Samsung galaxy watch review in Spanish (full analysis)

Two years after the last smartwatch, the Samsung Galaxy Watch, the new flagship of the Korean company, has been launched. A watch that is a successor and bears a great similarity to the Samsung Gear S3 both on the outside, with its rotating bezel and refined design, and on the inside, with the well-known Tizen operating system in a new version. The improvements announced are based above all on its greater power, its long autonomy and improved physical and water resistance. One of the few features that is lost is that of payment using MST technology. An LTE 4G version has been launched and another only with Bluetooth. In this analysis we will focus on this last model.

Technical characteristics Samsung Galaxy Watch

Unboxing

Samsung bets to cover its case with a sober black color, on which the name of the watch and an image of it stands out in white. On the back and on the right side some of its characteristics and the minimum type of smartphone required are described. The front of the box is boxed over another that, when raised, presents the Samsung Galaxy Watch.

When removing it we find three compartments, in them we find:

Charging station. Power adapter with microUSB type B cable. Strap replacement. Quick start guide.

Design

The Samsung Galaxy Watch comes in two versions depending on the diameter of the crown: 42 and 46 mm. In our case, we receive as sample the largest model in silver color. For those who opt for the 42 mm model, you can choose between the colors of Midnight Black or Rose Gold. However, if you want to enjoy a larger screen and the slight increase in size is not a nuisance, it is preferable to opt for the 46 mm model. Its larger span is used to add a few extra milliamps to the battery. We are talking about total dimensions of 46 x 49 x 13 mm and a weight of 63 grams without counting the strap, a really light weight that is hardly noticeable on the wrist.

The body of the military-grade resistance watch is made of polished stainless steel, as well as its bezel that, as Samsung has accustomed us, can be rotated to move through the different menu options. On the other hand, the circular touch screen has a size of 1.3 inches compared to 1.2 of the 42 mm model. This screen has Gorilla Glass DX + to prevent scratches and in addition, a light sensor has been included as a complement to the screen and its visibility.

On the left edge there are two buttons with a rough touch to facilitate their pressing. The upper one has the function of going Back in the system, while the lower one has a triple function: turn on the device and the screen, take us to the Start menu or open the application drawer if we are already in the main menu. Immediately below the bottom button, the microphone is located. On the opposite edge is where we find, on the other hand, the multimedia speaker.

The back, which has a black color similar to that of the bezel, houses the already typical heart rate sensor, which has 4 led light emitters. At the upper edge of this area is the atmospheric pressure sensor to estimate the height at which we are.

By default, the Samsung Galaxy Watch has a black silicone strap with a raised rib design. It fits well on the wrist and does its job. For those looking for personalization, Samsung has taken special care to add variety to the available interchangeable straps, which have a width of 22 mm. For the 46 mm model we find optional straps in color: Onyx Black, Navy Blue and Basalt Gray. The smallest model uses 20mm straps and we can find the colors: Natural Brown, Cloud Gray, Pink Beige, Purple, Lime Yellow, Terracotta Red, Moon Gray and Onyx Black.

We must highlight the water resistance of up to 5 atmospheres that the watch has, which allows us to immerse the watch in water with a pressure of no more than 50 meters. Therefore we can bathe and go with it to the pool without problems but it is not recommended to use it to dive very deep.

Screen and sound

The circular screen that we find in the Samsung Galaxy Watch is a full color Super AMOLED with 360 x 360 pixels. The color of the system icons helps to appreciate the good level achieved in the colors, which are shown vividly and with great contrast. Thanks to the light sensor, an adaptive brightness is obtained that gives its best in the sunniest moments. At maximum brightness we have had no problem seeing the content displayed on the screen.

Among the settings we can find the AlwaysOn function that allows the Samsung Galaxy Watch to show the time and some extra data while it is at rest. Something similar to what many smartphones do and that comes in handy to see the time without spending too much battery.

Although this model does not integrate 4G mode, both the speaker and the microphone maintain their usefulness in several ways. Its main use, obviously, is the possibility of making or receiving calls while we have the Samsung Galaxy Watch linked to the smartphone. In this specific case, and when making a call in the middle of the street, we were able to verify that the loudspeaker has enough power to carry on a moderately acceptable conversation. On the other hand, the quality of the microphone is good enough so that our interlocutor understands us without problems.

Other possibilities that we can give the speaker is to listen to music that we have stored. Obviously, it is not the best option to listen to our favorite songs but it is never a bad thing to consider it. The microphone has as secondary utility the possibility of giving orders to the Samsung assistant: Bixby. During our testing, we interacted with this AI and realized that it still has a long way to go. To some questions he gave us an acceptable answer even though it took his time, but on many other occasions we received nothing but silence from him. This shows that it needs to polish its software to reach the level of the assistants of Google and Apple.

