The Galaxy Watch 3 aims to offer consumers a multifunctional wearable that can be used for everything from fitness tracking to smart home technology control. The device was unveiled alongside the Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Buds Live in August. Come and meet him in detail.
The Galaxy Watch 3 is Samsung’s newest Wearable FlagShip. Like its main rival, the Apple Watch 5, it aims to offer consumers a multifunctional wearable that can be used for everything from fitness tracking to smart home technology monitoring.
The device was unveiled alongside the Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Buds Live in August. It is available in 41mm and 45mm variants, both with optional LTE connectivity.
Looking at the spec sheet, it appears to be a modest upgrade from Samsung’s previous Galaxy watches, it does however have a handful of new features but cannot be considered a new Wearable offering from the company. Highlights include drop detection, the ability to provide blood oxygen estimates and some minor design tweaks.
That doesn’t make the Galaxy Watch 3 the most exciting Wearable, but due to the poor state of Android Wear, the Galaxy Watch 3 has enough arguments to earn a spot as one of the best non-Apple wearables on the market.
In this article you will find:
- The Galaxy Watch 3 has a simple yet functional design
- Complete software and reliable activity tracking, but needs more applications
- The Galaxy Watch 3 has a battery that let us down
- Should I buy a Samsung Galaxy Watch 3?
- Verdict
- pros
- cons
- Key Specifications
The Galaxy Watch 3 has a simple yet functional design
The main selling point of Samsung Galaxy watches has always been the fact that they actually look like watches. Unlike the square Apple Watch – which always looked a bit too much like a kids’ watch for my tastes – the Galaxy Watch 3 has a round touch screen design that, if not for the OLED panel, looks like a normal vintage watch. pulse.
Specifically, the Galaxy Watch 3 has a 360x 360 circular OLED touchscreen that sits inside a rotating metal bezel. Around it is a main metal frame and two physical buttons on the right side. The interface is one of the most intuitive available.
Those who wish can interact with the watch using purely touch commands, but generally prefer to use a combination of the watch’s touch controls and physical buttons. The upper right button acts as the start/stop, select key, the lower button is the back/home input. The rotating frame allows you to switch between menu screens on the home screen and then navigate through the lists after selecting the feature you want.
The design is wonderfully premium and makes the Galaxy Watch 3 one of the few wearables that stands out most aesthetically.
What is most impressive is how thin the watch is given the number of Samsung sensors inside. The device comes with all the sensors we could want. This includes a basic accelerometer, barometer, gyroscope sensor, optical light heart rate sensors, plus included support for the GPS / Galileo / GLONASS / Beidou and NFC satellite positioning systems. Add that to 8GB of storage and its spec sheet starts to look impressive.
Despite this, the watch is thin and light enough to be comfortably worn 24/7 and, with an IP68 rating, it can withstand sweat and water so you’re comfortable using it in any context.
Complete software and reliable activity tracking, but needs more applications
Galaxy watches are virtually the only wearables on the market that run Samsung’s Tizen software. This is the same operating system we find on Samsung TVs and some smart devices. That means we have apps from the Samsung Galaxy Store.
You might think this could leave the Galaxy Watch 3 behind most rivals when it comes to apps and services, but given the sorry state of Google’s Wear OS, Tizen is far from the worst there is. To be clear, application support is far from Apple Watch levels. But in Tizen there are applications for everything from directions and weather to Tetris and Snake versions.
The watch also supports all the music services we could want where Spotify is included. Samsung Pay also makes it quick and easy to make NFC payments using the watch, if available in your bank/region.
Moving files to and from the watch is not as simple as connecting the watch to your computer. They’ll have to do it with the Galaxy Wearable app. This involves a long process of getting the files to the computer, then manually loading them onto the phone and “uploading” them to Galaxy Watch via the application. It’s as annoying as it sounds, especially since it doesn’t recognize direct downloads from YouTube Music or Google Play.
