After two months of daily use and a few good updates, I wanted to provide my review. The watch is improving.
1) Design. the watch is well designed and the bezel is a wonderful innovation for selecting items on the s screen. The bezel can be slippery however and is not always easy to grip if your hands are wet or dirty.
2) Software and notifications. The new Tizen software is very fluid and works well with the round watch face (a first for Samsung). Notifications take some getting used to. When multiple notifications come in, only the most recent shows on the watch face. If you do not scroll through the entire message, you may miss additional messages that came in at the same time. Hence, always scroll to the left (counterclockwise) when you look at your watch to see what emails and texts have come in. They are easy to find again under the email or text message app on the watch. Deleting a message on the watch does not (usually) delete it on your phone, though sometimes it did affect my mailbox. I still have not figured this inconsistency out. I have seen questions as to if emails and texts are received when the watch is in standalone mode and not connected by Bluetooth or WiFi. The answer is YES, which is a very good thing. Just make sure you understand the difference between call forwarding and ATT's numbersync. Either way, you should still get your messages.
3) Size and comfort. The size of the watch is not a problem, even for small wrists. It comes with two sets of watch bands for small and large wrists. The watch is fairly comfortable and does fit under my dress shirt sleeves even though it is a thick watch (1/2 inch thick case).
4) Connectivity. If you are considering this watch over the non 3g version it is because of the speakerphone and ability to use it independent of your mobile phone. The Bluetooth seems to stay connected well while you are near your phone, though there is sometimes a delay in the response on the watch when you connect to S-voice or another app that requires network connection. When you get the watch, many of the connectivity features (gps, nfc, wifi, and 3g) are turned off by default. Once you turn these on, things do work better. The optimal setting appears to be having the "auto" 3g feature. What this is is when you leave range of connection to your phone, a messages appears on the watch to tell you that it has lost connection and will be switching to 3g in 10 seconds. This does work well. I verified this by using s-voice to call my work number and it connected without a problem.
5) Apps. As most reviewers have already commented, this is a weakness of tizen. Particularly when it comes to finding businesses, restaurants, etc. and social media. There is Yelp, but it only suggests a list of the top 20 places around you, which it misses many other places that I frequent. There is no Facebook. Watch faces are plenty so don't worry there. Basically, the apps are good for notifications. There is spotty performance of the Navigation/Maps app and the Samsung Milk Music. The app store could definitely use more apps like mobile banking, social networking, and perhaps games.
6) S-voice. This is perhaps my biggest frustration and let down. S-voice is not reliable on the watch. I find that it does not connect to the server on about one out of three attempts. I also have to repeat what I am asking for about one out of every four times. The problem does not appear to be the voice dictation and translation (powered by Nuance), but rather the watches connection to the server. It seems to lag and be slow to respond at times. Also, S-voice will often tell you that "that feature is not supported" when you ask things like "how do I get home?" or "find chinese takeout in Miami." Seriously, this is Samsung's greatest weakness in my opinion. Siri (apple) and Google search (android wear) work great as a personal assistant, but s-voice is extremely limited to calendar, contacts, and asking what time the sun rises and sets. This is the watches greatest let down for me.
7) Battery life. A bit of Jeckyl and Hyde here. Battery has improved with the 12/28 update software update. The good is that in Bluetooth connected mode the watch easily makes it through a full (15 hour) day off the charger with plenty of charge left (20 - 50% left depending upon usage). The not so good is when you attempt to use the watch as a standalone which requires the 3g cellular transmitter on all the time. On these conditions, I was only able to squeak out 8 to maybe 10 hours before the battery was drained. I suppose with only having a 300 mA battery, this isn't too bad considering you have a smartphone strapped to your wrist. Still, a few added hours and I'd be more impressed.
