Curious what all the advantages are over a traditional Bluetooth smartwatch. Considering getting the Gear S2 3G but figured this forum and current Gear S owners would be able to answer best. Obvious and not-so-obvious advantages...
Why go 3G in a Smartwatch?
- Thread starter SMD
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Being able to go out for exercise without bring the phone is priceless. Gear S2 without 3G is no better than AW watches, IMO.
Does the watch have it's own number? If so are all calls & texts simply forwarded to the watch? Or do people literally call and text the new number?
And is the detachment the only advantage? Not that it's not a great one, but I'm just trying to see if there's any more reasons to want a 3G smart watch.
And is the detachment the only advantage? Not that it's not a great one, but I'm just trying to see if there's any more reasons to want a 3G smart watch.
Yes, calls and texts are forwarded to the watch. It also has its own number and take direct call or text as well.
If you are not interested in standalone capability, then I'd suggest AW watches as it will have better integration with Android phones and more apps than any Tizen watch.
If you are not interested in standalone capability, then I'd suggest AW watches as it will have better integration with Android phones and more apps than any Tizen watch.
I think 3G ability is a great advantage, or potentially useless, depending on your technology lifestyle. If you are one of those people who have their phone in arms reach at all times, it's probably not needed.
But personally, I saw little advantage to owning a smartwatch until the Gear S came out with the stand alone ability. Bluetooth connectivity is too limiting. I have a fairly small home and even so it's easy to move out of BT range. 3G not only takes care of still getting calls and text forwarded from my phone in that situation, but also allows me to dump the cell phone entirely when it's convenient. Whether it's just working out in the yard, a quick trip to the store, or going out to dinner; there are just some times you don't want or need to be carrying a large smartphone. In the past, I had a second line with a small phone I would carry and had to manually forward calls to that second phone line. And of course I had the extra cost of a full second line. Now it's a small added fee, the watch is with me all the time so I don't have to think about which phone I need to remember to carry, and the call forwarding is turned on or off as needed automatically.
If your lifestyle would benefit from having smartphone basics when you find yourself away from your smartphone, without having to plan/remember what tech to take with you, then a 3G smartwatch is a good solution.
But personally, I saw little advantage to owning a smartwatch until the Gear S came out with the stand alone ability. Bluetooth connectivity is too limiting. I have a fairly small home and even so it's easy to move out of BT range. 3G not only takes care of still getting calls and text forwarded from my phone in that situation, but also allows me to dump the cell phone entirely when it's convenient. Whether it's just working out in the yard, a quick trip to the store, or going out to dinner; there are just some times you don't want or need to be carrying a large smartphone. In the past, I had a second line with a small phone I would carry and had to manually forward calls to that second phone line. And of course I had the extra cost of a full second line. Now it's a small added fee, the watch is with me all the time so I don't have to think about which phone I need to remember to carry, and the call forwarding is turned on or off as needed automatically.
If your lifestyle would benefit from having smartphone basics when you find yourself away from your smartphone, without having to plan/remember what tech to take with you, then a 3G smartwatch is a good solution.
When you reply to someone's text or call someone back using the watch, does the number show as coming from the watch's number or your original phone's number?
And also, just to confirm, when you go in and out of range of the phone, that transition between standalone device and tethered is seamless? Like can you be on a call and leave the phone entirely and the call doesn't drop? etc. etc.
I appreciate this feedback, thank you. I happen to like the design of the Gear S2 over any other smartwatch. I was surprised to learn that the non-3G version of the watch might not have a speakerphone to answer calls in range. Even my old Gear 2 Neo has that ability and I've found I use my watch to answer calls way more often than I ever thought I would. Once I realized it's loud enough not to have to hold up to my head, and the mic is strong enough that I don't have to literally talk to my watch. This has become one of the top 3 things I now look for in my next Smartwatch. The new Gear S2's UI looks awesome and I think the rotating bezel is genius. Downside is definitely SVoice vs. Google Voice. But if only the 3G version has the ability to answer calls, then I almost have to consider getting that one. Just trying to figure out all the little advantages it would have.
And also, just to confirm, when you go in and out of range of the phone, that transition between standalone device and tethered is seamless? Like can you be on a call and leave the phone entirely and the call doesn't drop? etc. etc.
