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- First reviewDecember 4, 2016
- Last reviewMarch 3, 2017
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Kevin's Reviews
The Gear S3 has the esthetics of a truly premium watch with advanced features built right into the watch design. That's why it's so easy and effortless to use the Gear S3. It's also built for you to go days without needing your phone or to recharge. You get to feel free with the Gear S3.
Customer Rating
5
Best smart watch on the market today!
on March 3, 2017
Posted by: Kevin
Okay, I’ve had the Gear S3 (Frontier Bluetooth version) for about a month now and feel like I need to share my opinion on the latest generation wearable from Samsung. Let me start by saying I have had three other smart watches. I have an LG G Watch R, a Samsung Gear 2 and Samsung Gear S. I guess you could say that I’m a bit of a watch fanatic since I have many other non-smart watches I enjoy wearing too, but I digress.
First let me say that I have been a Samsung phone owner for several years. I believe they’ve produced a great phone that competes very well, and generally leads, much of the new innovation for smart phones that we enjoy today. I know that can be a highly debatable statement so I’ll just focus on the Gear S3. The reason I bring this up is because if you want a smart watch to have the best compatibility with your phone you won’t get better than pairing units from the same manufacturer. There will be far less glitches and much greater compatibility.
My first impression is that Samsung spent some time to make a quality timepiece. It looks elegant, as an expensive watch should, and feels solid. I’m sure this will take a beating and keep going however beating a watch is not in my nature, so this is just an assumption based on the impression it get from handling this watch. The Frontier has a nice outdoor rugged look which is why I chose it but that is personal taste. I really went back and forth since I wear a suit most days of the week and I think the Classic would have worked well too.
I love the rubberized band on this watch! Originally I thought I would be changing out the band to get leather or metal with a clasp, but this band has a small amount of give which makes it fit well and is extremely comfortable. If it holds up well (so far so good), I can’t imagine replacing it with anything different even though Samsung has made it very convenient to swap out, if you like.
I’ve owned 2 square/rectangular faced watches and 2 round face watches and I normally would say that you should buy for your own taste, but with the addition of the outside bezel that assists in navigating through options, widgets and menus I’m forced to say the round face on the S3 is the only way to go. It’s amazing how one simple design change could make such a great difference in your experience with a smart watch but Samsung hit it out of the park with the addition of the bezel control. I still use the touch screen quite a bit but it’s nice when you have potato chip fingers, to be able to navigate your way around without messing up the display. Again you can see I’m a fanatic about caring for my watches!
The Tizen OS is quick and clean. I know others have complained about the lack of apps available for this operating system and I have to agree there are nowhere near as many as android but it comes with most of the important apps and I hate cluttering up my devices with a ton of useless apps. Could there be more useful apps available in the future? I hope developers see what Samsung has created here and realize they are committed to the wearable revolution which provides opportunity to market some well-made and useful apps.
The display on this watch is phenomenal! It’s actually a pleasure to stare at this watch which makes it a lot of fun to try and find a watch face you like. By the way, there may not be a ton of apps available but there are plenty of watch faces to choose from. The colors are vibrant and the display is bright, making photos look really nice, although as I get older, I would rather look at much larger pictures, but for those with younger eyes, I promise you’ll be impressed.
The Gear S3 has worked well for my fitness needs! It’s a little heavier than a fitness tracker but for me it provides all the same stats. I’ve never had a problem with it registering my heart rate and the number’s provided for BPM, steps, miles and floors seem quite accurate but I’m not a professional runner and if it were off a few yards over 5 miles I wouldn’t know it nor would I care. To me, all this information provides incentive to work out and motivation to push myself from the last workout. I should mention here that I do have the watch remind me to move if I’ve been sitting at work too long! Now if you want the most accuracy and you’re running outside rather than on a treadmill you’ll be pleased to know it comes with GPS. The only downside is that it takes a few minutes to acquire the satellite signal but that gives you a chance to stretch first.
There’s also room to store music on this watch if you don’t want to carry your phone when you run. It will sync with Bluetooth headset so you can carry your favorite tunes, listen to them without wires while you run and leave your phone at home. The speaker on this thing is remarkable too. Every sound is crystal clear and can be loud if you want. I played some music though the speaker on the watch and it blew me away for such a tiny speaker, however I would recommend a headset for your runs.
The sleep tracking feature worried me a little when I read reviews. What scared me was that people would say the watch would run out of battery by 3 or 4 in the morning. My experience has been completely different, of course I do make some adjustments that may be helping. First I’ve found a watch face that sucks very little battery and in the always on display mode it’s just two red hands (Mickey Face Red). Then I turn on Do Not Disturb, turn the display all the way down and shut off sound and vibrate. I’ve used the sleep tracking app that comes with the watch and I’ve used the Sleep as Andriod app. In fact, I’ve used them both at the same time and never used more than 15% battery on my most wrestles night. I prefer using the Sleep as Android app because it allows the alarm to wake me up with vibration to the watch. Yes, even though I’ve turned off the sound including vibration on the watch when I go to bed, it still allows the alarm from the Sleep as Android to vibrate and wake me up. The vibration of the watch doesn’t wake up my wife on those early mornings!
