The Samsung Galaxy Watch is Samsung’s best smartwatch so far, and I’m here to share with you my experience over the few weeks I wore it.
Design That Doesn’t Stray Far From Analogue Watches
If you’re a fan of analogue watches like me (I was sporting a Claude Bernard or Bering every single day before using the Galaxy Watch), the Samsung Galaxy Watch won’t feel unfamiliar. It is round, has an analogue face on which you can set the sAMOLED display to show at all times, and a sleek bezel that adds an oomph of luxury while serving as an intuitive way to navigate at the same time.
I’m sure many of you are looking for sleek new gadgets that look like they came from the 22nd century and find traditional analogue watches boring. If that’s the case, the Galaxy Watch will unfortunately not be your cup of tea, and its counterpart with the square face might suit you better.
I wore the one with a 42mm rose gold face (because that’s the colour that all the girls including me are in love with) and the 20mm pink beige strap that would go with most of my outfits without much clashing. I usually wear a 38mm or 42mm watch so the size of Galaxy Watch is just nice, and its design makes it look somewhat delicate even if it’s a bit big.
For the guys, there are the options of the 46mm silver watch with longer battery life (four days instead of the usual two to three days) and 42mm midnight black watch with various strap colours to complement it.
A Nifty Fitness Tracker
I have used a fitness tracker before but I always thought it was a bit of a hassle to wear something all day when it has very limited features like counting steps and heart rate. A smartwatch with fitness tracking features is the best as it doesn’t feel like a chore to put it on during workouts since it is on my wrist already.
The Galaxy Watch prompts me when I’ve been inactive for a while, such as when I study for 90 minutes without standing up for a stretch. Do I listen to the watch when it’s asking me to walk a little? Most of the time!
The Samsung Galaxy Watch has an impressive collection of 21 indoor exercises and 39 tracked workouts including weighted machine, circuit training, pilates and rows. As long as you are not a serious athlete, the fitness tracking function will suffice.
An All-Day Companion
Personally, my favourite part of using a smartwatch is that I don’t have to keep looking at my phone – the evil device that can distract me for hours at one go. With the Galaxy Watch, I simply check my notifications when it vibrates and only pick up my phone to reply messages when there’s something urgent. This is awesome as during exam season I used to keep my phone in my bag or activate the Forest app and end up succumbing to the temptation of checking for notifications or having the fear of missing out on urgent messages.
When I get bored for a few minutes waiting for the bus or a toilet cubicle, I love catching up on headliner news on Flipboard. For articles that aren’t too lengthy, I can read the whole thing by scrolling on the watch. It’s a great way to kill time instead of scrolling through my Instagram feed.
I honestly have yet to try Spotify on the Samsung Galaxy Watch (I’m an Apple Music user, sorry!), but I thought that it’s cool how you can have music everywhere you go, especially for evening runs, without the chore of carrying your phone along to sync wirelessly with your headphone.
The Verdict
I thoroughly enjoyed having the Samsung Galaxy Watch on my wrist to keep me updated with notifications, tracking my workouts, and entertaining me with the countless new apps the smartwatch supports. I like how I’m not as hooked on my phone as I was before since the Samsung Galaxy Watch performs a lot of functions that a phone does already. Aside from all this technology, it just looks really cool to wear one as an accessory.
