Gear S3 vs Gear Sport vs Gear Fit 2 Pro. Choose the right Tizen wearable for your wrist

Samsung Electronics isn’t a brand that keeps quiet when the competition are gearing up with their arsenal of consumer electronics for launch. Here at IFA 2017, Samsung has updated its wearable product line up with the all new Gear Sport smartwatch and the Gear Fit2 Pro fitness band. The two Tizen wearable devices, despite being completely different from the outside, have some converging features within when it comes to fitness or health tracking. Moreover, the last Smartwatch from Samsung- Gear S3 is still a solid wearable device on its own and can easily take on any current generation smartwatch. All these similarities will certainly turn out to be confusing if you are out there in the market considering to either grab your first wearable device from Samsung or intending on upgrading your current Samsung wearable device.
Before we get started, let’s take a run down the spec-by-spec comparison of the Gear Fit2 Pro, Gear Sport, and the Gear S3 :
 

Comparison Gear Fit2Pro Vs Gear Sport Vs Gear S3

The Veteran – Gear S3

Like we mentioned earlier, the Gear S3 is still an impressive smartwatch even when compared to most of the newly launched smartwatches out there. Samsung has nearly perfected the use of a circular with the Gear S3’s Super AMOLED Display combined with Corning’s Gorilla Glass SR Protection which is dedicated for wearables. Combine that screen with the Gear S3’s rotating bezel the smartwatch becomes extremely easy to control without having to face the hassles of using a small touchscreen. The battery life of the smartwatch isn’t all that shady either as it can easily last more than a day or two. With variants that even feature integrated LTE support, the Gear S3 is surely covered on the hardware for at least a year more.

While the Tizen OS still has a long way to go, even more especially on the Gear S3 (version 2.3.2.4) as the Gear Sport runs on Tizen 3.0, the software on the Gear S3 is still a mature one that can be eventually perfected over a couple of software updates, hopefully. Even with the current version of Tizen running on it, the smartwatch is quite powerful; lots of apps available on the store, countless watchfaces. And then there’s the magic of Samsung Pay, the Gear S3 is the only wearable from Samsung that supports both MST as well as NFC payment.

Why should I pick up a Gear S3 now?

Now that we know the capabilities of the Gear S3 some of you might have even considered buying this over the all new Gear Sport. However, not many would like the high asking price of $350 for the Gear S3, but since it has been around for a while now and of course with a new Gear smartwatch out there to take all the attention, one can certainly expect a price drop or sale discounts in the coming days. So keep your eyes out for those deals and we will try to help you with that as well.

Why stick with Gear S3 and not upgrade?

Now, if you already have a Gear S3 strapped on your wrist, it might seem tempting to explore the newer Gear wearable devices. While we would certainly not stop you from doing that (because we are on the same page here), it would still be more logical to look at what’s on the plate with the Gear Sport and what you’re missing on the Gear S3 before making an impulsive purchase.
 

The New kid on the block- Gear Sport

Before anything, the Gear Sport is certainly for those who feel that the Gear S3 is a rather large device to wear around your wrist all the time (I have felt that myself because I have a small wrist) and since the display is smaller compared to the Gear S3, you get a much sharper circular display as the resolution of both the smartwatches is same. The bigger gamble however is that the smaller chassis of the Gear Sport has cut down the battery capacity to 300 mAh compared to 380 mAh on the Gear S3. Also, the smartwatch can only do Samsung Pay wireless payments over NFC only as the hardware doesn’t have support for MST. Lastly, the Gear Sport doesn’t come with integrated 4G-LTE and there won’t likely be a variant that would feature it either.

Why buy the Gear Sport?

At first glance, that’d seem like a lot of compromise being made over the Gear S3. But that is exactly what Samsung intends to do because the Gear S3 is still the elite wearable from Samsung until the Gear S4 arrives. The Gear Sport is just an all new category of wearable from Samsung that focuses on a sleek smartwatch that has all the bare essentials embedded into it at cuts out all the fancy or luxury features to keep the price reasonable.
But that doesn’t mean the Gear Sport is completely inferior to the Gear S3 as it features an all new design and even has ATM5 waterproof certification so you can easily take it for a swim and there are apps to even track your swimming session. The Gear Sport is also the first Tizen wearable to run on Tizen 3.0 OS which is a massive upgrade from the software running on the Gear S3. And with that new software comes a lot of new possibilities such as controlling IoT enabled devices and even as controller for Gear VR!
 

Your Personal Trainer- Gear Fit 2 Pro

It would sound odd to compare a fitness tracker against smartwatches and it’s even crazier to compare it with the likes of Gear S3 and the Gear Sport. But, that is how good Samsung has become in the wearable game as even its fitness trackers are no less than a half decent smartwatch. The Gear Fit2 is a huge upgrade from the earlier Gear Fit2 as Samsung has gone all out on making it a rugged wearable which is how most sports-persons would like their wearables to be and judging by the user opinions of the Gear Fit 2, the predecessor wasn’t clearly one of those.

Samsung wanted the Gear Fit 2 Pro to be a wearable meant for tracking any kind of sport you’d shoot at it, even the ones that aren’t friendly to electronics such as swimming. Hence the Gear Fit 2 Pro comes with an Atm5 protection rating. Combine that with the updated S Health’s services, the Gear Fit 2 Pro more or less sets a bench mark in the wearable fitness tracker category.

Why Buy the Gear Fit 2 Pro?

Now that you know of all the fitness tracking capabilities of the Gear Fit 2 pro, you might still be wondering how that makes any difference when you’re looking to buy a smartwatch. Like all smartwatches, the Gear Fit 2 Pro can keep the users updated on all incoming texts, calls, and notifications, it also has WiFi connectivity if you want to use it standalone. The best part, however, is the support for Spotify’s music services. The Gear Fit 2 Pro’s internal flash storage can let users sync Spotify’s music locally and then play back by connecting it with any Bluetooth earphones or speakers.
The only thing you’d miss out on is the lack of an app store but considering that you get half decent smartwatch with a durable body all for a price of just $199 which is much cheaper than the Gear S3 or Gear Sport, it will most likely be a compromise that many potential buyers might accept.