Picked up a s20 ultra in march coming from iOS and owned an apple watch. How are the samsung galaxy watches? Are they smooth and fluid like apple watches? I heard the new galaxy watch is dropping in a few weeks so I may wait for that.
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How are the samsung watches?
- Thread starter bbs008
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I preferred my Apple Watch to the Galaxy Active 2 I have now, but that is just my opinion. I thought the Apple Watch was built better, the apps were better, I liked the way the notifications were displayed, and more information was available on the face. You could change just about any complication you wanted with the AW, with the GW you are very limited what you can change. There are a few faces where you can choose different complications, but I didn't care for those layouts so I just settled for something that was good enough. I think the Galaxy Watch has better fitness tracking and I like that I can run my finger around the face to change widgets. I prefer being able to do that as opposed to twisting the crown.
To answer your question about fluidity, my galaxy watch stutters when going through the app list or going through widgets. It's not as smooth as my Apple Watch with was a Series 3. I've tried using Bixby for reminders and/or timers, but it's a disaster so I gave up on that. I've tried using my voice and it usually won't catch what I'm asking. You can double press the Home button on the side to open Bixby, but I have to wait a few seconds for it to open. By the time that happens I have my phone out and get done what I need. Many complain about Siri, but I never had an issue with it on the AW.
Again, just my opinions and experiences.
To answer your question about fluidity, my galaxy watch stutters when going through the app list or going through widgets. It's not as smooth as my Apple Watch with was a Series 3. I've tried using Bixby for reminders and/or timers, but it's a disaster so I gave up on that. I've tried using my voice and it usually won't catch what I'm asking. You can double press the Home button on the side to open Bixby, but I have to wait a few seconds for it to open. By the time that happens I have my phone out and get done what I need. Many complain about Siri, but I never had an issue with it on the AW.
Again, just my opinions and experiences.
Agree with flybub. Not much of a comparison. Fitness tracking is good, but everything else lags far behind. Especially the faces. Far too limited in information that can be displayed regardless of the multitude of ways it can be with custom faces.
I've got the S3 Frontier. Runs flawless, and buttery smooth. I use it for notifications, quick replies, music controls, and the occasional call. The endless watch faces are a massive plus. Scrolling an email with the rotating bezel feels so natural. I'm planning on getting the new watch, only for the slightly bigger screen, and I really mean, slightly.
Same, I'm quite certain the titanium will be for me, I have one tiny scratch on my glass, which isn't bad considering the work I do, I don't baby my watch.
Apple watch is the gold standard but after that, Samsung watches are still in a tier above every other Android watch.
I loved my Apple watch until it couldn't send messages anymore (and neither would the iPhone. "Message failed to send" only affecting SMS)
That being said, the Galaxy Watch Active is a lot like a series 3 Watch with a smaller, round display. I think it's a nice alternative. Samsung Pay works quite the same way as Apple pay as well. I also got a Gear S3 Classic for MST payments (for places such as Kroger who have no NFC support much less tap to pay. MST simulates a card swipe)
The battery life is on par with my Series 3, with AOD off on the Samsung. Bixby works a lot like Siri (for bettor or worse!) But handwriting recognition is awful; Apple wins here. Better to stick with dictation or the t9 keyboard if you can get to it (used to work with the 'digital bezel' until last update now just vibrates but doesn't switch keyboards.)
Bands are similar. Mine has the sport band which resembles the Apple watch sport band. Wifi seems to work just as well at connecting remotely to the paired phone as an Apple Watch would.
Used to be, though, if you didn't own a Samsung phone, any text messages wouldn't be able to be responded to via the Galaxy Watch. There was an update to the OS of my Active last week that has changed that. Now messages is accessible via the Watch even though it's paired to a Motorola G7 Power.
The Galaxy Watch has a tad wonky sleep tracking. It's better than it was, which is, you'd get up to do a bio-break in the middle of the night, say you went to bed at 10PM, woke up at 3AM to pee, then wake up for real at 7AM, instead of saying correctly you slept for 9 hours, it would just count the time since you went to pee. So you'd get an incorrect sleep record of 4 hours total. Also, would make Samsung Health complain about lack of sleep after so many times of that. Lately, as of last update, it stil shows the breaks in the sleep but the total time is accurate lately.
Don't expect the durability of an Apple watch though. The Galaxy Watch is easy to ding up if you're rough. There's also no real 'premium' build. The 'classic' gives you a leather band and a fancier bezel but it's even easier to ding up the bezel since it is so out there. Screens are easy to scratch or 'hash up' in my experience. Definitely get a screen protector.