8) Samsung Pay/NFC. I was very much looking forward to this feature for easy payment at the store. I have an 8 month old so my hands are often full. Unfortunately, Samsung Pay is only available if you have a Samsung Galaxy 6 or Note 5 device. Being the techno geek I am I upgraded to the Samsung S6. Still... this feature has not been released yet for the watch and Samsung has said this will occur sometime in early 2016. So, you'll have wait a bit longer to use this... however when the feature does work, it will only work with NFC enabled pay stations (whereas the phones work with nearly all types).
9) Speaker. The speaker is on par with Samsung Gear 2 watch as far as volume and clarity. It is hard to hear the prompts or caller at full volume if it is noisy around you. Basically, you will need to be in a somewhat quiet environment to have a conversation on this watch unless you get a Bluetooth earpiece (another battery drainer). A strange thing I've noticed is that if you get the watch wet, the speaker sounds muffled and dull until the speaker holes dry out (about 12 hours), so keep this in mind if you shower or swim with the watch.
10) Number Sync. This is AT&T's way of using your main phone number on your watch as well. This feature is now available and works pretty well. Additionally, you can leave the watch with call forwarding mode instead. What this means is the watch has it's own phone number should you lose Bluetooth connection to your mobile phone, the watch will use it's own internal 3g cellular transmitter with its own phone number. So, be sure to let your loved ones know about this new number if you plan to go cruising with just your watch (I'd love to ditch my mobile on the weekends, it's why I got the watch). After using the watch for two months, there are advantages to turning numbersync on and off, depending upon the scenario. i.e. my brother visiting from Canada over the holidays did not have a mobile. I lent him my main phone and disabled numbersync, which made the Gear S2 a second, standalone phone so we could reach each other over the two weeks while they were down with him using my phone and me using my watch.
Overall, this watch has great potential, though it feels like a beta version in some ways rather than a market ready product. I believe most of this can be fixed with software updates, but Samsung HAS to improve S-voice capabilities for this watch to reach its potential. Also, the battery life needs to be a little better in standalone mode. Having said this, I believe this to be the best available option for those who want a true watch phone that can send and receive calls and messages independent of having a smartphone.
1) Design. the watch is well designed and the bezel is a wonderful innovation for selecting items on the s screen. The bezel can be slippery however and is not always easy to grip if your hands are wet or dirty.
2) Software and notifications. The new Tizen software is very fluid and works well with the round watch face (a first for Samsung). Notifications take some getting used to. When multiple notifications come in, only the most recent shows on the watch face. If you do not scroll through the entire message, you may miss additional messages that came in at the same time. Hence, always scroll to the left (counterclockwise) when you look at your watch to see what emails and texts have come in. They are easy to find again under the email or text message app on the watch. Deleting a message on the watch does not (usually) delete it on your phone, though sometimes it did affect my mailbox. I still have not figured this inconsistency out. I have seen questions as to if emails and texts are received when the watch is in standalone mode and not connected by Bluetooth or WiFi. The answer is YES, which is a very good thing. Just make sure you understand the difference between call forwarding and ATT's numbersync. Either way, you should still get your messages.
3) Size and comfort. The size of the watch is not a problem, even for small wrists. It comes with two sets of watch bands for small and large wrists. The watch is fairly comfortable and does fit under my dress shirt sleeves even though it is a thick watch (1/2 inch thick case).
4) Connectivity. If you are considering this watch over the non 3g version it is because of the speakerphone and ability to use it independent of your mobile phone. The Bluetooth seems to stay connected well while you are near your phone, though there is sometimes a delay in the response on the watch when you connect to S-voice or another app that requires network connection. When you get the watch, many of the connectivity features (gps, nfc, wifi, and 3g) are turned off by default. Once you turn these on, things do work better. The optimal setting appears to be having the "auto" 3g feature. What this is is when you leave range of connection to your phone, a messages appears on the watch to tell you that it has lost connection and will be switching to 3g in 10 seconds. This does work well. I verified this by using s-voice to call my work number and it connected without a problem.
