Customer Ratings & Reviews

I have been using the S3 for a few days now and really like it. Is it a must in your life or do a bunch of things your phone can't? Not really. But is it handy, fun and stylish? Very much so. If you have the money (not really cheap) and want a watch that does a ton of things, go for it. It is a cool “toy” that is very functional. I ended up getting the Classic style one and have both a sport style band and a dressier metal link band so it serves dual function. The bands are easy to switch too. I know my way around electronic stuff but am not a super geek and don't use every function of any device. So this is a casual user review. I am not going into detail because there are tons of videos on YouTube that teach you all the features. Some people think the watch is big but as a triathlete I am used to wearing GPS watches that are even bigger so there was no adjustment to the size for me. See the pictures of it next to my Suunto Ambit 2. The buttons work well and the rotating bezel is pure genius. The screen is great and responsive. The battery life is good and it is easy to charge. Working through the menus is easy via the bezel, buttons or touch screen. I like watches and have 8 in the drawer next to me so imagine my delight at being able to change the faces. With the traditional round design (vs the Apple Watch) it can look like any watch, can have any color and match your mood or clothes. Samsung Pay: This function works, is fun and easy to use. It will start a conversation too when you use it at the register. Setting it up was pretty easy and it has worked at all the places I have tried so far. It won't work on gas pumps. Phone: Mine is the classic and is not a phone itself. It links to my Samsung S7 via bluetooth. I answered a couple calls on it today. They could not tell I was talking on my watch. I just laid my arm on the desk and talked. Rotate the bezel clockwise to answer, counter clockwise to decline. It will also send pre-made messages which you can customize. Exercise: It does the typical things like count steps, vertical steps, track water, pulse and other fitness watch stuff but I am more interested in training features. I took it on a 5 mile run today. I also wore my Suunto with the heart rate strap. This is a one time comparison and I will be interested to check it some more. The total distance was off a bit and I noticed one glitch on the map. Yes, it records where you go on a run, bike etc. Both watches agreed on the pace, cadence and average heart rate. Impressive. It was off on ascent. f your into power meters and stuff, it won't do that. So it can work for exercise but I will still be using the Sunto as my go to for exercising. Other uses: I have sent emails, checked messages, read news, checked weather and sent texts on it with no problems. Conclusion. I gave you that in the first paragraph so you wouldn't have to read all of this. If you think I am shilling for Samsung, guess again. I tested their Icon X Ear Buds and posted reviews titled “Not Ready for Prime time”. This watch is MUCH better: I like it.

Best watch I've ever had for job & work like the way I can change the watch face plus alarm

Juet what I wanted for gym & job better than the 1st one I had great

Customer service was outstanding and whole servive was an A+

Brand new, so not all of the apps are compatible yet.

Battery improvements and larger screen are perfect

Coming from my previous (Gear Neo) this is great!!

technology is great on this watch. love the fact that I can answer my call with it.

It was a surprise father's day gift for my husband. It has been one of those things that he didn't even know he wanted. He absolutely loves it. Does everything he wants. Battery seems great too he has had it for a few months now & charges it every other day. My only complaint is that I feel like it was not made for women. I love the design much better than those square watches but I have tiny wrist so I wouldn't be able to wear this comfortably.

Look: The watch looks sharp and has a premium feel to it. The leather straps that came with the watch are really nice. Feels like a solid watch. Functionality: Transitioning through the different apps on the watch can be done by swiping or via the bezel. There are not that many great apps for this watch, hopefully more will come soon. Two of the apps that I liked and have downloaded for free are the youtube app and camera controller app. The youtube app of course allows you to watch videos on your watch. The camera app allows you to remotely access your phone camera and take pics remotely via the watch. Other cool features on the watch include listening to music files on your watch (files can be transferred from phone to watch via bluetooth) via built in speaker or Bluetooth headset, ability to change mode in watch so you can use the touch function of the watch while wearing gloves, answer/make phone calls, retrieve/send instant messages/emails, mobile pay via samsumg pay app, and many other functions that are common to smart watches in this price range. Battery life: If you don't have the face watch apps on constantly, the watch could last more than one and a half day without recharging. That's also if there is not a lot of others apps running in the background. For me, I have the face constantly on and take off my watch when I go to sleep. So it charges every night. Verdict: I would recommend this watch for someone who wants that premium look with all the whistles and bells that comes with a smart watch.

