REASONS TO BUY
Looks fantastic
Easy to use
REASONS TO AVOID
Short battery life
Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 Review
This is a great option for Samsung phone users, but we found the mediocre battery life to be somewhat disappointing
Credit: Samsung
By Austin Palmer ⋅ Senior Review Analyst ⋅ November 18, 2020
Contributions From: David Wise
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Our Verdict
While the Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 scored close to the top of the group overall, it couldn't quite clinch one of the awards. It's packed with smart features and functions, all while being a solid fitness tracker and one of the more user-friendly wearables that we have tested. Unfortunately, its somewhat disappointing result in our battery test kept it from claiming one of the top spots.
Our Analysis and Test Results
The Galaxy Watch 3 is designed specifically for Samsung phones, so we wouldn't really recommend this product to Android or iOS users as there are much better wearables designed for those operating systems.
If you have a Samsung phone, then this watch is definitely worth your consideration.
Credit: Laura Casner
Ease of Use
The Galaxy Watch 3 is one of our favorite smartwatches regarding user-friendliness. We found the touchscreen interface to be very responsive, easily interpreting our taps and swipes as desired. You also have the option to use the rotating bezel to scroll through menus, minimizing fingerprints on your screen. We really like this feature, finding it a smooth and easy way to operate the watch. The screen also wakes up almost instantly when you raise your wrist, lighting up in less than half a second or so.
The charger magnetically couples to the back of the watch.
Credit: Laura Casner
The watch uses a wireless charging disc that attaches magnetically to the back to recharge. It stays in place fairly well and doesn't usually fall off accidentally but will easily detach when you're ready to go.
The standard watch clasp makes it easy to clip or unclip.
Credit: Laura Casner
The Galaxy Watch 3 is water-resistant to a depth of up to 50 meters — more than enough to handle a dip in the pool or leaving it on in the shower. It's also very easy to switch watch bands, so you can swap to a more waterproof one if necessary in a matter of minutes.
This watch has a solid set of smart features and functions.
Credit: Laura Casner
Smart Functions
The Galaxy Watch 3 is compatible with about half of the third-party apps we assessed in our test suite: Uber, Spotify, Messenger, Strava, and a Twitter viewer. However, we did see lots of reports of folks having issues using Uber and Strava. This watch lets you answer and take phone calls right from your wrist, as well as respond to messaging apps with quick replies.
It has basic music controls and can be used to complete transactions at NFC terminals using Samsung Pay. It also has a standalone GPS unit and the option to upgrade to a cellular/LTE model if you want to retain connectivity even when disconnected from your smartphone.
Overall, we think this watch looks great.
Credit: Laura Casner
Display
We think the Galaxy Watch 3 is one of the better-looking watches of the bunch. It has a 1.2" or 1.4" Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 360 x 360 pixels. It has ample brightness, making it very easy to read in bright sunlight or after dark. The backlight can also be enabled to automatically adjust brightness or to stay on all the time.
This smartwatch can provide some much-needed motivation to keep your fitness on track.
Credit: Laura Casner
Fitness Impact
This watch's step counter error averaged approximately 3 steps over the course of our three trials. We walked a mile with this watch for each trial, using a mechanical counter to get the exact step count.
The Galaxy Watch 3 did impress us when it came to tracking workouts and measuring your heart rate.
Credit: Laura Casner
In our heart rate monitoring test, we used a chest strap monitor to compare readings, and the Galaxy Watch 3 averaged about 6 bpm difference from the chest strap, though there was the occasional larger discrepancy at times when comparing with an elevated heart rate.
You can track a ton of different workouts through the Samsung Health app, with this watch recording things like your distance, speed, duration, HR, estimated calories, and much more, depending on the type of workout. For example, it has dedicated profiles for running, cycling, swimming, running coach, other workout walking, hiking, treadmill, exercise bike, elliptical training, circuit training, weight machine, and many more.
However, this model doesn't seem to monitor the number of stairs climbed throughout your day.
This watch delivered average results in our battery tests.
Credit: Laura Casner
Battery Life
We tested the smaller version of this watch and found that it would only last for 36-38 hours of normal use in our tests, which is just a bit less than the claimed amount. It's also slower to charge than some of its competitors, taking over an hour just to hit 50% battery and more than two hours to recharge completely.
Value
This is a high-end smartwatch at a high-end price, making it a poor option if you are shopping on a budget and looking for the best bang for the buck.
Conclusion
We think this is an excellent smartwatch for anyone with a Samsung phone — as long as they don't mind charging it every day. It's packed with smart features, looks great, and is very convenient and easy to use, all while being a full fitness and health tracker. Our biggest issue is its battery life, which can be easily remedied by charging it nightly, although this means you won't be able to use it for sleep tracking.
—Austin Palmer and David Wise
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