Samsung's latest smartwatch is now available and if you've got an android phone your best option is to buy the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active. The Galaxy Watch does work with both iPhone and Android devices, but it is best with an Android phone, and specifically one made by Samsung. It has almost all the features you would expect from a modern smartwatch and a stripped-down smartwatch focused on fitness tracking and notifications. Here are some of the features :
- It's fast, swim-proof and a built-in GPS
- Durable battery
- Blood pressure monitoring capabilities
- Workout auto-detection
How much?
At just $200, it is much cheaper than the Apple Watch Series 4. Saving money often means sacrificing features, but the Active doesn’t lose out on much.
What about the colours?
The Galaxy Watch Active comes in silver, black, rose gold, and green.
The Active’s design is fairly generic. It comes in nicer colours than the black variant I reviewed, but all of them share the same understated style that almost looks like something Pebble would have made. It’s not flashy, but it works. The 20mm bands are easy to replace, as well. The Galaxy Watch Active’s most shining attribute is a comfort. Its aluminium case is far lighter than the stainless steel Galaxy Watch or the Apple Watch Series 4.
The good and the bad stuff
GOOD STUFF
- Comfortable, lightweight design
- Reliable battery life
- Good fitness-tracking feature
BAD STUFF
- Bixby is a poor voice assistant
- Clumsy to use with non-Samsung phones
- Fewer third-party apps than other smartwatches
Where can I order?
Samsung, along with major retailers, all list the Galaxy Watch Active for sale on their respective sites. However, on launch day, only Amazon lists the watch as available for immediate shipping.
Galaxy Watch Active specs
- Casing: 40mm
- Strap: 20mm
- Dimensions: 39.5mm x 39.5mm x 10.5mm
- Weight (without strap): 25g
- Display: 1.1-inch OLED (360 x 360)
- Processor: Dual-core Exynos 9110 1.15 GHz
- Storage: 4GB
- RAM: 750MB
- Battery: 230mAh
- OS: Tizen OS 4.0
- Bluetooth: 4.2
- NFC: Yes
- GPS: Yes
- Water resistance: 5ATM and IP68
- Ruggedness: MIL-STD-810G
- Wireless charging: Yes (limited compatibility)
- Works with Android, iOS