Tizen OS

Samsung continues betting on its Tizen operating system in this Samsung Galaxy Watch, this time in version 4.0. A system that in previous smartwatches already proved to be solid. This version adds some new features and polishes small aspects, while maintaining the style of previous versions. It is supported by Samsung's own Exynos 9110 Dual core 1.15 GHz processor, which is accompanied by 784 MB of RAM and 4GB of storage, which ultimately remain at 1.5GB to be able to install apps or store music and other content. The LTE model has the difference of having twice as much RAM.

As I mentioned, it shows that the work used by Samsung to obtain a solid and fluid system in turn. Moving through the different menus is very intuitive, especially thanks to the possibility of doing it by turning the bezel. Although it may seem the opposite at this point, the use of the bezel to move between menus and options ends up being almost always more comfortable than the tactile use of the screen. In this regard, Samsung stands out from other smartwatch companies. For those who have never used a Samsung smart watch, it takes a little adaptation period, but once this period has passed, one moves like a fish in the water through the system.

Connectivity

Our test model has been the Samsung Galaxy Watch Bluetooth version, this means that it does not have mobile data as if the 4G LTE version does, and it needs to be connected to a smartphone to make use of many of its functions. So we find version 4.2 of Bluetooth and other technologies such as Wi-Fi b / g / n if we need to download apps, NFC to make payments and A-GPS / Glonass to calculate our route doing some activity or even to guide us towards some destination we want.

To get the most potential out of the watch it is necessary to pair it with a smartphone, although we can always use it independently, even more so if we have the LTE version as we discussed above. In case you want to pair it, you will need to have the Android version 5.0 or higher, or in the case of the iPhone, the iOS version 9 or higher. In any case, if we have an Android phone, the experience will be more complete than with iOS. If it is also paired with a Samsung phone, everything will work better. In our tests with an Android terminal, the pairing was simple and well guided. In a few minutes we had everything configured.

The problem with using an iOS terminal is that we will be able to use most of its functions to read notifications, but in no case can we respond to them, as if it is possible if we have an Android mobile. Other features like calls are also not available. At least you have the option to use it in conjunction, the Apple Watch cannot be used with Android in any way.

Battery

The battery included in the Samsung Galaxy Watch in its 46mm 472 mAh model, while in the 42mm model is notably less: 270 mAh. Samsung boasted in its announcements of the great autonomy that could be achieved with this smartwatch, close to a week. An autonomy that seems to us exaggerated in principle, something normal in this type of statement and for whose tests it will surely turn off many of the functions of the device. During our time of use with the majority of activated functions such as Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth, we have hardly managed to reach almost a full third day, normally they have always been two days and little, especially with the AlwaysOn function activated. Obviously with less use of the clock and with many of these functions deactivated, the autonomy can be lengthened, but it does not make much sense in the day to day unless it is for a specific case.

The power saving mode can save us from some case where we want the battery drain to be less, and it really works quite well, giving us a longer autonomy time in exchange for sacrificing some functions.

For charging we will always need to have the original base station, which charges the Samsung Galaxy Watch using wireless charging. In this aspect, the load is very well resolved because we will only have to place the watch on the base and it will begin to load automatically. The full charge needs around 2 and a half hours, an amount that is appreciated somewhat high but normal in this type of device.

The disadvantage of this type of charging is the need to have to forcefully use that charging station and not be able to use any other method. If it breaks, you will need to buy an identical one.

Conclusion and final words of the Samsung Galaxy Watch

Samsung knowing that it is a great company and a close competitor of Apple, puts effort into its products, which are many. With the Samsung Galaxy Watch a small evolution is noted after what has been learned with the previous models. The design, like on phones, like it or not is impeccable. There are different models, colors and even shapes, but they all stand out for their robustness and resistance, and without a doubt, the rotating bezel to move around the menus is still a success.

In its interior, on the other hand, we find hardware that is solvent enough to move the Tizen OS system smoothly, which in itself shows good optimization. In general, this system has nothing to envy others, with the exception of the lack of apps beyond their own and its assistant Bixby, which still has a long way to go to improve.

The monitoring that the Samsung Galaxy Watch does of the different sports that we can perform is good, it almost always accurately detects the different elements and they are easily displayed on the watch or on the smartphone app. One of the points that perhaps does not work so well sometimes is the cardiac meter, especially when doing sports, and is that this technology is not so ready if you have sweaty skin or are in full motion.

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Finally, one of the aspects that was most expected to know, its autonomy, has not left as good a taste as expected. Two and a half days on average is a good duration but far from the advertised week.

In conclusion, if you are looking for a smartwatch compatible with Android and with a multitude of functions to receive notifications or track sports activity, this is one of the most complete despite its shortcomings. You will always have to take into account the price, which as is the custom at Samsung, is usually somewhat high. In this case the 46 mm model is priced at € 329 for the Bluetooth version and € 379 for the 4G version. The Samsung Galaxy Watch 42 mm stays at € 309 and € 349 respectively.

ADVANTAGE	DISADVANTAGES
+ Strong design and rotating bezel.	- Autonomy is still less than expected.
+ Adaptive and powerful brightness.	- Bixby wizard needs improvement.
+ Tizen OS works fine.	- The Samsung Health app has room for improvement.
+ Includes NFC and speaker.	-