Review of Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2: smart and sports watches now with touch bezel

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At the beginning of 2019, Samsung supplemented its line of “smart” watches with the Galaxy Watch Active model. They differed from the current ones.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 42 and 46 mm lowercost, compact size, lack of a mechanical bezel and some functions. In August, the company released the second generation of the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2, which is a kind of mixture of the wider functionality of older models and the minimalistic design of the first Galaxy Watch Active. Of course, there are a number of constructive and functional innovations, plus now two sizes are available instead of one: 40 and 44 mm. We have already managed to use the larger model and are ready to talk about it.

What is interesting Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 and how are they different from the first generation?
What is in the box?
What does the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 look like?
What about the screen and hardware stuffing?
What about charging and battery?
What with interface and features?
In the dry residue

What is interesting Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 and how are they different from the first generation?

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Briefly about the main differences between the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 from the first generation:

updated design with a thinner border around the screen;
two sizes: 40 and 44 mm with screens 1.2 and 1.4 inches respectively (the predecessor had 1.1 inches);
a rotary bezel returned, but in this case a touch bezel with tactile feedback;
there was a speaker and a microphone, now it is possible to answer calls directly using the clock;
increased battery capacity;
ECG function appeared (so far only “on paper”).

Now about the features of Galaxy Watch Active 2 44mm They are equipped with a round display with a diagonal of 1.4 inches and a resolution of 360x360. SuperAMOLED matrix is used, there is Always on Display function, the screen is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass DX +. The watch’s perimeter is touch-sensitive and can be used as a rotary bezel. For convenience, there is a tactile feedback when triggered. The case of the gadget is protected from dust and water according to IP68 and MIL-STD-810G standards and can withstand a pressure of 5 ATM, which allows them to take a shower and swim. The internals are similar to previous models: the 10-nanometer dual-core Exynos 9110 processor at 1.15 GHz, 768 MB of RAM and 4 GB of internal memory. There is a heart rate sensor, accelerometer, barometer, gyroscope, GPS module, a light sensor for auto-adjusting brightness and an ECG sensor (but only hardware). Firmware is able to measure everything that relies on a similar device, starting with steps and ending with the pulse and tracking sleep phases. The OS used is Wearable OS 4.0 based on Tizen. The watch has a microphone and speaker for answering calls and communicating with Bixby, and thanks to the built-in memory and the Bluetooth module, the watch can be connected to wireless headphones and used as a player. There is Wi-Fi and NFC. The battery capacity has increased, they promise more than 60 hours of operation, although it is not specified in which mode.

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What is in the box?

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Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 come in a small white cardboard box with a picture of a watch. The set includes a watch, a wireless charger with a magnetic lock and documentation.

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What does the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 look like?

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Externally and on materials used by SamsungGalaxy Watch Active 2 is similar to the previous generation: minimalistic design, streamlined shapes, a round screen and a protective glass with rounded edges on the entire front panel and metal case. But the dimensions have become a little larger. Although this applies to the 44 mm version that we are reviewing, the 40 mm version has remained almost the same. At the same time, the screen has become larger, and the frame around is thinner. Plus, now it can be used as a touch bezel with tactile feedback.

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On the right are two physical buttons. The upper oblong - “back” has become a little larger, the bottom - “home / food” - round. Between them is a small microphone hole.

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Hole at the top of the watch - atmospheric pressure sensor:

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Two more slots appeared on the side. This is the same speaker. It can be used for talking directly with the help of watches and for playing sports. Through this speaker, the Galaxy Watch Active 2 talks about what and how to do when choosing different exercises. Of course, the function can not be used.

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The back panel has changed significantly.a large optical heart rate sensor and (apparently) electrodes for ECG. But about this point it is worth saying a little more. At the time of testing the function of the electrocardiogram in the watch was not. For its implementation, it is necessary to obtain certification in the relevant medical authorities. And this, I suspect, is not an easy task. But from a technical point of view, Galaxy Watch Active 2 can:

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The strap is removable, standard 20 mm, with a spring-loaded mount. They are already on sale and can be replaced if worn. Or just if you wanted a brighter color:

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The strap and clasp are like the predecessor. Design with a “tongue” and a hole in the other half. The strap is made of pleasant soft silicone. The more expensive version of the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 stainless steel comes with a leather strap.

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The overall style of the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2similar to the first generation, but there are some changes and they are positive. Firstly, the screen has become larger, and the frame around the perimeter is smaller. And secondly, now there are two size options to choose from: 40 and 44 mm, apparently with an eye on female and male audiences. In any case, the choice is good. According to materials and assembly, traditionally, everything is fine. The watch is protected from dust, water and other adverse external influences according to IP68 and MIL-STD-810G standards and can withstand a pressure of 5 ATM. They can take a shower and swim in the pool or a shallow pond, there will be no problems. But for deeper diving or diving, they will not work.

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What about the screen and hardware stuffing?

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Screen Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 hasdiagonal of 1.4 inches, the resolution remains the same: 360x360. And it is quite enough with this display size. There are no complaints about the most used Super AMOLED matrix: both picture quality and brightness reserve are pleasing. The clock was used even if there were more sunny days and there were no problems with readability. Function Always on Display, of course, is present. Another control has been added to the buttons and the touch screen - the touch bezel. There were doubts about him. But, fortunately, they did not materialize: addiction occurs literally in the evening. Plus there is a tactile feedback, which creates a feeling of a kind of virtual “cutoffs”. Interestingly, in earlier firmware, the touch bezel was turned off by default, it was necessary to climb into the settings. Later, with one of the updates, the company decided to enable it by default.

