Samsung Galaxy Watch is a keeper

[jdandy]

My Samsung Galaxy Watch arrived today. First impressions are extremely positive. The black stainless steel body has some weight which makes the watch feel solid and durable. The multi-function rotating bezel is slightly higher than the Gorilla Glass touchscreen, which I am certain will help protect the crystal from being damaged by glancing abrasions and bumps that wristwatches are prone to encounter in daily wear. The AMOLED screen is sensational, bright, clear, with solid blacks and fully saturated colors. Not only are the watch faces highly detailed, the text at all sizes is razor sharp.

Samsung's Exynos 9110 Dual core 1.15GHz processor and Tizen OS 4.0 operating system deliver buttery smooth functions. Pairing the Samsung Galaxy Watch to my Samsung Galaxy S9 phone was quick and easy. Samsung has really done its homework with respect to the way the watch and phone communicate. To make sure I was up to speed on how to operate the watch and take full advantage of its long list of features I downloaded the User Manual a few days ago. Much to my surprise the manual is 102 pages, written clearly, and outlining every feature, how to access them, and how to adjust the various parameters. After refreshing myself with the manual last night I had no problems setting up the watch, adjusting the setting to my personal preferences, and setting up Samsung Pay so I can make use of it at all NFC payment terminals.

I removed the rubbery soft silicon band that comes with the watch. I am not a fan of those types of bands. Perhaps if I worked out, got sweaty, or went swimming regularly while wearing the watch that band would be more realistic. My preference went with a black stainless steel band with latching clasp. The quick release strap pins make swapping bands an easy task. It took me longer to remove the bracelet sections of the stainless band to size it for my wrist than to swap the band. The black stainless band gives the Samsung Galaxy Watch a more refined look, and the black color tone of the band matches perfectly with the black stainless steel watch case.

The watch comes with nine different watch faces preloaded. I downloaded an additional eleven watch faces that appeal to me. Many of the watch faces are customizable, allowing color changes for the face, the hands, and the functions of other watch face small dials. A person could go off the deep end with watch faces if left unrestrained. There are over 60,000 watch faces available. The Galaxy Watch also comes preloaded with a nice assortment of apps, both for function and fitness. Additional apps can be downloaded. I added a currency converter, an altimeter and barometer, and a Celsius to Fahrenheit app. I am unlikely to make use of the fitness tracking functions, but I do like the step counter, stairs climbed, heart rate sensor, and estimated calories burned per day.

I like the Always On display. It allows the watch face to dim and change colors when your wrist moves about or is suspended, yet when you move your arm to the normal position for viewing the watch the dial illuminates fully, and the time it remains full brightness before dimming is controlled in the Setting Menu. There are so many useful features available in the Samsung Galaxy Watch it will take some time to learn the best way to get the most out of them, but suffice it to say I am impressed with this watch. It is a real watch that offers so much more right on your wrist.

Earlier this evening I was in the kitchen when Pete (Vintage Pete) sent me a text message. My phone was on the desk in my office, so I would not have seen the message for some period of time. Instead, my watch vibrated softly to notify me I had a text message. One swipe on the screen and I was reading the text. I responded by tapping the microphone icon and spoke my response. The Samsung Galaxy Watch converted my speech to text and I tapped the send icon, all right from the watch. How cool is that. The same is true should I receive a call. My watch will ring or vibrate, or ring and vibrate to let me know there is an incoming call. One tap on the answer icon and I can take the call right from my watch even with my cellphone in another room or in my pocket. I haven't tested the distance of the Bluetooth transmission capabilities but I do know it works from the kitchen to my office.

I selected the 42mm size watch, versus the 46mm size. I would have preferred the larger battery installed in the 46mm watch, but the size made it too large for my wrist size. I can always extend battery life by turning off the Always On display, GPS, and heart monitoring, but quite honestly why would I want to do that. I don't mind dropping the watch on the tiny charger at night, even if it doesn't necessarily need it. The 42mm size is perfect and the screen size only gives up 0.1 inch to the 46mm model so I still have plenty of room for my fingers to navigate the touchscreen. All in all I am quite pleased with the Samsung Galaxy Watch, and I suspect it may cause my other watches to linger in the darkness of a drawer keeping each other company, perhaps seeing the light of day for a particular occasion. As it stands right now I am enthusiastic about wearing the Galaxy watch. It is comfortable and I have no issue with long sleeved cuffs fitting over it. So far this watch is everything I had hoped it would be and considerably more. I think I made a good choice for my first smart watch.

