Samsung the top notch technology leader in mobiles sells most popular Samsung Gear S2 in the smart watch Gear series. Recently they introduced S2’s successor Samsung Gear S3, and I am very much interested in knowing the improvements in Gear s3 w.r.t. predecessor S2.
S2 introduction was fantastic, a classic looking but smart-watch !! super blend of old is gold married to latest technology !! but someone has rightly said .. “Change is Constant”, so as the S2 superseded by S3 with its built-in GPS, more bezel functionality, bigger screen and better battery.
Before we get into details of each watch, lets compare them in terms of Specs and Functions chart colored with Green and Orange indicating strength and weakness over each other, If you don’t have time to spend in reading details, just read below chart is more than sufficient, its like an Executive Summary Only for You 🙂
Samsung Gear S2 vs Gear S3 Specs & Features Comparison
| Samsung Gear Smartwatch | Samsung Gear S2 | Samsung Gear S3 |
| Prices are updated Dynamically |  $229.00 Best Buy |  Check on Amazon Best Buy |
| Options for you to choose from | Three different versions
| S3 Frontier and S3 Classic The Frontier have looks good for outdoor activity. * Frontier has LTE connectivity, which gives you super fast data speed with embedded SIM. |
| Display | 1.2” Full Circular sAMOLED | 1.3” Full-color AMOLED Always-On-Display Corning® Gorilla® Glass SR+ |
| Display Resolution | 360 x 360 (302 ppi) Smaller but sharper display | 360 x 360 (278 ppi) |
| Chipset | BT Exynos 3250 3G MSM 8 x 26 | Exynos 7270, Dual 1.0 GHz |
| Memory | RAM : 512 MB STORAGE : 4 GB | RAM : 768 MB STORAGE : 4 GB |
| OS Platform | Tizen | Tizen OS 2.3.2 |
| Network | BT / 3G | LTE with Embedded SIM *Applies to LTE models only. |
| Connectivity | BlueTooth V4.1, WiFi, NFC | BlueTooth V4.2, Wi-Fi b/g/n, NFC, MST, GPS/Glonass LTE: BT 4.2, Wi-Fi b/g/n, NFC, MST, A-GPS/Glonass |
| Compatibility | Android 4.4 and higher with over 1.5 GB RAM, Apple iOS 9.0 and later, (iPhone 5 and newer) *Gear S2/S3 are not compatible with tablet PCs | |
| Water resistant | IP68 Can be submerged in a meter of water for 30 minutes – better than the Apple Watch, which cannot be worn in the shower. | IP68 + MIL-STD-810G Water and dust resistant Can be submerged in a meter of water for 30 minutes (Scores more than the Apple Watch) |
| Sensors | Accelerometer, Gyro, HRM, Barometer, Ambient light, GPS (3G only) | Accelerometer, Gyro, HRM, Barometer, Ambient light, Built-in-GPS |
| Feature of Rotating Bezel for both S2 & S3 | Twist the bezel
| Twist the bezel
Make calls without a phone |
| S Health | Gear S2/S3 both can track your daily activity levels + heart rate + water to caffeine intake making you more aware about health diet. | |
| Activity Tracking |
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| Music on the go | You need not carry your mobile phone to run just because you want to listen to songs, the watch is capable to store @300 songs in the go. But don’t forget to carry good (& light-weight) BT headphones with you 🙂 | |
| Partners | Amazing apps help you connect to Spotify / ESPN / LINE / Yelp for Gear / Volkswagen / Uber / ADT Canopy / Alipay / Voxer. Even making your home secure from a distance is possible ! wow !! * Services may vary depending on carrier and country. | |
| Personalize Watch Faces | You can easily customize the dial faces, maybe a classic look during office use converted to a fun watch face at home !! with numurous watch face options listed below… | |
| Personalize Watch Faces Options | Classic, Modern Utility, Neon, Basic, Digital, World Clock | Gear S3 frontier Built for a pioneering spirit, to take adventures as they come.Gear S3 classic A forward-thinking choice that offers a touch of luxury. |
| Personalization | Personalize Collaborations | |
| Personalize Bands (highly important for women & girls, they will spend hours to match things starting from nail-paint to shoes !! then watch has to be part of it !!!) | ||
| Connectivity | Android & iOS | |
| Battery | BT 250 mAh 3G 300 mAh With the always-on function turned off, the S2 should go for @2 days. | 380 mAh (@3~4 days) |
| Power | Wireless charging (WPC Inductive) | |
| Dimensions | BT 42.3 x 49.8 x 11.4 mm BT classic 39.9 x 43.6 x 11.4 mm (51 g) 3G 44.0 x 51.8 x 13.4 mm | Frontier 46 x 49 x 12.9T (63 g) Classic 46 x 49 x 12.9T (59 g) *Weight without watch bands |
| Smartwatch | Samsung Gear S2 | Samsung Gear S3 |
| Offers | Best Buy | Best Buy |
So what is that Samsung S3 gives you by spending $100 more ?
[$100 difference is indicated based on prices prevailing at the time of writing this post, foy latest prices plz refer to table above]
- New Options ! But not that impressive 🙁 humm
Samsung has tried to revamp by introducing new S3 Frontier and S3 Classic.
The Frontier design with a rugged look, water & dust resistant moreover for an outdoor environment.
The Classic, Office goer class, attempt to provide a luxury watch look. - Improved Hardware power to S3 over S2
- 50% more RAM and a 50% larger battery
- Built-in GPS
- More bezel functionality
- Bigger screen with Corning® Gorilla® Glass SR+
- Water and dust resistant (IP68 + MIL-STD-810G)
- Voice commands
You may be wondering if you can use “Okay Google”, however Samsung has its own voice recognition App called as S-voice !! and here you have to say “Hi Gear”, However you can change this wake-up command to your wish. You will be able to call, message, set alarm, music, timer, clock and much more … To know more about how to set & use S-voice with your Samsung S3 Read at Samsung own website here … - SOS Capability
Both Samsung Gear S2 & S3 has SOS configuration capability, enable this facility “Send SOS requests” from home screen, and you are ready to send SOS by just triple press of home button. You can send SMS or call to emergency contact (if paired with your phone, or using LTE capable smart-watch)
Now last but not the least point, as said I don’t see any drastic improvement, but fine tuning over the prior model, in the journey of being a S3, the dial size has increased !! So just keep in mind specially women & girls, if the S3 really suits your wrist size ! Looking at the price tag, it may be wise to stay with S2 only ….
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