Are you looking for the right smartwatch?
Smartwatches are becoming a trend for most people nowadays. This is because they’re convenient and easy to keep track of. They also provide a slew of features that can suit your needs.
Being a smaller device than smartphones, they can’t provide all the features you need in a single device. Smartwatches focus on providing their users with a specific feature instead.
For communication and social interactions, there’s no beating the Apple smartwatch series. If it is health and fitness you want to keep track of, then the Samsung Galaxy Active 2 is the best choice for you.
It's trendy to stay fit and healthy nowadays, and the Samsung Galaxy smartwatch is often their go-to smartwatch. Read on to find out why the Samsung smartwatch is the best choice for you, too.
1. Design
The design of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 2 is like that of its predecessor. Previous users of the first iteration of the Samsung Galaxy Active will find the new one familiar to handle. That’s if they choose the 40mm model instead of the 44mm one.
Both models have next to no difference in weight and feel. The only notable difference being in the display size, which we’ll tackle later. This means you won’t miss out on anything based on whether you choose the former or the latter.
Being only 4 grams apart, both models don’t pose a problem when wearing them on a run. They’ll feel as if you’re wearing nothing, making them the ideal smartwatches for workouts. Most smartwatches often chafe your wrist while jogging.
This all comes down to what material the smartwatch is. The Galaxy smartwatch has an aluminium body coupled with a Fluoroelastomer band. These features help prevent chafing and help keep your wrist feel natural while you’re working out.
You can swap out the aluminium case for a stainless steel one. You can also do the same for the bands and swap them out for leather bands instead. These come at a slight price increase, though.
Interacting with the basic functions of the watch is also simple. The new smartwatch keeps to the old button design of the first iteration. That means you have 2 buttons on the side of the watch, one top button for “back” and one bottom button for “home”.
2. Display
Galaxy smartwatch models have the same display resolutions regardless of which size you pick. The only difference you’ll notice is the size of the display screen. The 44mm models have a slight advantage in this meaning you’ll be able to see displays easier with them.
Custom 46mm models will also have a bigger display screen than both models. With the display resolution being the same as the other 2, though, you won’t miss out on anything besides ease of screen accessibility.
Regardless of the model you choose, you’ll have a Super AMOLED display to greet you the first time you turn it on. This greets you with a screen that always displays sharp colour unless altered.
The bigger display resolution means there is more room for apps to display themselves on. This also makes navigation easier and more precise than it was before.
Speaking of navigation, you won’t experience any trouble getting to the app you want with the new dial display. Gone are the days of the awkward swipe display, which made it easy for you to choose an app by accident.
This increase in ease of use helps the Smart Galaxy watch evolve the smartwatch market. This can help it become a better contender in the mobile device market. Navigation is a big factor that swings a mobile device in the audience’s favour.
3. Software and Performance
The Samsung Galaxy watch has Exynos 9110 dual-core chipset for its processor. This is the same processor as the previous generation of smartwatches made by Samsung. This doesn’t mean that it handles the same as the new ones, though.
With a processing speed of 1.15Ghz, the Galaxy watch allows you to navigate the interface as fast as you can. It also has 768 megabytes of RAM that makes it easy for you to switch between apps.
These features alone give the Galaxy watch 2 good performance for a smartwatch. You can increase it by upgrading it to the 1.5 gigabytes of RAM for LTE models.
These smartwatches also have around 4GB of storage available for users. This gives you the chance to download a lot of music or apps on the watch. You can then use the music during your workout if you have Bluetooth headphones at the ready.
You’ll notice this all runs fast with the help of the Tizen operating system. This OS is the same one that the previous iterations had. Old users should find a lot of familiar features on a faster device this time around.
Samsung Active 2 also supports GPS and Glonass. This will make it easier for people to know where you are if you try to reach out for help.
4. Battery Life
Battery life is among the things Samsung is famous for. The Samsung Active 2 battery can last for as long as 2 days with little activity. It can even push up to 3 days if you know how to take care of their batteries.
The watch’s battery life increases as the size of the model do. This means having a 44mm model can mean you have a little more juice in your batteries.
As you can expect, the battery life drains faster the more activities the smartwatch has. You can still expect the Active Watch 2 to outpace different fitness devices, though. This means you can finish FitBit’s 5,000 step challenge and still have some battery left over.
You can tweak the settings to make the batteries last longer, though. Switching off Wi-Fi when not in use is one way you can do this.
