Skip to main content

Samsung Galaxy Fit 2 Review: Simple, honest, and good value

samsung galaxy fit 2 review wrist bike
Samsung Galaxy Fit 2 Review: Simple, honest, and good value
MSRP $60.00
“The $60 Samsung Galaxy Fit 2 is great value and provides just the right level of complexity to keep the casual fitness fan engaged and wearing it.”
Pros
  • Comfortable and lightweight
  • Simple to use
  • Comprehensive list of activities to track
  • Good notification support
Cons
  • Battery life claims are overblown
  • Strap clasp is annoying
  • Some tracking inaccuracies

Not everyone cares about high-end activity-tracking features on a lot of smartwatches or expensive fitness bands. Some really won’t worry about blood oxygen levels, ECG measurements, or even built-in GPS. If you want simple daily activity tracking, you want a simple daily-use wearable, and that’s where the Samsung Galaxy Fit 2 comes in.

This $60 fitness tracker covers all the basics, and backs it up with a quoted 15 days of battery life, putting it firmly in the wear-and-forget category. I’ve been wearing it for more than a week now, and I did almost forget it on my wrist, which is a good thing. This is what it’s like.

Design

The Galaxy Fit 2’s simplicity starts with the design, but it holds both good and bad surprises. The first surprise is just how bright the 1.1-inch color AMOLED screen is. I could easily leave it on the midlevel setting without sacrificing daylight viewing, meaning it has less of an impact on battery life. The use of a color screen makes the Galaxy Fit 2 far more attractive, and more interesting to look at, than the boring monochrome LCDs found on simple Fitbits.

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Choose the red band like my review sample and it makes a seriously sporty statement, and while the band is comfortable once it’s on, the clasp is very annoying. Samsung has made the whole affair more complicated than it needs to be, and it’s quite hard to find, and repeat, exactly the right fit. I often wear the band loosely when the heart rate sensor’s accuracy isn’t so important, then tighten it up when tracking exercise, and the Fit 2’s strap made this usually simple procedure rather infuriating. Otherwise, it’s secure and doesn’t get sweaty.

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

It’s controlled using the touchscreen and a touch-sensitive button under it. It’s quite easy to miss the button at first, as the thin outline giving you a hint about where to press disappears in many lighting conditions. The operating system is responsive and logically laid out, and you use swipes and taps to navigate through the options. I didn’t experience any problems using it.

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

The design, the screen’s appeal, and the software make the Galaxy Fit easy to live with once you’ve stopped swearing at the stupid band.

Activity tracking

Continuing on the simple theme, the Galaxy Fit has a heart rate sensor, an accelerometer, and a gyroscope, but no ability to measure blood oxygen, take an ECG, link up with GPS, or even add elevation data using an altimeter. The altimeter is the only sensor that’s really missed, as ECG and blood oxygen readings are highly specialized. If you want GPS for accurate run tracking, there are plenty of alternatives available.

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Instead, the Galaxy Fit 2 watches over your workouts, tracks steps, and monitors your sleep if you wear it overnight. A small selection of workouts to track are preloaded on the Fit, but more can be added in if the basic options aren’t enough. I had to add yoga and stationary biking, for example. The Galaxy Fit 2 can be worn in the pool to track swims, where it counts strokes and measures distance, plus returns swim efficiency SWOLF data after you’ve finished.

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Swipe to the left on the screen and you get shown steps, heart rate, distance, and sleep data. There are reminders to get up and move around, and a reminder to wash your hands too. However, this is not automatic like the Apple Watch’s feature, and instead just suggests you should wash your hands after a set interval. The Fit 2 also monitors stress levels, but says the feature is for wellness rather than medical use, and I found it put me on the higher end of the scale far more often than other wearables I’ve used recently, including the Honor Watch ES and the Oppo Watch.

