One of the most successful companies on the smartphones market, Samsung, has also produced some nifty gadgets.
Smartwatches and fitness gear that can be connected with your smartphone are the latest inventions of the tech giant. Do you need one of these devices? Well, we hope you do, and you would love to have one of them on your hand. Which one to choose? We can help you find the answer.
Design and Display
The Samsung Gear Fit is a fitness wristband, and it should be treated and reviewed as such. The device features 1.84 curved Super AMOLED screen display with a resolution of 432 x 128 pixels. The colors pop up on the display, and the contrast is great. Gear Fit feels light and natural on your wrist, as it weighs only 27 grams, with dimensions of 23 x 57 x 11.95. The device is really beautiful and sleek. The biggest downside is that the device doesn’t have auto-brightness setting, making it harder to adjust once you set foot out of your home. This hybrid (combination of smartwatch and fitness gear) is built of plastic.
Gear 2 Neo is lighter than its predecessor (Gear 2) is. The device weighs 55 grams, with dimensions of 38 x 59 x 10. Since the strap is separate piece now, Samsung has refined the design. The new design has moved home button on the front. The screen is 1.63 inches OLED. The quality of the display is low if you want to do anything with high resolution pictures.
Hardware and Operating System
Samsung Galaxy Gear Fit doesn’t run on either Android or Tizen OS. The hybrid device uses its own, specialized OS. The main problem is that the device doesn’t allow third party devices. User interface contains 10 menu options. You can fit three small icons on the screen at the same time or one large. Since Gear Fit is a hybrid device, users can use it either as a smartwatch or as a fitness gadget. The device has several workout options you can track: hiking, walking, cycling and running. You can track distance, amount of time it takes to complete the activity and calories burned. The downside is there is no pause, so if you stop to take a breath, you get inaccurate results. The fitness cornerstone feature is the heart rate monitor. All features of the device can be tracked on the Health app. As a smartwatch, Gear Fit is an extension to your phone, and you get notifications for incoming calls, messages and emails (however, you cannot answer calls via the device). The main problem is the messy display, and viewing emails is a tricky task. Nifty feature is the Do Not Disturb Mode, but it comes with limitations, as you can use it only with the sleep tracker.
Gear 2 Neo runs on Samsung’s own OS, Tizen. One of the cool features of Gear 2 Neo is the Infra Red blaster, that helps set up your TV from your device. You can control your TV from your wrist, at a distance of 15 feet. Gear 2 Neo also has a heart rate monitor and other fitness features (track walking and running steps). Fitness features have training effect that sets goals you need to achieve and receive scores based on results. Besides being a watch, the device is also linked with your smartphone, and you can accept incoming calls and view messages in it. Gear 2 Neo has 4 GB of internal memory, which you can use to store music.
Camera
None of the devices have a camera. Unlike other smartwatches, Samsung has produced one in (Galaxy Gear and Galaxy Gear 2).
Battery life
Gear Fit comes with 210 mAh battery capacity and lasts 3-4 days on one charge. Gear 2 Neo, on the other hand, has more battery capacity, 300 mAh, but lasts 2 days.
Price
The price for Gear Fit is $200, while Galaxy Gear 2 Neo costs $300.
Final Verdict
Gear Fit should get some recognition as one of the first hybrids to combine smartwatch and fitness technologies. However, the software is poor and user interface is confusing.
Related ItemsSamsung Galaxy Gear FitSamsung Galaxy Gear Neo