The battery could last me easy two days with as much as I use it. I know Samsung says 4 days but if you’ve got such a beautiful display and tool on your wrist you’ll want to show it off, so use it. The really cool thing about this watch is the fantastic charging unit that comes with it. There’s no need to plug it in or clamp on a battery. You just set it in the charging stand and it charges up for you fast. I generally take it off for 30–60 minutes in the morning when I’m getting ready for work and 30-60 minutes as I’m getting ready for bed and the thing rarely goes below 75% charge.
One thing that created a little apprehension as I read reviews was the few people that complained about its larger size. I have small wrists which measure at about 7” and it fits well, looks good and is quite comfortable. In fact, I believe the size makes a perfect balance of good looks on the wrist and good for looking at the information on the face. You obviously want to see as much information clearly on the display without making it too bulky on the wrist and it seems like they did a great job with the compromise. My gear S provides plenty of information but seems far more bulky on the wrist.
Lastly let me say that I don’t miss having the LTE capability I have with my Gear S. I rarely took advantage of the standalone phone capabilities and defiantly not enough to justify the extra cost including the monthly fee the service provider charged for the phone number.
In summary, I’m head over hills with the quality, looks and function of the Gear S3. It was easy to set it up, but I’ve had other smart watches so I’ve had a little practice and for the month I’ve owned had it, it has performed well in every aspect. So if you’ve got some dollars burning a hole in your pocket this might be an enjoyable place to spend them! I highly recommend checking this out!
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Enjoy multiple benefits when wearing these Samsung IconX headphones. They double as a fitness tracker to record distance, speed and calories burned, and 4GB of memory lets you store up to 1,000 songs directly on these ear pieces. These Samsung IconX headphones come without wires for ultimate mobility during your workout.
Customer Rating
5
Pretty awesome for working out!
on December 4, 2016
Posted by: Kevin
You'll notice that I gave the IconX a 5 star rating. Please let me explain why! If you're motivated by the way this product is marketed I think you will agree with that rating. However If you have expectations beyond that you may be a little disappointed.
These earbuds are marketed to the crowd that works out regularly and would like to use them without wires interfering in their movement. That could be running, lifting or cycling. Believe me, cycling without the extra wires is wonderful, especially when you have a helmet and glasses on already. It's just one less complication getting in the way and in my opinion the ambient sound feature is mandatory while riding a bike on city streets.
It's true that the charge only last an hour and a half to an hour and forty five minutes if you're streaming but streaming is only one way to enjoy music during your work out. For most of us an hour and a half of strenuous workout is enough but for those that spend more time in the gym you can download your tunes into the buds and use them without the phone, extending the power to about three hours.
Wouldn't it be nice if they lasted two weeks playing them 24/7? I'm sure Tesla owners wish they could drive 2,000 miles on one charge too! In today's reality, if you want small, completely wireless earbuds there are some compromises that have to be made and I think Samsung has done a great job creating a product that fits the marketing.
When I opened the box I was impressed with the quality and look. They feel well made and look classy. You don't look like Frankenstein's twin brother with the bolts coming out of your ears instead of your neck!
The fit is obviously going to be different for every individual but for me I was able to get a very good fit in the beginning which has turned out to be a great fit after time. What I mean is that I wanted a good sound so I made sure the fit was a bit snug and bothered me just a little at first. After a couple of weeks the fit is comfortable. I assume that my ears have gotten used to them because they feel very comfortable now. Also, it never feels like it's going to fall out. They stay in the ears nicely during my workouts. One note, if Samsung is watching, the inclusion of foam tips would not only give better fit to more people but it would also provide awesome bass response with a fit less snug. I know this because I put foam tips on mine as a trial. Even though the tips didn't fit the earbuds perfectly it allowed me the opportunity to test them with foam tips.
Sound quality is as good as any earbud I've used with proper fit and I have used many earbuds. Remember however, that they have been marketed for listening to music while working out. If your intention is to watch video you will be disappointed. There's a lag between video and audio. I tried this on my Samsung 7 and my Surface. If I was watching a Facebook Live I had no problem but a video file or Youtube created an unacceptable lag. Again, this is not how they have been marketed. I don't think these will replace general purpose or High Fidelity headphones. But if you want truly wireless sound while working out I doubt you'll find anything better.
I saw a complaint where someone said that you can't select artists or individual songs if you're playing music just from the earbud and not streaming. Seriously! Just stream it from your phone and live with an hour and a half or create a playlist of your favorite songs to workout with and let it randomly select. You can load about 1,000 songs on the internal storage that will keep new and entertaining music going for three hours. If you'd rather hear the same 30-40 songs then only put that many in the earbuds memory.
