Apple Watch 3 Vs. Samsung Gear Sport: The Software Makes The Difference
The Samsung Gear Sport (left) and Apple Watch (right).
I recently reviewed the Apple Watch Series 3 LTE, and I liked it so much that I jumped back to the iPhone X as my main phone (because, in Apple fashion, the Apple Watch only works with iPhones). However, I'm ultimately an Android guy (no matter how many chances I give the iPhone X, I just ultimately can't stand iOS's uncustomizable homescreen), so for the past week I have looked for an Android alternative to the Apple Watch, so that I could have the same notifications-on-my-wrist experience without needing to be tied down to iOS.
After doing some reading and research I settled on the Samsung Gear Sport, which is technically not the South Korean tech giant's flagship wearable (that would be the bulky as heck Gear S3), but it is the company's most recent release, and it's not that much inferior to the S3 in specs/performance/features.
After using the Gear Sport for five days, my take is that although the Gear Sport is a solid smartwatch, it doesn't come close to the Apple Watch in overall performance and integration with its smartphone partner (I paired the Gear Sport with a Samsung Galaxy Note 8, by the way). Since the Gear Sport isn't a new release (it's been out since last November) and there are plenty of full reviews available on the web, I'm not going to do a proper review here, instead I'll compare it with the Apple Watch 3 in key areas.
Design/Looks
If we were to judge the devices on a table, then I'm partial to the Apple Watch's sleek design and the way the display blends into the sides. But on my wrist? I prefer the Samsung Gear Sport's design better because it feels more like a traditional timepiece. This is all subjective, of course, so let's call this a tie.
The Gear Sport looks more like a traditional watch.
Winner: tie
Hardware/Functionality
I really like the rotating bezel on the Gear Sport. In addition to making for an easier way to navigate around the OS -- the subtle tactile feedback as you scroll the bezel adds to the experience -- it adds protection for the display because it's elevated over the watch's screen. On the Apple Watch, the display is completely expose so I always feel like I'm in danger of breaking the screen anytime I move arm too fast and it bumps into a chair, door, table, whatever.
Both watch fits comfortably.
In terms of display both are OLED so both are excellent, though I find the Apple Watch easier to see in direct sunlight. And while the Apple Watch is waterproof up to 3.3-feet of water for half an hour (IPX7 rating), the Gear Sport has it beat with a 5ATM rating, meaning it can go as deep as 160-plus feet in the water.
As for battery life, the Gear Sport wins too, giving me more than two days usage on a single charge, whereas the Apple Watch can go a little more than a day and a half. I'll give the win to Samsung here, because -- spoiler -- it's taking Ls the rest of the way.
Winner: Samsung Gear Sport
Software/Real Life Usage Experience
The Apple Watch runs WatchOS, and the Gear Sport runs TizenOS, and to be honest it isn't even close if we're talking about real world performance. Let's start with voice dictation, a feature I really enjoy on a smartphone and find it one of the best excuses to wear one. The Apple Watch can pick up entire sentences -- I'm talking more than a dozen words -- within a second or two with about 90% accuracy. The Gear Sport takes about 10-15 seconds to pick up like four or five words and has an accuracy of around 50%. That means I can respond to incoming WeChat/WhatsApp message properly by just speaking into my Apple Watch, but on the Gear Sport I can't really do that.
To compound matters, the Gear Sport does not allow me to respond to WhatsApp messages at all. I have done some research online and learned that this is a recent problem that popped up after the Gear Sport's new software update. I'm not going to blame Samsung too much because this might be an issue with WhatsApp, but right now, I can only see incoming notifications on my Gear Sport but if I want to respond I must use my phone. WhatsApp, by the way, is overwhelmingly the communication of choice in Hong Kong, so this is a big problem.
Raising the watch to wake the screen too, works much better on the Apple Watch. On the Gear Sport there's a noticeable second delay -- my wrist has already been raised and I'm looking at it for a second -- before the display turns on. The Apple Watch display is on before my wrist finishes its motion up.
And notifications: the Apple Watch has a stronger haptic engine, and when I have an unread notifications, the watch is smart enough to display it the next time I bring my wrist up. On the Gear Sport -- nope, I have to manually rotate the bezel to see it.
Both watches have heart rate sensors.
I like Samsung's charging dock better though.
Tracking steps, heart rate and exercises are about the same on both watches -- both are good but not as well as the Fitbit Ionic.
Winner: Apple Watch
App Support/Eco-system
This one isn't even close again. Apple being Apple, third party developers are bending over backwards to develop apps for the Apple Watch. On the Gear Sport? Not so much.
The Apple Watch has a lot more apps.
I do like that the Gear Sport has Spotify, to which I am a subscriber. But otherwise, every useful app you can think of is on Apple Watch but no the Gear Sport. Tizen's app ecosystem is virtually non-existent. This applies to clock faces too -- you have significantly more options on the Apple Watch.
Winner: Apple Watch, by miles.
Ultimately, my dilemma -- I like the Apple Watch a lot but I want an Android counterpart -- is a first world problem that only applies to tech geeks who have access to both a new iPhone and a new Android phone. For most others, this smartphone purchase decision is cut and dry: if you're on Android, the Apple Watch is completely out of the question.
