Samsung’s Gear S2 is the best-looking smartwatch it’s ever made with a rotating bezel and Samsung Pay.
Samsung used to struggle with design, but ever since the Galaxy S6 came out with its lovely metal frame and shimmering glass back, it’s been on a roll. The Gear S2 and Gear S2 Classic are Samsung’s first smartwatches in 2015, and both feature an attractive, round design that looks a lot more like a normal wristwatch than its half dozen previous Gear devices.
Both models sport a wild rotating bezel, which twists and turns to help you navigate Tizen OS on the smartwatch. In true Samsung fashion, the Gear S2 comes in an option with 3G connectivity, too, but we didn’t get to see that one. Samsung showed off both the regular Gear S2 and the Classic at an event in New York, and impressed us.
After a hands on with the Gear S2, it became clear that the coolest thing about the Gear S2 isn’t its sleek design, but rather its innovative interface. Samsung built the entire interface around the rotating bezel, so you use it at every turn. The rotating bezel revolutionizes the way you use the smartwatch, and it offers a finer degree of control than you can get with your fingers alone.
Here are our impressions of Samsung’s first round smartwatch, the Gear S2.
Two sleek designs
Have no fear — Samsung designed a gorgeous smartwatch this year. After years of struggling with style, Samsung has vanquished that dragon. The Gear S2 and Classic are sleek, stylish, and cool looking. Although the two Gears S2 models do skew male, it’s something that could easily change to accommodate women’s tastes. Samsung got the sizing of the watch face right, which is the most important part.
The only differences between the Gear S2 and the Classic are the materials Samsung used to make them. The Gear S2 is more sporty with its silicon straps and minimalistic casing. It looks cool in both the dark gray and silver and white color combinations. You could argue that the white and silver color palette is more feminine, but that’s not necessarily so — both versions looks decidedly unisex and sporty.
The bands come in large and small sizes to accommodate any wrist size. The large strap was a bit bulky on my slim wrist, which was hardly surprising — there hasn’t been a smartwatch yet that hasn’t looked like a bad 1980s science fiction movie gadget on my wrist. The Gear S2’s screen is the perfect size for smaller wrists, though the large band was loose on my slender wrist. We weren’t able to try any smaller bands, but Samsung assured me they’d fit better. The watch casing curves gracefully to match your wrist’s shape, and it felt very comfortable to wear, even with the oversized band.
The rotating bezel on the regular Gear S2 is inconspicuous — you don’t even realize it’s there until you start twisting it. The bezel moves smoothly and clicks to let you know how far you’ve jumped in the interface. Two buttons on the side of the watch turn it on and function as back buttons to help you navigate easily. Overall, the Gear S2 is a really cool, sporty wristwatch that wouldn’t look out of place in the gym at all.
Of course, not everyone wants a sporty watch, and Samsung’s Gear S2 Classic looks like the kind of suave wristwatch a business man would wear. The casing and bezel are made of 36l Stainless Steel that’s been coated with a slick dark finish. A textured ring surround the rotating bezel, and looks like an actual gear.
Samsung also created a sophisticated leather strap for the Classic, which meets the 20mm standard, so you can add your own watch strap if you dislike Samsung’s option. The leather strap feels premium and looks sharp on the wrist. I found the Gear S2 Classic much more comfortable to wear than the sportier model. In the end, it comes down to personal style, and the two models are really quite comparable in terms of size and fit.
The Gear S2 and Classic are the best-looking Samsung smartwatches you can buy. They’re lightyears ahead of previous Gear watches, but Huawei, LG, and Motorola also offer classy options that may look more professional in our eyes — as long as you don’t mind bulky watches. On a bright note, Samsung did get the sizing right with the Gear S2 and Classic, though. Neither is too big or bulky, even for small wrists. That’s mostly thanks to the smaller 1.2-inch screen.
Even though the Gear S2 and Classic are smaller than most smartwatches out there, they still skew male in terms of looks. Samsung may have put the Gear S2 on models’ wrists, but that won’t woo women away from more female-focused wearables like the Apple Watch or new Moto 360. However, new bands and a different color option for the Classic’s casing could sway some ladies.