I appreciate this feedback, thank you. I happen to like the design of the Gear S2 over any other smartwatch. I was surprised to learn that the non-3G version of the watch might not have a speakerphone to answer calls in range. Even my old Gear 2 Neo has that ability and I've found I use my watch to answer calls way more often than I ever thought I would. Once I realized it's loud enough not to have to hold up to my head, and the mic is strong enough that I don't have to literally talk to my watch. This has become one of the top 3 things I now look for in my next Smartwatch. The new Gear S2's UI looks awesome and I think the rotating bezel is genius. Downside is definitely SVoice vs. Google Voice. But if only the 3G version has the ability to answer calls, then I almost have to consider getting that one. Just trying to figure out all the little advantages it would have.
It isn't a seamless transition. When you move out of BT range it takes about a minute to swap to 3g.
The watch has it's own number, but there are settings to making the calls/texts come from your phones number. Also the 3g is turned off when you are in BT range, so you can not get calls on the watches number if you are connected to the phone via BT. Once you are out of range you can again.
The watch has it's own number, but there are settings to making the calls/texts come from your phones number. Also the 3g is turned off when you are in BT range, so you can not get calls on the watches number if you are connected to the phone via BT. Once you are out of range you can again.
So there's no real advantage to giving out the watch's number is there? Probably just stick to giving out the phone's number since someone couldn't reach me while I was near my phone in BT range.
So calls and texts coming from the watch can show up always as the phone's number? That's great.
I'm curious how the addition of Wifi affects all this since it's basically designed to extend the range of the watch when connect to BT. Can you tell me how that works? If I'm out of BT range, but still on the same Wifi network as my phone, are incoming calls delivered via 3G still or somehow is that done via wifi?
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I bought one and put my current nano sim in it from my current contract. Have not put it near another Samsung and daily I am using it for calls and texts and e-mails. It's fantastic.
I had three reasons for buying the 3G gear S and unfortunately the watch ultimately came up short.
1. Being able to stream iHeartRadio while working out. iHeart, although advertised as working, has never worked on my Gear S standalone.
2. Being able to reply to messages. While it works for the stock texting app, no other messaging app (I primarily use google hangouts) will work
3. Being able to respond to corporate email. If your company enforces an encryption policy, you can't receive or reply to company email.
Unfortunately, this means I've got to carry around my phone so the 3G capabilities ended up useless for me. I'm sure for others who use the stock texting and email app without encryption it's great.
1. Being able to stream iHeartRadio while working out. iHeart, although advertised as working, has never worked on my Gear S standalone.
2. Being able to reply to messages. While it works for the stock texting app, no other messaging app (I primarily use google hangouts) will work
3. Being able to respond to corporate email. If your company enforces an encryption policy, you can't receive or reply to company email.
Unfortunately, this means I've got to carry around my phone so the 3G capabilities ended up useless for me. I'm sure for others who use the stock texting and email app without encryption it's great.
mountainbikermark
Well-known member
I was going to get a Neo but AT&T sold me my S for the same price as a Neo because they were out of stock. Having a data plan add on works out for them in the wash so I can see why they did. Anyway I use mine quite a bit without being connected to my phone for the standalone apps frequently use. Some are companion to the phone that work work or without the phone, others totally watch only apps. Notifications and calls are my least used ones actually. It is really nice to be able to leave my phone at home and do most of what I use my phone for, be it calls, messages, notes, maps, calendar, timers, memos, etc.
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TBH, none of these has anything to do with 3G or not 3G. It is the crappy Samsung software in general. OP is pondering what 3G version of the same watch (Gear S2) can bring. My predictions are the same problems will still exist on Gear S2, 3G or not.
Well from what I've read the Gear S2 3G is the only version of this 2nd generation that has a speakerphone to answer a call. That has become an important feature in a smart watch. Never thought it would be but since I've had it on the Neo, I used it more often than I ever thought I would.
