Why is Samsung Gear S3 less attractive than Gear S2 when released?

Don’t get me wrong. The Gear S3 in overall is an upgrade compared to the previous generation S2. Here are some of notable improvements of the Tizen-powered smartwatch:

1. Larger battery capacity: 380 mAh which promised to give standby time up to 4 days, compared to 250 mAh on Gear S2 which can last between 2-3 days with normal use.
2. Gorilla Glass SR+ which should be more damage resistant compared to Gorilla Glass 3 on S2.

Those two factors are the only things that I consider as positive upgrades. Of course they keep all the essential features that made the S2 a solid product in the smartwatch category. Always-on display, rotating bezel, wireless charging, and interchangeable bands, they are all still there on Gear S3.

Now here’s why I feel the new release of Gear S3 feels like an unworthy upgrade:

1. Larger size
   OK, this is very subjective matter. But for me personally, one of the biggest decision factor to get the Gear S2 because it was one of the most compact smartwatch out there, while still packing a lot of functionality. At 49 x 46 x 12.9 mm, the Gear S3 is about 15% larger than Gear S2 Classic which measures at 39.9 x 43.6 x 11.4 mm.
2. Heavier
   Thanks to the larger size and increased battery, the Gear S3 Classic weighs 57 g. Gear S2 Classic weighs just 42 g, that’s 26% lighter. To be fair, the extra weight may help to give a more premium feel. But for me it is unnecessary because the built and finish are pretty much the same.
3. Lower PPI (pixel per inch)
   Still related to the increased size. While the screen is about 15% larger, Samsung did not make any attempt to increase the screen resolution. Both Gear S2 and Gear S3 have the same display resolution of 360 x 360 pixels. This means lower PPI for Gear S3 at 278 ppi, compared to 302 ppi on Gear S2.

What should they have focused on: software

The Samsung Gear S line has so much potential to grab wider market, if only they put their priority and meet their promise in terms of software development. Yes, I am talking about Gear Manager for iOS to allow iPhone users to connect and manage Gear S2/S3 and enjoy its full potential. It has been almost a year since they released a statement to make iOS version of its Gear Manager app.

iPhone users have been anxiously waiting for its official release, but as of today it is still stuck in a closed beta status. Instead of trying to refresh the hardware with “half-baked” upgrades, Samsung should have allocated its resources to get the iOS app into the public first.

Is Gear S3 a good buy?

At $350 retail price, in short and very personal opinion, I would have to say no. Unless you just want to have a bigger model and using a small(er) watch is against your style. The larger battery life is not a huge deal either. Smartwatch is designed to be charged daily anyway. A 4 days battery life is probably only beneficial if you are going on a short trip and don’t want to bother bringing the wireless charger with you.

On the bright side, with the Gear S3 already available in the market, it’s time for the sellers to clean up the stock for older Gear S2 which means selling them at discounted price. Samsung Gear S2 is now sold at $250 and the Gear S2 Classic at $300. At this price range, it would make a perfect holiday gift.

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There are so many good things about Samsung S7 and S7 Edge, most of them answer the customers’ critics from their predecessors:

Bigger battery

I have no problem with my S6 Edge and it has enough juice to last entire day, but more active mobile users have been pretty frustrated with the battery capacity. Besides, bigger battery is always a positive thing.

microSD slot

To me, having the ability to use external storage is one of the selling factors with Android devices compared to iPhone. By putting this feature back, it is a big deal. 32GB for internal storage is usually more than enough to install all the apps you need. What’s hard to predict is how much memory you will need to store all the media files, including camera photos.

Better camera

The S6 takes beautiful shots, but I am still struggling to get better focus and result when it is in lowlight environment. Taking the words from Samsung and early reviewers, the S7 camera will solve this problem.

Better design

Even though I understand that Samsung really wanted to make a smartphone that would be as thinnest and possible with the S6, the flat back and protruding camera give constant annoyance to most users including myself. Luckily Samsung’s team of designer decided to fix those by making the S7 has less camera bumb and back cover shape that is easier to hold with a small price of being 1.1 thicker. No problem, function over design.

