Galaxy Watch Active Review: Very capable, even for the inactive

When information technology comes to engineering people often seek out the latest and about innovative devices.

For manufacturers, changes to products ofttimes come in the form of interesting design shifts, such equally Apple launching the 'notched' iPhone 10, or modifications to the software experience, like Samsung and its mostly great 1 UI.

Samsung'due south latest smartwatch, unfortunately, isn't a leap forrard and instead feels more like a side stride for the South Korean manufacturer. Every bit a result, this 'Active' version of the South Korean visitor'southward flagship Galaxy Lookout features a new but all the same very familiar design.

But first, here'due south a cursory lesson on Samsung's history with smartwatches.

In 2017, Samsung launched the Gear Sport, a slim alternative to the Gear S3 serial that felt like information technology was aimed at customers with a more active lifestyle. When I reviewed the sentry, I called it a "capable smartwatch, even for not-athletes." In a way, t he Galaxy Sentry Active is the spiritual successor to the Gear Sport.

Back in 2018, Samsung rebranded its Gear moniker with 'Milky way' so it matched with the visitor's other products. The first device to feature this name change was the Galaxy Scout.

While 2019's Galaxy Picket Agile is non the successor to 2018'due south variant of the smartwatch, it'south a lightweight accept on the design that is still a capable smartwatch for all types of users.

Technical specs

Dimensions: 39.five 10 39.5 ten 10.5mm
Weight: 25g
Display Type: Super AMOLED
Brandish Size: one.i-inches
Display Resolution: 360 x 360 pixel resolution
Protection: Corning Gorilla Glass DX+
Os: Tizen four.0
Chipset: Exynos 9110
CPU: Dual-Core one.15Ghz
Storage: 4GB
Internal Memory: 768MB of RAM
Battery: 230mAh battery
Bluetooth 4.ii
MIL-STD 810G
50m waterproof
Accelerometer
Gyro
Heart Rate sensor
Barometer

New only familiar

In 2018, I opted to review the 46mm Milky way Sentry because it featured a larger, longer-lasting battery. However, I retrieve the smaller 42mm version felt far more comfy on my wrist. Now, the Milky way Watch Agile brings an even lighter and slimmer feel to Samsung's smartwatch line when compared to even the 42mm Galaxy Watch.

The Agile measures in at 39.v 10 39.5 x ten.5mm and weighs 25g, whereas the 42mm Galaxy Watch comes in at 45.7 x 41.9 ten 12.7mm and weighs 49g. In comparison, the Gear Sport measures in at 44.six 10 42.9 x xi.6mm and weighs 60g. In general, I enjoyed how light the smartwatch felt while wearing information technology. I tend to be ofttimes bothered by wearables considering I find them also heavy for my dainty wrists.

However, my experience with the Galaxy Picket Active was different. Considering it was so slim and so light, I barely noticed I was wearing it, even at piece of work where I spend nearly ninety percent of the day typing at my desk-bound.

While the Galaxy Lookout man Active is lighter and smaller when compared to Gear Sport and Galaxy Lookout, it comes with another change that sets it apart from the Gear family unit — it lacks a rotating bezel.

Users navigate the clothing by tapping and swiping on the screen and pressing the back and domicile buttons. Previously, Samsung's smartwatches included a gear-like rotating bezel to navigate the smartwatch's interface aslope touch on navigation equally well as back and home buttons.

I thought Samsung would have removed the navigation bezel when it switched from Gear to Galaxy, but the Milky way Watch nonetheless featured it. With the Watch Active dropping the bezel, it's unclear if Samsung volition bring it back.

I don't necessarily miss the gear bezel, just it was fun to employ. That said, if removing the rotating bezel allows the smartwatch to feel lighter and slimmer, so I'k all about getting rid of it. It's worth noting that it was also easier to run across what yous're doing without having your fingers obstructing the sentinel's minor screen.

I'chiliad fond of the alter, and it makes the smartwatch look far more modern. This is the first Samsung smartwatch — not counting the company's smart bands — since the Samsung Gear S that lacks the bezel.

Biggest flaws

The Galaxy Sentinel Agile features a 1.1-inch circular brandish that is smaller than the screen included in both the Gear Sport that uses a 1.two-inch panel and the 42mm Galaxy Watch, which sports a 1.3-inch screen.