5) Apps. As most reviewers have already commented, this is a weakness of tizen. Particularly when it comes to finding businesses, restaurants, etc. and social media. There is Yelp, but it only suggests a list of the top 20 places around you, which it misses many other places that I frequent. There is no Facebook. Watch faces are plenty so don't worry there. Basically, the apps are good for notifications. There is spotty performance of the Navigation/Maps app and the Samsung Milk Music. The app store could definitely use more apps like mobile banking, social networking, and perhaps games.
6) S-voice. This is perhaps my biggest frustration and let down. S-voice is not reliable on the watch. I find that it does not connect to the server on about one out of three attempts. I also have to repeat what I am asking for about one out of every four times. The problem does not appear to be the voice dictation and translation (powered by Nuance), but rather the watches connection to the server. It seems to lag and be slow to respond at times. Also, S-voice will often tell you that "that feature is not supported" when you ask things like "how do I get home?" or "find chinese takeout in Miami." Seriously, this is Samsung's greatest weakness in my opinion. Siri (apple) and Google search (android wear) work great as a personal assistant, but s-voice is extremely limited to calendar, contacts, and asking what time the sun rises and sets. This is the watches greatest let down for me.
7) Battery life. A bit of Jeckyl and Hyde here. Battery has improved with the 12/28 update software update. The good is that in Bluetooth connected mode the watch easily makes it through a full (15 hour) day off the charger with plenty of charge left (20 - 50% left depending upon usage). The not so good is when you attempt to use the watch as a standalone which requires the 3g cellular transmitter on all the time. On these conditions, I was only able to squeak out 8 to maybe 10 hours before the battery was drained. I suppose with only having a 300 mA battery, this isn't too bad considering you have a smartphone strapped to your wrist. Still, a few added hours and I'd be more impressed.
8) Samsung Pay/NFC. I was very much looking forward to this feature for easy payment at the store. I have an 8 month old so my hands are often full. Unfortunately, Samsung Pay is only available if you have a Samsung Galaxy 6 or Note 5 device. Being the techno geek I am I upgraded to the Samsung S6. Still... this feature has not been released yet for the watch and Samsung has said this will occur sometime in early 2016. So, you'll have wait a bit longer to use this... however when the feature does work, it will only work with NFC enabled pay stations (whereas the phones work with nearly all types).
9) Speaker. The speaker is on par with Samsung Gear 2 watch as far as volume and clarity. It is hard to hear the prompts or caller at full volume if it is noisy around you. Basically, you will need to be in a somewhat quiet environment to have a conversation on this watch unless you get a Bluetooth earpiece (another battery drainer). A strange thing I've noticed is that if you get the watch wet, the speaker sounds muffled and dull until the speaker holes dry out (about 12 hours), so keep this in mind if you shower or swim with the watch.
10) Number Sync. This is AT&T's way of using your main phone number on your watch as well. This feature is now available and works pretty well. Additionally, you can leave the watch with call forwarding mode instead. What this means is the watch has it's own phone number should you lose Bluetooth connection to your mobile phone, the watch will use it's own internal 3g cellular transmitter with its own phone number. So, be sure to let your loved ones know about this new number if you plan to go cruising with just your watch (I'd love to ditch my mobile on the weekends, it's why I got the watch). After using the watch for two months, there are advantages to turning numbersync on and off, depending upon the scenario. i.e. my brother visiting from Canada over the holidays did not have a mobile. I lent him my main phone and disabled numbersync, which made the Gear S2 a second, standalone phone so we could reach each other over the two weeks while they were down with him using my phone and me using my watch.
Overall, this watch has great potential, though it feels like a beta version in some ways rather than a market ready product. I believe most of this can be fixed with software updates, but Samsung HAS to improve S-voice capabilities for this watch to reach its potential. Also, the battery life needs to be a little better in standalone mode. Having said this, I believe this to be the best available option for those who want a true watch phone that can send and receive calls and messages independent of having a smartphone.
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