Samsung ventured into the smartwatch game, back when Apple did, so they have produced a number of watches over the last few years. They now have a new watch in the lineup, the Galaxy Watch, available in both 46 & 42mm faces and they look pretty sharp. We got the 46mm version sent to us, so let’s take a look.

Look & Feel

So we already know it has a 46mm watch face, which is touch screen and it also has a rotating bezel, used for navigating through the watches options. The body of the watch is made from plastic and metal, has two buttons to the right-hand side and the usual sensor to the underside. The watch comes with black rubber straps and a metal clasp. It feels robust, well built and oozes quality. If you go for the 42mm version, there are two options, including a pink & rose gold option for women.

The watch is well presented within a cardboard box and comes complete with a docking station for charging the watch, a power supply, a spare strap & some instructions. Both the strap and power supply come in a fabric bag, adding to an already impressive, luxury unboxing experience.

Set Up & Use

Set up requires you to download the free Galaxy Watch app onto your smart device, preferably your smartphone. Once installed, it’s a matter of following the on screen instructions and pairing the device & watch together. It was very straight forward and took just a few minutes. Out the box, the watch had about 25% battery life, so that first night, I left the watch on charge. To charge the watch, place the docking station on your bedside table, plug into the power socket and then place the watch in place. There is a little magnetism at play, so you’ll feel the watch get a good connection or not.

The following day, I went about personalising the watch and inputting my measurements for the fitness side of things. There are ample settings and options to trawl through, everything from the type of vibration for a notification, screen brightness, security locks and more. One of the more interesting options is the ability to change the watch face. There are a number of preinstalled faces to choose from, modern to classic, but then you can also download more or even purchase more via the app. The app is another way of adjusting some options, and it also allows you to browse the various apps that are compatible with the watch. These include fitness apps like Map My Run, Strava or even Smart Caddie for you golfers. Select an app, hit install and it it will get install onto your watch. Oh, remember that classic Snake game from Nokia? Yeh, you can install that on your watch if you really wanted. Apps are small in size, most of the ones I saw were about 2mb, but it’s worth noting as the watch has limited storage of 4gb. You can monitor the storage, battery life and ram usage (768mb total) via the app.

galaxy_watch_2

Performance

As a timepiece, it tells the time perfectly, it sits well on my wrist, slides underneath my shirt fine and looks the part. As for the smart side of things, the watch offers more functionality & features than any other smart watches I’ve tried. The screen is bright & vibrant, the touch sensitivity is good, plus it’s fairly fluid & responsive. Navigation through the watch is easy, either via touch screen or the rotating bezel, which is a nice to have and will be a hit with many. As for fitness, the readings for both steps and heart rate seem accurate, but I’m less convinced by the stress test, which I can only assume works off your heart rate. I could be stressed with a normal heart rate surely! I plan to take the watch on the golf course, to see how accurate it is and compare it a similar device a friend has.

Battery life looks to be around 3 to 4 days for me, but I get alot of notifications on my phone and now the watch, which will be eating into that battery. Receiving messages and calls work well, it’s very easy to scroll through text on the screen and also there is very little delay between smartphone & watch from receiving a notification. Other noteworthy features include its ability to track your sleeping patterns, it’s 5ATM water resistant (great for swimming with), and you can also set up Samsung Pay for contactless payments upto £30. There is also an IoT function, allowing you to connect with other smart Samsung tech in your home, but I was unable to try this out unforutnatly.

The gestures are not always that responsive, sometimes I would rotate my wrist and the screen wouldnt appear. However, when the screen does appear and you rotate your wrist slightly, the screen shimmers, as if the sunlight was hitting the dials and creating that reflection. It’s a nice touch I’ve not seen before.

Verdict

Overall, hugely impressed with how the Galaxy Watch looks & performs, one of the better smartwatches on the market in my mind. The 46mm watch currently retails for £299, with the 42mm slightly cheaper at £279. The watch can work via bluetooth & your smart device, or via a 4G connection with ‘EE’, a mobile phone service provider here in the UK.

If you’re looking for a smart watch, this has to be one you consider. For more information & to purchase, visit the official Samsung Galaxy Watch webpage.