The issues mentioned are interesting about the messaging app and email. Fortunately, I use the native messaging and no corporate email so I'll probably be okay there. Another post metioned there are some apps exclusive to the Gear S and not other Gears that don't have 3G. I'm curious what those are and if any of them are really "must haves" or even "nice to haves" ... or are they all just useless or pointless.
mountainbikermark
Well-known member
I think the "must have" is relative.
My voice memo is a must have at work because I can't carry my phone and I can do quick memos on the fly, something I needed pen/paper for before. Lists for shopping are almost must have the way I can initiate a list on the phone or watch and they sync any edits when they connect. Tonight at work my wife needed to tell me something and GNE was forwarding the texts remotely and I was replying remotely. "If momma ain't happy, nobody is happy" as the old saying goes so to her it was a must have. When I leave my phone at home and a family member needs to talk to me having a phone on my wrist is a must have, especially when my wife broke down the other day in her way to work. When I'm out kayaking and my young daughter calls to ask a question the watch is a must have to her and me talking to her over Bluetooth while trying to outrun an incoming thunder storm made it a must have for me. The rest of my standalone apps are nice to have, things I used to use my phone for but don't need to anymore. They're not must haves but it sure is nice to leave my phone wherever and can still be productive and reachable if need be. I was out bike riding today and got a call from work, tapped the Jabra Motion, got done what needed to be done while the phone was miles away.
This being day 3 off the charger is kinda cool also. 3.00 is estimated screen time left, 10% is remaining battery.
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Thank you for your experience. It does help to know how people use their Gear S's. Again, I have the Gear 2 Neo, but my whole purpose here is to see how the 3G thing works and how it makes a smart watch that much better..
Don't you get the feeling that 3 years from now all watches will have a front facing 5mp OIS camera and will be capable of doing video chats? As "advanced" as the watches are now, I still feel like we're at such an infancy period for how useful and capable these things are.
Anyway, more 3G likes and dislikes welcome...
Don't you get the feeling that 3 years from now all watches will have a front facing 5mp OIS camera and will be capable of doing video chats? As "advanced" as the watches are now, I still feel like we're at such an infancy period for how useful and capable these things are.
Anyway, more 3G likes and dislikes welcome...
mountainbikermark
Well-known member
I lived life just fine before my first smartwatch, which was a Gear Fit, and was just fine with it being tethered to the phone since I used it mostly for S Health stuff. Even that ,having its own GPS capability on the S has taken my bike riding, hiking and kayaking to another level for its ability to map my treks without the phone being with me. Last spring I was at my daughter's dance recital and NOBODY had cell reception inside the auditorium but I had a very weak signal on my S and was texting with my wife who was back stage with my daughter. When asked about it I showed others my phone was powered off and that blew them away to see me not only texting but checking my gmail and Facebook on the browser, using Opera , to rub in the ability to do so a little bit.
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Good point about GPS. Gear S has downloadable maps and GPS that can work independently without the phone or cell connection. From what I read, the non-3G version of Gear S2 also lacks the GPS.
The Gear S was my first smartwatch, and I bought it because it had stand-alone capabilities. I never saw the point of smartphones until the gear S.
I run on trails in the woods, and with phones getting ever larger, I bought the Gear S so I could leave my phone behind and still be available, plus I needed something with GPS that would track my runs, and something that would play back music on my runs. Unfortunatley, the battery does not last me an entire run if I track the run AND stream music over bluetooth at the same time, so I only use the Gear S to track my run with Nike plus and have cell functionality. I use up about 40-50% juice per hour this way.
When it was still working, my calls and texts were forwarded from my phone that I would leave in my car to my Gear S. Samsung being Samsung pushed some update that broke this functionality for me, so I have been using my Gear S in total stand-alone mode since spring, and as long as GPS and 3G still work I'm OK with that, but of course wish it all still worked like on day 1.
A LOT of use case scenarios I read about in the past months would be working exactly the same way if people used my $70 BT headset (LG tone plus) instead of the Gear S. The fact that it alerts me when I accidentally left your phone behind and I can answer and initiate calls straight from the headset that is around my neck during the day means that I would never need and never used the Gear S for that. If that's the only reason you are considering the Gear S 2 3G, you may be better off with just this headset.