The heart rate monitor seemed pretty accurate but again this is coming from earbuds that don't require you to wear a watch or a strap around your chest. I think it's plenty accurate to make comparisons from workout to workout. In my case, it was almost spot on but everyone's ears are different and I've read that others have had poor readings.
The sync from left to right ear sounds perfect. I know that's a problem that many manufactures have had but not with these. Good job Samsung! Another important fact is, I'm using these with a Samsung Galaxy7 phone and I had zero connectivity issues. I can't comment on using them with any other device. There is one complaint! In ambient sound mode with the volume turned down the buds create a little white noise. This may be necessary to amplify the ambient sound to the earbuds or it may be something that can be fixed with an update but if you listen to your music at a moderate level it's not noticeable. I only use ambient sound while biking so you may never deal with that.
All in all I was impressed with these earbuds! I'm sure there will be many more coming to market. Some very cheap, some with connectivity issues and some that make you look like a dork (I think there are some white ones coming out soon called earpods). But today, I don't think there are any better truly wireless earbuds on the market if your needs are how they have been marketed!
These earbuds are marketed to the crowd that works out regularly and would like to use them without wires interfering in their movement. That could be running, lifting or cycling. Believe me, cycling without the extra wires is wonderful, especially when you have a helmet and glasses on already. It's just one less complication getting in the way and in my opinion the ambient sound feature is mandatory while riding a bike on city streets.
It's true that the charge only last an hour and a half to an hour and forty five minutes if you're streaming but streaming is only one way to enjoy music during your work out. For most of us an hour and a half of strenuous workout is enough but for those that spend more time in the gym you can download your tunes into the buds and use them without the phone, extending the power to about three hours.
Wouldn't it be nice if they lasted two weeks playing them 24/7? I'm sure Tesla owners wish they could drive 2,000 miles on one charge too! In today's reality, if you want small, completely wireless earbuds there are some compromises that have to be made and I think Samsung has done a great job creating a product that fits the marketing.
When I opened the box I was impressed with the quality and look. They feel well made and look classy. You don't look like Frankenstein's twin brother with the bolts coming out of your ears instead of your neck!
The fit is obviously going to be different for every individual but for me I was able to get a very good fit in the beginning which has turned out to be a great fit after time. What I mean is that I wanted a good sound so I made sure the fit was a bit snug and bothered me just a little at first. After a couple of weeks the fit is comfortable. I assume that my ears have gotten used to them because they feel very comfortable now. Also, it never feels like it's going to fall out. They stay in the ears nicely during my workouts. One note, if Samsung is watching, the inclusion of foam tips would not only give better fit to more people but it would also provide awesome bass response with a fit less snug. I know this because I put foam tips on mine as a trial. Even though the tips didn't fit the earbuds perfectly it allowed me the opportunity to test them with foam tips.
Sound quality is as good as any earbud I've used with proper fit and I have used many earbuds. Remember however, that they have been marketed for listening to music while working out. If your intention is to watch video you will be disappointed. There's a lag between video and audio. I tried this on my Samsung 7 and my Surface. If I was watching a Facebook Live I had no problem but a video file or Youtube created an unacceptable lag. Again, this is not how they have been marketed. I don't think these will replace general purpose or High Fidelity headphones. But if you want truly wireless sound while working out I doubt you'll find anything better.
I saw a complaint where someone said that you can't select artists or individual songs if you're playing music just from the earbud and not streaming. Seriously! Just stream it from your phone and live with an hour and a half or create a playlist of your favorite songs to workout with and let it randomly select. You can load about 1,000 songs on the internal storage that will keep new and entertaining music going for three hours. If you'd rather hear the same 30-40 songs then only put that many in the earbuds memory.
The heart rate monitor seemed pretty accurate but again this is coming from earbuds that don't require you to wear a watch or a strap around your chest. I think it's plenty accurate to make comparisons from workout to workout. In my case, it was almost spot on but everyone's ears are different and I've read that others have had poor readings.
The sync from left to right ear sounds perfect. I know that's a problem that many manufactures have had but not with these. Good job Samsung! Another important fact is, I'm using these with a Samsung Galaxy7 phone and I had zero connectivity issues. I can't comment on using them with any other device. There is one complaint! In ambient sound mode with the volume turned down the buds create a little white noise. This may be necessary to amplify the ambient sound to the earbuds or it may be something that can be fixed with an update but if you listen to your music at a moderate level it's not noticeable. I only use ambient sound while biking so you may never deal with that.
All in all I was impressed with these earbuds! I'm sure there will be many more coming to market. Some very cheap, some with connectivity issues and some that make you look like a dork (I think there are some white ones coming out soon called earpods). But today, I don't think there are any better truly wireless earbuds on the market if your needs are how they have been marketed!
Mobile Submission: True
I would recommend this to a friend!
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