Galaxy Watch 3: Humble user review & connecting with Jio / Airtel carrier
So by the way before judging me this is my first review, and I am a Samsung user from a long time, So this does not mean I will be biased, This just my perspective on the device.
Unboxing Experience:
Simple white elegant box just by opening I could see a watch, By the way I choose the black and 45 mm LTE version and also inside the box I could see a small charging puck and user manual, Also noticed very less plastic packaging materials.
Tech Specs:
- OS: Tyzen
- Display Size : 1.4 inch Amoled
- Connectivity : Bluetooth 5.0 , ESIM: LTE, 3g, WCDMA
- CPU : Dual Core 1.15 GHZ Exynos 9110
- Storage : 8GB in total
- RAM : 1 GB
- Weight : 60 -70 grams approx
Lets jump into review:
I owned and used Gear S3 frontier, immediately i could notice a lot of weight difference and slimmer body, bit smaller rotating bezel and overall slimmer profile of the Gear S3 frontier. Coming to UI of watch, I could hardly tell the difference on the first glance, hope I need to do lot digging to find the differences in the software wise. Except Stress Monitoring ,SPO2 and hand washing gesture.
On the physical aspect watch bezel is refined compared to Gear S3, and the hardware buttons are easier to press. and its lot lighter on wrist. on the back sensor array is completely different, As it has got bunch of new sensors which are yet to be enabled in India, And the leather strap vs silicon one, anyway I prefer silicone as it washable and better during workout and does not look so ugly on casual wear but it may not look as premium, but gets the job done.
Lets address the new features:
Spo2: Its not so accurate while wearing on wrist.
Handwashing gesture has to be enabled by downloading an app by name "Hand Wash" its works but it does not pause countdown if you stop washing before count down complete.
Fall detection : I did not try to trigger it, so no Comments.
Sleep and workout tracking is as good as the previous version.
And LTE : I thought I need to convert my existing sim as ESIM as use it as Standalone number on watch, But it clones the same number and can receive calls and text either on phone or watch, this works like fallback connection. I was able to receive call and text when my phone was switched off. and when my watch is connected to Bluetooth via phone, I haven't tested when my phone is active and watch on stand alone mode. btw way this feature can be used during crisis like when your phone gets stolen, or you have locked yourself and saves you from shouting. or trying to spy someone :-P
Update: Enable "Call & text on other device" on the phone you are free to leave the phone at home and still able to receive the call,
Apps: I feel, there is lot of less third party apps that needs to be On store, to name a few like Gmail, as outlook is available, YouTube Music, WhatsApp, a good stand alone navigation app which will be useful for biker and riders.
Btw during this pandemic I was hoping if camera under the display becomes main stream, I could see a video calling via watch would make life easier.
Adding Data plan to your watch: One good thing is we don't need to visit Carrier store, just Add data plan in wearable app just follow the guided menu to activate the data.