TESTED SAMSUNG GALAXY WATCH ACTIVESamsung’s latest fitness-friendly smartwatch turns
its back on advanced features (and rotating bezels)
in order to keep things simple and affordable
QThe Galaxy Watch Active is the
spiritual successor to Samsung’s
Gear Sport, and a smaller, cheaper
version of last year’s flagship
Galaxy Watch. With more of a
fitness focus, it loses some of the
functionality of its bigger brother,
but retains enough that it could be
a better buy for most people.QThe rotating bezel has been
ditched to allow for a slimmer and
lighter design. That’s a bit of a
shame, as we’ve found the bezel
handy for navigating on a small
screen, but it does help it to stand
out – and to not stand out too
much from your wrist.QThe 1.1in AMOLED screen gives
just enough space for the mostly
touch-based interface, while two
buttons on the right help with
navigation. Selecting apps and
clicking icons by touch is accurate
enough, though it might be a little
fiddly for those with larger fingers.QThere’s on-board GPS and a
heart-rate monitor on the back,
and it can track a total of 39
activities. It will keep a count of
steps taken, calories burned, floors
climbed and minutes worked out,
and with a Samsung smartphone
in tow you can add extra lifestyle
details such as calories eaten.QThe battery will go for around
2.5 days between charges, and it’ll
take about 2 hours to charge from
flat. Use GPS for tracking runs and
you’ll see battery life come down
a whole lot quicker, though.The Galaxy Watch Active represents a decent saving on its big brother... if you can do
without the bezel navigation and don’t mind the shorter battery life. Otherwise its
feature-set is almost identical. But to get the most out of its functionality you will
have to be in the Samsung ecosystem already, in the same way that an iPhone user
will benefit most from an Apple Watch.A great-value
choice, especially
for Samsung
phone owners
Verity Burns
Not that kinda Gal
STUFF SAYS Samsung’s best smartwatch to date, but it still falls down on apps ++++,
Display 1.1in 360x360 AMOLED
Processor Exynos 9110 OS
Tizen 4.0 Sensors Accelerometer,
barometer, HRM, light, gyroscope
Water-resistance 5ATM Battery
life Up to 45hrs Weight 25gQ App dancer
Tizen’s app support is improving,
with Spotify, Strava, Uber and
MapMyRun available, but there
are still areas that fall short.
SmartThings is about your only
option for home control and
Bixby is the only voice assistant.Q Tap dancer
Samsung’s Tizen 4.0 is a slick and
simple OS: tap the face to wake,
scroll left for notifications and
scroll right for your selection
widgets. It’s a system that scores
highly for notification support
and range of watch faces.£229 / stuff.tv/GalaxyActiveTech specs
Sili season
Colour options are
black, silver and rose
gold, while the silicone
strap can be swapped
out for something
swisher.