Reviews of Samsung - Gear S3 Frontier Smartwatch 46mm
Our Verdict
With its slick and durable design, GPS and optional LTE, the Gear S3 Frontier has all the makings of the best smartwatch ever — if only information technology had more apps.
For
- Handsome and durable design
- Built-in LTE
- GPS
- Samsung Pay
- Adept voice control
Against
- Very limited app selection
- Heavy
Tom'south Guide Verdict
With its slick and durable design, GPS and optional LTE, the Gear S3 Frontier has all the makings of the best smartwatch ever — if but it had more apps.
Pros
- +
Handsome and durable pattern
- +
Congenital-in LTE
- +
GPS
- +
Samsung Pay
- +
Adept voice control
Cons
- -
Very limited app choice
- -
Heavy
Can you finally leave your smartphone at domicile? With its ain LTE, heart-rate monitor, Wi-Fi and GPS — not to mention mobile payments and voice control — the Samsung Gear S3 Frontier is the kickoff smartwatch that promises a fully untethered experience. This timepiece also happens to be gorgeous and pretty durable. And withal the 4G execution and app ecosystem aren't quite where they need to be.
Editor's Note: Since the Gear S3 Borderland was released, Samsung has come out with two successors, the Samsung Galaxy Watch, the Samsung Galaxy Sentry Active, and the Samsung Galaxy Watch Agile ii, all of which offer boosted features such every bit on-board music storage. We actually similar the Galaxy Watch for its long battery life and fashionable design, but the Galaxy Watch Agile two is ameliorate for those looking for something smaller and sportier. And be sure to check out all our best smartwatch picks.
Design
There's no getting around that most smartwatches are built for larger wrists, and the Samsung Gear S3 Frontier is no exception. Its face up measures 46 x 49 millimeters (1.8 x one.9 inches), and the watch weighs ii.2 ounces (without the band). That's more than twice as heavy equally the 0.99-ounce Apple Spotter Series two.
While not as flashy as the Fossil Q Founder — which remains my favorite-looking smartwatch — the Gear S3's stainless-steel case is attractive. I especially liked the serrations on the rotating bezel, which not but look great but brand it easier to plough. It looks the part of a high-terminate timepiece, unlike the squared-off and uninteresting Apple Watch.
Nonetheless, the Gear S3 is much larger and heavier than the Apple Lookout man and the Gear S2, which will plow off people with petite wrists.
Our review unit came with a rather apathetic blackness silicone strap, but it'due south easy plenty to swap it out for any 22-mm strap. (Samsung sells boosted straps starting at $29.99.)
The correct side of the S3 has two buttons: The upper one works as a universal back button, and the lesser button serves to render you to the habitation screen or the app carte du jour.
The Gear S3 Frontier is built to have some abuse. Its face up is protected past Gorilla Glass, and information technology's MIL-SPEC-810G rated to withstand drops of about 5 feet. The sentry can withstand being submerged in upward to v feet (about 1.5 meters) of water for upwards to xxx minutes. The Apple Watch Serial 2, nevertheless, can go equally deep as 164 feet (50 meters).
MORE: Best smartwatches
Brandish
The S3's i.3-inch AMOLED screen was bright enough to view, 24-hour interval or night. With a resolution of 360 x 360 pixels (no flat tire!), images that appeared in Flipboard news items were well-baked enough that I could make out the numbers on players' jerseys in sports stories. Colors, too, were vivid.
You have the pick of setting the S3's brandish to always on; its "dimmed" setting doesn't differ all that much from when the screen is fully on. The Chronograph sentry confront, for example, looks nearly identical, with the exception that the second-hand subdial disappears and is replaced by a white tick mark that moves around the edge of the screen. The aforementioned is truthful for many of the other watch faces; while y'all lose little accents here and there, near of the colors and details remain.
Setting the display to exist always on chews up battery life. Fortunately, I found that the S3's screen turned on almost instantly when I raised my wrist.
Interface
Instead of Android Wear, Samsung opted for its homegrown Tizen operating system for the S3. In some ways, it looks like a hybrid of Google's and Apple's lookout man operating systems. For the virtually function, I institute it more useful than Android Wear, as it works equally well with Android and iPhones.
There are two layers to the Tizen Bone. From the abode watch screen, yous can swipe left or right to access notifications and recently used apps, create reminders, and check the weather and health stats, among other tasks. When you press the bottom button on the side, the screen switches to Tizen's app menu; here, round app icons are arranged effectually the border of the S3'due south display. Only eight apps are visible per page, simply as y'all install apps, boosted pages are included.
Like the Gear S2, the S3 has a rotating bezel that lets yous scroll quickly and easily through menu items, apps and so forth. (Yous can also swipe the screen to achieve the same result, only it's nice to have options.) Each turn of the bezel is met with a subtle click and just the right amount of resistance; information technology reminded me of the dial on the Nest Learning Thermostat.
