Samsung Galaxy Watch Active Review: Stylish, Sporty and Functional

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In early 2019, Samsung introduced its flagship smartphones 10th anniversary line. Of course, all the attention

the public was riveted to them, but the noveltiesOn smartphones are not over, the company presented the new fitness bracelets Galaxy Fit and Fit and the smart watch Galaxy Watch Active. They complement the existing line and appear in a slightly different category, in contrast to the Samsung Galaxy Watch 42 and 46 mm, which have not lost their relevance. Galaxy Watch Active received a lower price tag, a different design and slightly different function. Let's try to figure out what happened as a result and who would fit such a smart watch.

How are they interesting and how do they differ from previous models?

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Galaxy Watch Active differ significantly in terms ofdesign, size and design from older brothers. The screen is still round, but the diagonal has decreased to 1.1 inches, while maintaining the resolution of 360x360, the SuperAMOLED matrix and the Always on Display function. The hull is still protected from dust and water by IP68 and MIL-STD-810G standards and can withstand a pressure of 5 ATM, that is, to wash in them - without problems, to swim - within reasonable limits. Hardware all close to the models of Samsung Galaxy Watch: the same 10-nanometer dual-core Exynos 9110 processor at 1.15 GHz, 768 MB of RAM and 4 GB of internal memory. The user has a heart rate sensor, an accelerometer, a barometer, a gyroscope, a GPS module, and a light sensor for auto-adjusting brightness. Of course, this is all good is used for the abundance of proprietary software with monitoring of the state of the pulse, stress, sleep, tracking of all sorts of physical exertion both in automatic and manual mode. Wearable OS 4.0 based on Tizen is used as the OS, Bixby voice assistant is supported. There is a microphone in the clock, but they decided to remove the speaker, so for the conversations you will have to take a smartphone, and the microphone is useful for voice commands. There are wireless modules Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and NFC, which in this case is useful only for quick pairing. Samsung Pay does not launch the company in Ukraine, but it also does not want to implement Google Pay support. Battery capacity has decreased to 230 mAh. They promise 15 hours at maximum load (classes on the street with constant GPS operation) and 90 hours in the most gentle mode.

What is in the box?

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Samsung Galaxy Watch Active shipped inA small white cardboard box with a picture of a clock. Includes only the most necessary: the watch itself, a wireless charger with a magnetic retainer and a half set of straps. One part with a clasp and two additional parts of different lengths on a different wrist.

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What is the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active?

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Samsung Galaxy Watch Active became noticeably smallerand lighter than their older neighbors in the lineup. Now this is a very compact round-shaped gadget with a rounded protective glass and edges. Visually, this is still a clock (and not a fitness tracker) due to the round display. But the design has become very minimalistic, and the bezel is completely absent. So they feel more “unisex”, and not as a typically male model. The body is metal, the weight without a strap is only 25 g, so they don’t interfere at all on the hand.

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The watch has lost the bezel, so nowThe control responds only the touch screen and two buttons on the right side. It is more convenient with the bezel, but it is also quite adequate. Upper - “back”, lower - “home / food”. They are interestingly made: the top with a matte surface and glossy trim, the bottom - on the contrary:

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Two holes are visible at the top of the watch: this is an atmospheric pressure sensor and a microphone:

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On the rear panel is a large optical heart rate sensor. Apparently, similar to those installed in the Samsung Galaxy Watch 42 and 46. Above it is a small hole to reduce pressure:

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The strap is removable, standard 20 mm, so you canwill easily pick replaceable. Fastened as before, using a spring mechanism. Both the watch and the strap were of the most classic black color. There are already enough variants of silicone straps on sale in different colors, both flat and with longitudinal relief:

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The clasp is practically unremarkable,The standard “tongue” design, but the end of the strap is hidden through the hole under the other half. There were no questions for the complete strap: it is soft and comfortable:

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Samsung Galaxy Watch Active outwardly turned outuniversal option that is suitable for both men and women. Explicit sex is not, although a matter of taste. I still like the models massively and with the bezel: they are more reminiscent of the classics.

What about the screen and hardware stuffing?