The Gear S3 is a little bigger than the Gear S2 but it still looks great even on my smaller wrist - so it is not too big. The extra size does give you a better viewing area. The functions are well thought out and intuitive. The rotating bezel is genius and makes all operations very easy. Battery life is fantastic running a couple days at least. Now if you find battery life diminishing, it is most likely a setting that draws too much power. The setting I found to be careful of was the Report Diagnose and Usage (Disable Settings->Gear Info->Report Diagnostic and usage). Make sure it is off. Anyway the watch is fantastic and I gave up using Facer and Watchmaker or any other 3rd part app to get watch faces. Samsung database has thousands of watch faces that work and look great – so just use them. I definitely recommend this smart watch.

I love this watch. I recently upgraded from the standard Gear S2 and I'm glad I did. I was really worried about the size because I read a lot of reviews about how big the S3 is, and my wrist is pretty small, but it turned out not to be a problem for me. I think my wrist has a little unusual shape in that it's skinny but flat on top so the S3 fits nicely for me. I do recommend trying it on in the store first like I did. Being middle-aged and starting to have to hold things a little farther away to see them clearly, I was hoping the bigger screen would work for me and it does. I like all of the features the watch offers, especially Samsung Pay with the MST chip so now I can use my watch to pay for things almost everywhere, instead of just at the NFC terminals. People are still impressed when I pay for things with my watch, especially now that I can use it in more places where I used to use my Galaxy S7 Edge instead. One other neat feature I found that I didn't know it had is an altimeter. I live in the foothills so it's neat to see my altitude at the different places I go to. All the other standard features you would expect on a smartwatch are there, like GPS, microphone & speaker to make calls, etc. Battery life is great for me. The watch lasts me 3 days on a charge. That's with normal use like checking the time of course, tracking my steps, and viewing a lot of notifications during the day. I don't play any games or do anything special with it with other apps or anything. That brings up my one complaint, that there aren't a lot of apps available, at least nothing that I need or want yet. Samsung has definitely added a lot more than when the S2 came out, and they're adding more all the time, but it'll take a while to catch up to Android Wear. The best feature of the watch is the rotating bezel. It's so easy to use and allows you to navigate without having to touch the screen which would also block what you're trying to read. It's so intuitive. I would definitely recommend this smartwatch.

Besides all the fun of owning and customizing a smart watch the Gear S3 is a perfect companion to my Galaxy S7 edge. In less than 1 week I have become dependent on my watch and refuse to put on any other watch on this wrist! I feel like I'm saving so much time not having to keep my phone out to check notifications. I also love the reminders to get up and walk around when I've been sitting to long. Working at a computer I get to distracted and time will pass so quickly. The gear s3 does a little vibration to get up and walk. So I do just that. Of course can't forget to mention the look! I love the steel finish and with my 3 different watch bands I'm ready for any event/occasion. The Bezel on the watch face has nice soft clicking feel so you can tell when you are jumping screens or you can swipe as well. Personally I wasn't bothered by some say about weight and size. You can check my video comparing this to a standard time piece.

I've had it for a week now and I absolutely love it. I hadn't jumped into the smart watch thing before because I could not find one that looked like a real watch (without the toyish look). Samsung finally did that. This watch is absolutely beautiful and the stainless steel gives it a very premium look. If you change the face and the bands (super easy to do) you'll have a totally different watch every time. Battery life is amazing. Definitely not 4 days as claimed by Samsung but I'm getting 2 full days with always-on display.

