Samsung Gear S watch review: Will you raise your wrist to make a call?

Last year, Samsung started to take its smartwatch business seriously, and now has six products on the market. Among them, the latest model, Gear S, is not only equipped with a curved screen, but also directly integrates a SIM card slot and data and call functions, which is actually equivalent to a watch-type mobile phone. So, is this direction correct?

Body design: bulky and inconvenient to wear

Big and curvy is the most accurate way to describe the appearance of Samsung Gear S. First of all, it is the largest smartwatch we have ever seen except Neptune Pine. The 2-inch 360*480 pixel curved AMOLED screen is the "culprit", and the thickness is also quite surprising. In terms of wearability, Gear S is not as good as Android Wear models such as Moto 360.

In terms of details, you will find a small microphone and speaker on the back, so the Gear S can make calls directly. In addition, the heart rate sensor, battery contacts and SIM card slot are also integrated on the back, and a special case adapter is required for charging.

Remember the concept design before the release of Apple Watch, which was to shrink the iPhone and wear it on your wrist? In fact, the actual wearing effect of Samsung Gear S is like this. With a physical Home button interface at the bottom, Gear S is like a smaller curved Galaxy S phone.

From left to right: LG G Watch R, Samsung Gear S, Motorola Moto 360

In addition to being large, the biggest problem with the Samsung Gear S is that its design is too avant-garde. Even with a square screen, it doesn't look like a watch like Pebble, but more like a futuristic tool in Star Trek. In short, the Gear S is not suitable for all wearing scenarios.

Actual usage experience: insufficient detail experience and excellent battery life

Gear S uses Samsung's own Tizen system, and its main application forms include Bluetooth connection to mobile phones and completely independent. The former is easy to understand, just like all smart watches, it can be used as a notification device for mobile phones; the other is a completely independent use form, supporting WCDMA 3G and WIFI connection, just like a 3G mobile phone.

This means that you can dial, send text messages, send and receive emails on your wrist, and input text using a nine-square grid or full keyboard. So, do you really need this experience? The answer may be no. For example, when making a call, you need to raise your wrist as close to your ear and mouth as possible, and your arm will be tired after a while; as for typing, the input effect of a 2-inch screen can be imagined, even if Samsung has configured it with a Lenovo error correction input method, the effect is still limited. In addition, you can also browse the web by installing the Opera browser, but why don't you use a mobile phone with a larger screen and more convenient operation?

After wearing it for a while, we found that the biggest problem with Gear S is the problem of "morphological consciousness". Simply put, humans generally have a mainstream morphological consciousness. Although comprehensive devices are already very rich, we still use PCs and keyboards instead of mobile phones to write articles, and use mobile phones to make calls instead of tablets with calling functions. Although Gear S provides complete data and call functions, the problem is that the limitation of the form makes its experience not very good. In the end, you will still miss the call, Internet, and email experience of your mobile phone. In addition, due to the "big and complete" goal of Gear S, its smart watch experience is also affected. For example, with the sleep monitoring function, it is a bit ridiculous to wear a huge Gear S to sleep.

The most surprising part about the Samsung Gear S is the battery life. Compared to Android, the Tizen series is more energy-efficient, and we used it for two full days in testing (including a full night of sleep monitoring) without the battery alarm being low, which is impressive.

Summarize

So in the end, do you need a phone-like smartwatch like Samsung Gear S? At least for now, such devices are not yet mature. Most people may still prefer to use their phones to make calls instead of raising their wrists to their ears and mouths. In addition, it only supports Samsung phones. If you don't mind the unfashionable appearance and are a Samsung user who needs to make calls and check emails at any time, maybe Gear S is useful.

In short, technology is still limited at present, so the product positioning of "watch-type phone" itself is a wrong direction. Less is more, which may be the most important feature of smart watches at present.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.