Details
Brand
Samsung
Model
Gear Fit2
Battery Life
3 days in use | 5 days standby
Use
Tracking
Latest Version
Yes
Key Features
• Large, Easy-to-read full• color touchscreen• The intuitive menu lets the user begin to monitor their exercise straight out of the box with a minimal learning curve• Very comfortable on the wrist allows for full-day wearing without discomfort or chafing• Records the entire day’s activities, providing the user with detailed metrics of their daily exercise in a timeline fashion• Stylish and slim, the Gear Fit2 looks and functions more like a smartwatch than a straightforward activity tracker
Comfort
With a curved AMOLED display, its rectangular screen and main unit hug your wrist closely, with sweat- and water-resistant plastic covering the part that covers the skin. The silicone adjustable band is ribbed on its inside, which provides a great amount of comfort for the wearer. And comfort is especially important for a fitness tracker like the Fit2 since it’s meant for all-day wear.
Size
s;The face of the Samsung Gear Fit2 is 51.2mm long and 24.5mm wide and the band comes in two sizes: “Small,” which fits wrists from 125 to 170mm in circumference, and “Large,” which fits wrists from 155 to 210mm in circumference.
Accessories
Replacement silicone bands are available in a number of colors, as is a screen protector to provide further protection for its face. However, there are few specific accessories available for the Fit2.
Style
One thing the Samsung Gear Fit2 has for it is style: its curved face and a rectangular display is both striking and slick, while the Fit2 comes in a wide array of bright colors to fit the attitude and style of the wearer. Thinner than many activity trackers, the Fit2 comes across more like a high-end smartwatch than a clunky fitness tracker.
Activities
The Samsung Gear Fit2 is primarily designed to track the user’s overall activity. While it can be used as a smartwatch, it doesn’t force this option: instead, if your only interest in it is as an activity tracker, it will function just as that. With the bundle of sensors built into it, including accelerometer, gyroscope, barometer, and heart rate monitor, this tracker also independently and automatically detects different types of physical activities such as walking, running, yoga, cycling, treadmill running, and lifting. Besides customizable alerts to remind you of your workout routine, this tracker also as an inactive timer that keeps track of the amount of time you’ve been stationary.
Basic Features
The Samsung Gear Fit2 is primarily designed to track the user’s overall activity. While it can be used as a smartwatch, it doesn’t force this option: instead, if your only interest in it is as an activity tracker, it will function just as that. With the bundle of sensors built into it, including accelerometer, gyroscope, barometer, and heart rate monitor, this tracker also independently and automatically detects different types of physical activities such as walking, running, yoga, cycling, treadmill running, and lifting. Besides customizable alerts to remind you of your workout routine, this tracker also as an inactive timer that keeps track of the amount of time you’ve been stationary.
Advanced Features
The advanced features of the Gear Fit2 are its functions as a smartwatch, which depending on your interest to use it as such may either be exciting or extraneous. With 4GB of storage, the user can add up to 1000 songs on the watch. In addition, the Fit2 can be synced up with either Android or iOS smartphones to receives text messages, emails, and other notifications. There are even smaller, helpful features like caffeine and water intake trackers for the runner to make sure they won’t get dehydrated. Besides this, the Fit2 is pre-loaded with Spotify so the user can sync their account from their phone to the watch. In short, the Samsung Gear Fit2 is not just a fitness tracker but an impressive smartwatch on its own.
Connectivity
Using Bluetooth to connect to the user’s smartphone and with a built-in GPS unit, the Samsung Gear Fit2 is compatible with all Android phones running 4.4 KitKat software and all iPhone 5 models onward.
Ease of Use
Although the Gear Fit2 is loaded with features, it’s a surprisingly intuitive fitness tracker. With each feature existing in a separate window, the user just swipes left or right to each activity and with the tap of the screen the activity tracker starts and stops. It’s just that easy!
Power Source
Unfortunately, the charger for the Gear Fit2 is a dedicated separate charging cradle that then plugs into a standard electrical outlet. This limits the user’s ability to charge the phone on the go with a simple USB connection.
Accuracy
The Fit2’s tracking functions use a bundle of sensors–including the accelerometer, barometer, gyroscope, and heart rate monitor–that provide the user with complex readouts that track the user’s movements throughout the day. The metrics are highly accurate, even to the point of being able to detect and record when the user walks upstairs. Its built-in GPS is also highly accurate, recording pace and distance independent of needing to sync to a smartphone. Its built-in optical heart monitor is fairly accurate, though it can also be as far off as 20 to 30 bpm during more strenuous workouts. Also, the Fit2’s accuracy may be affected if submerged in water: this is a water-resistant, but not a waterproof, fitness tracker and its functionality may become impaired if it takes on too much water.
Face
The face of the Gear Fit2 is a large curved touchscreen. Wide and offering an easy-to-read screen, the user can swipe left and right through functions and move between various exercise functions, the media player, and a full map through its GPS function. With full color and great resolution, the Fit2’s face aims to make it as user-friendly and visually dynamic as any smartwatch on the market.
Band
With a durable silicon band that has a ribbed inside for additional comfort, the Fit2’s band is built for the user to be able to wear this activity tracker all day long–which is great since using this activity tracker like this will take advantage of its full capabilities. Like the main unit, the band is available in an array of bright colors.
Apps
The two apps made for this activity tracker, Samsung’s Gear and S Health apps, are needed for the user to get updates and adjust certain settings. The Gear app is used after first boot up for firmware updates, while this app is also used to upload music to the device. Speaking of music, Spotify is already preloaded into the phone, so this app is ready from day one for the user to listen to music via their Spotify account. Meanwhile, the S Health app pulls data from the Gear Fit2 and uses these metrics to guide the user in their fitness regimen. It’s also compatible with Google Health.
Durability
While the Fit2 is a durable watch, with scratch-resistant glass and a highly durable silicon band, there is a major fault in this activity tracker: it is water-resistant but not waterproof. This has led some reviewers to express disappointment when they kept the Fit2 on during a shower and subsequently found that some functions have been affected. Besides this problem, this is a durable activity tracker.
Price
For all of its built-in capabilities and large touchscreen face, the Samsung Gear Fit2 is a surprisingly affordable activity tracker. Considering its capabilities as a smartwatch especially, the Fit2’s price more than makes up for some of its shortcomings and is a great entry-level activity tracker that will please the tech-minded runner, as well.
Bottom Line
For price, functionality, and the array of features it offers, the Samsung Gear Fit2 is a dynamic and affordable fitness tracker. While runners and other exercise enthusiasts will appreciate its highly accurate recording of activities and its ability to intuitively and automatically select which activity the wearer is performing, fans of smartwatches will also enjoy its functionality as such. Syncing the watch to your smartphone, the wearer can receive text messages, emails, and alerts on the phone, while its 4GB storage unit allows for storage of 1000 songs. Plus it’s preloaded with Spotify, so runners can listen to their favorite playlists while out on a run with ease. Intuitive, accurate, stylish, and affordable, the Samsung Gear Fit2 is the perfect watch for those who have always wanted to try out an activity tracker and want to get their money’s worth while doing so.
