I Need a Big Band for the Gear S2 UPDATED

I Need a Big Band for the Gear S2

The Samsung Gear S2 ($394.00 at Amazon)  is only a few months erstwhile, simply it's already been updated in the form of a new $349.99 Classic edition. The Gear S2 Archetype has the same exact interface and hardware as the original, merely it's built with classier materials (including a leather wristband) that could be worth the $50 premium if you like the expect. Information technology'due south an attractive smartwatch, with i of the most intuitive interfaces we've seen and a unique, rotating bezel you won't discover anywhere else. Only just like the original Gear S2, the lack of third-party apps and finicky voice recognition keep the Classic from earning a stronger recommendation.

Design
The Gear S2 Classic ($394.00 at Amazon)  goes for a more than subdued, traditional appearance than its sportier sibling. It has a black leather wristband, while the stainless steel case is now adorned with trivial ridges, giving it the appearance of an actual gear. The added bit of texture also helps when rotating the bezel to control the watch. The Archetype's leather ring is highly comfortable, with a creamy chocolate-brown suede underside that feels fantastic on the wrist. That said, you can all the same pick upwardly the original watch, which comes with blackness or white silicone bands, for $50 less.

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To round out the design, the Archetype is slightly smaller than its predecessor, measuring one.57 inches around compared with the original's 1.66 inches. The Classic is as well a bit lighter, weighing in at i.44 ounces compared with the i.vii-ounce original.

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Like on the original, the Classic's bezel is its best, most unique aspect. It can exist physically turned around the watch face like a dial to make app selections, which is a much faster and more precise mode to navigate menus than the seemingly endless series of screen wipes that are required with an Android Habiliment scout similar the Motorola Moto 360 ($394.00 at Amazon) . The Gear features ii buttons on the right side of the case to help navigate the interface: a Back push at the ii o'clock position and a Home push at four o'clock. The Domicile button brings you to the default watch face, or your app library if you're already at the watch confront. The Back button, naturally, sends you back i footstep. You lot can also tap the affect screen to get around.

Display and Setup
The Classic shares the same screen as the original Gear S2: an attractive, round, i.ii-inch, 360-by-360 Super AMOLED display. It stays off by default unless y'all wake it with a twist of the bezel, a wrist gesture, or a tap (in that location is as well an pick to keep information technology on all the fourth dimension, which volition seriously bleed your battery life). Brightness can be adjusted by swiping down on the display and tapping the Brightness setting, or you lot can let the ambience light sensor do the work for yous. Unlike the Moto 360, there is no "flat tire" effect.

You lot can pair the Classic with Bluetooth 4.1 devices like headsets or speakers for music playback, or with mobile devices that run Android 4.4 or later. You don't need a Samsung device to use the watch, but there is no iOS support like you become with Android Vesture or Pebble watches.

To pair the watch, you need to download the free Samsung Gear app and follow the on-screen instructions. I paired the Classic with aGalaxy S6 ($394.00 at Amazon)  in near a minute. Once connected, you can select your watch confront, manage apps and notifications, or transfer music files to the watch, which comes with 4GB of internal storage.

Features and Performance
As mentioned before, the Archetypehas the same verbal internals as the original. This includes an accelerometer, a barometer, a gyroscope, proximity sensors, and a eye rate sensor. Unlike the Sony SmartWatch 3 ($394.00 at Amazon) , you won't notice GPS. At that place is Wi-Fi connectivity, which extends the range of the sentinel when connected to a wireless network.

The centre rate sensor intermittently measures your heart charge per unit throughout the day, but it doesn't runway continuously like the Garmin Vivosmart Hr ($394.00 at Amazon) , a dedicated fettle tracker. Instead, the Classic checks in about five times per day, though you tin adjust it to cheque more or less frequently. You can besides have it check manually.

You'll find a few preloaded widgets on the sentry, including the S Health step counter, atmospheric condition info, and a water consumption tracker. Yous can customize where the widgets are placed on your spotter confront and add your ain apps from the Samsung Gear director on your phone.

Similar to the Apple Watch ($394.00 at Amazon) , the Classic counts steps and nudges you when you're at residuum for too long. You can install the Nike+ running app for more detailed fitness tracking, simply if workouts are your chief business organization, you'll want to go with a defendedfitness tracker .

The Classic runs on Samsung's homegrown Tizen operating system, which is very uncomplicated to navigate. A twist of the bezel or swipe to the left brings up push notifications, while the correct brings upwardly the menu for Apps, a list of favorite contacts, Settings, and the Due south Vox assistant. Swipe or rotate again and you'll observe every loaded app circumvoluted the screen, like numbers on a sentinel confront. It's a far better solution than Android Wear'southward cards and vertical lists. That said, the Classic returns to the default watch face up every time it wakes up.

Tizen's chief shortcoming is its weak option of third-party apps compared with Android Wear, Apple tree, and Pebble. Samsung's Milk Music is the but streaming service available, and too Nike+, fitness aficionados are stuck with Samsung'due south S Wellness. A note-taking app has shown up since I last reviewed the Gear S2, but Facebook and Twitter are still absent. Besides Bloomberg, CNN, Uber, The Wall Street Journal, and Yelp, there are few big-proper noun companies lending their services to Tizen.

Some other event is that the Classic's microphone failed to pick my vocalisation upwardly several times when trying to dictate a bulletin, a trouble shared by the original Gear S2.

As for battery life, you can go almost ii days before you lot need to recharge the Archetype with its proprietary dock.

Conclusions
The Samsung Gear S2 Classic is only a sleeker version of the rubbery original. Information technology looks and feels nice, and Tizen is easier to navigate than any other smartwatch Os. Unfortunately, the Classic also suffers from the aforementioned issues as its predecessor, including poor voice recognition and a lackluster app library. Y'all'll get a far greater selection of apps with the Apple Lookout man, though it isn't uniform with Android devices. Your best bet is our Editors' Selection, the Pebble Time ($394.00 at Amazon) , which offers a robust app library, longer battery life, and support for both Android and iOS devices. If y'all desire something that looks a bit sharper, the Pebble Time Circular ($394.00 at Amazon)  is a solid alternative.

Samsung Gear S2 Archetype

Cons

The Bottom Line

The Samsung Gear S2 Classic smartwatch upgrades the original with a sleek stainless steel case and a leather wristband, but the aforementioned drawbacks remain.

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I Need a Big Band for the Gear S2 UPDATED

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