Let's get acquainted with the Galaxy Watch Active - Samsung's new smart watch

Specifications

Appearance and ergonomics

Hereinafter, we will compare the Galaxy Watch Active with the previous Samsung watch that came to our review - the Galaxy Watch. This device is sold in two versions: with screen diagonals of 42 and 46 mm. Our model is seriously different already at this stage: in terms of dimensions, it is slightly less than 40 mm in diameter. For a device worn on the hand, this difference is very noticeable: the Watch Active is noticeably smaller than its predecessor.

On the left is Galaxy Watch Active, on the right is Galaxy Watch

The Watch Active does seem compact, which is why many consider it to be feminine. I strongly disagree: the watch looks great on a man’s hand.

You can feel the presence of the gadget on your hand, but it’s not difficult to get used to. The watch weighs only 25 g, which is very important for a wrist device that you won’t take off in your sleep.

The Watch Active has a round case, like a classic wristwatch. On the right side there are two buttons that respond pleasantly to pressing. There is no bezel or digital crown.

Despite its mobility, this is a serious accessory. Only silicone straps slightly harm the external solidity. But they can be changed: there are several alternative options in the Samsung store. If you take a leather or fabric strap rather than a silicone one, the device will look like an ordinary wristwatch with a screen, and not a sports gadget.

Which is better - Galaxy Watch Active 2 or Apple Watch Series 5

On the left is the Galaxy Watch Active 2, on the right is the Apple Watch Series 5.
These are completely different devices. Below are the key differences.

• Design. Galaxy Watch is round, Apple Watch is rectangular. A matter of taste and habit.
• Dials. Apple Watch users are limited to a set from the developer, but the Galaxy Watch can be installed with watch faces from the app store.
• Built-in memory. The Watch Active 2 has only 4 GB of memory, a significant part of which is occupied by the system. The latest generation Apple Watch received as much as 32 GB of ROM. This place is reserved for a music library. Both competitors can stream tracks to Bluetooth headphones without a smartphone.
• Voice assistant. The Apple Watch has Siri with all its pros and cons, and the Galaxy Watch has Bixby, which does not work in Russia. Points for Apple.
• Autonomy. Apple claims 18 hours of battery life on all its watches, Samsung claims 43-60 hours depending on the version. The Galaxy Watch is indeed more durable, but not that much: it will last a couple of days with moderate use if you take the gadget off at night.
• Animation. After the Apple Watch, Samsung watches seem slow. It's not a lack of power, it's the animation scripts. For example, the screen does not go dark immediately after covering it with your palm, but the notification appears a few seconds after the vibration. This may change with software updates.
• Price. The most affordable version of Galaxy Watch Active 2 will cost 19,990 rubles, Apple Watch Series 5 - 32,990 rubles.
• Compatibility. The Apple Watch is only compatible with iOS devices, while the full potential of the Galaxy Watch opens up with smartphones running Android, in particular Samsung. In this case, you can connect your Galaxy Watch to your iPhone, but you will lose some functions. The most annoying loss is contactless payment via Samsung Pay.

Although Samsung and Apple watches are in the same category of devices and have the same functions, it is not very fair to compare them. And you don’t need to choose between them - it’s better to just look at your smartphone.

Display

The watch has a 1.1-inch Super AMOLED display. The pixel density is enough that you can put photos on the watch face screensaver.

The brightness reserve is enough to distinguish the symbols on the dial even under the sun.

The display has thick frames, but they do not interfere. The black color on the screen is deep enough that the line between the display and the frame is almost invisible.

The screen is touch sensitive and responds correctly to touches. All the scrolling, for which the bezel was responsible in the previous model, will have to be done here with your finger, but this, in my opinion, is not critical.

Always On Display mode is supported, with which the dial remains constantly active, without pressing or turning the wrist. But there was no mechanical watch dial among the standard offerings. It seems that this time the Watch is not trying to look like a classic accessory.

Fitness and activity tracking

Automatic Workout Recognition is a feature that works really well on the Watch Active 2. During testing, I was pleased with the accuracy of the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2's Automatic Workout Recognition feature. For example, the Apple Watch often failed to register activity during a workout.

Once you start exercising, the always-on screen will show a regular watch face, but as soon as you lift your wrist, you'll see an activity watch face showing how long you've been exercising, as well as heart rate, calories burned, and other relevant information.

This Samsung smartwatch has a number of sports exercises that can be started manually: arm curls, arm extensions, back extensions, bench press, circuit training, rows, elliptical efforts, stationary bike, etc. In addition, there are options such as hiking, Pilates , stretching, swimming, walking and yoga.

During testing, I found the Galaxy Watch Active 2's heart rate monitor to work quite well and provide accurate readings. However, GPS tracking is not as accurate as on a smartphone.

Control

Control is carried out using two buttons and a touch screen. In most situations, the buttons correspond to the actions "Back" and "Home", but with double and long presses you can turn on the Samsung Pay payment mode, open the application list, turn off the device or call the voice assistant. The Bixby service is installed here, which does not recognize commands in Russian.

A swipe on top brings up the quick settings screen, and swipes on the sides are responsible for switching between widgets. For additional information, you can tap and scroll through almost any of the screens. Here is the list of default widgets: notifications, activity, application shortcuts, workouts, stress level, heart rate, weather, Google events calendar. There are a couple dozen more screens to choose from: alarm clock, calendar, contacts, time of different time zones, player, reminders, Spotify and various data from Samsung Health - an application that tracks activity, sleep, training and nutrition.