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Screen Samsung Galaxy Watch Active has a diagonal1.1 inches and 360x360 resolution. For older models, the resolution is similar, but the diagonal is 1.2 and 1.3 inches. The frame around the perimeter is very tangible, but with respect to the clock this can not be called a disadvantage. And if you use the black background of the main screen, then it is quite aesthetically “merged” with the screen. The entire front panel is covered with protective glass with rounded edges and a very good oleophobic coating. The display itself is of excellent quality, with maximum viewing angles and rich colors. The stock of brightness is sufficient: the picture fades in the sun, but the information remains readable. There is an auto brightness and Always on Display:

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The insides of the Samsung Galaxy Watch Activesimilar to the older Galaxy Watch: a dual-core 10-nm Exynos 9110 processor with a clock frequency of 1.15 GHz, 768 MB of RAM and 4 GB of internal memory. Wearable OS 4.0 (Tizen variation) is not too gluttonous and there are no slow downs or glitches, the interface and applications work smoothly. Some of the internal storage is occupied by the OS and applications, out of the box is free about 1.5 GB where you can upload pictures or music for classes. The watch can be used as a player with a Bluetooth-headset. Of the sensors are: heart rate monitor, accelerometer, barometer, gyroscope and light sensor, wireless interfaces: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2 and NFC. Support for Google Pay is still not delivered, and Samsung Pay is not launched, so it will not work for hours. And it does not seem that this will change anytime soon. To determine the location, a module is used that supports GPS, Glonass, Beidou, Galileo positioning systems.

What about charging and battery?

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Samsung Galaxy Watch Active recharged fromwireless storage device. It is made in the form of a small disk with a magnet and a fixed cable. Qi standard is used, so theoretically they can be charged from third-party charges. Or from the S10 smartphones, of course.

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The watch is equipped with a 230 mAh battery. The battery life of smart watches is always difficult to assess somehow unequivocally. It very much depends on the usage scenario and can vary from literally a couple of hours (for example, classes with constant GPS tracking, heart rate, maximum brightness, playing music in headphones and so on) to about 3 days with the wireless interfaces turned off except GPS and very gentle use in general. I had an average of 1.5 days. This is a constant pulse tracking, Always on Display at low brightness, GPS only when auto-detecting brisk walking, notifications, and one workout with several exercises recorded.

What with interface and features?

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Samsung Galaxy Watch is powered by Tizen updated version 4.0.0.3. All this we have already seen in the Samsung Galaxy Watch. There are a lot of options for dials with customization and various output data.

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A set of widgets that you can drag onas you wish, a separate menu with all applications and a dispatcher, in which you can close all open applications at once. From the new notice, perhaps, only the notice on the home screen (dial). They are caused by a bottom-up movement and display a change in the weather, or, for example, a notice of stress and recommendations for breathing exercises.

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In terms of fitness features, in the Samsung GalaxyWatch Active has everything you need: counting steps, including the route, tracking sleep, heart rate, stress levels, workouts. Some cardio exercises are tracked automatically. Power - you need to turn on your own, but the number of repetitions is considered to be correct, while the clock monitors the level of the pulse. And notify by vibration if it is above the permissible value. All this is recorded in the log. You can also manually record the amount of water you drink and coffee. I didn’t have any complaints about the accuracy of tracking. Steps, stress (yes, I was not mistaken), sleep, repetition of exercises, speed, and everything like that tracks quite accurately. Pulse - also within the permissible error: no more than 3-4%.

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The clock supports third-party applications fordoing sports, for example, Workout Trainer or Under Armor Record. But family practices are very functional: there are a lot of exercises, with the possibility of flexible adjustment to the required number of approaches, repetitions, breaks between approaches, and so on. My native application was quite enough for my purposes.

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In addition to fitness applications in the Samsung Galaxy WatchActive pre-installed music player, weather, alarm clock, reminders, application for searching for paired phone, gallery, baro-altimeter, applications for calls and messages, Bixby, Spotify. Messages can be answered directly from the clock: with a template, using a virtual keyboard, a preset answer, or dictated using the built-in microphone. There are third-party applications, Here Maps, a smartphone remote camera control application, Workout Trainer, Under Armor, Uber, Uklon, New Mail, Portmone, Eda.ua can be useful:

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In the process of pairing on the smartphone are installedplug-in applications and Samsung Wearable, with which you can customize the clock. In fact, everything that is in the clock is duplicated, but on the big screen it is much more convenient. There is a setting for notifications, widgets, screen, installation of applications, dials. Also, using the application, you can upload music and pictures to the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active:

A separate S Health application has traditionally been used to monitor health and sports indicators:

In the dry residue

Samsung Galaxy Watch Active - a good examplethe fact that less does not mean worse. At the moment, Samsung Galaxy Watch Active - one of the most attractive "smart" watches in terms of price-features. The watch has maximum (or close) to maximum fitness functionality, stylish, universal appearance, small dimensions and weight, protection from external influences and water resistance 5 ATM. At the same time, there is a traditional SuperAMOLED-quality screen with Always On Display and a bunch of additional functions, including a music player, the ability to respond to a message (including voice), and a whole lot, including downloadable additional applications. Of the minuses, one can only note the low autonomy and the absence of a corporate bezel, with which it is really more convenient to control the watch. Of the competitors can be identified only Huawei Watch GT, which cost exactly the same. They live much longer from a single charge and larger in size (including the screen), but functionally able to do much less.

5 reasons to buy Samsung Galaxy Watch: