Samsung - Gear S3 Frontier Smartwatch 46mm Review
Our Verdict
With its slick and durable design, GPS and optional LTE, the Gear S3 Frontier has all the makings of the all-time smartwatch ever — if just it had more apps.
For
- Handsome and durable blueprint
- Built-in LTE
- GPS
- Samsung Pay
- Expert vocalism control
Against
- Very limited app selection
- Heavy
Tom's Guide Verdict
With its slick and durable design, GPS and optional LTE, the Gear S3 Frontier has all the makings of the all-time smartwatch ever — if only it had more apps.
Pros
- +
Handsome and durable design
- +
Built-in LTE
- +
GPS
- +
Samsung Pay
- +
Adept voice control
Cons
- -
Very express app selection
- -
Heavy
Can y'all finally go out your smartphone at home? With its own LTE, heart-rate monitor, Wi-Fi and GPS — non to mention mobile payments and phonation control — the Samsung Gear S3 Frontier is the first smartwatch that promises a fully untethered experience. This timepiece also happens to be gorgeous and pretty durable. And yet the 4G execution and app ecosystem aren't quite where they need to exist.
Editor'south Note: Since the Gear S3 Borderland was released, Samsung has come up out with two successors, the Samsung Galaxy Watch, the Samsung Milky way Watch Active, and the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active ii, all of which offer boosted features such as on-board music storage. Nosotros really like the Galaxy Lookout for its long battery life and stylish design, just the Galaxy Sentry Active ii is better for those looking for something smaller and sportier. And be certain to check out all our best smartwatch picks.
Design
In that location's no getting around that most smartwatches are congenital for larger wrists, and the Samsung Gear S3 Frontier is no exception. Its face measures 46 x 49 millimeters (1.8 ten i.9 inches), and the spotter weighs 2.2 ounces (without the band). That's more twice as heavy as the 0.99-ounce Apple Watch Serial ii.
While not as flashy equally the Fossil Q Founder — which remains my favorite-looking smartwatch — the Gear S3'southward stainless-steel example is bonny. I especially liked the serrations on the rotating bezel, which not merely look slap-up but go far easier to plough. It looks the part of a high-end timepiece, dissimilar the squared-off and uninteresting Apple Scout.
However, the Gear S3 is much larger and heavier than the Apple Picket and the Gear S2, which will turn off people with petite wrists.
Our review unit came with a rather blah black silicone strap, but information technology's easy enough to swap it out for any 22-mm strap. (Samsung sells additional straps starting at $29.99.)
The right side of the S3 has 2 buttons: The upper one works as a universal back button, and the bottom push button serves to return you to the habitation screen or the app bill of fare.
The Gear S3 Frontier is built to take some abuse. Its face is protected by Gorilla Glass, and it's MIL-SPEC-810G rated to withstand drops of near 5 feet. The sentry can withstand beingness submerged in up to 5 feet (about 1.5 meters) of water for up to xxx minutes. The Apple Lookout Serial 2, however, tin can go equally deep as 164 feet (50 meters).
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Display
The S3'south 1.3-inch AMOLED screen was bright enough to view, day or dark. With a resolution of 360 x 360 pixels (no flat tire!), images that appeared in Flipboard news items were crisp plenty that I could brand out the numbers on players' jerseys in sports stories. Colors, as well, were vivid.
You accept the option of setting the S3'southward display to always on; its "dimmed" setting doesn't differ all that much from when the screen is fully on. The Chronograph sentinel face, for example, looks nearly identical, with the exception that the 2nd-mitt subdial disappears and is replaced by a white tick mark that moves around the edge of the screen. The same is true for many of the other sentry faces; while you lose trivial accents here and there, most of the colors and details remain.
Setting the display to exist always on chews up battery life. Fortunately, I establish that the S3's screen turned on almost instantly when I raised my wrist.
Interface
Instead of Android Clothing, Samsung opted for its homegrown Tizen operating system for the S3. In some means, it looks like a hybrid of Google's and Apple'south picket operating systems. For the most part, I institute it more useful than Android Wear, equally it works equally well with Android and iPhones.
In that location are two layers to the Tizen OS. From the domicile spotter screen, you can swipe left or correct to access notifications and recently used apps, create reminders, and check the atmospheric condition and health stats, among other tasks. When y'all printing the bottom push on the side, the screen switches to Tizen'southward app menu; hither, circular app icons are arranged around the edge of the S3's display. Only eight apps are visible per page, but equally you install apps, additional pages are included.
Like the Gear S2, the S3 has a rotating bezel that lets you coil quickly and easily through menu items, apps and so along. (You tin also swipe the screen to achieve the same event, but information technology's dainty to have options.) Each turn of the bezel is met with a subtle click and simply the correct amount of resistance; information technology reminded me of the dial on the Nest Learning Thermostat.
