Consumer Electronics, Gadgets & Accessories

Review of the Samsung Gear S3 Frontier Smartwatch

What Michael Knight used to be able to communicate with his watch – namely with K.I.T.T. – today elicits only a tired smile from me. Although the Samsung Gear S3 Frontier can’t crack locks, it’s a piece of technology that offers extensive functions for a watch. You will read what these are in the following test. The fact that the Gear S3 can connect to the smartphone, can be used as a fitness tracker and also looks good should be clear to anyone who flirts with such a gadget anyway.

For all impatients again a short summary of the test. The Smartwatch works well, looks smart, is easy to use and makes a difference. But it also has minor weaknesses in workmanship and is not quite cheap. But the imho crucial question is whether I missed them after the test pattern went back to Samsung. However, you read this only in the conclusion.

What’s in the Package?

In the packaging you will find everything you need for the daily use of Smartwatch. Beside the watch itself you will find a charger for the inductive charging and Samsung has nicely added one in size “S” to the bracelet in size “L”. So everything’s there and nicely bagged.

Does She Do Something?

As should become clear on the pictures relatively fast, the Gear S3 looks massive and is anything but small and filigree. The design reminds a little of a G-Shock by Casio and the desired pilot watch/military style design is perfectly achieved. Apart from the smooth back, which is only penetrated by the pulse sensor, all other surfaces are corrugated, grooved or otherwise rough. This gives the Watch a martial touch and looks masculine and heavy. Almost everything on the Gear S3 itself is neatly finished. The body of the watch is made of metal, is robust and I had no critical feeling in any situation.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t apply to the bezel, because although it is stable, it had some play towards the sides. It almost seemed a little loose and when you shook the clock, it clattered quietly. And also from the feeling, she could be turned much too easily. That frightened me at first, but I was able to find out from some reviews of the watch that it was not just me. But in the end the bezel was firmly attached. If in doubt, try it out yourself in the shops.

With IP68 certification, it is protected against dust and dirt and can be immersed in 1.5 metre deep water for up to 30 minutes. Rain showers and sweat can only harm the gear a little to nothing. But you should expect the same from a Smartwatch.

I didn’t like the silicone bracelet that much. It is indeed practical and lasts certainly very long. Unfortunately, this also looks anything but noble.

The sensors work well and reliably. In almost all cases the clock turned on when I raised my arm accordingly. Only in individual cases was a new movement necessary. The vibrations are easy to feel and can be individually adjusted.

The most beautiful thing about the Watch from my point of view is the display. It does reflect something, but the brightness is enough to compensate for that. Otherwise the Super-AMOLED Screen delivers outstanding sharpness and beautiful colours. At first glance, hands actually look like a real watch. Also the keys are high quality, have a good pressure point and for my paws the perfect size.

In one sentence: A great watch for guys.

Hardware

The Gear S3’s list of features is long and whether it’s connectivity or hardware power, battery power or an excellent display, the Gear S3 offers enough of almost everything. I had no jolts during the test and the capacitive display reacted promptly and precisely. Connections build up quickly and the GPS signal is found quickly.

The battery also deserves praise. I actually came up with a runtime of 3 days when used normally. In test mode it was more like 2 days. If one compares this with, for example, the first Apple Watch, it is consistently impressive.

Display: 1.3 inch Super AMOLED
Memory: 768 MB RAM / 4GB internal (1.5 GB free)
Processor: DualCore@ 1 GHz
Radio: WLAN b g n, BT 4.2, NFC, GPS
Sensors: Acceleration sensor, barometer, position sensor, pulse sensor, brightness sensor
Accumulator: 380 mAh
Operating system: Tizen
Weight: 49.0 x 46.0 x 12.9 mm 63g
Certification: IP68
Variations: Classic/Frontier (under test Frontier)

How to Use the Gear s3?

In Connection with a Smartphone

I tested the S3 with the Galaxy S7 Edge and connected it via Samsung Gear App. In this way messages are transmitted (also WhatsApp) and calls can also be answered. Furthermore the Gear works together with the S Health App and I can send content like pictures or music to the Watch. The installation of apps as well as the control of notifications and the design of dials are managed via it. Messages on the display can be read and scrolled easily. Also the answering is convenient and works surprisingly better than expected. Even on the 1.3 inch display you can type and standard answers can be easily selected from a list. If several messages come in a short time, however, it quickly becomes confusing. It’s similar with the calls. Micro and speakers are good. But if the ambient noise is a little louder, the loudspeaker quickly reaches its limit. In any case I could leave the smartphone plugged in more often and on the way it was a plus in comfort. Particularly practical was the use in social interaction. It’s just discreet and much more polite than looking directly at the mobile phone. Standard functions like alarm clock and organizer are available on the Gear as well as on the classic smartphone. For all data – checks whether it also fits for your smartphone and whether the functions are supported. Samsung has an overview of this on the productpagea>Product_P&tmclickref=p_gear%203″>productpagea>product_page

Apps

A vulnerability of the Samsung Smartwatches is the used Tizen operating system. It works perfectly with the Gear S3, but it is special and therefore a little or no incentive for third party developers to develop more apps. So you have to rely on developments from Samsung. In fact, there is even a fun game on the gear, various dials with expansion options via Samsung App shop and news, MP3, image viewing and dictation and a few more. Still, my crystal ball says not much’s gonna happen right now. So the apps actually represent the Achilles heel of the Samsung Smartwatches in general.

Fitness

The Gear S3 can be used well as a fitness tracker. My pulse was well recognized and coincided with the information on fitness equipment in the gym. Even with the steps you can actually count and it works. The app also recognizes very well whether I am walking or cycling. Clearly, the measurements are not as accurate as professional equipment, are sufficient for the normal user and can actually replace a fitness tracker. With the Samsung S Health App the data can be synchronized.

Conclusion

As promised, the answer is whether I missed the Smartwatch. I’m afraid not. What excited me was the hardware itself, the “Future is cool!” aspect and the interest of others.

I was convinced by the battery, the workmanship, the fitness functions and the display. I found the apps and the expansion possibilities somewhat boring.

Of course, the price also plays a role. In the Samsung Shop there are almost 400 Euro, offers for 333 Euro were already there. This is also the point where Smartwatch was eliminated for me personally. For the hardware and the materials and if you can do something with a Smartwatch, it is a worthwhile investment.

So can I recommend it? Yes! Be aware that the existing apps should already be sufficient in the default setting. Overall, the Samsung Gear S3 is one of the best or even the best Android Smartwatch.

Samsung Gear S3 Frontier

Workmanship
Hardware
Software
Apps
Fitness

Big, masculine, power

Very good Android Smartwatch. Beautiful display, potent hardware, stable workmanship.

Simon Lüthje

I am co-founder of this blog and am very interested in everything that has to do with technology, but I also like to play games. I was born in Hamburg, but now I live in Bad Segeberg.

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