Awesome rotating Bezel and Tizen
Samsung’s rotating bezel is a stroke of pure genius. Smartwatch screens are too small to navigate with index fingers. Google knows this — that’s why Android Wear is all swiping and voice controls. Apple knows this, too, hence the digital crown, which zooms into apps and scrolls. As effective as these other solutions may be, Samsung has got it figured out. The rotating bezel offers refined control and matches the round shape of the smartwatch screen, so navigating the interface is intuitive.
Samsung’s rotating bezel is a stroke of pure genius.
It’s the most innovative and cool smartwatch interface we’ve tried. Samsung built it from the ground up to work with the rotating bezel. The entire interface is circular and behaves like a clock. You twist from 12 to 1 and so on as you skip around the interface. You can even go counterclockwise to bring up other options. Here’s how it works:
You control the Gear S2 with taps and twists. From the main screen of the watch, a twist to the right brings up widgets of different apps like weather, fitness, music, and more. It’s an awful lot like Glances on the Apple Watch, and it’s an excellent place to keep your favorite or most-used apps. Conversely, a swipe to the left brings up your notifications. Each notification is its own circular screen, which could get cluttered if you receive notifications from a lot of apps.
The bezel also lets you zoom in on certain apps, and you can navigate through all the app menus using the dial, as well. This is particularly nifty because the app menus are set up like a clock. Along the edge of the circle, you’ll see all the tiny app icons, which would be neigh impossible to swipe through with your fingers. As you twist the bezel, you move from app to app. Then, you can select the one you want. It’s easy to twist through the app menus at a rapid pace and get to the one you want. The clicking of the gears makes it easy to tell how far you’ve gone, too, so if you only need to move to the first app in the list, you have that level of control.
Samsung optimized its Tizen operating system to work with the rotating bezel, and it runs smoothly. Developers have had a while to play with it, and Samsung says that 1,000+ apps are optimized for the rotating bezel and run natively on the watch. Apps include Uber, WSJ, CNN, eBay, Yelp, and more. An SDK is available for other app developers, and Samsung expects to see many more rotary apps out soon. In comparison, Android Wear has 4,000+ apps and Apple’s Watch had 3,500+ at last count in April. Although it’s running behind in terms of app selection, Samsung should catch up quickly.
Samsung also surprised us with news that the Gear S2 will work with any Android phone running
Strong specs and Samsung Pay
Inside that rotating bezel is a 1.2-inch circular AMOLED screen with a 360 x 360 pixel resolution, which amounts to a pixel density of 302ppi (pixels per inch). For a smartwatch, that’s a decently high resolution, and it looks crisp and bright in person. Only the Huawei watch has more pixels. The S2 is powered by a 1GHz dual-core processor and 512MB of RAM, which is pretty standard this year; it seemed pretty zippy in our brief hands on. The watch also comes with 4GB of storage for offline music and other files.
Samsung Pay could be the killer app that sways Android Wear users.
Just like every other wearable, the Gear S2 connects to your phone via Bluetooth, but it also has built-in Wi-Fi and NFC. It’ll work with Samsung Pay as long as you’re using a Samsung smartphone. You can even pay for things with the Gear S2 sans
A slew of sensors — including an accelerometer, gyroscope, heart rate, ambient light, and barometer — all ensure that the Gear S2 tracks your activity with as much accuracy as possible. To encourage Gear S2 users to move around more, Samsung added new activity features to the smartwatch, including a 24-hour activity log that shows you daily activity progress and patterns. Much like the Apple Watch, the Gear S2 will send reminders to motivate users to meet their goals.
The Gear S2 and Classic without 3G connectivity contain 250mAh batteries, which Samsung claims last 2-3 days. Both charge wirelessly via a charging dock. We’ll keep you updated on just how long the watch lasts.
Conclusion
Samsung’s latest smartwatch is the best one it’s ever made. The design, rotating bezel, and Samsung Pay make it stand out in a sea of smartwatches. Thanks to mobile payments and a cool interface, it’s truly unique — not just another “me too!” round smartwatch.
Samsung still has a ways to go in terms of accommodating a variety of styles (especially some for women), but that could be remedied with some cool strap options and an alternative casing for the Classic. With smartwatches, variety is even more important than it is with any other device. Samsung will get there … it’s got the most important pieces down: functionality and innovation. Look out for our full review!
Highs
- Supports Samsung Pay
- Rotating Bezel is useful
- Sleek round watch design
Lows
- Samsung Pay only works when paired with samsung phones
- Design isn’t for everyone
- App support is limited
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