I also liked the myriad means in which I could respond to notifications and messages on the S3 Borderland. For case, although there's no Facebook Messenger app — we'll get to that afterwards— if I received a bulletin while the S3 was tethered to my phone via Bluetooth, I could reply on the watch, either with a canned reply, or by typing or dictating a bulletin. Even cooler was the ability to trace messages on the screen — much similar you lot tin can practise on the Apple tree Lookout man — to write out responses. I wouldn't desire to etch a lengthy email like this, but it's good for messages of a few words.
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While I accept my issues with Android Vesture, one characteristic I missed on the S3 was contextual awareness. It would exist great if the Gear S3 could automatically brandish directions for getting home about the time I was set to get out, or if it could be smart plenty to send me alerts and directions based on my agenda appointments. Hopefully, Samsung will integrate the smart assistant information technology'southward rumored to be working on for the Galaxy S8, but I wouldn't purchase the S3 hoping for this feature to appear in the future.
Where are the apps?
The biggest issue with Samsung going it solitary with Tizen every bit an operating organization is that it has to convince others to make apps for its platform. And, every bit much every bit Samsung tries, it doesn't have the pull of Apple or Google.
Sadly, little has changed in the yr since Samsung launched the Gear S2. In the Wellness and Fitness category for Gear apps, none of the major players — MapMyFitness, MyFitnessPal, Strava, etc. — were nowadays. You lot'll accept to use South Health instead. While it's not bad per se, it stinks that yous're and so express.
When the Gear S2 launched, Samsung claimed that apps for Twitter, eBay and Groupon were coming. One year after, but eBay has made an advent. There is an app for controlling your Nest thermostat, just information technology'southward $1.99 and made by a third party. Despite the Spotify logo featured prominently on Samsung's product page for the S3, that app isn't bachelor, either. (At that place is an app for iHeartRadio, though.)
Other categories were marginally improve: I found Yelp, Uber, the Wall Street Journal, the Weather Channel and NPR. But there'south no Facebook Messenger, no Twitter and null from Google. As of this writing, the ESPN Companion for Gear works only with the S2.
When tethered to a Samsung Galaxy S7 via Bluetooth, I was able to receive and respond to Facebook Messenger notifications. But when the phone was out of range, I was cut off from the social network.
Maps for Gear is surprisingly detailed given the S3'south screen; y'all can zoom in and out using the rotating bezel, and see everything from subway stations to private streets. However, information technology can't provide navigation unless the watch is paired with a phone. This seems like yet another missed opportunity, given that the picket has both a data connection and GPS.
1 potential reward the S3 has over other smartwatches is that y'all can install apps directly on the S3, rather than downloading them through a smartphone commencement. Still, good luck finding any; in the Get More than Apps screen, only xv were shown, and information technology was a random assortment, from Korean Air to Fruit Ninja Plus to one that turns the S3'southward face white.
Fitness
While the S3 is packed with sensors — it has an altimeter and a barometer, in addition to GPS and a centre-rate monitor — the lack of major fettle apps for the Gear S3 is a bummer. Yous can sign up for the excellent Pear app, which provides training, but other than that, you lot're stuck with the Gear Fit app. To exist sure, the S3 can rail a wide multifariousness of activities — including elliptical, rowing machines, squats, lunges and cycling — and it has an altimeter and barometer to measure your pinnacle and the weather.
Although the S3 has two physical buttons, you'll withal demand to bear upon its display to offset and stop workouts. This was problematic when my fingers were sweaty, as the screen didn't accurately recognize my touches. Fortunately, the S3 limits these interactions to taps, and not swipes. Cleverly, yous can rotate the bezel to switch betwixt distance, calories, pace, speed, cadency, heart rate and fifty-fifty music controls.
Just like the Samsung Gear Fit2 (and the Apple Watch Series 2), the S3 doesn't wait to acquire a GPS signal before it starts yous on your run. This is a big miss, and one that Samsung needs to rectify. Every running watch I've tested — as well every bit the Moto 360 Sport smartwatch — volition wait until it has a steady bespeak before sending you on your way. As a issue, the S3 undercounted my runs by about a tenth of a mile or so. For what it's worth, the Apple tree Watch Serial two overestimated my runs past about a tenth of a mile.
MORE: How to Choose the Right Fitness Tracker for Your Needs
Fortunately, the S3'south center-rate monitor proved more than authentic, though I had to cinch the scout tighter on my wrist to ensure information technology read my pulse correctly. Later on my runs, I loosened the strap to a more comfortable setting.
