Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

AS OF FEBRUARY, 2016, I AM RAISING MY REVIEW TO 5 STARS (from 4). I USE THIS EVERYDAY, IT LOOKS LIKE A WATCH AND IT'S GOTTEN EVEN BETTER WITH THE LATEST SOFTWARE UPDATE. I ALSO EXCHANGED THE SPORT AND GOT THE CLASSIC. I'M GLAD I DID. THE CLASSIC IS GREAT LOOKING AND THE RING IS EVEN EASIER TO GRASP. This review is based on the Gear S2 Sport/Dark Grey edition, not the classic. I also own a more formal LG Watch Urbane which is an Android Wear based watch. The Gear S2 uses a different operating system known as Tizen. NOTIFICATIONS – THE MAIN REASON I WANT A SMART WATCH One thing I was concerned about was whether or not I could use my preferred text messaging app (Textra) as opposed to the stock SMS messaging app and still get notifications. The answer is YES, you can. You can also reply using the limited reply methods available for text messages. In fact, you can direct any notification that normally appears at the top of your Android phone to the Gear S2 (e.g. corporate email, Gmail, etc.). The Gear phone app lets you turn notifications on and off on a per app basis. So – turn on your SMS program, turn off the ones you don’t want showing up on your watch. You’ll want to limit what goes to the watch because it will get crowded and the interface isn’t the best for managing lots of notifications (see below). INTERFACE You interact with the watch by touching the screen or the watch’s round bezel. Despite the tiny on screen buttons, my regular fingers always seem to hit the right button. You can talk to the watch as well. For example, you can wake it up with a custom phrase (e.g. “Hey Gear”) and then make various requests via S-Voice (not Google’s voice system, unfortunately). I found the voice recognition “acceptable” – not great. Personally, I’m not big on talking to my watch. To read a full message, you tap on the message and it switches to a mode that lets you scroll down through the whole message using your finger or the wheel. To take action on a message, you tap the side of the screen and rotate the ring to pick reply, dismiss, save, actually delete the message, etc. then tap on the button. You can also just tap on the button without selecting it with the ring. I seem to be getting handy at moving through the menus quickly the more I use it. It’s just not as simple as the basic swipe-away used in Android Wear which is very effective. You can also send messages using its “buddy” feature. You select the buddy from your address book, then the phone number. You can then call them or send a text. If you choose to send a text, you are given three options: speak it, use one of the canned responses or send an Emoji. The canned responses can be edited so you can add your own – that’s nice. As for calling, you’ll need to pull at your phone to actually talk. It’s got two buttons on the side. One for BACK and one for HOME. Here’s some insider info: You can program the HOME button so that if you press it twice, it performs a custom action (e.g. open the BUDDY message sending tool). APPS Here’s the Achilles heel. Android Wear has MANY more apps. Samsung has an “app store” but it pathetic in comparison to the mass of Android Wear apps in the play store. The question is – does it matter? The Gear S2 has all the basics and will deliver your full suite of notifications. I do find myself missing my more robust AW messaging app (Coffee) and Evernote among others. Compared to AW, you aren’t going to find loads of watch faces for the Gear S2 either. SCREEN The Gear S2’s screen is gorgeous. High resolution, beautiful color rendition. Compared to the Urbane, which I believe has the best screen of the AW watches out now (10/2015), the winner is the Gear S2. Not that the Urbane is bad, it’s that the Gear tops it. Like AW, the Gear S2 has an ambient mode where the watch face is always active even when you’re not looking at it. It just shows the clock hands or the digital time until you bring your wrist up to look at it – then it fills the screen with the complete watch face. ALERTS There is no speaker on this watch. You can’t make calls on the watch alone. The watch alerts you with vibrations which have two intensity settings. I am using the lower setting and getting used to the light buzz. I found the high setting too loud. You could hear it buzzing. SIZE I have relatively thin wrists and this is the only watch to date that doesn’t border on ridiculous when I’m wearing it. My Urbane is right on the line because it’s so thick but it looks like a real watch so I don’t think people see it as a T.V. strapped to my wrist. If you have thin to moderate wrists, the Gear S2 is the way to go. Looks good and not out of place. BANDS The watch comes with 4 proprietary, same-color bands of different lengths that you can mix and match. They unhook but it takes some effort. I am using one small and one large band to get just the right fit. You can use both small or both large. I found that using both large was just too big. I was in the last hole. Both small… way too small. BATTERY I’ve had no problem with the watch easily making it from morning to bedtime and having at least 25% to spare. That’s with higher “I just got a new toy” usage (I’ve had the watch for a week) BOTTOM LINE.... Android Wear is the better interface and so many more apps but the Gear S2 is better looking (physically and the screen) especially on a smaller wrist. The Gear S2 really nailed the interaction method with the rotating dial. I wish you could marry the two into one watch! What will I be wearing? The Gear S2 as an everyday watch and the Urbane for more dressy occasions, when I feel like a slightly upscale look or when I just need the more robust apps available in AW. I’m giving it four stars. I’ll raise it to five if the number of available apps increases allowing for more customization and functionality. MY TIP… You can reorder the main screens by touch-holding the screens and deleting/adding back the screens in the order you want. I found the default order of the main screens less than appealing until I discovered you can reorder them (e.g. I didn’t need S-Health as a primary screen). It’s not the greatest system to rearrange the screens but it can be done creating a more personalized experience. Oh – I’m not showing as a verified buyer because I actually bought it at a local retailer. Since it’s a watch, I wanted the ability to easily return it locally if it didn’t work out. Prices are the same. I love Amazon! (one photo shows it with the LG Urbane) Hope someone finds this useful. Feel free to comment/question.