At times I wished the article of clothing featured a bigger brandish. Text wasn't hard to read, simply my experience with 2018's Galaxy Watch was amend because of the smartwatch's size. That said, the Watch Active'southward user interface does brand content articulate cheers to its bolded text and black background.

The Agile sports a Super AMOLED panel with a 360 x 360-pixel resolution.

My nearly meaning issue with the smartwatch and its screen is the bezel. Unlike the Apple Lookout Series 4, which features a curved display with minimized bezels, the Watch Active includes a circular, flat screen that features considerably larger edges.

The Galaxy Picket and Gear Sport look bezel-less due to the rotating bezels. Without the rotating bezel, the Watch Active resembles like the Apple Watch Series 3, rather than the more modernistic Apple tree Watch Serial 4.

If information technology comes to keeping the rotating bezel over featuring a bezel similar to the Active's, I'd prefer the rotating bezel. However, I know that I might be in the minority when information technology comes to this stance. Hopefully, Samsung's successor to the Galaxy Sentinel features either a smaller bezel or the company treads back to the rotating design.

What some might find to be a more than significant issue with the Sentinel Active is that information technology lacks a built-in speaker. So while the smartwatch features a mic that enables users to speak to Bixby, you can't use it as a wristwatch telephone like with the Galaxy Watch. In fact, when you start a phone call on the Active, the watch will straight the user to pull out their handset.

Not the best or worst

The Scout Active features a 230mAh battery that I constitute consistently lasted around 30 hours on a single charge. Bombardment Life isn't as good as the 46mm Galaxy Scout, which typically got me through 3 nights and would dice at some signal during the fourth day.

The Active's bombardment life was similar to the Apple tree Watch Series 4, which lastedMobileSyrup managing editor Patrick O'Rouke a day and a half with "moderate usage."

Further, the Galaxy Lookout Active charges wirelessly. That said, information technology's important to notation that it doesn't place prissy with the Qi wireless charging standard. Similar to nearly smartwatches, Samsung packed in its ain charger for the wear, which is good since it doesn't seem to be compatible with any third-political party wireless charging pads I tested out.

I've tried charging the watch on diverse wireless charging pads and it merely didn't work. Notwithstanding, it's unclear if this is new equally I never tried charging Samsung'south previous smartwatches on a charger that didn't come with the device.

Functioning and apps

The Galaxy Picket Active is a snappy little watch even though it merely sports 768MB of RAM and Samsung's Exynos 9110 processor. You're typically not doing anything intensive with a smartwatch, so the Active has no issue keeping stride with its user.

Samsung'due south Tizen operating system (Bone) hasn't changed much from its previous version. It'south based on Linux and contains proprietary components owned past Samsung. The S Korean company uses Tizen on its smartwatches, smart appliances and even some smartphones.

Though Tizen Bone doesn't feature as many apps as Article of clothing Bone and watchOS information technology's yet a competent operating organisation.

Bixby works fine, with the artificial intelligence being able to perform actions promptly when yous speak to it. Users tin can ask questions like "what is the time in Timbuktu?" You can also asking that Bixby telephone call your mom. If you lot start a call information technology'll go straight to the handset.

'Still workin' on my fitness'

The Milky way Watch Agile is capable of monitoring the wearer's action while they exercise.

Similar to the Milky way Watch, the wearable automatically recognizes when you're running, using an elliptical, rowing and more.

You can also tell the watch that you're doing other exercises, such every bit weight training, and the wearable can time how long you're doing them for and monitor your pulse.

This feature seems pretty authentic, merely similar to the Milky way Spotter, it does take a moment to realize you started an exercise with the automated detection.

Sleep like a baby

The Milky way Lookout Agile tin can also monitor the user's sleep and stress.

It's impressive how well information technology works when it comes to slumber tracking. The article of clothing tracked my entire slumber, literally from the moment I brutal asleep until the adjacent morning when my alarm woke me upward. To exist articulate. The Galaxy Watch was also able to do this as well.

The Active tin also monitor and tell if a user is stressed. Whenever I use the feature, it always says that I'm stressed, though I typically never really experience stressed. The wearables takes a baseline of the user's heart rate and uses it to compare with time to come stress tests, to figure out if the user is stressed.

In Canada, the smartwatch is available in 'Silverish,' 'Black,' 'Sea Green' and 'Rose Gold. And it costs $299.99 CAD from the Samsung Experience Shop. Y'all can also catch it from Best Purchase and the Source