Dust and water-resistant

Accidents happen. While this is not going to be a decision factor, having an extra feature for protecting your precious gadget better is always welcomed.

Bigger RAM and faster processor

Well, nobody would buy newer smartphone if it has the same RAM and processor as previous generation.

Solid black color option

No more sapphire or blueish black like with the S6, which why I ended up buying mine in white.

In short, Samsung has done mostly everything right with the Galaxy S7.

Why the bigger screen for S7 Edge, Samsung?

I have come to believe that Samsung thinks a bigger screen size is required for the market to justify the extra $110 to get the Edge version on top of the “edge” screen.  Probably the sales of S6 Edge+ (5.7″) were better than S6 Edge (5.1″) and they used this insight to determine the product line variations.

As a customer, we are now stuck to having a phone that barely fits into your jeans pocket in order to get that super fancy curvy edged screen.

Will there be a smaller Samsung S7 Edge?

Who knows. But knowing Samsung, they might release a new version of their flagship phone line before a full year. Just like when they added S6 Edge+ into the S6 family.

Let me hear your thoughts about bigger S7 Edge screen and whether you would prefer to have it the same size as its sibling.

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• Rounded bezel makes it more like you are wearing a watch instead of a gadget
• Gear S2 uses rotating bezel for navigation vs Apple Watch’s digital crown, personally it feels more natural
• More affordable – Gear S2 Classic ($350) finishing is equivalent to Apple Watch edition (not Sport) 38mm with leather band ($650)
• Gear S2 Classic is also compatible with any strap that has a standard 20mm pin
• Apple Watch was released sooner which means it might already close to its end of life and the next generation coming soon

However, I am trying not to put too much hope regarding when Samsung is actually going to get its Gear Manager iOS app available. It is known to be less committed to deliver when it comes to software products. Apple also plays a big role whether the app is going to pass on the app approval process.

Does this mean iPhone users are completely out of options to use the Gear S2? Not really.

Samsung Gear S2 could connect with iPhone… before the firmware update

Surprisingly, the earlier version of Gear S2’s firmware allows the device to connect and communicate with iPhone out of the box. Based on reports from passionate users on XDA Developers Forums, updating to later firmware version will break this functionality. Don’t ask me why the developers took this one step back.

So the best chance to use Samsung Gear S2 with iPhone is not to connect it to the Gear Manager app (on Android) at all. You will not be able to use it optimally, but in my opinion better than not connecting at all with your primary phone.

Activate Samsung Gear S2 in standalone mode – bypass the activation

Like most smartwatches, you need to connect the device as you unbox it with a smartphone running its supporting app. Same case with Samsung Gear S2, when you turn it on the very first time it will guide you to connect it through its Gear Manager companion app. Otherwise you will not be able to use it at all.

Turns out you can bypass this process and use it as standalone mode and only running with its default apps and watch faces. Here are the steps:

1. When prompted to connect to Gear Manager app, tap on the small yellow icon on the top of the screen multiple times.
2. A message will pop up and ask you do a long press, follow the instructions
3. Viola, it will open the home screen and you can start using the watch

Next step is to connect the watch with your iPhone via Bluetooth like you normally do with other accessories. There, you have successfully connected Samsung Gear S2 with your iPhone.

What’s working and what’s not

As mentioned above, do not expect anything fancy out of your Gear S2 in standalone mode. The default apps are very limited and you cannot add new watch faces. You’ll get almost every single notification, including when you are getting an incoming call, from your iPhone on the Gear S2 screen. The bad news is you cannot actually interact with it.

So far, I can live with this. At least until Samsung fulfills its promise and get Gear Manager app available in the App Store.

Update January 7, 2017: Samsung Gear S on App Store

Samsung’s official Gear S for iOS has been officially released and can be downloaded here.
Thanks for all readers who have been following and contributing to this post.