Both Samsung’s Galaxy Wear and Samsung’s Health app are required to sync the Galaxy Fit 2 with your phone, and are compatible with both Android and iOS. I’ve been using them on a Samsung Galaxy Fold. While Health is informative — it provides current and historical data, and you can add further metrics like food intake and data from other health devices — it’s not very attractive, or always logical to navigate.

It’s nowhere near as pretty or intuitive as Google Fit, for example, and isn’t as feature-packed either. It is slightly unusual that it isn’t possible to quickly get an instant heart rate reading, although the last reading taken remains on some of the watch faces. There are masses of workout tracking plans, which means almost whatever your activity of choice is, the Galaxy Fit 2 will have it covered.

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

In terms of accuracy, I compared the Fit 2 with the Apple Watch Series 6 over a couple of days, and found the heart rate monitor was consistent with the Apple Watch’s results, but the calorie burn and step count was usually under the Apple Watch’s estimate, potentially skewing overall results. Most wearables I’ve compared to the Apple Watch in the past return very similar numbers overall, suggesting the Fit 2’s software may need refining.

Battery life

Samsung makes some big claims about the battery life of the Galaxy Fit 2, but there are various caveats hidden in the small print. What you need to know is forget reaching 21 days, and don’t count on 15 days either, if you intend to use most of the band’s features.

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Sleep tracking is one of the areas you may have to forgo to maximize battery life, and it’s worth doing so. The band is certainly light enough at 21 grams not to be bothersome, and when it works the sleep tracking shows different stages of your sleep, duration, and finally assigns a Sleep Efficiency Score. However, the sleep tracking is inconsistent and repeatedly missed my deep sleep phases entirely, making any data collected worthless.

Notifications will also drain the battery more, but this time the trade-off will be worth it. Despite the small screen size, truncated emails are readable, and WhatsApp messages and Twitter replies even have quick reply options. How many apps send notifications to the band can be managed in the Galaxy Wear app, helping you tailor the number of interruptions. I found the notifications useful, but could sometimes be frustrated by the slowness of the band to respond when I raised my arm to see them.

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Samsung says to get close to 21 days battery life you have to make do without the sleep tracking, no heart rate sensor, and no auto workout tracking either. It says to expect about 15 days with average use. I’ve used the heart rate sensor, activity reminders, tracked regular workouts, and some sleep sessions too and it has struggled to get even close to this number. It loses around 10% battery each day without tracking any activities apart from sleep.

Price and availability

The Samsung Galaxy Fit 2 costs $60, or 40 British pounds in the U.K. It’s available now on Amazon and through Samsung’s own online store.

Our take

The Galaxy Fit 2 doesn’t pretend to be the ideal partner for your marathon efforts, or that it’ll be there delivering focused data throughout a bid for Olympic glory. Instead, it covers what most casual exercisers will want from swimming to cycling and horse riding to yachting, is honest about its ability, and has the right degree of complexity to keep you honest in your fitness endeavors.

This all-around general nature and affordability don’t forgive the inconsistencies in sleep and exercise tracking though, and the very long battery life is only possible if you decide not to use many of the band’s features. Outside of this, the Galaxy Fit 2 is easy to live with, and its downsides didn’t stop me from wanting to wear it, and that’s essential for a fitness band.

Is there a better alternative?

Yes, the fitness band market is huge so there are many great alternatives. While I think the Galaxy Fit 2 is one of the better models available, it does have some strong competition. If a Fitbit appeals more, due to the recognizable brand name and established platform, the Inspire 2 is the closest model to the Galaxy Fit 2, but it will cost you $100, plus Fitbit has a monthly subscription charge to unlock some of its more advanced features. If you want a Fitbit with GPS, we recommend the Fitbit Charge 4.

If you live outside the U.S., or are happy to import, the Xiaomi Mi Band 5 is excellent value at around 40 British pounds, as is the Honor Band 5 which can be found for even less. If you don’t need specific fitness tracking features like GPS and aren’t a dedicated athlete, why spend more than you have to on a simple fitness band?

