After a year with Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2, we now have the Samsung Galaxy Watch 3. Though it may not be on the exact same series, but it is considered partly as a follow up smartwatch due to the fact that the Active 2 was sort of Samsung’s flagship smartwatch for 2019.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 comes packed with features that sets it as a substantial upgrade over its predecessor. With the highlights being the return of a scroll wheel, more RAM, improved software and lots more.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 Key Specs & Features
- 1.2-inch (41mm) / 1.4-inch (45mm) Super AMOLED Display, 360 x 360 pixels (364 PPI)
- Dual-core Exynos 9110 (10nm) Processor
- Tizen-Based Wearable OS 5.5
- 1GB RAM
- 8GB Built-in Storage
- 50m Water Resistant (IP68)
- MIL-STD-810G Rating
- Wifi / LTE
- Non-Removable 340 mAh / 247mAh Li-ion Battery
- Wireless Charging
Design and Display
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 brings a back a design we thought Samsung had ditched. It takes the form of the first gen Samsung galaxy Smart watch and adds some design changes.
This reminiscence in design, can be seen as a result of the ergonomics issues most enthusiasts had with the Active watch that was released in 2019.
The fact that Samsung released just the Active 2 in its flagship space, sort of gives me the feeling Samsung was making attempts to introducing users to a new system that thought could pull through.
This system wasn’t really successful, as most enthusiasts had issues with the touch control which replaced the scroll wheel.
Samsung has brought back the scrollable bezel and there is a lot to be happy about here, especially if you had troubles with the touch sensitive bezel.
Away from the scroll wheel. Samsung retained the system of having different sizes, as it has pretty much become a tradition held by a majority of the big smartwatch manufacturers.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 comes in 4.5mm and 4.1mm sizes. The former has a 1.4-inch Super AMOLED display, while the latter has a 1.2-inch Super AMOLED display. Both display have a resolution of 360 x 360.
The display on smartwatches aren’t really as strong as that of analogue watches, but in this case, Samsung employed the Gorilla Glass DX reduce fragility.
For build materials, enthusiasts can get the Galaxy Watch 3 with stainless steel or titanium. The colour options available include Mystic black or Mystic silver for the 45mm size variant and Mysitc silver / Mystic bronze for the 41mm size varaint.
Performance
On the performance side, we have got the same Exynos 9110 (10 nm) processor as seen on the Active 2. However, the RAM got slightly reduced from being 1.5GB on the active 2 to being 1GB RAM on the Galaxy Smartwatch 3.
The battery on the 45mm size variant is 340mAh capacity and 247mAh capacity, which is also the same capacity of batteries as seen on the Active 2.
Software
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 software architecture is based on the Tizen Base Wear OS 5.5. It is an improvement of what Samsung’s software provision from the past, including the version 4.0 OS on the Active 2.
Engulfed in the Galaxy Watch 3 software offerings, is a massive 80,000 watch faces, 40 complications and lots more. All this offerings, places it as an alternative for enthusiasts who aren’t really comfortable with level of modularity of the Apple Watch series 5.
Health Tracking
The health tracking system is an important part of all smartwatches, this is due important role it plays with its mobility. Samsung understands this fact and has continued to improved the health tracking capabilities of its smartwatch.
The Samsung Galaxy Smartwatch 3 is tracks 40 health released activities and is capable of tracking seven automatically. Amongst this list, is sleep tracking, ECG and lots more.
What’s more, we also have a special fall detection system that sends call emergency numbers on your behalf in scenarios when it notices a hard fall.
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Connectivity
The Samsung Galaxy watch 3 comes in LTE and WiFi only models as seen on many smartwatches released in recent time.
Internet connectivity on here is capped at 4G LTE, which means you won’t be able to access 5G with this smartwatch.
Samsung Galaxy Smartwatch 3 Price and Availability
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 price starts at $399 for the 41mm WiFi / Bluetooth model. This price translates to 151,620 Naira in Nigeria, 43,591 KSH in Kenya and 2,349 GHC in Ghana.
The 45mm WiFi / Bluetooth model starts at $429. Getting the LTE variant of both size mode, will require an extra $50.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 Specs
Here are a few specs of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 3:
General Features
- Platform: Tizen Based Wearable OS 5.5
- Processor: Exynos 9110 (Dual core – 1.15GHz)
- Memory: 1GB
- Colours: 41mm (Mystic Bronze, Mystic Silver) – 45mm (Mystic Black, Mystic Silver)
- Dimension: 41mm (41 x 42.5 x 11.3 mm) – 45mm (45 x 46.2 x 11.1 mm)
- Weight: 41mm – Without strap (48.2g) – 45mm – Without strap (53.8g)
- SIM Slot: eSim
- Water Resistant: Yes (1.5 meters of fresh water for up to 30 minutes)
- Dustproof: –
- Standalone Calls & SMS: –
- Sync with Phone: Yes
Display & Camera
- Display: 1.4-inch Super AMOLED, 360 x 360 (45mm) – 1.2-inch Super AMOLED, 360 x 360 (41mm)
- Screen Protection: Gorilla Glass DX
- Camera: No
Storage
- Built-in Storage: 8GB
- Memory Card Support: No
- Bundled Cloud Storage: –
Network Support
- 2G GSM: 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
- 2G CDMA 1X: –
- 3G WCDMA: 850 / 900 / 2100
- 3G CDMA EVDO: –
- 4G LTE: 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20
- 5G: No
Internet & Connectivity
- GPRS: Yes
- EDGE: Yes
- 3G/WCDMA/HSPA: –
- HSPA+: –
- CDMA EVDO: –
- 4G LTE: Yes
- 5G: No
- WLAN: 802.11 b/g/n 2.4GHz
- Wi-Fi Hotspot: –
- Bluetooth: –
- NFC: Yes
- Infrared Blaster: –
- USB Port: No
Messaging
- SMS/MMS: –
- Instant Messaging: –
- Push Emails: –
- Email Protocol: –
Entertainment
- Music Player: Yes
- Video Player: –
- FM Radio: –
- Loudspeaker: –
- 3.5mm Jack: No
Navigation
- Navigation: A-GPS/GLONASS/Beidou/Galileo
- Maps: –
Sensors & Control
- Digital Compass: –
- Accelerometer: –
- Proximity Sensor: –
- Light Sensor: Yes
- Barometer: –
- Pedometer: –
- Gyroscope: Yes
- Heart Rate Monitor: Yes
- Galvanic Skin Response: –
- Skin Temperature Sensor: –
- Capacitive Sensor: –
- UV Sensor: –
- Microphone: –
- Hepatic Vibration Motor: –
Other Features
- Fitness Apps: Yes
- Image Editor: –
- Video Editor: –
- Image Viewer: –
- Video Viewer: –
- Maximum Operating Altitude: –
Power
- Battery: 340mAh Battery (45mm), 247mAh Battery (41mm)
- Battery Life: –
- Wireless Charging: Yes
- Average Charge Time: –
