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It may have taken Samsung two years to make this smartwatch a reality, but the company eventually brought the Galaxy Watch 3 to life. Yes, it’s called the Watch 3 because Samsung decided to omit a ‘Galaxy Watch 2’ in an attempt to avoid confusion with the Galaxy. Watch Active 2 which was released in 2019.
Branding aside, the Galaxy Watch 3 is one to pay attention to; the design is more refined, with a thinner, lighter body and larger screens without an increase in overall dimensions, and it’s also much more capable in the fitness-tracking department than many competitors.
It is also much more expensive than the Galaxy Watch Active 2, now made in India, and puts it in line with the current king of smartwatches, the Apple Watch Series 5. The Galaxy Watch 3 also does enough to be a recommendation. easy as the best. smart watch you can buy for your Android phone today? Well the answer to that question is yes, but you will have to read further to understand if you are getting your money’s worth.
Before I dig deeper, though, I think it’s worth mentioning that reviewing the Galaxy Watch 3 was an exciting prospect for me, as I’m someone who’s been tied to an Apple Watch for the past few years. The reason I think that’s important is because for all intents and purposes this is kind of an indirect comparison to the Apple Watch Series 5.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 3: design and build quality
I’m divided on the verdict on the design of the Galaxy Watch 3. I don’t love it, but I try to be fair here and point out that it is a very well designed watch. Samsung clearly went into the business of creating a premium-feeling smartwatch that easily competes with the feel of an Apple Watch, only this actually looks like a classic watch.
Commenting like someone from the Apple camp: Apple smartwatches carry substantial weight to them compared to other smartwatches. They appear as if they are a significant piece of technology, not just a cheap notification accessory. The Galaxy Watch 3 feels exactly the same.
What I like here is the precision, the two sizes, the satisfaction you get from turning its bezel, and, again, the weight (53 grams). While you are wearing this watch, holding it in your hand or wearing it, it is nothing cheap. The pushers have a great click, every notched rotation of the bezel is reassuring, and with your always-on display you might fool someone into thinking you’re not wearing tech on your wrist.
For this review, I was sent the 45mm Galaxy Watch 3, which has a chronograph style and is a bit more masculine than the 41mm model. It also has softer design features for a less overtly sporty look. Its overall size initially made me lean towards the 41mm version as my preferred model as I am someone with thinner than usual wrists, but the form factor has grown on me since then.
Outside of looks, my only complaint is that this watch, well, it’s thick (11mm). I didn’t hit it on doors or walls necessarily, but that weight I mentioned along with its height means it’s kind of heavy on top and it really needs to fit the wrist to avoid feeling loose. Working with it, the thickness is definitely noticeable, as it constantly reminds you that it is there.
However, generally speaking, most people are likely to look at the Galaxy Watch 3 and say, “Hey! It’s a really nice watch.”
On the build front, the Galaxy Watch 3 is made of stainless steel and has Gorilla Glass DX over the display and what looks like a glass case as well. Two buttons are separated by a protective piece on the right of the case, the upper one to go back one step in the menu and the lower one for the application menu.
A long press of the bottom button calls up the Bixby voice assistant, and if you look closely at the top button, you’ll see the words Galaxy Watch etched into it, which is a really nice touch.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 3: display
Samsung put 1.2 ″ and 1.4 ″ screens in its Galaxy Watch 3 models and it is very likely that they are the same screens that you will find in the Watch Active 2. They have resolutions of 360 × 360, they are AMOLED and they can always do it – on display .
Like on the Watch Active 2, you get a super colorful screen that doesn’t really hide the fact that it is an AMOLED. While Samsung’s phones have toned down excessive pops of color and contrast for a more accurate presentation, their watches are always trying to remind you that they’re colorful. And that’s okay! The more color the better on an always-on watch face, especially when it’s as small as this one and you need to present important information to you at a glance.
Blacks are very deep, brightness levels are fine outdoors, and tactile responsiveness is solid. Plus, if you don’t want to touch the screen, that bezel is there to navigate just about everything. In fact, that bezel is so precise and so well tuned to the haptic of the watch that you will rarely find yourself touching the screen.
To customize the smartwatch, Samsung says there are more than 50,000 watch faces available, while 19 are installed out of the box. What’s even cooler is that you can customize your watch faces through the Galaxy Wearable app on your phone, and you can add your own photos or wallpapers to it. Samsung also allows you to customize the watch’s hands, choose which widgets will appear on the watch face (for example, heart rate, date, weather), choose a primary color, and more.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 3: software and performance
The Galaxy Watch 3 has the same chipset as the Galaxy Watch from 2018, sporting the Exynos 9110 along with 1GB of RAM. That may sound disappointing to those who want the best possible specs, but it certainly doesn’t affect performance in any noticeable way. Furthermore, most Qualcomm-based smartwatches on the market right now are based on the Snapdragon Wear 3100, also released in 2018.