Don't let too many apps run either. After five or so, it starts getting laggy, slow or drains the battery in a few hours. Some apps take a few seconds to work. Samsung Pay is no Apple pay in speed. Apple Pay pretty much instant. Samsung pay, hold upper right button, blank screen for 3 seconds, Samsung Pay logo appears, 3 more seconds asking for PIN, 2 seconds later the Pay button lights up, you tap that and it then works. It's slow. A lot more steps than necessary IMO.
The lack of a 'radio' app kinda sucks too. If you like using your Watch on Wifi or just connected to some AirPods enjoying some 80s music without your phone near you, forget that on the Galaxy Watch. The only 'radio' app it has is Spotify, which requires the same app on the phone, and a premium subscription for any real function. There's no real station by decade the way Radio on Apple Watch is. The 'music controller' just controls the last app you had on your phone playing music. It also goes to 'sleep' showing 'unknown' or 'no song playing' which means you must get your phone out to restart any app such as Slacker or SiriusXM. Forget asking Bixby to 'play some 80s hits'. It will say 'that is not supported'.
While Bixby is great on an S8 (no rhyme intended) it is just a renamed S-Voice on the Galaxy Watch. It has a nicer UI and works but it's functionally the same as S-Voice was on a Galaxy S3 phone. It can open apps, turn volume up or down (on a watch with speaker) and set alarms. It can also control SmartThings accessories. But anything else, such as setting reminders, showing your recent apps list, closing apps, toggling Wifi or Bluetooth, it cannot do it. All that is possible with Bixby on a Galaxy S8 or up, but not on a watch. A lot of functions it should support are either 'to be in the next update' or 'not supported on Galaxy Watch.'
That being said, the Galaxy Watch Active is a lot like a series 3 Watch with a smaller, round display. I think it's a nice alternative. Samsung Pay works quite the same way as Apple pay as well. I also got a Gear S3 Classic for MST payments (for places such as Kroger who have no NFC support much less tap to pay. MST simulates a card swipe)
The battery life is on par with my Series 3, with AOD off on the Samsung. Bixby works a lot like Siri (for bettor or worse!) But handwriting recognition is awful; Apple wins here. Better to stick with dictation or the t9 keyboard if you can get to it (used to work with the 'digital bezel' until last update now just vibrates but doesn't switch keyboards.)
Bands are similar. Mine has the sport band which resembles the Apple watch sport band. Wifi seems to work just as well at connecting remotely to the paired phone as an Apple Watch would.
Used to be, though, if you didn't own a Samsung phone, any text messages wouldn't be able to be responded to via the Galaxy Watch. There was an update to the OS of my Active last week that has changed that. Now messages is accessible via the Watch even though it's paired to a Motorola G7 Power.
The Galaxy Watch has a tad wonky sleep tracking. It's better than it was, which is, you'd get up to do a bio-break in the middle of the night, say you went to bed at 10PM, woke up at 3AM to pee, then wake up for real at 7AM, instead of saying correctly you slept for 9 hours, it would just count the time since you went to pee. So you'd get an incorrect sleep record of 4 hours total. Also, would make Samsung Health complain about lack of sleep after so many times of that. Lately, as of last update, it stil shows the breaks in the sleep but the total time is accurate lately.
Don't expect the durability of an Apple watch though. The Galaxy Watch is easy to ding up if you're rough. There's also no real 'premium' build. The 'classic' gives you a leather band and a fancier bezel but it's even easier to ding up the bezel since it is so out there. Screens are easy to scratch or 'hash up' in my experience. Definitely get a screen protector.
Don't let too many apps run either. After five or so, it starts getting laggy, slow or drains the battery in a few hours. Some apps take a few seconds to work. Samsung Pay is no Apple pay in speed. Apple Pay pretty much instant. Samsung pay, hold upper right button, blank screen for 3 seconds, Samsung Pay logo appears, 3 more seconds asking for PIN, 2 seconds later the Pay button lights up, you tap that and it then works. It's slow. A lot more steps than necessary IMO.
The lack of a 'radio' app kinda sucks too. If you like using your Watch on Wifi or just connected to some AirPods enjoying some 80s music without your phone near you, forget that on the Galaxy Watch. The only 'radio' app it has is Spotify, which requires the same app on the phone, and a premium subscription for any real function. There's no real station by decade the way Radio on Apple Watch is. The 'music controller' just controls the last app you had on your phone playing music. It also goes to 'sleep' showing 'unknown' or 'no song playing' which means you must get your phone out to restart any app such as Slacker or SiriusXM. Forget asking Bixby to 'play some 80s hits'. It will say 'that is not supported'.
