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Apple Watch 2 vs Gear S2 Classic

L

LIVEFRMNYC

macrumors G3
Original poster
Oct 27, 2009
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So I picked up an Apple Watch 2 38mm Space Gray Aluminum today and just wanted to share my comparison with my Gear S2 Classic(non cellular version). This is my first Apple Watch.

I've also owned Android Wear watches in the past.

Apple Watch Series 2 .......

Pros ...

Much more apps and much better app integration. At initial setup, my iPhone apps that were already compatible, auto installed on my watch.

Apps are faster at loading and pulling info from phone

Vibration is much stronger than the Gear S2 or any other Gear and Android Wear watch I've owed.

Can play back Visual Voice mail and read text transcripts.

Switching watch faces is as easy as swiping left or right. No long pressing.

Watch face customization is simply the best on the Apple Watch. Very easy and streamlined.

Digital Crown works much better than I expected.

50 meters water resistance.

Siri is the best voice control on any smartwatch .....PERIOD.

Works well with Apple Maps and Google maps.

Unlocks my Mac

Available Apple Care

Scribble on messages works extremely well



Cons ..

3rd party watch faces and customization is basically non existent. There is not many default watch faces. It's like 16 canvases that you can customize multiple ways.

Wish the digital crown was a little smaller.

The app drawer is pretty time consuming at first. And will continue to be for locating apps that I don't use often.

Proprietary watch bands that will cost you major $$$, unless you buy from a 3rd party.

No default voice memo app that syncs with Voice Memo on the iPhone. WTF APPLE?????
And Siri directs you to the iPhone when asking to take a Voice Memo.

Display is very exposed, no wonder people put cases on it.

No dial pad. Can only call from your watch using recents, contacts, and favorites. But you can dictate a number to Siri from the watch.

Can't play music through the speaker. Bluetooth headset or phone only.

Heart Rate measuring takes much longer compared to the S2 Classic. Both always gave very similar results when I tested them on my wrist at the same time. Also you can't control the intervals on which your heart rate is checked on the Apple Watch.





Gear S2 Classic ..... (and I guess you can add the upcoming S3 for some of the pros and cons)

Pros ...

Design is the absolute best. (yea I know it's preference, but come on now)

The display is one of the best.

Can use standard watch bands.

Rotating Bezel is the best user input .... PERIOD. The Digital Crown has nothing on it.

Best Watch UI. It's one of those user interfaces that gets to the point while still looking great.

Has stand alone cellular versions. (if you're in to that)

Can be used on any Android phone that meets Android version requirements. And will very soon be officially available to use with the iPhone, most likely when the S3 releases.

A ton of 3rd party watch faces. And Samsung's Gear Watch designer for desktop is amazing.

Plenty of watch faces look realistic, which makes your watch not look like a gadget on your wrist.

Works well with HERE Maps.

S-Health integration is great.

Voice memo works excellent and sync flawless with the phone. One of my most used apps.

Stainless Steel is standard even on the regular S2 version.

IP68 water resistance.


Cons ...

Lack of apps and subpar app integration with most phone apps.

Weaker vibration compared to the Apple Watch and some Android Wear watches I've tried.

S-Voice still sucks most of the time.

No integration with Google maps.

Occasionally I struggle with the wrist motion detection.



Conclusion ...

I'm very happy with both the Gear S2 Classic and the Apple Watch 2. But if the Gear S2 Classic had the type of apps and app integration that the Apple Watch 2 has, then the Gear S2 Classic would be the clear winner. But sadly that's a huge if.
 