I as well liked the myriad ways in which I could respond to notifications and messages on the S3 Frontier. For case, although there's no Facebook Messenger app — we'll get to that later— if I received a message while the S3 was tethered to my phone via Bluetooth, I could answer on the lookout man, either with a canned answer, or by typing or dictating a message. Even cooler was the ability to trace letters on the screen — much similar you lot tin can do on the Apple Sentry — to write out responses. I wouldn't want to etch a lengthy e-mail like this, but it'southward good for messages of a few words.
More: Smartwatch Ownership Guide
While I have my issues with Android Habiliment, 1 feature I missed on the S3 was contextual sensation. It would be great if the Gear S3 could automatically display directions for getting abode most the time I was fix to leave, or if it could be smart enough to ship me alerts and directions based on my calendar appointments. Hopefully, Samsung will integrate the smart banana information technology's rumored to exist working on for the Galaxy S8, only I wouldn't buy the S3 hoping for this feature to announced in the hereafter.
Where are the apps?
The biggest upshot with Samsung going it lone with Tizen as an operating organisation is that information technology has to convince others to make apps for its platform. And, as much as Samsung tries, it doesn't have the pull of Apple or Google.
Sadly, little has changed in the year since Samsung launched the Gear S2. In the Health and Fitness category for Gear apps, none of the major players — MapMyFitness, MyFitnessPal, Strava, etc. — were nowadays. You'll have to utilize S Health instead. While it's bully per se, it stinks that you're and so limited.
When the Gear S2 launched, Samsung claimed that apps for Twitter, eBay and Groupon were coming. One year later, only eBay has fabricated an appearance. There is an app for controlling your Nest thermostat, but it's $1.99 and fabricated by a third party. Despite the Spotify logo featured prominently on Samsung's product folio for the S3, that app isn't available, either. (There is an app for iHeartRadio, though.)
Other categories were marginally better: I establish Yelp, Uber, the Wall Street Journal, the Weather Aqueduct and NPR. But in that location's no Facebook Messenger, no Twitter and nothing from Google. As of this writing, the ESPN Companion for Gear works only with the S2.
When tethered to a Samsung Galaxy S7 via Bluetooth, I was able to receive and answer to Facebook Messenger notifications. Merely when the phone was out of range, I was cutting off from the social network.
Maps for Gear is surprisingly detailed given the S3's screen; you can zoom in and out using the rotating bezel, and see everything from subway stations to individual streets. Nonetheless, it can't provide navigation unless the watch is paired with a phone. This seems similar yet some other missed opportunity, given that the sentinel has both a information connection and GPS.
One potential advantage the S3 has over other smartwatches is that yous tin can install apps directly on the S3, rather than downloading them through a smartphone get-go. However, adept luck finding any; in the Go More Apps screen, only xv were shown, and it was a random assortment, from Korean Air to Fruit Ninja Plus to one that turns the S3's face up white.
Fitness
While the S3 is packed with sensors — it has an altimeter and a barometer, in addition to GPS and a heart-charge per unit monitor — the lack of major fettle apps for the Gear S3 is a bummer. You lot can sign upwards for the excellent Pear app, which provides training, simply other than that, y'all're stuck with the Gear Fit app. To be sure, the S3 can track a wide diverseness of activities — including elliptical, rowing machines, squats, lunges and cycling — and it has an altimeter and barometer to measure out your elevation and the conditions.
Although the S3 has two physical buttons, you lot'll still demand to touch its brandish to start and stop workouts. This was problematic when my fingers were sweaty, equally the screen didn't accurately recognize my touches. Fortunately, the S3 limits these interactions to taps, and not swipes. Cleverly, you lot can rotate the bezel to switch between altitude, calories, step, speed, cadency, middle rate and fifty-fifty music controls.
Just like the Samsung Gear Fit2 (and the Apple Lookout man Serial two), the S3 doesn't expect to learn a GPS bespeak earlier it starts yous on your run. This is a large miss, and one that Samsung needs to rectify. Every running watch I've tested — as well as the Moto 360 Sport smartwatch — will wait until it has a steady point earlier sending y'all on your way. As a consequence, the S3 undercounted my runs by about a 10th of a mile or then. For what information technology's worth, the Apple Sentry Series 2 overestimated my runs past near a 10th of a mile.
More: How to Choose the Right Fettle Tracker for Your Needs
Fortunately, the S3's center-charge per unit monitor proved more than accurate, though I had to cinch the watch tighter on my wrist to ensure it read my pulse correctly. Later on my runs, I loosened the strap to a more than comfortable setting.