In the past I have owned the Sony Smartwatch 2 and the original Moto 360, both with various, up-to-date android phones. Now with this one paired with my Galaxy S8, I've got to say this is the best experience I have had so far with a few exceptions which I will list first: Cons: 1. NO GOOGLE MAPS Since I am in college I don't drive as much as when I was in high school but the only option for navigation is the HERE WeGo app which works fine if you put in the time but it is definitely not as intuitive or useful as the google maps app for android wear. I would have thought the notification for turn by turn navigation would have gone through to the watch but after a few days of use I can't find a way to access it. 2. Hardly any apps* This isn't really a deal breaker, but coming from android wear takes a bit of getting use to. For instance you can't use bixby (yet) or google assistant. You can't use the gmail app unless you get a notification for it. In order to get the best experience you have to succumb to the entire samsung ecosystem and then it works really well. The thing is that this is a great watch for heavy samsung users but if you haven't put all your data with them you'll have a bit of a hump to get over. 3. Voice controls This ain't no Bixby, Google Assistant, Alexa, or Siri. It's hard to tell what it can and cannot do and getting the voice reply feature to work can be literal hit or miss (in that sometimes it doesn't send, that is if it picked up your voice at all) Hopefully a software update will fix this because Bixby works quite well actually and I would love that functionality on my wrist. Pros: 1. Interface The rotating bezel, the high framerate animation, excellent resource management on the companion app helps make this a very fluid experience. I haven't had any performance issues or crashes so far. 2. SAMSUNG PAY If you're a samsung user and haven't got on this train you need to right now. This is the best mobile payment platform and the primary reason for me picking this watch above all of the others (including the new Gear Sport which doesn't have the MST technology that allows Samsung Pay to work anywhere where you can swipe a card). I've been using it everywhere since getting the watch and have racked up $5 from Samsung Rewards already. 3. Casual Fitness I use this for tracking my day and sleep. I'm no fitness buff but I just like to know what's up with my body and use it as a motivation. I can't vouch for more but the steps and heart rate seem accurate. I wish it could do stress as well like you can do on the phone itself. 4. Everything else It works. That's the thing that makes this watch great. In a field of a sort of cool and hardly usable smartwatches. This watch delivers on all of it's promises that it makes in the ads. Bottom Line: If you have a Samsung Phone and are looking for a smartwatch, buy something samsung. If not this (which looks like a very nice watch, normal, and versatile) then the upcoming Gear Sport or one of their fitness trackers. I can't say how the experience would be for an iPhone or other Android User, but if you got the standalone version that would probably be the best to make the most of what Samsung has to offer.

First of all I have not worn a watch on my arm for over a decade, so I thought it may be a little strange to have on again. I was right! Very strange. For the first few days I definitely felt the weight of it and thought it was a little annoying, but figured i will eventually get used to it. It only took most of the week to not even realize it was on my wrist (except for the best part of the device, the sounds and vibrations of the notifications and phone calls). I was very skeptical when deciding to try this monster out, and so far I have been very pleased. I didn't think I cared to get my notifications on my wrist when I get them on my phone. Boy was I wrong. It is SO much nicer just to glance down at my wrist than to dig my phone out of my pocket just to check. Welcome to the Future! The battery on it lasts an amazing amount of time. I can go into the 4th day of use before I have to charge it again, thanks to its huge battery. However I noticed that one of my 3rd party watch face apps would drain the battery twice as fast. So watch (pun intended) what you load on to see if that is affecting the battery life. Besides the battery the best reason to change from the Gear S2, or any other watch for that matter, is the option for the magnetic blast for Samsung Pay. This allows it to work on so many more credit card terminals than NFC alone. But expect some strange looks from cashiers as you use the watch, whether it works or not. But man is it handy.