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Inside Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 installedall the same dual-core 10-nm processor Exynos 9110 with a clock frequency of 1.15 GHz, 768 MB of RAM and 4 GB of internal. All this was used back in the Samsung Galaxy Watch, so the filling is familiar. And this is quite logical: there are no problems with speed, smooth operation of the interface or applications. The watch works on Tizen with the Wearable OS shell. There are practically no changes in sensors and wireless interfaces: heart rate monitor, accelerometer, barometer, gyroscope, light sensor, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and NFC. As usual, you won’t be able to use the watch in Ukraine for payment: Samsung Pay does not work for us, and Google Pay is not supported for hours. To determine the location, a module with support for GPS, Glonass, Beidou, Galileo positioning systems is used. Of the differences, only Bluetooth is worth mentioning: instead of 4.2, now is 5.0. The watch can be used together with the headset as a music player, from the innovations - the aforementioned ability to answer calls directly from the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2.

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What about charging and battery?

The 44mm version of the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2uses a 340 mAh battery. The gadget is traditionally charged from wireless charging in the form of a small disk with magnetic lock in the desired position.

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In a very active mode of use, the watchconfidently live 2 days. This is constant heart rate monitoring, Always on Display, GPS tracking when auto-detecting fast walking and running, training in the gym with tracking and recording of all exercises. Plus, of course, all notifications from a smartphone. By disabling Always on Display, you can significantly increase the battery life, up to about 4 days. In general, this is not so much (compared to some fitness trackers). But, given the set of features and capabilities, it’s quite normal. For emergency cases there is an energy saving mode.

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What with interface and features?

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Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 runs on OSTizen 4.0.0.7 with OneUI Watch 1.5. In general, the interface is not much different from what we saw in the Galaxy Watch Active. Minimum differences, they are mostly visual: new dials, redrawn widgets and updated animations.

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The dials can be customized: change the color palette, the displayed information, and so on. Of the new chips, it became possible to take a photo of your clothes on a smartphone, and the watch will automatically select a dial for the color / style of the owner’s clothing.

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As before, the clock interface consists of a curtainsettings, a notification screen, application menus and widget screens, which you can sort as you wish. There is a manager of running applications. Of the innovations - the second option appeared displaying all applications in a vertical list (in addition to the usual circular placement). In addition to fitness applications, there is a music player, weather forecast, alarm clock, reminder, smartphone search application, gallery, baro altimeter, call and message applications, Bixby, Spotify, and finally a “native” application for remote control of the smartphone’s camera has appeared. It is possible to reply to messages directly from the watch with a template, using the virtual keyboard, a predefined answer, or dictate using the built-in microphone. There are third-party applications, including Here Maps, Workout Trainer, Under Armor, Uber, Uklon, New Mail, Portmone, browsers, YouTube client:

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A watch can do everything you need to know how to do it.device: take steps, record the route, track the amount and quality of sleep, heart rate, stress level and training. You can manually record the amount of water and coffee drunk. Part of sports exercises are determined and tracked automatically (brisk walking, running and other cardio loads). Exercises in the gym - manually. There are no particular complaints about the quality of tracking: the error in measuring the heart rate is about 3-4%.

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The native application for sports is veryfunctional. It “knows” most exercises and activities, including simulators. Allows you to record completely your sports activities, including the number of approaches, repetitions and heart rate with everything. And the speaker allowed to add also a voice “trainer”.

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To pair with a smartphone and set up SamsungGalaxy Watch Active 2 uses the Samsung Wearable app. It allows you to update firmware, configure dials, notifications, edit the order of widgets, send music to your watch, and so on:

S Health app collects all information aboutsports activity and indicators of pulse, sleep and other things. In it, all this information is more conveniently organized and visual. The ability to connect various third-party devices is definitely useful to someone. For example, a glucometer or “smart” scales, up to Xiaomi:

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In the dry residue

Compared to the first generation, Samsung GalaxyWatch Active 2 received a number of important improvements: it is a larger screen and a smaller frame around the perimeter from it, a touch bezel, a speaker and which allows you to answer calls. Plus now there are two sizes to choose from and autonomy has become larger (although I can only say about the 44 mm version). The rest is a very functional smartwatch with a bunch of fitness features, additional useful features like a built-in player, maps, and the ability to reply to messages. Galaxy Watch Active 2 is equipped with an excellent display, a very nice stylish design and a quick, comfortable shell. Perhaps, only the contactless payment option is missing. And while it seems that it is not expected: there is no news on Samsung Pay in Ukraine yet. And one more thing - autonomy has increased, but it is still not a strong place if you use all the available features.

5 reasons to buy Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2:

excellent AMOLED display;
the presence of all the necessary sensors, wireless interfaces and a GPS module;
an abundance of sports and additional features;
dust and water protection;
high-quality materials, assembly and stylish appearance.

2 reasons not to buy Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2:

there is no possibility of contactless payment;
you need a gadget with a long battery life.

Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2

Smart watch with an AMOLED display, Exynos 9110 processor, 768 MB RAM, 4 GB ROM, ECG sensor, IP68 water protection, with a touch bezel and on the Tizen operating system

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