Samsung Gear S3 frontier smartwatch review

ImageTagInstance gallery-4868e575-7b23-4f30-b4d8-b5e00189be0d IntroductionI have a confession to make – I don't like watches. I don't like how they get bumped against doors and get caught in my clothes, I don't like how they remind me of school, where I had to instantly get from one class to another, I don't like the idea that they're intended to serve as a fashion accessory (not unlike a peacock's plumage), and I particularly don't like that they can't do much beyond telling the time – something that my phone does perfectly. But when I reviewed the HTMLTagInstance html-tag-24a5adb4-1860-4264-9101-e2ffa1fb39c7 Samsung Gear S2 smartwatch last year, I actually enjoyed it. The wearable looked good and felt okay on my wrist, but above all, it could do much more than to tell me that I was late for my weekly editorial meeting. That's why I'm now excited to test the Samsung Gear S3 frontier, which comes with a bigger battery, a built-in speaker, and a dedicated GPS for improved location track...

Samsung Gear S3 review: Samsung tries to throw it all on a watch, but it doesn't all stick

Smartwatches are experiments. For a taste of the future, you've got to live with compromise on your wrist. But for a lot of people, connected watches are best kept simple. Battery life wins out over tons of features, and ease of use over feature bloat. After all, that's what phones are for. Watches are where we check things quickly.

Samsung's watch survives, for now, as one of the better options for Android phone users.

Well-constructed; attractive design; clever spinning bezel interface. GPS, speakerphone, optional stand-alone LTE phone service and work-anywhere Samsung Pay. Spotify app streams music on the go. Works with most Android phones, and even iPhones to a degree.

It's big; Tizen-based software has less app support than Apple Watch or Android Wear; iOS connection works, but it's very buggy; Few killer apps take advantage of stand-alone LTE services.