You'll just be missing a few features, like weather and fitness data syncing.
The Gear Fit isn't officially supported on non-Samsung phones, but if you install the Gear Fit Manager app on any Android phone (also running 4.3+), it will work.
The Gear S doesn't work independently, but can pair with a phone over either Bluetooth or the Internet.Īs the only Android Wear watch in this bunch, the Gear Live plays nicely with any Android phone running 4.3 or higher. Non-Samsung Android compatibilityįor the Galaxy Gear, Gear 2, Neo and Fit, you'll need to pair your watch with a recent Samsung Galaxy phone. If smartwatches are eventually going to replace our smartphones, then the Gear S is a step in that direction. The Gear S is a groundbreaking device, as you can pop in a SIM card and get 3G data without the help of your phone. ColorsĪll but the Gear Fit are sold in multiple colors.You can still customize it, though, by buying a different-colored replacement band. You can swap bands on the Gear S, but not with standard bands. In the case of the Gear 2, Neo and Live, you can use any standard 22 mm band. Swappable bandĪll but the original Galaxy Gear let you swap out their default bands for a different style.
Based on my hands-on time with it (along with its larger screen), I'd say it's the heaviest in this bunch – but not so heavy that it gives you anything to worry about. Samsung didn't list the Gear S' weight in its initial press materials. The Gear Fit is also the lightest, though I don't think any of the first five watches feel particularly heavy on the wrist. Since the Gear Fit is more of a fitness tracker than full-fledged smartwatch, it's much narrower than the rest. The Android Wear-running Gear Live is the thinnest, but, having spent quality time with the first five of these watches, I don't think the Live necessary feels much thinner. The dimensions above measure each watch's main body – including the bezel, but not including the band. You can also choose which phone apps will send notifications to your watch. Like just about every other smartwatch you can buy, all of these watches deliver smartphone alerts to your wrist. Samsung is teasing "enhanced S Voice" for the Gear S, though, so we're eager to find out what that means. Voice controlĪndroid Wear has the better voice control, as it puts the speed and versatility of Google Now on your wrist. The watch launched running a custom version of Android, but it now runs Tizen as well. The Galaxy Gear is the rare mobile device that was updated with a completely different operating system. Though it launched with a weak app selection, I've been impressed with its steady growth since then. SoftwareĪpart from the Android Wear-running Gear Live and the Gear Fit (which runs a barebones real-time OS), all of our watches run Samsung's Tizen platform for wearables. If you lose track, just scroll back up here for a quick refresher. If you've lost track (understandably so), these are the six Samsung smartwatches that we're going to be looking at:įor each category in this comparison, you'll see two rows of watches – ordered exactly as they are in the list above. Confused? Let Gizmag lend a hand, as we compare all six Samsung Gear watches. And next month, we're going to get our first taste of the Gear S. After launching the Galaxy Gear last September, the company pushed out three more watches in April and another in July. When it comes to smartwatches, Samsung has had its foot on the gas pedal all through the last year.