Samsung Galaxy Gear Review
by Brian Klug on October 1, 2013 9:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Wearables
- Smartphones
- Mobile
- Galaxy Gear
- galaxy note 3
- watches
Battery Life
Gear’s designers went in a direction that completely defies most of the norm we’ve seen in this latest crop of smartwatches. Rather than the low power Cortex M3 route that seems to be popular, Samsung went with a dual core SoC (Exynos 4212), disabled a core, and set the CPU frequency to a maximum of 800 MHz. On top of the whole thing runs Android 4.2.2 and the Gear software, making the watch more like a small smartphone. The combination of aggressive display timeout (with a maximum of 5 minutes) and the activation gesture for waking the watch up signals to me that battery life probably was a challenge on the Gear.
I don’t really know what the best way is to battery life test a watch yet, and I struggled with that while trying to review Pebble. I settled on just timing how long I got through a battery charge there, which ended up being almost exactly a week (7.02 days was my average), which is basically my only context for what smartwatch battery life should be. The Gear obviously has a considerably more powerful platform, display, and capabilities, so it isn’t a shocker that battery life overall is less.
It’s easy to get around the display timeout limitations and just keep the display on Gear turned on forever, displaying the watchface. I ran a rundown test with the watchface set to brightness level 4 (there are levels 1–5 and outdoor brightness) while connected over Bluetooth to the Note 3. Gear managed 5.117 hours of total screen-on time showing the watch face (clock plus weather) connected to Note 3.
Of course the way that Gear is setup which prevents display from being on all the time, battery life during actual use will be longer. I’d say somewhere just over a day would be on the short side, maybe two or three days is possible if you try to stretch it a lot. I placed a few calls and played with Gear a lot one day and almost didn’t make it through, another day I felt like Gear would’ve lasted two had I let the use pattern continue.
The positive side is that thanks to its smaller battery, Gear can charge from completely drained to 100 percent in just under an hour, the simultaneous downside is that you need the charging cradle to do it. If you’re comfortable charging the Gear daily, it’s survivable, the question is whether consumers are willing to adopt the daily charge requirements of another device. I’ve gotten in the habit of plugging Pebble in every night, so this isn’t a big deal for me, but I also enjoy having a week of battery life when I go travel. I suspect that’s a use pattern that others can empathize with when considering Gear, which guarantees a little over a day of use realistically, and a bit more if you’re careful.
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LostViking - Friday, October 11, 2013 - link
And don't you worry. As soon as Apple releases a watch, any other wrist worn device with a screen will immediately become a blatant Apple ripoff ;)misfit410 - Friday, October 18, 2013 - link
When the iWatch SP launches I'm going to hold out for the iWatch UP.nathanddrews - Tuesday, October 1, 2013 - link
"Calling Dick Tracy! Come in, Dick Tracy!"I would feel awesome wearing this. XD
brshoemak - Tuesday, October 1, 2013 - link
This seems more like a first attempt than a fully fleshed out product - more like they are testing the waters. I also wish they could throw inductive charging into the mix - it would be much more user friendly if you could just throw your watch and phone on a pad at your bedside or at work to charge it. I believe that would add some additional bulk so it might be a non-starter this time.I would still like to see a more integrated flexible display, which Samsung is still working on but hasn't matured yet . I know they are trying to cram a lot of tech in there, but the aesthetics still remind me of those Casio watches people used to use to turn the TVs on or off in the school cafeteria.
I'm not an Apple fan, but I have a feeling that if Apple does release a smartwatch it might be a repeat of what the iPhone did to the smartphone market - ie. bringing a previously considered 'techy-centric' product to the masses. Not because it will necessarily be a great products but because Apple has the mindshare that people will buy/try whatever they release and Apple has a history of making aesthetically pleasing hardware.
darwinosx - Tuesday, October 1, 2013 - link
Its a first attempt on they believed the rumors Apple will have a watch and wanted to be first even is it was un ugly useless first.If Apple releases a watch the Samsung copy machines will swing into action again.
purerice - Tuesday, October 1, 2013 - link
hear hear! Here's waiting for Apple's iNecklace rumors followed in 6 months by another relatively unusable device by Samsung.pSupaNova - Wednesday, October 2, 2013 - link
You do know that Sony are on their second generation of Android smart watches.They could be replying to that now awaking giant.
ISwearImCool - Tuesday, October 1, 2013 - link
I am disappointed that you didn't side load chrome and do your standard battery test.I'm joking. Sweet review as usual.
OddlyShapedTree - Tuesday, October 1, 2013 - link
I'm not yet sold on this yet. I'm interested to see what Apple does with this. It's going to take a lot more to take the Movado off my wrist.FATCamaro - Tuesday, October 1, 2013 - link
Samsung too is interested to see what Apple does with this. This watch is simply there as a placeholder so they can claim to be first and not accused of copying when Apple introduces their watch.