As with the Gear IconX, you can transfer music you downloaded to your Samsung phone to the Gear S3 (information technology has 4GB of storage), and then you tin become for a run and listen to your favorite tunes without needing to conduct your phone with you. This is a great feature, and one I'k happy to come across spreading to more than devices.
S Phonation
Returning to the S3 afterward being omitted in the S2 is a born speaker that was surprisingly loud, which ways the S3 not merely listens to your commands just responds to them. Simply say, "Hullo, Gear," and you can speak to the watch to practice things such as ship an electronic mail, call someone or check the weather.
However, Samsung's phonation banana is nowhere nigh the level of Amazon's Alexa, Apple's Siri or Google's Assistant. For instance, it can't reply questions such as "Are the Knicks playing tonight?" or reply to commands similar "Directions home." Information technology will tell you corny jokes, though.
The S3 Borderland was largely accurate when translating my voice to text; in very few instances did information technology mess up, and that was usually with words that had homonyms.
Nonetheless, S Voice was a bit delayed in responding; y'all have to await a 2nd or and so to speak.
4G LTE: What yous can (and can't practice)
The 4G LTE radio in the S3 Borderland unleashes the potential of a truly untethered smartwatch. Get out your smartphone at home, and you can all the same make calls, read (and respond) to emails and texts, get news and weather condition updates, and even download apps. Withal, as mentioned, if in that location'due south no app for the watch itself (such as Facebook or Twitter), you won't get those notifications, and thus won't be able to respond.
The S3 Frontier handled voice calls well. I easily heard a voice on the other finish of the line when I fabricated a call, and the person heard me every bit well, fifty-fifty when I extended my arm.
AT&T customers tin take advantage of NumberSync, which lets y'all use the same number on the S3 every bit on your smartphone, and brand and receive calls and texts.
SOS is a good safety feature that lets you send a distress bulletin from the watch to preselected contacts and let them rails your location for upwardly to ane hour. Subsequently activating the characteristic in the Gear Director and choosing a contact, all I had to practice was press the Home push on the S3 iii times, and a text message was sent to the contact, along with a link showing my location on Glympse.
Samsung Pay
You can get out your wallet at home, too. Subsequently registering your menu(s) in the Gear app on your smartphone, all you lot have to do is press and concur the Back button, tap the Pay button on the S3, and and then concur the spotter near the terminal.
Gear S3 versions
The Gear S3 Frontier is available with LTE service from either AT&T or T-Mobile. If you choose this selection, you'll also accept to add together it to your wireless programme.
If yous're purchasing the watch through AT&T, information technology will price you lot an extra $10 per month to add the S3 Frontier to your program. If you lot purchase the S3 frontier for $49.99 with a two-year understanding when purchased with a Samsung Galaxy smartphone on AT&T Next or AT&T Side by side Every Year with eligible service on both devices. Yous tin also get the S3 on an AT&T Installment Plan for $17.l per month for 20 months ($350).
T-Mobile is charging $399 for the S3 Frontier, which you can pay in installments of $16.67 per month over 24 months. Additional charges include a $20 activation fee, plus $5 per month added to your mobile programme.
Yous can also purchase the Borderland in a Bluetooth-simply model for $299.
The Gear S3 Classic ($299), which has a brighter stainless-steel case, does not take an LTE option.
Battery life
According to Samsung, the S3'south 380-mAh battery can last upwards to three days on a charge. If you want to use it just every bit a watch, I'm certain that's possible. However, fifty-fifty with the display set to turn on only when I raised my wrist, no GPS tracking enable and just a few notifications coming through, I was able to go virtually 24 hours out of the S3 before needing to accuse information technology dorsum upwards.
Using GPS will drain the watch a lot faster, though; a 30-minute run used upwards a little over x percent of the S3'south bombardment.
MORE: All-time fitness trackers
The S3 charges wirelessly on a small stand; the punch turns ninety degrees and so that you can easily come across the time while it's docked.
Lesser line
If the ideal smartwatch is one that lets y'all go out your phone in your pocket — or at home — and however be just as continued, then the Samsung Gear S3 Frontier succeeds more than any other smartwatch, and yet still falls short in some critical areas.
For those who have Android phones, the Gear S3 is probably the all-time smartwatch yet, as information technology'due south generally more than functional as a stand up-solitary device than any Android Wear watch. Plus, the design, though big, is more than bonny than the Apple Sentinel, and you get an ever-on display and built-in 4G.
As with the Gear S2, Gear S3 Frontier'due south biggest downside is that there only aren't enough apps. Plus, the disability to check even sports scores or Facebook letters without your phone makes the S3 Frontier more frustrating than it should exist. This is the best Android smartwatch, and all the same it's still disappointing.
Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/us/samsung-gear-s3-frontier,review-4071.html
0 Response to "Reviews of Samsung - Gear S3 Frontier Smartwatch 46mm"
Postar um comentário