SAMSUNGGear Sport Smartwatch (Bluetooth), Blue, SM-R600NZBAXAR – US Version with Warranty

I'm starting this review with a tip for iPhone users who are having trouble staying connected. Check the storage-saving settings on your phone. My phone had been set to offload apps I wasn't using and for some reason the Gear S app was being offloaded, even though it needs to run continuously (I guess) in the background. Once I turned the automatic offload feature OFF, I've had no trouble staying connected when I'm within range of my phone. After over 16 months, I still love this watch. Looks brand new. Works great. Battery life hasn't changed. I'm really hoping I can get another 16 months out of it before needing to replace.(Original Review) Just what I was looking for! I almost got discouraged after seeing many less-than-wonderful reviews for the Gear Sport, but as I read through them all I realized that most gripes about this watch just simply don't matter or apply to me. I have no desire to talk into my watch. Have no desire to input calories eaten. I don't need apps beyond the weather and stop watch. I'm perfectly happy with the watch faces that come standard; And since I have big hands for a woman, the size of the watch is exactly what I was looking for. I think Samsung developed this watch for people like me, who don't have to be uber-connected and who aren't super-serious about their athletic training. I use my phone for all that other stuff. I wanted a sporty, waterproof pedometer/activity tracker with phone notifications and a heart rate monitor. Done. It does those things perfectly. I have it paired with my iPhone 7 and it really works great.

I must say I love this watch, it has a sleek and simple design that makes it look like a traditional watch.I initially got it for GPS tracking while going on trail runs, however, I've found myself wearing it pretty much all the time.These are my thoughts on it....Initial Setup-This was a breeze, I installed the Galaxy Gear App on my Galaxy S8 and followed the directions. The watch was up and running within a few minutes. The bluetooth connection between the watch and phone has been solid with no issues staying connected. I noticed that even when I am out of range the watch switches to wifi and I still can receive notifications from my phone over the internet. Cool stuff indeed.Comfort -The included band fits well and is big enough to fit my large wrist. It tends to get a bit dirty after running, I usually wash it off right after to prevent it from getting too dirty. Have not had any skin irritation using the watch so far.Sleep tracking -If you wear the watch at night it will automatically detect when you fall asleep using a combination of motion sensing and your heart rate. I really like the sleep report it shows each morning with a simple graph showing your sleeping pattern along with your sleep efficiency.Battery Life -I can usually get 3 days or so between charges. Battery life is significantly lower when I use Endomondo with GPS to track my runs though, with charge levels reaching 50% at night. I usually just put the watch to charge while showering to keep the battery topped up so it hasn't been an issue.Software -The Tizen OS is very smooth and gives quick access to various apps using the rotating bezel. I've never had any apps crash on the device, stability so far is great. I knew before purchasing that the app selection is limited but the main fitness apps that I use perform well.Overall I love this watch there's just one thing I wish was included, the ability to review older messages along with creating new messages in apps such as Whatsapp and Telegram.When I receive messages it will only show the most recent message from apps like Whatsapp, currently there is no way to see older messages. You can respond to messages but it would be nice to be able to create a new message from scratch to send to a contact. Only new SMS messages can be sent from your contact list on your watch, however, it would be nice if this capability was expanded to include other apps like Whatsapp, Telegram etc.Those are some of my thoughts, definitely would recommend this watch to anyone looking for an attractive watch that just works.

This watch is the only true combination of good GPS tracking, HR monitoring, high quality non-pixelated sunlight-readable display, standard strap attachment, and iOS OR androird OR samsung compatibility for all basic smart watch capabilities, with a price point of less than $300US.If you have an iPhone and want full compatibility and convenience for smart phone features, then the series 3 apple watch with GPS would be the right option for you; however, if you prefer the circular display (more aesthetically pleasing in my opinion) and need a robust method of cycling through menus and options when wet or even submerged, then you'll want to opt for the Samsung gear series - keep in mind that this gear sport is waterproof up to 50m.The only shortcoming if you're pairing this with an iphone is the fact that it pairs using only bluetooth low energy, I believe. The result is that the response time is very fast, and the wireless range is as good as 4.1, but the transfer rate is much too slow for any kind of real data transfer. As a result, music and phone calls can NOT be streamed to the watch, and transferring apps or watch faces or images, etc.. CAN be sent to the watch.. but not in any reasonable amount of time, without WiFi. You also lose the ability to actually reply to messages directly from the watch... but for that, you might as well pull your phone out and type or just recite your message to siri (who seems to be slightly more reliable than Samsung's voice assistant in understanding speech at least).