The Gear 2 is an improvised version of the first Gear Smartwatch. The Samsung Gear 2 comes with infrared and heart rate sensor, is water / dust resistant and sports a 1.62 inch Super AMOLED screen. The Gear 2 is priced at approx Rs. 22,500.
Box pack content : The Gear 2, warranty card, quick start guide, charger with micro USB pin and charging dock with the micro USB port.
Design
I got the Gold / Brown color for the review. The first look will definitely impress you. The Gear 2 looks like any other premium watch and it being a Smartwatch becomes an added advantage. The straps are made of good quality plastic with textures that go well with the overall design.
There is a single stud to adjust the size as per your wrist. The first Gear watch came with non-removable strap and the key reason was that the camera and the microphone were placed on the strap. On the Gear 2 you can actually remove the strap (and use any other strap), the microphone and the camera are now placed on the watch body itself. Gear 2 weight is 67 grams.
The watch surface has got a glass layer (kind of protective) just like the one you see on many watches. There is a single button on the curve just below the screen and on the top curve there is a an infrared sensor along with a 2MP camera.
The Super AMOLED screen is 1.62 inches, touch is very smooth and viewing angles are great. This Smartwatch is IP67 certified (dust proof and water resistant).
On the back side there is the charging point – you need to clip the dock for charging the device, then there is the heart rate sensor that emits green light when active, the microphone is placed on the right side and speaker out vents are on the left side. There are gyro, accelerometer, infrared and heart rate sensors.
Gear 2 performance
The Gear 2 comes powered by 1GHz dual core processor and runs on customized OS called Tizen. It can connect with Samsung smartphones using Bluetooth 4.0. The pairing process is pretty simple you will need to download the Gear manager app from Samsung app store. I tested this Smartwatch on Samsung Galaxy S5 and the Galaxy Note II.
The performance is pretty good lag free and touch is very smooth. The speaker sound is decent enough you can receive / make calls using the Smartwatch mic/ speaker. You can check messages and even reply back using predefined text or you can even use the S Voice feature (Speech to text).
You can browse though the contacts and call them, or you can use the phone dial to dial the number directly. There is the watchOn remote application that will allow you to control the TV / other devices using the Infrared sensor. In simple words the Gear 2 can act as a remote control.
There is built in 4GB internal storage on the Gear 2. You can play / control media files on the smartphone using Gear 2 or you can copy the files on the Gear 2 and use it as a standalone player.
This Smartwatch comes with built in fitness manager – same features as seen on the Samsung Gear Fit. There is Pedometer, Exercise (running, hiking, walking and cycling), sleep and heart rate monitor. The heart rate option will monitor your heart rate and when in exercise mode the heart rate is monitored continuously. You can set the clock style (template), select wallpapers, sound (even ringtone), display and assign app to load when double tapped.
Camera
There is built in camera on the front curve of 2MP resolution it can shoot images in 1920 x 1080 pixel. The camera can also record videos in 720p resolution at 30fps. The videos can be recorded for only 15 seconds. Why the 15 sec limit? so as not to drain the battery – you see this is a smart-watch with a 300 mAh battery.
The images / videos shots are saved on the smartphone freeing up space on the Smartwatch. In case the watch is not connected the images are stored on the watch storage and will be moved later on when the watch / phone is connected.
Check the sample images and videos at the end of this review. The camera quality is good, close up are very good and long shot decent enough considering the 2MP resolution..
Verdict
This premium looking smartphone can be used as a personal fitness manger, for standalone entertainment, as a phone and of course as watch. The Samsung Gear 2 is priced at Rs. 22,500 if this seems a lot then the Samsung Gear 2 Neo is a very good option for Rs. 15,450.
Image Gallery
Sample images shot using the Gear 2 smartwatch
Samsung Gear 2 review
720p video shot using the Gear 2 smartwatch
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