Galaxy Watch review: A fitness tracker, but not the best-looking smartwatch

The Galaxy Watch needs a sparring partner. It's just a digital watch otherwise

The Samsung Galaxy Watch is like having a hyperactive sibling who demands your constant attention. And once you have developed a bond, it will nudge you to stay invested. 

The watch is comfortable to strap on. But unlike most others, it won’t let you forget it. It tells you the date and time with a flick of the wrist and tracks your activity, heart rate and stress levels when you are not looking. So when it finds you sitting at your desk for over an hour, it will prompt you to do a set of torso twists.

Design

The round dial, with its rotating bezels, sits pretty on broad wrists. In two sizes, 42 and 46 mm, this chunky watch does not have a smaller cousin. This, despite the fact that the Galaxy Watch is compatible with iOS devices — even as the Apple Watch has no love for Android phones — is going to push people to look for sleeker options. It is designed such to accommodate the 1.2- and 1.3-inch Super AMOLED displays. 

The Midnight Black and the Rose Gold options in 42 mm are nothing more than conciliatory for thin writs. And its standard watch faces are a royal disappointment. You can download more, but none of them emulate a serious watch.

Performance

The accelerometers, in my experience, have an accuracy of over 80 per cent. The watch can differentiate walking from jogging or running. You also have the option of manually entering a host of workout modes, such as treadmill, crunches and even specific weightlifting exercises, to know the time spent and the calories burnt. Your heart rate is constantly monitored unless you choose otherwise. The watch is also shockproof and water resistant up to a depth of 50 metres for swimming.

The bezels move in neat clicks. Moving it clockwise gives widget shortcuts, and anti-clockwise displays phone notifications. It’s quite a companion of an Android phone, which can be connected via Bluetooth, NFC and Wi-Fi. You will hardly have to pull out your phone to check notifications: emails, WhatsApp and messages can all be answered, albeit in brief. Typing out details using the on-screen keyboard is awfully cumbersome.

Most of its 4GB space is utilised by the Tizen-based OS and only 1.5 GB of it is available for storage. You can use it to store music, which can be transferred wirelessly from your phone, connect your watch with a pair of Bluetooth earphones and skip taking your phone to the gym or for a run. I found this to be its best use case. Also, its speaker is loud enough for taking calls or listening to music in quiet surroundings.

The Samsung Health app suite covers almost everything health and fitness that the watch can measure. But the support for external apps is limited. Even Google Maps navigation on the watch is a paid app. 

Its top quality, above Apple and other smartwatches, however, is its battery life. The 46 mm one can run for at least three days on full use and over a week on limited use.

Verdict

It all boils down to how much one is willing to be indulged. For Rs 29,990, it’s a fitness tracker, a coach and a playmate, but not the best-looking smartwatch out there.