$299.99 seems to be the price point that many sporty smartwatch makers believe the market can bear and still deliver them large sales volume. Only time, and Father Christmas, will tell if that’s true.
Opinion
I’ve included the Samsung Gear Sport Specifications below for reference but there are no surprises.
You can have a click on the image to the right to look at the Gear S3 that was announced a few weeks ago. The design of the Gear S3 clearly says ‘Classic Watch’/’Dress Watch’ and the design of the Gear Sport clearly says ‘SPORT watch’.
That’s a GREAT play.
- Q: What is the Garmin Vivoactive 3?
- A: 90% sport watch
- Q: What is the Fitbit Ionic?
- A: 35% Sport Watch
- Q: What is the Apple Watch?
- A: 30% sport watch
You might want to argue over the percentages and I would concede ground very quickly. But the point I am making is that the Samsung watches don’t really need to make that justification to the consumer. That makes marketing a lot easier for Samsung and a lot more difficult for their competition.
Whilst the Gear S3 had streaming music, the Gear Sport has 4Gb of onboard music storage. I think you’d agree for a sports watch that it is fine for offline music storage when working out with the Gear Sport. And Samsung’s offline storage also works with SPOTIFY (selected GEOs) which, to me, seems a globally superior solution to Pandora (Fitbit Ionic)
It’s got all the connectivity it needs with Bluetooth 4.2, WiFi and NFC and all the sensors with accelerometer, barometer, gyro and an ambient light sensor. It’s got GPS and GLONASS (& Beidou), it’s waterproof for swimming use, and naturally has an optical HR monitor too. Heck, it even controls stuff in your house with Samsung’s IoT.
- Q: Has it got the battery life?
- A: 300mAH … hmmm. Not sure how that translates to reality.
- Q: Has it got the apps?
- A: Well, it’s got a SPEEDO swim app! And it’s got more apps than the Fitbit Ionic. Samsung DO have some quality apps (link to: Samsung.com). But it has NOT got the depth of functionalities offered by Apple apps.
- Q: Has it got the looks?
- A: Not sure
So they haven’t got as many of the marketing- and technical-bits in place as Apple. But they should be ahead of Garmin, Fitbit and others. But will that translate to second place at Christmas? Historically we would have said NO, even without not knowing for sure what Apple’s Watch sales were 😉
Promotional Video
https://youtu.be/Pew9e9VrDRA
Might this be a contender for best running watch? Perhaps not. But maybe a contender for the best sport-focussed smartwatch?
Samsung Gear Sport Specifications & Design
Color |
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Dimensions
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 Weight : 67g (with strap) / 50g (without strap) 42.9 mm44.6 mm11.6 mm |
Display |
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Performance
AP |
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Storage |
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OS |
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Battery |
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Sensors |
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Connectivity |
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Water Resistant |
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Apps |
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Strap |
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External Parts |
 Rotating BezelBack KeyHome KeyHR Sensor |
In the box
Gear Sport |
Gear Sport (Large Strap)
Charging Dock Travel Adapter Small Strap |
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With 20 years of testing Garmin wearables and competing in triathlons at an international age-group level, I provide expert insights into fitness tech, helping athletes and casual users make informed choices.
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If they placed the 6 led polar ohrm on the samsung gear sport then it would have beat the garmin vivoactive 3 easily, or even if they just made it compatible with bt chest straps and foot pods. As it is now its just a nice smartwatch with crappy hr accuracy.
i’m not having much luck with the VA3, but i hear you !! Ionic is also guilty of zero accessory-compatibility. I guess these things must be hard to do. even the Applewatch 3 seems to have issues with multiple BLE sensors (apprently…not seen by me for sure)