As with the Gear IconX, y'all can transfer music you downloaded to your Samsung telephone to the Gear S3 (information technology has 4GB of storage), so you tin get for a run and listen to your favorite tunes without needing to acquit your telephone with you. This is a great feature, and 1 I'grand happy to run into spreading to more devices.
Due south Voice
Returning to the S3 after being omitted in the S2 is a built-in speaker that was surprisingly loud, which ways the S3 not merely listens to your commands only responds to them. Simply say, "Hi, Gear," and you can speak to the scout to do things such as transport an e-mail, call someone or cheque the conditions.
However, Samsung's voice assistant is nowhere near the level of Amazon'due south Alexa, Apple'southward Siri or Google's Assistant. For instance, it can't answer questions such as "Are the Knicks playing tonight?" or answer to commands like "Directions habitation." It will tell yous corny jokes, though.
The S3 Frontier was largely accurate when translating my voice to text; in very few instances did it mess upward, and that was normally with words that had homonyms.
All the same, S Voice was a bit delayed in responding; you have to wait a second or and then to speak.
4G LTE: What you tin can (and can't do)
The 4G LTE radio in the S3 Borderland unleashes the potential of a truly untethered smartwatch. Leave your smartphone at home, and you lot can nevertheless make calls, read (and reply) to emails and texts, get news and atmospheric condition updates, and fifty-fifty download apps. Yet, as mentioned, if at that place's no app for the watch itself (such every bit Facebook or Twitter), you won't get those notifications, and thus won't be able to reply.
The S3 Frontier handled voice calls well. I easily heard a vocalisation on the other cease of the line when I fabricated a phone phone call, and the person heard me equally well, fifty-fifty when I extended my arm.
AT&T customers can accept advantage of NumberSync, which lets you utilize the same number on the S3 as on your smartphone, and make and receive calls and texts.
SOS is a skilful safety characteristic that lets you send a distress message from the watch to preselected contacts and let them track your location for up to 1 hour. After activating the feature in the Gear Director and choosing a contact, all I had to do was press the Home push button on the S3 iii times, and a text bulletin was sent to the contact, forth with a link showing my location on Glympse.
Samsung Pay
You tin can leave your wallet at home, as well. Later registering your carte(s) in the Gear app on your smartphone, all yous have to do is press and hold the Back button, tap the Pay push on the S3, and so concord the watch near the final.
Gear S3 versions
The Gear S3 Borderland is bachelor with LTE service from either AT&T or T-Mobile. If you choose this option, y'all'll also accept to add it to your wireless program.
If you're purchasing the watch through AT&T, it will toll you an extra $x per month to add the S3 Borderland to your plan. If you purchase the S3 borderland for $49.99 with a ii-year agreement when purchased with a Samsung Milky way smartphone on AT&T Side by side or AT&T Next Every Year with eligible service on both devices. You tin as well get the S3 on an AT&T Installment Plan for $17.50 per month for 20 months ($350).
T-Mobile is charging $399 for the S3 Frontier, which y'all tin pay in installments of $16.67 per month over 24 months. Additional charges include a $twenty activation fee, plus $5 per month added to your mobile plan.
You tin as well purchase the Borderland in a Bluetooth-only model for $299.
The Gear S3 Archetype ($299), which has a brighter stainless-steel case, does not have an LTE pick.
Battery life
Co-ordinate to Samsung, the S3'southward 380-mAh battery can last up to three days on a charge. If yous want to use it only as a lookout, I'm sure that's possible. However, even with the brandish set up to turn on only when I raised my wrist, no GPS tracking enable and just a few notifications coming through, I was able to get about 24 hours out of the S3 earlier needing to charge it support.
Using GPS will bleed the watch a lot faster, though; a xxx-infinitesimal run used upward a little over ten percent of the S3's battery.
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The S3 charges wirelessly on a small stand; the dial turns 90 degrees and then that you lot can easily see the fourth dimension while it's docked.
Bottom line
If the platonic smartwatch is 1 that lets you go out your phone in your pocket — or at home — and still be just as connected, then the Samsung Gear S3 Frontier succeeds more than any other smartwatch, and yet still falls short in some critical areas.
For those who have Android phones, the Gear S3 is probably the best smartwatch yet, as information technology's mostly more functional every bit a stand up-alone device than whatever Android Wear watch. Plus, the design, though big, is more attractive than the Apple Lookout, and you become an always-on display and born 4G.
As with the Gear S2, Gear S3 Borderland'due south biggest downside is that at that place simply aren't enough apps. Plus, the inability to bank check fifty-fifty sports scores or Facebook messages without your phone makes the S3 Frontier more frustrating than it should exist. This is the best Android smartwatch, and however it's still disappointing.
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