The photos below shows a watch face at full brightness and then dimmed in the Always On setting. The other photo shows the watch thickness along with the black stainless steel band I added.

[joeinid]

Looks awesome Dan!

[jdandy]

Joe.......Thanks. I think so, too. It has always been a prime criteria that if I ever purchased a smart watch it had to look like a watch, not something that looks like it came out of a Cracker Jack box. I don't want to wear anything that looks like a toy. There are so many beautiful watch faces available to make the Samsung Galaxy Watch look like nearly any watch, including many watch faces for Breitling, Rolex, Tag Heuer, Omega, Ferrari, and many other fine watches. In addition, the quick release watch bands allow an owner to tailor the Galaxy watch band to nearly any wardrobe. This is a very cool watch. The whole package, the 42mm Samsung Galaxy watch in black, along with the black stainless steel band came to $314.44 including tax and free Amazon Prime shipping. If you ask me, that's a good deal

[CPP]

Dan awesome looking watch. Have fun.

[Sean]

Glad to hear it, Dan. We are an Apple house and don’t have smart watches so I am unfamiliar but we got a Galaxy one for Christine’s Dad for Christmas so this is reassuring to read. Enjoy it!


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[Oly]

Nice looking watch, Dan. Rumor has it that a smart watch increases one’s IQ by 10 points.

[jdandy]

Nice looking watch, Dan. Rumor has it that a smart watch increases one’s IQ by 10 points.

Oly.......I was hoping for 20.

[Oly]

In that case, you might consider buying a second watch to wear on your other wrist.

[jdandy]

I put the Galaxy Watch on my wrist and instantly smiled. I am already sensing a preference for wearing the smart watch. I like getting notification and emails on my watch when I am around the house but away from my phone. This morning I changed the watch face just for fun.

[Dizzie]

Dan,

Glad you like your new watch. Technology moves faster than I can keep up.

From your other thread about the Galaxy watch, the black SS band was definitely sharp looking and completed the package.

[jdandy]

Some follow up on battery life. Yesterday was my first day with the Samsung Galaxy Watch. Between setting it up, checking out every feature, and using the Always On display setting all day allowing the watch face to show (albeit dimmed), after 13 hours of nearly continuous use the battery display showed 49% remaining charge. That means I can generally expect to get two days use from a full charge under the conditions I put the watch through yesterday. I was surprised I had that much reserve power because I literally played with the watch all day. I placed the watch on the charger before going to bed.

This morning with a full charge I decided to see how much battery the Galaxy Watch would consume with the Always On display turned off, the GPS turned off, and only using the notifications app for email and text messages, although I did play with a couple of apps for a few minutes during the course of the day. I left the step monitor, heart rate monitor, and stair climbing monitor on. I checked the time several times an hour by moving my arm to the viewing angle that triggers the display, and observed that the display went dark as soon as I lowered my arm. After 13 hours of wearing the watch today my battery display shows I have 74% remaining charge. This means that I will typically be able to get approximately 4 days use from the watch before the battery is drained.

It is very unlikely that I will ever let the Samsung Galaxy Watch battery run down completely, but it is good to know that with a few battery savings settings I can extend the run time between charging by nearly double, from 2 days to 4 days. Tomorrow I will turn the Always On display back on because I like to see the display lit, even in the dimmed mode until I raise my arm. Being home and near the charger means I don't have to be concerned about running out of power. I will simply place the watch on the charger at night while I sleep and the Galaxy Watch will be ready for the next day's use and then some. I've got to say, I'm digging this smart watch.

[jdandy]

Today's watch face. .





...and dimmed in the Always On setting.




The AMOLED display uses no power to display black, hence the white is turned off and the remaining display shows green without the second hand being visible. Raising my arm to view the watch face turns on the full display until I lower my arm. Gotta tell you, this watch makes me smile.

[Oly]

Battery life is quite impressive; particularly when compared to the competition from Cupertino.