The Basics

Smartwatches are a preview of what the future could look like, and Samsung's Gear S2 was leading the market with its rotating bezel interface, interchangeable faces and straps, as well as an automatic activity detector. But with the Samsung Gear S3, the future looks even brighter. For one, the S3 allows stand-alone cellular LTE connection, so you can leave your phone behind when you're out for a run. Can't do anything without music? The S3 has Spotify on-wrist. You can also make wrist payments via Samsung Pay, which has MST or magnetic technology and works at almost any credit card terminal. How convenient is that? The watch, though a little big, is bold and well-built in design. Meanwhile if you're into fitness, you'll give the Samsung Gear S3 plus points for the S Health's fitness features. It tracks activity and heart rate automatically, can log in water and caffeine intake, and will tell you if you've been sitting still for too long.

Accessories

The S3 comes with a magnetic charger, which doubles as a watch stand.

Real Talk

Now for some real talk. While the Samsung Gear S3 features a great design, it's a little big and heavy. But if you're into big, bold watches, this shouldn't be a problem. We also love that Samsung added Spotify onto its featured apps but it can't download tracks and will drain the battery life pretty fast (you'll need to charge after about an hour and a half of use). It's also important to note that the S3 is water resistant but not swim-proof, so make sure to take it off before taking a dip.

Fun Features

The spinning wheel design for navigation is fun to use and convenient, if you ask us.

The Samsung Gear S3 also features cool new apps, which you can access with a press of a button.

Bonus points for Samsung's versatile design. Cover the face of the watch for 3 seconds to change the design to the available styles.

Cover for a good 5 seconds to switch off.

The Verdict

If you're looking to buy a smartwatch, the Samsung Gear S3 is currently one of the best in the market—did we mention you can pair it with select iPhone phones, too? Its well-designed with a clever interface, has a speakerphone, offers stand-alone LTE connection, on-wrist pay, streams music-on-the-go and has amazing fitness features. Though some users have commented that the Tizen-based software needs improvement, we won't nitpick. Some areas do need to be improved, like battery life, which drains fast on LTE, but other than that the Samsung Gear S3 still stands out as one of the better if not best smartwatch options, especially for Android phone users.