Samsung Gear S3 review

For the Gear S3, Samsung has decided to offer up two designs. There's the more rugged Frontier for outdoor types, and the Classic, which aims to be the more luxurious option of the two. Both still run on Samsung's own Tizen operating system and that rotating bezel makes a welcome return.

Price when reviewed:
399€ | 349 £
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You'll be able to pair it with a Samsung phone, most Android phones, and it even works with iPhones, though the experience on the latter is slightly more limiting.
Samsung's also added features like built-in GPS for sports tracking and sending out SOS alerts, a speaker to make calls, Samsung Pay to, well, pay for stuff from your wrist, and a bigger battery.

Samsung has gone big on design and features, but has it built on what it achieved with the Gear S2? Furthermore, now a few months since our initial testing, has much changed? Read on and find out.

Skinny wrists beware: the Gear S3 is a big smartwatch and that's immediately going to put off anyone that was hoping for something similar in stature to the Gear S2. Its hulking 46mm frame makes it undeniably a more manly watch. It's also noticeably heavier and thicker as well, no doubt to accommodate the additional sensors and a larger battery.

Does it look nice on the wrist? It's something that has divided the Wareable team, but a few months later we still feel like it's too big. The Gear S2 feels like a better looking watch, and it's not at all surprising that Samsung is still offering the older model. In short, it's not going to be for everyone. If you like outdoor watches then you'll appreciate the more rugged looking Frontier, but while neither can be accused of looking too "techy", the Classic is definitely the more stylish of the two.

Compare it to something like the orange coloured Nixon The Mission or even the new Garmin Fenix 5 and the Frontier just feels like it lacks some character. There's something far more attractive and alluring about the Gear S3 Classic in comparison.

On the subject of durability, the Frontier is IP68 certified water resistant, which means you can submerge it in water of up to 1.5 metres for up to 30 minutes. You can't use it for swimming or diving though. We've taken the S3 in the shower plenty of times with no problem, although you'll have trouble using that touchscreen when it's we.. Samsung has talked up the military level durability testing it puts its watches through to withstand high and low temperatures. That all sounds very impressive, but it's disappointing that it didn't seize the opportunity as Apple did to make the Gear S3 fully waterproof, as we'd love to be able to use the Frontier for swim tracking.

If you want to add some personality this can be done in the strap department, with a simple pin mechanism behind each strap letting you swap in other 22mm watch bands from Samsung and accessory makers like Incipio. The textured silicone band that comes with the Frontier is pretty bland, but it does feel well suited for outdoor pursuits and built to withstand some rough and tumble.

One of the big differences between the Frontier and the Classic is the finish on the bezel and the buttons. That rotating bezel is elevated from the watch face making it easier to interact with. Since we first reviewed it, Android Wear 2.0 has brought support for rotational input, and we expect it won't be long before we see some Google watches with a similar mechanism. We couldn't blame them, it's one of the Gear S3's best and most unique features, and Tizen on the watch has been designed around it.

Like that bezel, the two physical buttons on the side of the watch also include a textured finish and are larger than the buttons on the Classic, which makes them easier to get to grips when you're wearing gloves or getting a little sweaty.

Tucked away on the side is the speaker, allowing you to make calls and listen to music, while around the back of the watch is where you'll find an optical heart rate sensor similar to the one on the Gear S2. This delivers continuous tracking and heart rate readings during exercise. More on that in a bit.

In sum, we still feel like it's a bit average in the looks department - particularly the Frontier - and disappointingly hefty. After the S2 we were surprised Samsung's smartwatch beefed up so heavily, and with the huge range of Android Wear smartwatches rolling out, the competition is going to only get tougher for Samsung's smartwatch, especially running its own race with Tizen.

Thank's
AM