Samsung Gear S3: Everything we know
In a wearable world that's mostly dominated by Apple Watch, the best fitness trackers, and Android Wear devices, the Tizen OS-running Samsung Gear S2 has made quite the impression.
That's because the Gear S2 does a lot of things different and in some cases, more intuitively, than its competitors. The bezel wrapping around the watch face can be rotated to naturally scroll through each of its colorful and informative slides. Building off of those controls much in the way that Apple's watchOS 3 does with its Digital Crown, Tizen generally feels more snappy than Google's wearable platform.
Arguably the biggest improvement in Samsung's latest smartwatch is that it works on all Android phones running at least KitKat and at least 1.5GB RAM, unlike the Samsung Gear S, which only worked on Samsung's own smartphones.
But as good as it is in its current state, you'd better believe that the Samsung Gear S3 is right around the corner. And with Android Wear 2.0 coming soon, it had better be good.
Here's everything we know about the upcoming wearable and the list of improvements we'd like to see.
Cut to the chase
- What is it? Samsung's refinement of an already-excellent smartwatch
- When is it out? The latter half of 2016
- What will it cost? Between US$250-350 depending on the model
Samsung Gear S3 release date and price
Though no details (leaked nor official) about the Gear S3's release date have surfaced through the woodwork just yet, it's likely that Samsung will use the stage at IFA 2016 in early September to announce it.
Samsung originally teased the Gear S2 during its Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ event, so it shouldn't be completely ruled out that the company could hold a pre-IFA conference to unveil the device.
In terms of the pricing for the upcoming wearable, it'd do well to stay at its current entry price of US$299. Of course, we'd love to see a lower price, but that's probably not in the books.
Like the Gear S2, the Gear S3 will probably release in a few different models: a basic version that has a more sporty style and a more svelte edition, like the Samsung Gear S2 Classic. Currently, the latter costs US$50 more than that standard model, but offers a more elegant steel build and leather band.
Three unique models might be overkill, but it'd be interesting to see if Samsung tries introducing a new Gear S3 model into the roundup with even more features or a drastically different build style.
Samsung Gear S3 design and performance
Don't expect Samsung to reinvent the bezel with the Gear S3. After all, it's the Gear S2's marquee feature to be able to rotate it to navigate through the Tizen OS, and if you've used it, you know how cool it is. Recent rumors point in favor of Samsung sticking with the acclaimed feature for the Gear S3.
And while we're on the topic of the Gear S3's design, there's nowhere else to go but with a slimmer device. At 11.4mm, the Gear S2 is on par in the thickness department with many of today's available wearables, but Samsung would really rock the boat if it can shave a few millimeters from the chassis.
Inside of the Gear S2, Samsung built in its very own Exynos dual-core processor clocked at 1GHz. While fine and dandy for day-to-day use, we experienced slowdown when navigating to and from some more intensive apps, like Here Maps. Additionally, Samsung has now used the same processor in the Samsung Gear Fit 2, a fitness tracker that's cheaper than the Gear S2.
If the Samsung Gear S3 is going to push next-level wearable experiences and compete with the coming generation of smartwatches, it's going to need an improvement in the chipset.
What we want to see
As complete of a device the Samsung Gear S2 is out of the box, there are certainly a few tricks that we'd love to have seen. So, instead of complaining about it, we're looking to the future.
Built-in GPS
The more expensive 3G/4G model of the Samsung Gear S2 contains built-in GPS, which is an awesome feature that benefits joggers, walkers, and those who just want to know where they're going block-by-block.
We'd love to see this feature trickle down to the basic edition of the Gear S3, which would put it above several smartwatches that lack it. Frustratingly, there are several devices that do have it, like the Sony Smartwatch 3, Moto 360 Sport, and most recently, even Samsung's own Gear Fit 2. So, why not the Gear S3?
Android Wear 2.0 edition
In our exclusive video showing off the Samsung Galaxy S8 of our dreams, we bet that Samsung will release a stock Android option. It seems crazy, we know, but crazy enough to (hopefully) be true. Not that TouchWiz is all bad–it's gotten much better in recent years–but stock Android is pure, clutter-free bliss.
While the same can't be said about Google's wearable platform, it'd nevertheless be a gutsy move by Samsung to introduce an Android Wear 2.0-ready version of the Gear S3.
The Gear S2's Tizen OS is slick, refined, and in some ways, better than Android Wear. Even so, some smartwatch users might count Samsung out of their purchase decision by not adopting it.
iOS compatibility
One feature that Android Wear has up on Tizen, at least on a limited level, is iOS compatibility. Certain models, like the Moto 360 2015, Huawei Watch, LG Watch Urbane, Fossil Q Founder and a few others, can work on both Android and iOS.
Sure, iOS functionality with an Android Wear device is nothing to get too excited about, but giving iOS users more options to choose from than just the Apple Watch is a plus.
We'd love to see Samsung open its doors on the next wearable to work with iPhones. Samsung and Apple have a pretty bitter rivalry, so this might be wishful thinking, but it seems like an oddly good fit.
More bands to choose from
The bands of the Samsung Gear S2 can be switched out rather easily for any band that will fit its sizing. The only downside to this is that, other than its leather bands, Samsung doesn't offer any other bands of its own to trick the device out with.
Compare that to Apple expansive selection of bands to choose from, as well as Google's eclectic Android Wear Mode band collection, and Samsung's efforts so far seem utterly basic.
A small of a factor it might seem, being able to customize the bands of a smartwatch really makes it feel like your own.
A faster processor
As noted in the performance section, the Gear S2 and Samsung Gear Fit 2 share the same processor. Not that it's particularly bad, but if the Gear S3 is the step-up in design, build quality and features that we hope it is, it should have an impressive chipset to add onto that.
It's especially important considering that the Apple Watch 2 is incoming and Android Wear is set to upgrade its chipset standard to Snapdragon Wear 2100, which will yield much slimmer devices in the near future.
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