Samsung's new Gear S2 is Samsung's latest answer to the Apple Watch. Much smaller than previous Gear watches, this model's easier to use, too. It needs to be paired with one of the newer Samsung phones to work however, such as the Samsing Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 Edge. The software won't let it be paired with an iPhone or iPad and the watch's functions work best when paired with a late-model phone. Samsung just came out with watchband adapters that support a wide variety of watchbands for Gear S2: far more style options than were available before, according to this Wearable.com post dated April 21.
The Gear S2 has a round face. The device comes with a simple watchband in two sizes, providing a lot of size flexibility. The charger is compact and displays the watch face at a good angle for nightstand viewing while the watch charges. A full charge lasts more than a day with light use.
Apps for the Gear S2 include calendar, microphone, weather, phonecalls, text messages (requires phone in close proximity), fitness tracking, music player, and clock functions such as alarms and of course telling the time with a broad array of watch faces.
The Samsung Gear S2 does a good job of notifying you silently when new messages arrive, via a light vibration on your wrist. The screen is easy to navigate. This watch uses the Tizen operating system, like the Pebble and other smart watches. The watch faces available include several that are designed to show data, such as stock prices or fitness tracking information, as well as the time. The size of the watch is smaller than those first Samsung watches but still pretty large (see photo).
Gear S2 sells for prices ranging from about $200 to $350, depending on the plan chosen. That's a bit less than Apple Watch, for a nice, easy-to-use, reasonable looking smartwatch. One advantage that Apple Watch has over Gear S2 is that the Apple platform is more likely than the Tizen platform to be the home for many hot developer apps in the future, as explored in this CNET.com article. The other advantages of Apple's product include its thinner, more petite watch size. But even Apple Watch feels awfully big and clunky; and every tech product will be outmoded within a relatively short time.
With all that said, this is a good product Samsung users who crave the fun of a smart watch will enjoy the Samsung Gear S2.