In terms of tracking, the Galaxy Watch 3 is also quite capable. It doesn’t feature any of the FlagShip tracking metrics or extended activity list seen on similarly priced Garmin Forerunner watches, but as a device being marketed as a smartwatch, this isn’t actually a surprise.
This equipment features options to track all activities: running, cycling (indoor / outdoor), swimming, weight lifting, etc. But it also has some cool training features. This includes a running coach who will advise the user midway through the run using performance data from previous workouts and workouts guided for specific workouts such as free weights.
The running feature will be useful for people new to running as it offers helpful advice such as or when the watch detects repetitive cadence problems. The services are not as detailed or intensive as what we find on the Fitbit Premium or a Garmin Fenix device, but they are a good entry point for more casual users.
Performance data has a similar performance. Post-workout data is presented in a clear, easy-to-read format that makes Garmin feel like the Kafka process. We have information on heart rate zones, distance traveled, calories burned, and estimated blood oxygen level. The latter is a particularly important metric that can be used to detect early signs of medical problems, it also provides an overall indicator of respiratory health.
I would put your physical activity tracking on the same level as a mid-range Fitbit. The downside is that it’s not as detailed as on a watch like the Garmin Fenix 6 Solar. But this isn’t actually a surprise, given the Galaxy Watch 3’s focus.
The Galaxy Watch 3 also has some “wellness” and health screening services – the biggest one is fall detection. This works the same as the Apple Watch and is designed to allow the Galaxy Watch 3 to notify emergency contacts when the user falls and needs assistance. This is a particularly useful service for people at high risk or with diagnosed health problems.
The Galaxy Watch 3 has a battery that let us down
The combined features of the software make the Galaxy Watch 3 look like one of the most advanced smartwatches on the market and one of the few valid alternatives to Apple Watch and Huawei Watch GT2 Pro.
However, there is one area where the Galaxy Watch 3 disappoints and that is battery life, especially if you plan to use GPS to monitor your workout regularly. Using the 45mm variant, which comes with a 340 mAh cell, I found I generally got about 2 to 2.5 days of use if I just used it as a smartwatch with the always on off screen option.
But when I started using it to track my workout, battery life dropped sharply. using GPS to track 5 km a day, the watch loses up to 15% of its charge each time, radically reducing its range. By today’s standards, this is pretty weak, even by Wear OS standards, which is traditionally the worst when it comes to autonomy.
The only positive aspect is that charging the Watch 3’s battery is quite easy thanks to the addition of wireless charging.
Should I buy a Samsung Galaxy Watch 3?
If you want a smartwatch/fitness-tracker, the Galaxy Watch 3 is one of the best options on the market.
Galaxy Watch 3 offers reliable smartwatch functionality, application support for nearly every service, and comes with a surprisingly robust set of activity and health monitoring features.
The only downside is the lack of a display with variable refresh rate, like the one on the Apple Watch 5, which translates into a somewhat short battery life.
Verdict
The Galaxy Watch 3 is a top-notch wearable that meets almost every need and in its favor is the only Android alternative with a relatively well-stocked app store..
pros
- Super Premium Design
- Solid monitoring of physical condition and health
- Decent smartwatch functionality
cons
- Battery life could be better
Key Specifications
- Unit price in this Review: €459.90
- 41mm / 45mm options
- OLED touch screen with 360 x 360 resolution
- GPS / Galileo / GLONASS / Beidou
- fall detection
- 8GB of local storage
- Tizen OS
70% Super Premium design and price to match
The Galaxy Watch 3 is a top-notch wearable that meets almost every need and in its favor is the only Android alternative with a relatively well-stocked app store.
- design
- Performance
- Physical Activity Tracking
- Drums
pros
- Super Premium Design
- Solid monitoring of physical condition and health
- Decent smartwatch functionality
Cons
- Battery life could be better
Galaxy Watch 3 offers reliable smartwatch functionality, application support for nearly every service, and comes with a surprisingly robust set of activity and health monitoring features.
The only downside is the lack of a display with variable refresh rate, like the one on the Apple Watch 5, which translates into a somewhat short battery life.