Update April 14, 2016: Gear Manager iOS leak

One of the fine readers of this post shared what seems to be a leaked (non-final) version of Samsung Gear Manager for iOS. Please read this comment below onwards for steps to connect the app from your iPhone to the Gear S2. Thank you David, Steven, Matchev and Russ for sharing your experience testing the leaked/demo app.

Shop Accessories for Samsung Gear S2

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For years I have been trying to find the most efficient way to be able to quickly take photos using my iPhone and then send them to my iMac or Macbook Air. I do not use Dropbox Sync feature because I do not want to sync all of my photos, in fact I sometimes do not want to save the photos on my phone if possible.

Today, I find a new ‘process’ which may work in most cases for me. You still need several things though:

1. Camera+ iPhone app ($1.99)
2. Notes app set on your iPhone and Mac
3. decent Internet upload connection

Here are the steps:

1. First, you may want to go to Camera+’s menu and make sure the AutoSave is set to Lightbox
2. Take the photo(s) you need
3. From the app’s Lightbox, select the photo you would like to use, tap on Share > Create Web Link
4. It will upload the photo
5. When finished, copy the image URL (tap hold > Copy)
6. (optional) Delete the photos from Lightbox
7. Open Notes on your iPhone, create a new note, paste the copied URL
8. Open Notes on your Mac, wait a few seconds for syncing, then click on the URL
9. Done. You can drag the image from your browser for whatever you wish to do

OK, it still takes almost 10 steps, but it really is not that complicated compared to other methods I tried before.

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Website: remote.collect3.com.au

[rating: 3.5/5]

I love my modded Xbox with XBMC. I still believe it is the best and cheapest digital media system that you can get to this date. Until AppleTV can natively run movies in multi format of course.

When hear that XBMC Remote is available on Apple App Store I was so excited and tried to accept the $5 price tag that makes it a middle-priced for an iPhone/iPhone app. I bougth it anyway in the end and hoping it can really work like Apple’s Remote app to control iTunes/AppleTV.

Review Note
A little breakdown on my current system: I use the latest XBMC build by T3CH. I previously used a very old version of XBMC which could not work with this app. More on this below. My Xbox has just a little over 1,000 songs on its library. A IR-receiver is plugged on one of the controller jack and I regularly use my Logitech Harmony remote to control it.
Another thing, I understand this is a very early release so I am sure with a few more updates this app will be a lot better.

Installation
Like all iPhone app from App Store, installation was a breeze. Just click buy and the app will be downloaded and installed on your iPhone. You also need to turn on Web Server function on your XBMC, details provided here.

First Try
On my case after I set everything up, I was having a frustrating time because I could not make the remote work even though it could connect to my XBMC. The app FAQ page just did not give enough information of what to do to solve this. At the end I decided to upgrade my XBMC and it worked.

Interface
It is definitely inspired by Apple’s Remote app for iTunes. All the buttons are nicely done, album cover thumbnails are slow to load but this is something that will be updated on the next release.

Performance
I am going to be super honest here, the performance is not exactly the way that I had hoped for. Everything feels lagging, like when I choose a song it may take a few seconds before it starts playing. Worse, when I click on Songs tab and click Shuffle it will make the app and Xbox freeze and if I am lucky it will start playing a few minutes later. I understand this can be the limitations on my Xbox’s power as XBMC is not only limited for Xbox only but also available on Mac and Linux which may have better processor and memory. But then again this should be something that is mentioned on their product page, considering this is not a free nor a beta version.

Support
Apart from the lack of information on their website, support is something that the developer’s put attention to. They provided forums for people to ask questions and give suggestion. They are also quite responsive when I emailed them regarding my problems.

Price
For $5 I feel this app is a bit overpriced, considering similar app was already developed a year ago for jailbroken iPhone. Maybe I am being too subjective here, but $5 also feels hefty because everything else about XBMC are community-maintained and free.

Conclusion
If you have an Xbox with XBMC and use it a lot, it is nice to be able to browse through your libraries without needing to turn on your TV. If you have a huge music library and need to keep it organized and sync with your iTunes, maybe buying an AppleTV is a better option.

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