Wow, the Gear s3 classic is simply amazing. Awe is the response every time I use the Samsung pay from the convenience of my wrist. The style is true to its name classic,  great for everyday as i wear it but can also easily dress up as well. Its SHealth enabled tracking steps, stairs climbed, active time, even sleep allowing you to compete with other SHealth users as well as setting personal goals.  My beloved watch collection has become neglected as the aesthetic changes with a tap of the screen and the quick release changeable bands allow you dress the watch perfect for any occasion. The classic comes with a quality thick black leather strap that I swapped out for a metal band that still complements the beautiful polished functional bezel. This is truly the only watch you need to wear, I haven't worn another since putting it on.  The only problem is I have to get my wife one now cause she loves mine.  

The watch is awesome. I love that I can get ALL of my notification on my watch and that I can select what ones I get and don't get. I also love the step counter a long with the sleep tracker. Overall this watch is an awesome accessory. My ONLY issue and this is me being logical and nothing else is that the classic to me isn’t worth the hype ONLY because your phone needs to be right there in Bluetooth range. The battery life is GREAT. The colors the functionality is all excellent. However, I just don’t see the need for the watch. Bluetooth range isn’t that far away so you can always get back to your phone if need be. The upside I guess to this is that if I am at work and I leave my phone on my desk and I go to my co-workers desk and I get a text or a call I know right away. Other than this one little thing that ONLY pertains to the classic version this is a beautiful looking watch.

After researching this smartwatch on Consumer’s Report, watching several YouTube video reviews and downloading the manual from Samsung’s website, I purchased the Classic model at Best Buy ($280) along with a Zagg InstaShield HD screen protector ($15). I’ve since added a TRUMirr “no gap” stainless steel watch band ($20) from Amazon. Using the Samsung Gear app from my Samsung Galaxy Note 8 via the excellent Bluetooth connection and following some of the YouTube videos, it was very easy to configure. Once paired, the smartwatch and the Note 8 connect automatically. If you use a PIN (strongly recommended and required for Samsung and Android Pay apps) and turn the watch off or it is separated from you or your smartphone, you have to enter the PIN after turning the watch on again. There are several different built-in watch faces to choose from, but there are also many interesting faces available, both free and for sale (1 to $2) through the Samsung Gear app. The SzaZs Classic Digital 24 hr (also available in 12 hr) watch face ($1.99 ?) has an “always on” power saving face. A simple twist of the wrist brings on the full feature face. The heart beat app checks out with my Omron wrist blood pressure cuff pulse readings. Likewise, the walking exercise step count corresponds with my physical count around a quarter-mile track. Going from one app to another is easy using the “home” button and going from one setting within each app to another is very easy with the rotating bezel. The touch screen is very response at the bare finger setting (haven’t tried the glove setting). A swipe down on the home screen brings up a set of 8 icons which allow quick access to brightness, airplane mode, settings, etc without having to use the home button and bezel to get to one of these apps. The battery life is very satisfactory for my needs. Wearing it 24/7 (walking; checking weather and frequent notifications; reading e-mails; checking calendar/schedule) except when recharging it; the battery readings have been as follows: 7:45pm-100%; 6:45am-84%; 12:45pm-65%; 3:45pm-55%; and 6:45pm-48%. It recharged from the 48% to full charge in 1 hour 37 minutes with the watch ON while charging. I have not run the battery down to zero, but a YouTube video showed this model recharging from 1% to full charge in 2 hours 20 minutes. Something that can be done once every two days while sleeping. The only downside is the size of the keys for texting or entering a PIN number. They are really tiny and prone to miss entering a letter or number especially with big, pudgy fingers. Definitely a 5-star smartwatch for my needs/wants!

I love this watch, I was afraid of it bring to large because of some of the reviews online but it fits my wrist perfectly. I've only had it a week but the battery will easily last 2 full days. I can't see it lasting more than that unless you put it into power save mode. It pairs seamlessly with my s8. My favorite thing is it looks like an actual watch. My boss has the Apple watch and this looks 100x better. Most people can't even tell it's a smart watch since it always shows the time with the always on display.