Samsung Gear S3
December 14, 2016
Gear S3 Classic and Gear S3 Frontier Design
The Gear S3 Classic is for the classy businessman who’s most comfortable in a suit, while the Gear S3 Frontier is geared toward the more rugged outdoorsman who enjoys going off the grid.
Both watches are larger than the original Gear S2 Classic with 46mm diameters. They’re also thicker and sport traditional-looking watch bezels with an index.
The Frontier’s index is numbered like the dial on most outdoors watches, and the Classic uses hash marks. The steel of the Frontier is coated with a dark color, while the Classic comes in a sleek, shinier machined silvery steel finish.
Both watches have two buttons and a rotating bezel, just like last year’s Gear S2 watches, and they look different on each model.
A rotating bezel controls slick software
The smartwatch uses the same innovative, circular Tizen-based interface as the Gear S2, and you use the same rotating bezel for navigation.
Twist the bezel right, and you’ll see a number of widgets, which give you lightning quick access to your favorite apps.
If you twist the bezel left, you’ll conjure up a list of all your apps. You simply rotate the bezel until you hit the app you’re looking for.
Resistant to water and dust
Both Gear S3 watches have stainless steel cases that are waterproof up to 1.5m for 30 minutes, thanks to an IP68 rating. However, it is not suitable for swimming or diving.
Battery life
Samsung says the battery should last 3 to 4 days on a charge, thanks to the 380mAh battery inside the device. The battery is nearly double the size of the 250-300mAh in the Gear S2 watches and there’s a power saving mode that kicks in when the watch hits 15 percent battery, which cuts down on some functions to ensure that it lasts long enough for you to make it to the charger.
When the Gear S3 needs a charge, just set it down on its wireless charging dock.
Samsung Pay
Samsung packed an MST coil inside the Gear S3 to enable the full power of Samsung Pay on the smartwatch. Hold down the back button to trigger Samsung Pay, go through the cards you have loaded and choose a card of your preference. You just have to hover your watch over where the NFC hotspot is.
Payments won’t function when you take the watch off unless you enter your PIN to unlock it.
Connectivity
The Gear S3 Frontier will be available in both Wi-F-only and LTE-enabled models. That way, you can take the Frontier out for a hike and leave your phone behind. You are still able to accept calls on the watch, just like you would on a phone.
The Gear S3 Classic does not come with LTE and offers Wi-Fi only.
Both Gear S3 models offer stand-alone GPS for navigation.
Availability
Samsung said that the Gear S3 line should arrive in the fourth quarter of 2016.