Samsung Frontier S3 Watch

[Doug Moffat]

Let me add a postscript: It's the size of a typical diver's watch.

 

[11B1P]

Thanks for your review. This comment is what really puts me on the fence. I am a big user of google assistant so the fact that I will never get this feature on tizen makes me hesitant. But at the same time android wear does not support samsung pay which works virtually everywhere. It's a bummer that we can't get the best of both worlds in one watch.

Change the voice region to UK english and it should work fine

 

[alexcapone]

Change the voice region to UK english and it should work fine

You're saying google assistant works on S3 if I change voice input to UK English? I tried google searching this and could not find anything. Could you provide a link? Thanks in advance.

 

[11B1P]

You're saying google assistant works on S3 if I change voice input to UK English? I tried google searching this and could not find anything. Could you provide a link? Thanks in advance.

Guess I misread your comment. I don't know that there is Google Assistant on the S3. I was thinking you were referring to the voice recognition on the S3.

 

[RobertP1]

I own two S3's... A Frontier for my outdoor work and a Classic for in the office and home. I love them. I easily get 4 days on one charge. My wife's iwatch won't even last a day.

I have owned both and my Apple Watch Series 2 and the battery lasts 2 days easily. The S3 last about the same. When you use the GPS for fitness it kills the battery quickly. I would give it a tie in regards to battery life

 

[arunma]

I've got the T-Mobile Gear S3 Frontier. It works great with my Galaxy S8+. FWIW unlimited LTE on T-Mobile is only an extra $5 if you have T-Mobile ONE. I probably only actually use a few MB a month. I do most of my jogging on a treadmill, so the main use case for me is when I'm walking around the office at work and happen to step out of Bluetooth range. The watch itself is pretty great though. I can surreptitiously check text messages in meetings, respond to WhatsApp messages relatively safely while driving, etc.

I don't know what everyone else's opinion is on this, but the one thing I didn't like about the Frontier was the band. It was too abrasive and was way too big. Fortunately this watch can take any 22 mm band, so I got a cheap leather strap from Amazon that both looked and felt much better. You might want to consider taking advantage of this watch's customization potential.

 

[Ca_lvn]

S voice works fine after a update, but I hardly use it

 

[arunma]

S voice works fine after a update, but I hardly use it

Yeah I pretty much only use it to send text messages and start navigation.

I wonder if Samsung will ever upgrade the Gear S3 firmware to support Bixby. Not that I'm sure I want them to...

 

[jettie1767]

I love the watch. I have the wifi version. The only comment I have is that the raise to wake up function doesn't work all the time. Sometimes I raise my arm and the screen doesn't turn on.

 

[Doug Moffat]

Not a fan of S Voice but seems to work fine on calling contacts and adequately regarding dictated text messages.

 

[pjniez]

How are the Tizen apps? I see so many Android apps in the Google Play Store that are Android Wear capable/compatible that it makes me really want an Android Wear watch rather than a Tizen watch.

 

[uncreativeartist]

The more I read up on the watch the more I want it.

 

[Doug Moffat]

In my profession I have to keep my phone on vibrate much of the day. For whatever reasons I never hear the signal for calls and messages on my S8.

The Frontier is my savior. Haven't missed a call, text or email since I purchased it.

 

[Ca_lvn]

The more I read up on the watch the more I want it.

It's my favorite toy, using Samsung pay is just to easy, and reading text or email by just turning your wrist, I wore my Nobila dress watch the other night and it just seemed to small

 

[arunma]

How are the Tizen apps? I see so many Android apps in the Google Play Store that are Android Wear capable/compatible that it makes me really want an Android Wear watch rather than a Tizen watch.

The Tizen apps that exist are OK, but there is only a handful of them available. For some reason, most developers avoid Tizen. What I would do is look at the "out of the box" features of the S3 and see if that's sufficient for you, because that's pretty much all you're going to get. Don't get me wrong, the S3 does A LOT out of the box, and I don't regret choosing it over Android Wear. But if you're looking for a diverse app store, then Tizen is not the ecosystem for you.

 

[Doug Moffat]

Not Tizen apps in the store but Frontier contained mucho more apps than my LG Urbane came with.

More Wear apps but I have found them to be mostly useless and inferior to what's already on the S3.

 

[Doug Moffat]

One last thing, I'm glad now I got the LTE. On more than a few occasions I've answered calls on my watch when my phone was in my briefcase or otherwise not handy. Quality of conversation not great but better than missing the call.

 

[racedog]

One last thing, I'm glad now I got the LTE. On more than a few occasions I've answered calls on my watch when my phone was in my briefcase or otherwise not handy. Quality of conversation not great but better than missing the call.

I answer on my watch even though LTE is turned off. You don't need to have LTE, just be within Bluetooth range.

 

[pjniez]

The Tizen apps that exist are OK, but there is only a handful of them available. For some reason, most developers avoid Tizen. What I would do is look at the "out of the box" features of the S3 and see if that's sufficient for you, because that's pretty much all you're going to get. Don't get me wrong, the S3 does A LOT out of the box, and I don't regret choosing it over Android Wear. But if you're looking for a diverse app store, then Tizen is not the ecosystem for you.

That's pretty much exactly what was thinking.

Thanks!

 

[Doug Moffat]

I answer on my watch even though LTE is turned off. You don't need to have LTE, just be within Bluetooth range.

Quite true. But I tend to run errands now without my phone.