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I have both the AW (first gen) 42mm SS model and Gear S2 (had both Sport and currently the Classic) and have similar thoughts.
For the Apple Watch (in all jumbled order):
All the stock apps on the AW are very fluid and refined. I really enjoy the fitness application and the UI-- you really do want to complete all the rings.
The new 'Breathe' app is a great reminder to calm down every once in a while.
The inclusion of a speaker on the watch is actually really useful. The non-3G Gear S2 doesn't have a speaker, so you only get vibrations for notifications.
Battery life leaves a lot to be desired-- I could easily get 3.5-4 days on the Gear S2, while I'd struggle to get 2 days on the AW.
I like how I don't have to enter a passcode on the watch if you unlock your iPhone with TouchID. Minor conveniences like these are part of why the Apple experience is so great.
Siri is WAY better than S-Voice. S-Voice is an embarrassment and Samsung needs to integrate Google dictation.
My 2012 iMac doesn't have the necessary Bluetooth LE chip to utilize the Unlock My Mac functionality, which is a bummer. I expected this, since Handoff/Continuity weren't supported either.

For the Gear S2:
I definitely prefer the round face compared to the rectangular face of the AW.
There aren't enough apps for the watch, and the current selection isn't that great.
Apps do not integrate well between the phone and watch. For example, if you wanted to install ESPN, you would need: ESPN app on the phone, ESPN app on the watch, and ESPN watch app for the phone. With the AW, all you needed was the ESPN app on the phone, and to allow the watch to install ESPN on the phone if you so choose. Once again, it's these little refinements that no Android device can really compete with.
The Gear store is hard to navigate, and even looking for watch faces is difficult.
I find myself really only using the watch to check the time, count steps, and dismiss notifications.
S-Voice is really, really bad on this watch. It's SO frustrating to use.
Google Maps does not function on the watch-- with Android Wear you would get turn-by-turn notifications on the watch. The S2 does not support this.


Bottom line-- neither watch is perfect, and although I've dogged on the Gear S2 a lot, I actually prefer it over the AW due to my needs (viewing and dismissing notifications). I much prefer the round watch face over the rectangular face. I wish either watch supported multiple phones per watch.
Personally, If I were to put a price on these watches, I wouldn't pay more than $150 for the Gear S2, and $200 for the AW, give-or-take $50 for each. The watches have a lot of potential but at the end of the day, I think most people are only using it to read their notifications.
 
Ordered the series 2 space black and the thing for me is the fact apps are so much better and it is very fast and guess will be even faster with series 2.

I will try the swimming out on it when i finally get it the end of october.

I love the dock on OS3...perfect for my needs and the only apps i use are in there so it's perfect for that.
 
I agree with most of what you said. Perfect watch for me would be the S2 Classic design and software with AW features, specs, and Apple ecosystem with longer battery life and LTE being the same thickness of the wifi. I really hope that when the S2 Classic classic is compatible with iPhone that it can do imessage too.
 
For all those with the Gear S2, it has been compatible with the iPhone for a while. Only downside is that the app has to remain open in the background on the iPhone. See image:
 

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Fernandez21 said:
Where did you get it? I'm not seeing in the app store.

Or is that the beta mentioned here:
https://www.google.com/amp/www.macr...program-gear-s2/amp/?client=ms-android-att-us

According to that article, it's only available in Korea at the moment.
Click to expand...
Go to link below and download the .ipa file on your pc. Plug phone into pc, start up iTunes and drag file over. You'll now have the app.

And yes, it is a beta but it works fine.

Link: http://www.usp-forum.de/downloads.php?do=file&id=2555
 
So far battery life hasn't been too great on the Apple Watch.

I'm at 37% with 9 1/2 hours. Didn't play around with it much, and left the wrist motion detection off. Anything I can disable for better battery life?

It's only my first full day with it, so hopefully it gets better.
 
LIVEFRMNYC said:
So far battery life hasn't been too great on the Apple Watch.

I'm at 37% with 9 1/2 hours. Didn't play around with it much, and left the wrist motion detection off. Anything I can disable for better battery life?

It's only my first full day with it, so hopefully it gets better.
Click to expand...

Are there specific settings for GPS? That's the only big change from the original version that I would see having a dramatic impact on battery life. Mine has been off the charger since about 7 AM (10.5 hrs so far) and have 74% remaining on mine. I have wrist detection on. Admittedly haven't done much of anything other than deal with notifications all day but I usually put it back on the charger between 12-2 AM and usually have 30-50% remaining, give or take.
 