If you are active and/or outdoorsy and can imagine leaving your phone behind, the Gear S 2 3G may be for you. I am actually looking at the Urbane 2 LTE over the Gear S 2 3G as my next upgrade for three reasons:
1) I lost faith in Samsung. They delivered chargers with a design flaw that makes them break within months, but never admitted to it, and they make you send in your watch along with the charger to get it replaced. It can take up to 2 weeks to get your watch back.
They also never released the promised additional bands, their app store experience is abysmal, and no new noteworthy apps have been added since its release.
2) The round watch will display less info and seems too small when compared to the awesomeness of the Gear S screen. And I am a woman with small wrists, so there goes the argument that women prefer smaller smartwatches.
3) The Gear S 2 3G has an embedded sim card that I can't access. That makes it effectively a limited/locked device I won't even consider. I think the Urbane 2 LTE has a user accessible nano sim card.
ETA: my Gear S is always on my wrist and it still looks like on day one one on the front. It has been pawed many a times by dogs and never even got a scratch on it, which speaks to its durability, but it also has desintegrating charging contacts on the back, which along with the charger issue, speaks to its design flaws. In other words, I have a love-hate relationship with Samsung, mostly love for my watch's hardware, hate for the app ecosystem, and now that there is a new player in town, I am looking elsewhere...with a totally guilty conscience.
I run on trails in the woods, and with phones getting ever larger, I bought the Gear S so I could leave my phone behind and still be available, plus I needed something with GPS that would track my runs, and something that would play back music on my runs. Unfortunatley, the battery does not last me an entire run if I track the run AND stream music over bluetooth at the same time, so I only use the Gear S to track my run with Nike plus and have cell functionality. I use up about 40-50% juice per hour this way.
When it was still working, my calls and texts were forwarded from my phone that I would leave in my car to my Gear S. Samsung being Samsung pushed some update that broke this functionality for me, so I have been using my Gear S in total stand-alone mode since spring, and as long as GPS and 3G still work I'm OK with that, but of course wish it all still worked like on day 1.
A LOT of use case scenarios I read about in the past months would be working exactly the same way if people used my $70 BT headset (LG tone plus) instead of the Gear S. The fact that it alerts me when I accidentally left your phone behind and I can answer and initiate calls straight from the headset that is around my neck during the day means that I would never need and never used the Gear S for that. If that's the only reason you are considering the Gear S 2 3G, you may be better off with just this headset.
If you are active and/or outdoorsy and can imagine leaving your phone behind, the Gear S 2 3G may be for you. I am actually looking at the Urbane 2 LTE over the Gear S 2 3G as my next upgrade for three reasons:
1) I lost faith in Samsung. They delivered chargers with a design flaw that makes them break within months, but never admitted to it, and they make you send in your watch along with the charger to get it replaced. It can take up to 2 weeks to get your watch back.
They also never released the promised additional bands, their app store experience is abysmal, and no new noteworthy apps have been added since its release.
2) The round watch will display less info and seems too small when compared to the awesomeness of the Gear S screen. And I am a woman with small wrists, so there goes the argument that women prefer smaller smartwatches.
3) The Gear S 2 3G has an embedded sim card that I can't access. That makes it effectively a limited/locked device I won't even consider. I think the Urbane 2 LTE has a user accessible nano sim card.
ETA: my Gear S is always on my wrist and it still looks like on day one one on the front. It has been pawed many a times by dogs and never even got a scratch on it, which speaks to its durability, but it also has desintegrating charging contacts on the back, which along with the charger issue, speaks to its design flaws. In other words, I have a love-hate relationship with Samsung, mostly love for my watch's hardware, hate for the app ecosystem, and now that there is a new player in town, I am looking elsewhere...with a totally guilty conscience.
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Hi, how does activation work for the Gear s2 3G S-R7300 (embedded esim)? I want to purchase it from Korea and it should work with T-mobile network in the Netherlands. So, how do I make use of it? Thanks!!
Posted via the Android Central App
Posted via the Android Central App
Since they won't sell the 3G version in Europe, this may be a question to ask T-mo NL i.e.: "If I buy the Gear S2 3G with an embedded sim, can you register the sim on your network?" If the Netherlands support two sims on one phone number (illegal in the US), using it and your phone should work awesomely for you.
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