Samsung recently released its new Samsung Gear Fit, an upgrade from last year's Samsung Gear Smartwatch. The company hopes that it will appeal to not only new customers but also people who own fitness gears from other companies like Fit Bit, and persuade them into switching over their peroducts.
So here is our review on the Samsung Gear Fit.
The Design:
The Fit features Samsung's cutting edge "Youm" screen technology, which means that the screen is bent and curved, making it more comfortable to wear. The actual watch head is kind of thick and its back panel also features a heart rate monitor, like that on the Samsung Galaxy S5.
The screen is also quite thin resembling a Nike Fuel Band.
The rubber strap on board is compfortable, even while you are sweating and doesn't make your skin itch. The strap is also interchable in case you decide to try a new color.
There are contacts on the back panel, beside the heart rate monitor which latch on to the provided USB cable which lets you review your workout on your desktop or PC.
The Interface:
The interface is a bit quirky, the default screen orientation is horizontal, making it uncomfortable to view the actual screen of the Fit; however there is a setting that lets you orient the display vertically. But that means that your texts, Twitter feet etcetra are a lot more condensed.
The Samsung Health app featured on the the Fit is not that great either. The pedometer is not calibrated correctly, which means that you are awarded a lot more steps than you have achieved.
Also the heart monitor doesn't deliver the right results corresponding to your actual activity.
It also acts as a virtual coach, tracking your fitness, setting up challenges, and also awarding you while completing those challenges.
It also monitors your sleep.
But the Fit is not good at what it intends to do. You have to order it to track your steps or to monitor your workout, or even check on your sleep. You even have to tell it that you are about to sleep, and well that you have woken up
The Display:
The Fit's 1.84 inch curved display is vibrant, bright and good to look at, especially in broad daylight (where you should hopefully be exercising).
The Super AMOLED curved display serves its purpose, but thedimensions are not upto the mark, producing awkward and bad viewing angles.
Compatibility:
The Geat Fit only works which a select few Samsung phones. It requires the Gear manager, an app that is compatible with only a few phones.
It works hand in hand with the S Health app, which debuted last year on the S4, but it still feels like a an app out of Kick Starter.
The app is not as good as those offered by Jawbone or Fit Bit.
The Experience:
The Fit's awkward screen dimensions doesn't let you view full lenght texts, emails or even notifications.
It just lets you clear the notifications from your phone, giving you no ability to reply or even view the whole of the message.
There are just a hand full of standard one liner templates that let you reply to messages. The messages also require constant scrolling, which is a pain.
The battery lasts upto 2 or 3 days (if you're lucky) and charging it using the charging adapter is really a challenge in itself.
If you need to view the time you have to physically tap the side-button or raise the watch to a set angle or height. The responsiveness is just not there. It takes half a second for the Fit to realize that you have to view the time.
Pricing And Conclusion:
The Fit is priced at $199, which is a good price but makes you wonder if whether you really are getting what you are paying for.
Sure the screen is good and the strap is comfortable, but at the core it fails to complete the purpose for which it was made; tracking your day to day fitness.
So thats our review on the Samsung Gear Fit.
Stay tuned for the review on Cortana and the whole of the Windows Phone 8.1 platform.
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Sarthak J Shetty
Editor In Chief
