A little over a week ago the postman brought me a
Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 as a replacement for my aging Fitbit Charge 2.
The Fitbit has been a useful tool but it was never a particularly good watch. Not only was there no option for the display to remain on at all times, the wrist flick motion that turned the screen on only worked maybe 75% of the time, frequently requiring a second attempt. I was also never particularly confident in Fitbit's algorithm for working out calorie burning; walking at my usual pace (probably faster than average but hardly power walking) burned the same number of calories as pushing hard on an exercise bike for the same duration.
Anyway, for a replacement I needed something that was a) Android compatible which ruled out the Apple Watch entirely and b) had enough of a focus on health features to support my recent lifestyle change that has dramatically improved my mental health. I also wanted something that looks good, but that has an OS that isn't too rough around the edges. There are tons of good looking options from companies using Google's WearOS, but the OS itself is seemingly a pain to deal with. That basically left Samsung, and they were just launching this latest model. I bought it knowing full well that it was never going to be useful enough to warrant the £419 price tag for this bluetooth-only 45mm model, but having used it for a week I'm not regretting it.
The screen is lovely and bright, perfectly readable even in direct sunlight, and even using the always-on display the battery lasts from waking up to going to bed on a single charge. I don't really get the need to have a device run for multiple days between charges; unless I get into the routine of charging it each night then I forget to do it, and I have to do it with my phone anyway. It comes with an adorable little Qi charging puck that you just drop it onto, which is leagues better than the rubbish alligator-clip contraption that I had to use for the Fitbit. I secured it to my desk with blu tak, as magnets in the puck secure the watch to it and make sure it's in the right spot to charge correctly. It's as effortless as putting the thing down on a desk.
I also wanted something that integrated well with Spotify, as I listen to music for a good 40-50 minutes a day walking to and from work. Having the ability to see what I'm listening to (I tend to use Spotify's 'made for you' playlists) without having to pull my phone out of my pocket is handy. I have the option of connecting my headphones to the watch itself and listening to downloaded music, which will be handy if I ever get bored of the exercise bike and start going for rides outdoors.
Notification support is good but not perfect. I can view and even respond to Whats App messages from the watch itself, using either a list of pre-programmed replies (that you can customise and add to), or a T9-style predictive text keypad, to even allowing you to trace letters on the touchscreen. It doesn't however seem to pick up Facebook messenger or actual text messages, though these are limited by Android's implementation of those functions on the phone (I could choose to switch to Samsung's text messaging app if I wanted to send these from the phone, but I mostly communicate in whats app these days). I can read full emails, see pictures from whats app, and I can even make phone calls from the thing if I decide to ever become a lunatic or Dick Tracy cosplayer.
About my only irritation with it is nothing to do with the watch itself, but Samsung's phone apps. Both the Wearable and Health apps have adverts that take up a third of the screen, that you hide by scrolling, but if I'm spending this amount of money on a product I expect not to have that same product continue to be advertised back at me by the supporting software. I know these apps aren't solely for use with the watch, but it's a little intrusive. Also there's the Bixby support; you can't choose your voice command assistant with this and you're forced to use the rubbish one that Samsung still insist is a viable alternative to Alexa or Google Assistant, and it's just a waste of time. I mostly use assistants for setting cooking timers or turning on my Hue lights, but I'm better off just using the watch's built in timer app.
At half the price I might keep it but even thats a big maybe.