If you don’t mind spending more, and want something that looks less like a regular fitness band, there are also a couple of smartwatch-like alternatives. The Amazfit GTR 2 costs $179, looks great, and has plenty of fitness tracking features to use, while the Honor Watch ES costs 89 British pounds, or about $120, and occupies the middle ground between smartwatch and fitness band.

How long will it last?

Fitness bands will last longer than your smartphone or a smartwatch, because we don’t make such hefty demands on the software or hardware. The Galaxy Fit 2’s strong band can be replaced if it should break, and everything is water-resistant to 50 meters, so it’s suitable for use when swimming or in the shower.

Outside of any discontinuation of Galaxy Fit 2 support in Galaxy Wear or Samsung Health app, it will last you way beyond three years. There’s one other thing to think about, and that’s your ongoing use. The Galaxy Fit 2 isn’t really suitable for hardcore fitness enthusiasts, so expect to upgrade if your own fitness goals and tracking need change.

Should you buy it?

Yes, provided you only want to cover the basics in activity tracking, it’s a usable, simple, and attractive fitness band. Want to know more about Samsung products? Check out our review on Samsung Galaxy S21.

Editors' Recommendations

Andy Boxall
Senior Mobile Writer
Andy is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends, where he concentrates on mobile technology, a subject he has written about for…
Best Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra deals: How to get the phone for free
Close-up view of the cameras on the Galaxy S23 Ultra.

Despite the recent release of the Samsung S24 Ultra, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra remains a powerhouse smartphone worth considering. Right now is also one of the best times to buy a new Galaxy S23 Ultra, as it becoming a generation older has ushered in some really impressive Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra deals. You’ll find these deals scattered across all kinds of retailers, so we’ve done the heavy lifting of organizing all of them in one place. The best Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra deals include some massive savings through sales and trade-in credits, so keep reading for more details on which retail outlet may net you the most savings on a new Galaxy S23 Ultra.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra deals at Amazon

Amazon is offering a 14% discount on the 512GB version of the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, bringing the price from $1,380 to $1,199. That's a savings of nearly $200 to get the new phone. This version of the phone is unlocked for all carriers, so you have the freedom to use whatever plan you choose with it.

Read more
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6: news, rumored price, release date, and more
Renders of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, showing the front and back of the phone.

As we get deeper into 2024, it’s only a matter of time before we see Samsung reveal its next round of foldables. This should include the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and clamshell Galaxy Z Flip 6.

The rumors for these devices are starting, and we should expect to see the next generation of foldables hit sometime around summer. But what does Samsung have in store for the Galaxy Z Fold 6, specifically? From the rumored prices, specs, design, and more, here's everything we know.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6: release date
The Galaxy Z Fold 4 (left) and Galaxy Z Fold 5 Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Read more
Best Samsung Galaxy S22 deals: Save big on unlocked models
The back of the Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22 Plus.

Samsung recently released the Samsung Galaxy S24, and one of the best times to get yourself some savings on outgoing models is right after a new product release. That makes the Samsung Galaxy S22 a hot commodity when it comes to landing a deal right now, as it's the new "old" device and there are a lot of Samsung Galaxy S22 deals available to pounce on. It’s been a popular phone for quite some time and still can compete with the hardware we’re seeing in many of the best phones. You’ll be able to find Galaxy S22 deals at a number of different retailers, and we’ve done the heavy lifting of tracking them all down and putting them in one place. Read onward for the current best Samsung Galaxy S22 deals and some information on where it’s best to buy.
Samsung Galaxy S22 deals at Samsung

Samsung will be the first place to go to if you're looking for discounts on the Samsung Galaxy S22. The unlocked version of the 128GB model is still going for its retail price of $700, but you can get up to $525 off by trading in your current smartphone. This drops its price to just $175 if you get a full trade-in value, and that credit can also go toward the Samsung Galaxy S22+, which is regularly priced at $1,000.

Read more