Notifications are really useful here: messages from instant messengers can usually be read in full. The answer from the watch is compiled from preset options or using dictation into the built-in microphone.

Battery autonomy

The new Galaxy Watch Active 2 will last almost two full days with the screen always on. Regular use of the watch throughout the day will drain the battery by about 3-4% per hour, with the screen always on - a good indicator. Of course, training, especially with GPS, will drain your battery faster.

The Watch Active 2 has a good night mode that you can manually turn on before going to bed, which is very convenient because the option turns off notifications and other processes, showing only the time. This allows you to save battery, using about 4 to 5% per night, while the sleep tracking function continues to work.

In general, the charge in the 44mm version during testing with the screen always on was enough for about 1.5 days. If you put on a fully charged watch at 8 am and return home around 8 pm, the device will have just under 50% energy. The result is only slightly better than the Apple Watch Series 5, which discharged to about 40% over the same period.

With this battery life, Active 2 can easily track your sleep, and then, after recharging the gadget for 15 minutes, you can reach the end of the day.

Activity and sleep

A separate dial is responsible for displaying activity throughout the day, which displays three results:

• number of hours spent in motion;
• number of calories burned;
• training time.

All indicators are generated automatically, and even walking is considered a workout. It’s not difficult to fill out all the bars, and this is a good incentive to lead at least some active lifestyle. The standard rate can be changed in the settings.

Full activity metrics are displayed in the Samsung Health app.

Here, for example, you can monitor your sleep phases and find out how long it takes you to fall asleep.

Or monitor your heart rate statistics.

Any of the tracking items in Samsung Health is available on Watch Active as a separate watch face widget. This means you can set a goal to drink 10 glasses of water a day and add a corresponding screen to your Watch Active to quickly add pluses.

Galaxy Watch Active 2 features

Here's a short list of what the Galaxy Watch Active 2 can do:

• Show notifications. This way you can stay in touch without taking your smartphone out of your pocket. When synced with a Samsung device, you can respond to notifications directly from your watch screen.
• Monitor your activity. Data on calories burned and time spent in motion are displayed on a separate screen.
• Take into account the time spent in sleep. If you leave your watch on at night, the Samsung Health app will show you how long you slept and whether your sleep was restless.
• Keep training statistics. Moreover, in 40 modes - from running and cycling to planking.
• Replace wallet. The NFC chip in the watch allows you to make contactless payments through the Samsung Pay service.
• Be a wrist translator, voice diary, flashlight, calculator or anything else. It all depends on the apps you download from the Galaxy Store.

The interface in the Galaxy Watch Active 2 migrated from its predecessor and adopted most of the functions. We talked about them in more detail in the Galaxy Watch Active review.

Autonomy

The Watch Active has a battery with a capacity of 230 mAh. Battery life may vary depending on how you use the watch. Turning on GPS and Always On Display, playing music, using fitness applications - all this can reduce the operating time of the device from a possible 90 hours to about 8.

I've now been using the Watch Active for 46 hours and the charge has dropped from 100% to 8%. In most scenarios, unless you're an audiophile athlete, you'll need to charge the device about once every two days.

The manufacturer claims that the battery charge can be restored wirelessly from the Samsung Galaxy S10, S10+ and S10e with reverse charging function. We were not able to check this, but, as we understand, not everyone can turn on such charging. Our Belkin Qi station refused to charge the watch.

Design and size

The Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 smartwatch is comfortable to wear, looks stylish and comes in two sizes. Despite its name Active, the gadget does not look sporty; rather, it can be called minimalistic. Aluminum body, two physical buttons on the side, and nothing more. This watch is versatile, so you can wear it to the gym or the office and still look good in both places.

The manufacturer offers a choice of two case sizes, 40 mm and 44 mm, and the larger option does not look gigantic, as is the case with the Gear S3. A little disappointing is that the smartwatch only comes with one size band, so if you purchased the 44mm version, the band may not fit on thin wrists. Luckily it's a standard 20mm with quick release pins so it can be easily swapped out.

For testing, I received a version with a rubber sports strap, which is soft and incredibly comfortable for everyday use. But, if you want to look stylish and wear this smartwatch with more formal attire, you can upgrade it to a leather or metal one.

Results

Galaxy Watch Active is a more affordable version of the Galaxy Watch, but cheaper, with a smaller battery and without a bezel. This is where the compromises end.

The new model inherited the hardware of the previous watches, but, in my opinion, the case turned out to be much nicer and more versatile.

Otherwise the verdict is the same. The Galaxy Watch Active is a great way to complement the Samsung ecosystem, and is also a good choice for Android device owners. They also work with iOS, but compared to the Apple Watch, the gadget is lost due to the advantages of the Apple ecosystem.

And the Watch Active is round. For some this is probably really important.

Price - 16,990 rubles.

Buy

The author expresses gratitude to Samsung for providing the devices for testing.

Differences from Galaxy Watch Active

On the left is the second version of the Galaxy Watch Active, on the right is the first.
There are only three really important differences: the touch bezel, the steel version of the new watch and the price. The slightly changed design and the addition of non-functioning ECG and LTE sensors do not amount to serious innovations. Let us remind you that the LTE module installed in steel versions works with eSIM - a standard that is not yet supported in Russia. The ECG function is still being tested.

If you already have a Galaxy Watch Active, there's no point in upgrading. If you are just looking for your first smartwatch, you can choose any version. The cost of Galaxy Watch Active is 16,990 rubles, and prices for Active 2 start at 19,990 rubles.