Lloydbm41 said:
Nope. Worked for me no problem. I've been using my Gear S2 with my iPhone for a couple weeks now without issue. In fact, it works better than the Android Wear app with my Hussein watch.
Click to expand...
I've got the app loaded on my iPhone, but I get this message when I try to launch it.
626d15882c58d86e175f68be7f05fd9f.jpg


How do I fix that?

Edit: never mind, I figured it out.
 
LIVEFRMNYC said:
So far battery life hasn't been too great on the Apple Watch.

I'm at 37% with 9 1/2 hours. Didn't play around with it much, and left the wrist motion detection off. Anything I can disable for better battery life?

It's only my first full day with it, so hopefully it gets better.
Click to expand...

hmm, I think it'll settle in. I have motion detection on and routinely go to bed at night with ~50% battery life left. That's with gen 1 and no GPS, but I couldn't see the series 2 having that much poorer battery life. Maybe give it a few days to settle in.

EDIT: I do have the 42mm which has a bigger battery
 
co.ag.2005 said:
hmm, I think it'll settle in. I have motion detection on and routinely go to bed at night with ~50% battery life left. That's with gen 1 and no GPS, but I couldn't see the series 2 having that much poorer battery life. Maybe give it a few days to settle in.

EDIT: I do have the 42mm which has a bigger battery
Click to expand...

Today is amazing so far ... 4 1/2 hours in and just hit 99%. I did take apps off my dock the day before yesterday and battery seem only slightly improved that day, but again, amazing battery life so far today. Hope it stays that way.
 
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Update: tried the gear s2 with my iPhone over the weekend, but ended up syncing it back with my Note. It worked fine with my iPhone, but remote connection didn't work and that's one of the biggest reasons I wanted a cellular connected watch. And while i got my iMessage notifications, I couldn't reply to them and had to go back to my iPhone.
 
Fernandez21 said:
Update: tried the gear s2 with my iPhone over the weekend, but ended up syncing it back with my Note. It worked fine with my iPhone, but remote connection didn't work and that's one of the biggest reasons I wanted a cellular connected watch. And while i got my iMessage notifications, I couldn't reply to them and had to go back to my iPhone.
Click to expand...

yep, sounds like the same limitations I had when syncing my Android Wear watches to iPhone.
 
co.ag.2005 said:
yep, sounds like the same limitations I had when syncing my Android Wear watches to iPhone.
Click to expand...
Big difference to me between using android wear and gear with my iphone was that with my gear s2 I still had access to the galaxy store, so i was able to get all my apps and watch faces
 
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Not mentioned is the Gear 3 is a standalone watch, phone calls and LTE without the need of a phone. If they put OK Google on it well suck me sideways and take my CC.
 
vikingjunior said:
Not mentioned is the Gear 3 is a standalone watch, phone calls and LTE without the need of a phone. If they put OK Google on it well suck me sideways and take my CC.
Click to expand...
No Google API can run on Tizen OS, so that will be a non-starter. I wish Google Apps could be added, because that would make the Gear S3 the best watch on the planet. I still plan to buy the S3 Frontier to replace my S2, so I'm not dependent on any phone. I think that is going to be the only way to go for the future of smart watches.
 
Zaft said:
Whats the battery life on the Gear with cellular? It cant be good.
Click to expand...
It isn't out yet, so no one knows. Samsung is claiming 3-4 days on the S3 (but that is likely for the non-cellular version). My guess is cut that in half for the LTE variant. Still much better than the new Apple watch.
 
Zaft said:
Whats the battery life on the Gear with cellular? It cant be good.
Click to expand...
If your talking about the S2, it depends on how you use it. The default setting is that when it's connected to Bluetooth it turns off cellular connection to save battery. In this mode, I can get 2 days use, a little better than my Apple watch series 1.

Now I use it with both cellular and GPS always on, in this mode, I can get about 12-14hours use, so if i disconnect in the morning around 7am, it'll be dead around 7-9pm. Of course if I hit it hard it'll be even less than that.
 
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