There’s 8GB of storage available, but that brings the operating system down to just 4GB, leaving you 4GB to store your favorite apps and workout songs, allowing you to leave your phone at home when you exercise.
Samsung’s Tizen software still lags behind Apple’s watchOS, but it’s a significant upgrade from Google’s inconsistent Wear OS. Not only are the various menus on the Galaxy Watch 3 highly customizable and packed with useful apps, but starting and switching between them feel crisp, too.
Thanks to the bezel, navigation is intuitive and I relied on it along with the dual buttons to get where I wanted to go. The movement gestures, on the other hand, really didn’t do it for me. When I was able to get them to work I felt a bit silly in the process.
What didn’t feel silly is the Galaxy Watch 3’s T9 keyboard, which it relied on for texting more often than you thought. I know, typing on such a small screen sounds ridiculous, but I appreciated the ability to send messages in cases where I couldn’t use Talk to Text.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 3: Fitness Activity Tracker
There are no silicone straps in sight yet, but there’s a significant focus on fitness here.
The highlight for me is the automatic tracking of seven common activities such as running, walking, swimming, biking, rowing, elliptical workouts, and dynamic workouts (essentially aerobics or anything with significant movements).
While some smartwatches are a bit hit and miss when it comes to automatic tracking, the Galaxy Watch 3 worked every time without fail during testing, activating around 10 minutes after I started exercising. Bring peace of mind, not having to worry about setting up a workout and losing data.
It doesn’t stop there either; If you stop in the middle of the exercise to take a quick breath (or for a selfie in the middle of the workout), the watch detects it and automatically pauses the tracking until you start again. It also detects when you have finished your workout and will ask you to stop tracking and recording your exercise. It certainly helps keep your numbers accurate, and most of the tracking happens without any notice from the user.
In addition to automatic tracking, there are many exercises to choose from, and it also offers sleep tracking to provide feedback on your nightly repetition. It’s not as comprehensive as the fitness-focused Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2, but it does bring support for popular workouts to the mainstream watch in a bid to compete with the Apple Watch.
In terms of hardware, you will find GPS along with a heart rate monitor that measures your heart rate throughout the day, not just when you exercise, and it also includes stress tracking. You’ll also find automatic fall detection, a popular feature of the Apple Watch.
Although the smartwatch also has the ability to provide SpO2 or blood oxygen readings, ECG readings, and VO2 Max, only the blood oxygen tracker seems to work as of now. The other two features will likely arrive via a software update sooner or later once certification is granted, as was the case with the Apple Watch’s ECG monitor when it was first introduced, but they are not available at this time.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 3: battery life
While most people who upgrade from one type of fitness tracker may find the battery life disappointing, I don’t understand why they are disappointed. The new direct rival to the Galaxy Watch, the Apple Watch Series 5, only has a battery life of 18 hours. Most smartwatches struggle to match the Galaxy’s 48 hour lifespan.
Admittedly, if all you want from a smartwatch is fitness tracking and long battery life, then look for a Fitbit watch, like the Fitbit Versa 2, that can run for up to four days. I wanted a different kind of smartwatch and that’s what I got from the Galaxy Watch 3.
You can of course get better battery life by turning off its built-in GPS and using other battery-saving measures. I was happy with the battery life I got from just running it on its default settings.
To charge the Galaxy Watch 3, you will need its included wireless charger, but charging is very slow. The magnetic disc sticks quite loosely to the back of the Watch 3, and regardless of which charging block I used, the 5% to 100% charge time was at least two hours and 15 minutes. Considering the amount of effort Samsung has put into adjusting most of the warnings across the board, this appears to be the Galaxy Watch 3’s only downfall. It’s certainly not a deal breaker, but Samsung could have done better.
Price and verdict
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 is entering an increasingly crowded wearable market. There are plenty of stylish smartwatches and great fitness trackers to choose from these days, and Samsung has tried to find a balance between the two. It brought the best health features of the Galaxy Watch Active 2 to a beveled design that rivals the offerings from watch expert Fossil.
But this came at a cost. At a whopping INR 32,990 for the Bluetooth variant and INR 38,990 for the LTE variant, the Galaxy Watch 3 is more expensive than previous Galaxy watches and WearOS Fossil options, and leans more towards lifestyle than fitness.
I can’t say that I would replace my Apple Watch with an Android one at the same price, for reasons related to the Apple ecosystem. But if you have an Android phone and want an extension of it on your wrist wherever you go, you won’t find anything more polished and powerful than the Galaxy Watch 3, one that matches the latest and greatest hit-for-hit in terms of features and functionality.