While Bixby is great on an S8 (no rhyme intended) it is just a renamed S-Voice on the Galaxy Watch. It has a nicer UI and works but it's functionally the same as S-Voice was on a Galaxy S3 phone. It can open apps, turn volume up or down (on a watch with speaker) and set alarms. It can also control SmartThings accessories. But anything else, such as setting reminders, showing your recent apps list, closing apps, toggling Wifi or Bluetooth, it cannot do it. All that is possible with Bixby on a Galaxy S8 or up, but not on a watch. A lot of functions it should support are either 'to be in the next update' or 'not supported on Galaxy Watch.'
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I have a Samsung Galaxy Fit, and I love it. Costs only $69, has all the health features, four-five day battery life, I can swim’shower with it, get text messages (and reply with preset responses) and notifications including when my phone rings, and... get this... it tells me the time! 
I know it’s just an activity tracker and probably not at all what you’re asking about. But I was just no longer keen on monthly payments on my $600 Apple Watch when all I found I needed were what I listed above. Nothing fancy. Few watch faces, few bands, no fuss. Different strokes, I guess!
I know it’s just an activity tracker and probably not at all what you’re asking about. But I was just no longer keen on monthly payments on my $600 Apple Watch when all I found I needed were what I listed above. Nothing fancy. Few watch faces, few bands, no fuss. Different strokes, I guess!
Wait until the new rumored Galaxy Watch comes out. I wouldn't buy anything at the moment.
I had a galaxy gear s2 watch for several years, thought it was pretty cool, incredibly durable, not a scratch on it. Just changed to a huawei gt2 watch. Chalk and cheese in almost every department. Plus 2 week's (wtf) battery life!! Plus almost half the price.. Each to their own..
I have a AW series 5 and a Galaxy Watch Active 2.
I enjoy wearing the Galaxy Watch more. Sure the Apple Watch has much better app integration, but I barley use that.
Both watches can do pretty much all the basics that I care about, but I prefer the round face slim design and 3rd party watch faces. (the default watch faces are better on Galaxy as well).
Apple Watch does have one up on the Galaxy Watch with updates and maps. But the Galaxy Watch has better input control, offline Spotify, better sleep tracker(compared to Watch OS 7 beta), better battery life, and is a better value.
The reason I say better value is because it's more compatible, and the aluminum version's display will scratch VERY easily without a case or screen protector. I never had any screen protection on any of my galaxy watches, and would only have minimal scratches with about a years worth of usage. So you're going to have to pay much more, for a better scratch resistant Apple Watch.
As far as the Heart Rate sensor goes. Apple Watch seems more reliable in that regard.
I think both watches are great IMO.
I enjoy wearing the Galaxy Watch more. Sure the Apple Watch has much better app integration, but I barley use that.
Both watches can do pretty much all the basics that I care about, but I prefer the round face slim design and 3rd party watch faces. (the default watch faces are better on Galaxy as well).
Apple Watch does have one up on the Galaxy Watch with updates and maps. But the Galaxy Watch has better input control, offline Spotify, better sleep tracker(compared to Watch OS 7 beta), better battery life, and is a better value.
The reason I say better value is because it's more compatible, and the aluminum version's display will scratch VERY easily without a case or screen protector. I never had any screen protection on any of my galaxy watches, and would only have minimal scratches with about a years worth of usage. So you're going to have to pay much more, for a better scratch resistant Apple Watch.
As far as the Heart Rate sensor goes. Apple Watch seems more reliable in that regard.
I think both watches are great IMO.
I am thinking of buying one, but I want to stick to apple somehow.
But the design ist more beautiful
But the design ist more beautiful
Galaxy watches do have the additional bonus of more skeuomorphism in the watch faces. They can be as realistic or as flat as you like. Tons of third-party options. Beats the built in Apple versions for sure. Even better with the round display.
I have the original Galaxy Fit (known as the Samsung Gear Fit) and I never really liked the 'plastic-tron' style they use on the later ones. Sure, you get more features, but the build is a huge downgrade. Easily marked up and just isn't as fashionable as the original Gear Fit was. The original Gear Fit was a premium product with enough features to be usable. My later Gear Fit 2 (the first of the newer versions) died a year after buying it. Outright refused to charge its battery. It would show a lightning bolt for a millisecond but do nothing more.
I have the original Galaxy Fit (known as the Samsung Gear Fit) and I never really liked the 'plastic-tron' style they use on the later ones. Sure, you get more features, but the build is a huge downgrade. Easily marked up and just isn't as fashionable as the original Gear Fit was. The original Gear Fit was a premium product with enough features to be usable. My later Gear Fit 2 (the first of the newer versions) died a year after buying it. Outright refused to charge its battery. It would show a lightning bolt for a millisecond but do nothing more.
Something to consider when considering a Samsung watch - I still don't think work profiles on Android can post notifications to those watches, they can only post to WearOS devices. This is because the notifications for Samsung watches run through an app on the phone and the app would then have to be approved for the work profile.