After 3+ years with the Moto 360 it was finally time to move on. A deteriorating battery that would turn off after only two hours at the first sign of a vibrate/notification, and when placed on the charger still showed 80%, caused it to be more of a weight on my wrist than any other use.
So I went on a search for a new watch, and while looking at some of the watches, like the Gear S3 Frontier, which was fantastic but way too pricey, I instead turned to the cheaper/older model of the Gear S2, and after a month with it…I’m glad I picked it.
The Face
The round face, with a rotating bezel to control notifications, has a great look to it, and with the preinstalled watch faces, the watch really stands out whether you want a classy or sporty look.
Meanwhile, the notification and apps system is easy enough to figure out and use, although some of the apps don’t hold sign-in information so well.
Battery Life
As the years advance so does the technology, and the 2+ day battery life on this watch is great. But what adds to it is the Quick Charging that it provides, allowing you to place it on the charger when you head to shower and come back and find it fully fueled and ready to go.
I recently was on 2+ days with another day still showing on the “estimated usage” bar, so I’m very happy.
Size
While the screen is technically smaller than some others, it is large enough (and crisp enough) to read everything, and get full functionality out of it.
Operating System
While other watches run Android Wear (or watchOS on Apple), Samsung has their own Tizen OS, which has support from many apps including ESPN, Flipboard, and Bloomberg.
And while it runs a different system, it is compatible with all recent Android and Apple phones.
S-Voice
I haven’t tried it…and have no urge to try the voice-controlled options on the watch, but other reviews for it haven’t been entirely positive.
Final Thoughts
I would highly recommend it for anyone that is looking for a lower priced smartwatch, but if money isn’t an issue, try the newer S3, which has an even larger battery, built-in GPS, and more RAM, albeit a very large watch face.
BTW, all pictures have the very basic image shown below…but trust me, it looks a lot better once you customize it and make it your own.
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