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Robust tracking of health and physical activity • Minimalist • Lightweight design • Super comfortable wrist • Bright, clear display
Half-Cooked iOS Compatibility • The battery lasts only one day
The Samsung Samsung Galaxy Watch Active is a simple and comfortable smart watch that does not skimp on the features.
Strip the Samsung Galaxy Watch out of its rotating bezel, narrow the round display and dislodge any decorations surrounding the case. The Galaxy Watch Active you stay.
At $ 199, the Galaxy Watch Active is a bargain compared to the Apple Watch Series 4, which starts at $ 399, and at its own ordinary Galaxy Watch, which starts at $ 329.99.
I've been wearing the Galaxy Watch for a few weeks now and I really thought that the rotating bezel would miss me, but it turns out that it's not essential: it's very convenient to switch to the round touch screen.
That's not to say that the Samsung Galaxy Watch is a perfect smartwatch. The battery life is a bit dull, and even the most basic Fitbit does a better job of tracking fitness. But at $ 199, there is not much to complain about.
Although the Galaxy Watch Active works with iOS and Android, you will benefit more if you connect it to an Android phone. Indeed, the main iOS features such as iMessage, Siri and Apple Mail just do not work on the Galaxy Watch. Do not get me wrong, you can still see text messages as notifications, but you will not be able to reply directly from Galaxy Watch Active or send new ones to anyone.
This half-cooked iOS experience is not entirely exclusive to Apple's own apps. Some third-party applications, such as WhatsApp, are subject to the same limitations: you can view notifications, but do nothing about them.
On Android, these problems do not exist and everything works as it should. So, if you own an iPhone, I recommend you get an Apple Watch instead.
Smaller, simpler and more comfortable
Without a control ring, the Galaxy Watch Active is more comfortable to wear.
Image: ZLATA IVLEVA / MASHABLE
Many technical critics have taken a look at the Galaxy Watch Active's smaller 40mm size (the Galaxy Watch, in comparison, exists in sizes 42mm and 46mm) and in the absence of rotating bezel and immediately replied, "No, thank you." I felt the opposite.
Of course, the AMOLED round screen of the Galaxy Watch Active is a little smaller (1.1 inches against 1.2 inches on the Galaxy Watch 42 mm and 1.3 inches on the Galaxy Watch 46 mm), but I can not not to say that it has been read or typed on icons. worst.
As for the pixels on a smart watch, the Galaxy Watch Active screen is really beautiful and very visible on the outside. In fact, I often reduced the brightness to two or three settings, but the brightness was still very clear.
In addition to the small screen, many people have complained about missing glasses. On the Galaxy watch and Samsung smart watches, the bezel rotates and serves as a control ring for navigation in the Tizen operating system interface. Even though a control ring is much faster to fly around the software, I did not miss it because I do not spend a lot of time trying to make things on a smartwatch.
For me, at least – and I think it suits a lot of people – the watch is not a multitasking device, so the speed of a control ring is not necessary. I have not encountered any problems between different screens and notification widgets.
On the right side of the Galaxy Watch Active case are two buttons: a "Back" button at the top and a button at the bottom that allows launching the Tizen OS application screen (displayed in a ring). Both are clear and responsive.
The silicone band is ideal for exercise and can easily be replaced by another strap.
Image: ZLATA IVLEVA / MASHABLE
The best thing, though, is that the Galaxy Watch Active's sleek design makes it more comfortable to wear. In general, I hate to wear tracking monitors or smart watches to sleep because they're bulky and dig my skin, but the Galaxy Watch Active's smooth, curved edges, as well as its lightness, made it a companion comfortable at bedtime.
The smartwatch comes with a silicone band (with an extra strap size for larger wrists). You can easily trade this with a strap of your choice, provided that it is 20 mm wide.
Not everyone will like the minimalist design of the Galaxy Watch Active. But if you wait for Samsung to make a more discreet smartwatch, here it is.
Works like the Galaxy watch
Design differences aside, Galaxy Watch Active watches exactly the same as the Galaxy Watch. Both are powered by the Samsung Exynos 9110 custom chip, come with 768MB of RAM (the Galaxy Watch's cellular version has 1.5GB of RAM, but there is no cellular version of the Galaxy Watch Active), and has 4 GB of internal storage.
The Galaxy Watch Active also uses the same Tizen OS 4.0 software as the Galaxy Watch. Tizen OS 4.0 is easy to use and much more elegant than the rundown Google Wear OS platform.
If you have used Tizen OS on a smartwatch, you will not find any new surprises here. Dragging to the right of the watch face displays all your notifications and sliding to the left displays all the widgets (activity tracking, heart rate monitor, weather, sleep tracking, etc.) for which you have created shortcuts.
The Galaxy Watch Active uses the same Tizen OS 4.0 software as other Samsung smartwatches.
Image: ZLATA IVLEVA / MASHABLE
There is not much that the Galaxy Watch Active can not do compared to its larger and more expensive siblings. Do you want to monitor your heart rate permanently? The Galaxy Watch Active does it. Do you want to automatically start a workout? Easy. Listen to music with Spotify? No problem. Follow your sleep? You got it.
The Galaxy Watch Active can also follow such steps as steps with as much accuracy as a Galaxy Watch. Compared to an Apple Watch or a Fitbit Versa, the Galaxy Watch Active was always disabled between 150 and 250 steps. If you are looking for a more accurate fitness tracking, there are other smart watches or more reliable fitness tracking.
Samsung insists a lot on monitoring stress on its smartwatches.
Image: ZLATA IVLEVA / MASHABLE
Blood pressure monitoring is a novelty of the Galaxy Watch Active. It is available in the United States, Canada, Germany, Australia and Singapore via the My BP Lab application. With this new feature, Samsung focuses on body awareness to quantify and help users better understand their stress level.
My BP Lab is helpful in helping you get a better picture of your health using the Galaxy Watch Active sensors, but it does not replace a doctor and should not be treated as such. At best, it's still another digital guardian on the wrist to make sure that seemingly always-busy people like me pay more attention to the potential impact of stress on our health. If the My BP Lab application shows unusual signs, you should consult your doctor for a checkup.
We wish that the battery life lasts more than a day.
Image: ZLATA IVLEVA / MASHABLE
The only feature that makes the Galaxy Watch Active is not efficient is the battery life. It lasts only about a day, unless you turn off features such as GPS and constant monitoring of heart rate or decrease the brightness setting. Unlike Galaxy Watch and Apple Watch Series 4 watches, which can last up to two days with a single charge, it's a smart watch that you'll have to put on its magnetic charger every night .
It's an affordable and feature-rich smartwatch
The Galaxy Watch Active is great … if you use Android.
Image: ZLATA IVLEVA / MASHABLE
The hype around smart watches is not what it was. Nowadays, Wear OS smart watches hang on a wire, struggling with old and slow performance, and the only real smart watches to consider are those from Samsung or Apple.
At $ 199, the Galaxy Watch Active is a really affordable option. Yes, it does not have cellular connectivity, but in terms of smart watches with many features, the Galaxy Watch Active has many benefits. And it's a particularly useful device for your wrist if you own an Android phone. If you use an iPhone, ignore it and get an Apple Watch.
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