">The Samsung Gear Sport (left) and Apple Watch (right).
I recently reviewed the Apple Watch Series 3 LTE, and I liked it so much that I jumped back to the iPhone X as my main phone (because, in Apple fashion, the Apple Watch only works with iPhones). However, I'm ultimately an Android guy (no matter how many chances I give the iPhone X, I just ultimately can't stand iOS's uncustomizable homescreen), so for the past week I have looked for an Android alternative to the Apple Watch, so that I could have the same notifications-on-my-wrist experience without needing to be tied down to iOS.
After doing some reading and research I settled on the Samsung Gear Sport, which is technically not the South Korean tech giant's flagship wearable (that would be the bulky as heck Gear S3), but it is the company's most recent release, and it's not that much inferior to the S3 in specs/performance/features.
After using the Gear Sport for five days, my take is that although the Gear Sport is a solid smartwatch, it doesn't come close to the Apple Watch in overall performance and integration with its smartphone partner (I paired the Gear Sport with a Samsung Galaxy Note 8, by the way). Since the Gear Sport isn't a new release (it's been out since last November) and there are plenty of full reviews available on the web, I'm not going to do a proper review here, instead I'll compare it with the Apple Watch 3 in key areas.
Design/Looks
If we were to judge the devices on a table, then I'm partial to the Apple Watch's sleek design and the way the display blends into the sides. But on my wrist? I prefer the Samsung Gear Sport's design better because it feels more like a traditional timepiece. This is all subjective, of course, so let's call this a tie.
The Gear Sport looks more like a traditional watch.
Winner: tie
Hardware/Functionality
I really like the rotating bezel on the Gear Sport. In addition to making for an easier way to navigate around the OS -- the subtle tactile feedback as you scroll the bezel adds to the experience -- it adds protection for the display because it's elevated over the watch's screen. On the Apple Watch, the display is completely expose so I always feel like I'm in danger of breaking the screen anytime I move arm too fast and it bumps into a chair, door, table, whatever.
Both watch fits comfortably.
In terms of display both are OLED so both are excellent, though I find the Apple Watch easier to see in direct sunlight. And while the Apple Watch is waterproof up to 3.3-feet of water for half an hour (IPX7 rating), the Gear Sport has it beat with a 5ATM rating, meaning it can go as deep as 160-plus feet in the water.
As for battery life, the Gear Sport wins too, giving me more than two days usage on a single charge, whereas the Apple Watch can go a little more than a day and a half. I'll give the win to Samsung here, because -- spoiler -- it's taking Ls the rest of the way.
Winner: Samsung Gear Sport
Software/Real Life Usage Experience
The Apple Watch runs WatchOS, and the Gear Sport runs TizenOS, and to be honest it isn't even close if we're talking about real world performance. Let's start with voice dictation, a feature I really enjoy on a smartphone and find it one of the best excuses to wear one. The Apple Watch can pick up entire sentences -- I'm talking more than a dozen words -- within a second or two with about 90% accuracy. The Gear Sport takes about 10-15 seconds to pick up like four or five words and has an accuracy of around 50%. That means I can respond to incoming WeChat/WhatsApp message properly by just speaking into my Apple Watch, but on the Gear Sport I can't really do that.
To compound matters, the Gear Sport does not allow me to respond to WhatsApp messages at all. I have done some research online and learned that this is a recent problem that popped up after the Gear Sport's new software update. I'm not going to blame Samsung too much because this might be an issue with WhatsApp, but right now, I can only see incoming notifications on my Gear Sport but if I want to respond I must use my phone. WhatsApp, by the way, is overwhelmingly the communication of choice in Hong Kong, so this is a big problem.
Raising the watch to wake the screen too, works much better on the Apple Watch. On the Gear Sport there's a noticeable second delay -- my wrist has already been raised and I'm looking at it for a second -- before the display turns on. The Apple Watch display is on before my wrist finishes its motion up.
And notifications: the Apple Watch has a stronger haptic engine, and when I have an unread notifications, the watch is smart enough to display it the next time I bring my wrist up. On the Gear Sport -- nope, I have to manually rotate the bezel to see it.
Both watches have heart rate sensors.
I like Samsung's charging dock better though.
Tracking steps, heart rate and exercises are about the same on both watches -- both are good but not as well as the Fitbit Ionic.
Winner: Apple Watch
App Support/Eco-system
This one isn't even close again. Apple being Apple, third party developers are bending over backwards to develop apps for the Apple Watch. On the Gear Sport? Not so much.
The Apple Watch has a lot more apps.
I do like that the Gear Sport has Spotify, to which I am a subscriber. But otherwise, every useful app you can think of is on Apple Watch but no the Gear Sport. Tizen's app ecosystem is virtually non-existent. This applies to clock faces too -- you have significantly more options on the Apple Watch.
Winner: Apple Watch, by miles.
Ultimately, my dilemma -- I like the Apple Watch a lot but I want an Android counterpart -- is a first world problem that only applies to tech geeks who have access to both a new iPhone and a new Android phone. For most others, this smartphone purchase decision is cut and dry: if you're on Android, the Apple Watch is completely out of the question.
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