Samsung’s voice-recognition technology – S Voice – is just as disappointing. On this watch it’s slow and unintuitive to use. For mapping, the Gear S2 relies on Nokia Here maps to provide navigation and public-transport information. I constantly found myself deleting notifications by accident, just because I’d forgotten which part of the OS I was in.Īnd some of the preloaded apps just don’t work as well as their Android Wear equivalents. The biggest problem I had with it was that swiping up on a notification dismisses it forever, and yet, once you have a notification open, you can swipe up and down on it to your heart’s content. And it isn’t helped by various bugs and inconsistencies. This looks pretty, but the extra interface is unnecessary and requires too many clicks to access. It’s here that you gain access to smartwatch staples such as the stopwatch, timer, “find my phone”, heart-rate monitor and maps functions – all the watch’s apps, in other words. Press the bottom button on the watch’s right-hand side and you’ll get to a screen w ith a circular dial of apps with icons arranged around the edge of the watch face. So far, so good, but Samsung just can’t help itself, and adds yet more ways to get around. Tap a notification to read it, or swipe it up to dismiss it. Rotate left from the homescreen and you’ll see your recent notifications. Is it any good? The brief answer to both of those questions is that it’s good – in parts.Īs I’ve described above, the navigation works beautifully, and Samsung has taken full advantage of the Gear S2’s rotating bezel here. Samsung Gear S2 review: Is Tizen any good?Īnd so to the software, on which the Gear S2’s success or failure inevitably rests. I’m inclined to share his positivity – it’s genuinely brilliant, and I can see Google and other manufacturers taking inspiration from it. Two buttons on the right side of the watch, meanwhile, replicate the home and back actions you get on standard Android smartphones – a decision that will make things particularly easy for those who aren’t familiar with rival smartwatch interfaces – and holding these buttons down or double-pressing them gives further options.Īt the original launch, Samsung’s Pranav Mistry waxed lyrical about the bezel, claiming that the physical movements required to navigate the interface would soon become second nature, eventually imprinting on “muscle memory”. You can of course still swipe around with your fingers if you want, but the dial works best, providing quick, instinctive control of the Tizen UI and an unobscured view of what’s onscreen. For my skinny wrists, its 1.2in watch face is the perfect size: not too big or lumpy, and not too small and dainty either. It’s very comfortable to wear – once I’d strapped it on, I barely noticed it was there. It’s built from stainless steel with a da rk gunmetal-grey finish, and the strap attaches via a proprietary quick-release clip on the rear. The watch body itself feels incredibly solid. The Standard has a rubber strap and a smooth bezel, while the Classic – which is £50 more expensive – features a slightly more aggressive-looking notched screen surround and has a leather strap. Samsung’s first round-faced smartwatch looks and feels gorgeous, in both versions. The first thing to say is it’s one of the nicest smartwatches I’ve had the pleasure to wear. Samsung Gear S2 review: Design & key features That instantly broadens the appeal of Samsung’s latest wearable, setting it up as a viable alternative to the Motorola Moto 360 2, the Huawei Watch and the LG Watch Urbane for Android phone users.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |