece to this relatively unknown territory. Galaxy Gear Smartwatch, the latest product of Samsung is conceptually interesting and it gives more of us an idea of what smartwatches could be like in the future instead of what we should expect today.
Design
The overall look and design are the factors that can be considered as the best of Galaxy Gear smartwatch. It will not be an exaggeration, if said that the subtle grooves on the silicone band and the polished look of the metallic bezels, the smartwatch oozes sex appeal. Samsung Galaxy Gear Smartwatch is chunky and heavy that can grab everybody’s attention quickly with its different design. The design of the smartwatch is distinctive, even though it is not garish. It has industrial-looking brushed metal surround that is bound to find some fans. But you can see that Galaxy Gear is not splash proof, shock proof or dust resistant.
Device Integration
Thankfully, Samsung Galaxy Gear Smartwatch can be connected to your smartphone (Galaxy Note 3) wirelessly via Bluetooth 4.0 and this thing is done flawlessly. Upon initial connection, you just have to simply tap of your Note 3 to the charging cradle of the Gear and it automatically pairs. Any insertion of codes or passkeys is needed. Once you connect these devices, every change that you make on your smartphone through the Gear Manager app takes place quickly on the smartwatch; no matter, whether it is changes to clock face, application favourites or anything along those lines. The camera application is another way through which the integration is highlighted. Once you take snaps on the watch, they can be easily transferred to the Note 3 via Bluetooth for instant uploading to either Facebook, Instagram. The company says that future support for the Galaxy S3, Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note 2 is on the way. We have to update Android 4.3 in the devices in oder to utilize the Bluetooth 4.0 radio found inside of them.
Hardware
Samsung Galaxy Gear Smartwatch features a 1.63” Super AMOLED display that has a resolution of 320 x 320. It also comes with an 800 MHz exynos processor, 512MB of RAM and 4 GB of onboard storage, which is non-expandable. The smartwatch also features a 1.9MP camera that is capable of 720p video recording. Bluetooth 4.0, two microphones, one speaker and an insanely small 315mAh battery are the other features of the Samsung Galaxy gear Smartwatch.
Samsung has opted a full colour super AMOLED display on the top of the small battery and that does not functions well in direct light. The camera sensor is so small and it is practically worthless. It has only 4GB of storage that will get filled up very soon, if you take many photos and download several applications. Even though Samsung Galaxy Gear Smartwatch operates fine with these features, you have the right to expect more with this device, as it is priced $300.
Camera
As said earlier, Samsung Galaxy gear Smartwatch comes with a 1.9MP shooter with max resolution of 1392 x 1392. Even though you may feel the camera as a bit chunky, it does get the job done just fine. You may have an idea of the quality of snaps available from a 1.9MP camera and it should really only be used as a last resort. Some lackluster shots can be expected if you want take photos using the watch. Both the features, Auto Mode and Macro mode, produce dull and somewhat colorless images. However, we can’t take it as a negative factor, as it is a camera inside of a watch.
Device Interaction
Samsung succeeded at making interaction with Galaxy Gear Smartwatch simple and easy to learn. The gestures including swipes and taps that command your backs and selection decide the entirety of its interface and control. Favourite applications and modes are accessible with a simple swipe either left or right. There is also an “app drawer” with which all of the apps can be found on the device. If you are inside of an app or menu, you can reach to the previous page with simply swiping from the top of the screen to the bottom. For example, if you are inside of the camera asp, a simple swipe from the top to the bottom takes you to the home screen. If you are on the home screen, you can reach to the gear’s dialer with just a swipe to top from the bottom where make phone you can make phone calls through the smartwatch via the Bluetooth connection with just swipe.
Tw finger double tap on the display enables you to meet with your battery status and quick controls for the device’s sound volume and brightness. Similarly, two finger long press anywhere on the watch makes you able to meet with a multitasking interface, which all Android users should be familiar with. All of this works great, but sometimes the smartwatch fails to understand your taps or swipes and you have to retry that makes it mark in the ‘Not much good’ category. It is not fine that you always have to make sure that your gestures are firm and direct.
Application Ecosystem
Samsung has announced at the time of unveiling that Galaxy Gear Smartwatch would launch with around 70 applications. For starters, it provides some good productivity apps such as Evernote and Runtastic. However, many of the apps in the Samsung Apps are just boring. You can find plenty of clock faces, Snapchat, path and a Spin the Bottle app in Gear Smartwatch. Path is the only social network app, which is currently available and probably will ever be. Galaxy Gear smartwatch does not support email and it is a big drawback in these days of constant connectedness.
Battery life
The Samsung Galaxy Gear Smartwatch features a 315 mAh battery tht is capable of holding a charge for a single day of usage. But, you may have to keep its charging cradle plugged in right next to your bed, if you want to use the smartwatch as a daily device. It is because there is no way it will last you any longer than that. The super AMOLED display and the addition of its always-working sensors for noticing movements of your wrist is the main cause of most of its drain. As plenty of apps are not available in the smartwatch, it will not eat up your tiny battery.
Price
The price tag placed upon the Samsung Galaxy Gear Smartwatch is $299.99. But, It is difficult to justify spending such a high price on a smartwatch, especially since you could previously get a Nexus smartphone for the same price. By considering everything that Samsung offers in terms of usefulness, functionality and overall usability, we can say that Galaxy Gear Smartwatch is worth around $149.99.
If said briefly, the Galaxy Gear feels like too little and too soon at too big a price. It has only a limited spread of supported devices to use it with. However, it is a good thing that you can take calls, send texts, control your phone’s media playback and do a few other useful things without even touching your phone with your hands, if you have a smartwatch.