You can also set the watch to greyscale. This is an easy way to extend battery life by up to 3 hours. Setting the default display to sleep when not in use also does great in saving your battery.
5. Features
There is more Active Watch 2 features besides the ones mentioned above. Here are the ones you will want to know about.
Voice-Activated Assistant
Having a small space for buttons means having limited ways of navigating the device. Some users even find it impossible to navigate it if they’re unfamiliar with the device. This makes Samsung’s Bixby an important addition to the smartwatch.
You can activate Bixby by pressing the Home button twice. You can find this along the side of the smartwatch. Bixby is the default assistant you get when you first start up your smartwatch.
It’s up to you whether you stick with Samsung’s unique assistant. If Bixby isn’t your cup of tea, then you can change it to something you prefer.
Regardless of who becomes your assistant, things will become easier with their help. Setting up your playlist for your workout will be faster and easier. Running apps and other processes will also be a piece of cake.
What’s great about them is that they’re integrated into the smartwatch’s processes. This means they take no extra processing power if you activate them.
Workout Tracking
The main function of Active Watch 2 is to help you keep track of your workout routines. This prompts the smartwatch to have over 39 workout-tracking modes to choose from. They also have specific methods of tracking the activity you choose.
This makes it less likely for you to cheat the system and make it appear as if you have high numbers. It also helps you keep track of how much you’ve progressed as you continue using the watch. This can become a way for you to know about your progress even if you don’t see it on your body.
The feature is important for those who can get discouraged with ease. Seeing the progress you’ve made will give you the confidence to keep going. This watch is as important for your mental strength as it is for your physical strength.
Health Tracker
Active Watch 2 also has a health tracker to help keep yourself in shape. The main way it helps you with your health is by tracking your sleep. Samsung’s built-in sleep tracker keeps tabs on your sleep routine.
It then sends you a report on how it is by the end of the week. You can use this information to make some adjustments to your lifestyle.
Sleep impacts many factors in your life. Not having enough can cost you your health and make it easier for you to get sick. The Active Watch helps you overcome this and motivate you to stay healthy.
Samsung Active Watch 2 also has a Goodnight mode. This is an automated mode that activates when it detects fewer movements than usual. Goodnight mode disables on-screen notifications to allow for a good night’s sleep.
Social Media Integration
A great feature of the Samsung Galaxy smartwatch is social media integration. This smartwatch supports Twitter to its best capacity. This means you will have no trouble updating your followers about your workout or jog.
You can even scroll through Twitter posts while you’re cooling down. This is great since most people go online to social media platforms. The feature allows you to stay connected and keep yourself fit at the same time.
You also have integrated Spotify in the Active Watch 2. This removes the need to create a playlist through your smartwatch. You can sync your Spotify account instead and pick from the playlists you have there.
You can also listen to music through YouTube this way. YouTube often has a bigger library of music at their disposal. The only problem before was that YouTube didn’t allow phones to play music in the background.
This meant you can still interact with YouTube’s interface through your pocket. It often selected different videos while the other song was playing. This disrupted the rhythm of other people.
By using Active Watch 2, though, this won’t become a problem anymore. You can leave the interface open and not worry about interacting with it by accident.
Also, some Apple products don’t support YouTube. This is a big plus for Samsung and other Android users.
6. Cost
The smaller 40mm LTE Active Watch 2 comes at $749AUD with a stainless housing. The larger 44mm is $549 for aluminium housing and no LTE, and LTE with a stainless housing will cost around $799 AUD. This proves that Active Watch 2 is prices fairly among all the new smartwatches.
Changing your hardware also affects the price. Upgrading from aluminium to durable stainless steel can increase the total price of your smartwatch along with changing the straps to genuine leather.
You can also wait for Christmas or Black Friday specials!
What You Can Look Forward To
Active Watch 2 has a lot of great features at the moment. Some of these still need perfecting to become useful. An example of this is the watch’s heart monitor and ECG.
The ECG is an advertised feature but is not available at the moment. Samsung announced that it will enable it in a future patch for Active Watch 2.
It will also adjust some minor kinks in the watch’s tracking system. This will make it more accurate in counting your exercises and keeping you updated.
Get the Samsung Galaxy Active Smartwatch 2 Today
The Samsung Galaxy Active is among the best smartwatches for fitness today. With all the choices available, though, is it the best fit for you? Use the ultimate Samsung Galaxy smartwatch review to find out today!
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