Samsung Galaxy Watch Active

[Oxygen87]

A week ago, I treated myself to one of these watches. I know that the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active2 is due out soon but after reading a review that the only thing added to the Watch Active 2 was the built in rotating bezel, I thought to myself is that really worth an extra £100 or so? Anyway, this is a little bit of a review if any of you are interested in taking up O2's offer of £50 off when you purchase an S10, S10+ or S10e. I've seen some pretty mixed reviews on this watch which did put me off a bit and this is why it's taken me so long to purchase this and I'm so glad I did!

The Samsung Galaxy Watch Active itself has an amazing build quality and is pretty sleek and smart looking and even with the stock strap that it comes with, it could easily suit either casual or smart wear

The screen, though 40mm, when I've put them side by side, is the same size as the 42mm Galaxy Watch without the rotation bezel around the edge. It sports the brilliant Samsung trademark Super AMOLED display which makes it look amazing.
It's super light so at weighing just 25g, you won't even notice it on your wrist which makes it great for wear at the gym!

There's no speaker on this model but it does have a microphone and I personally find that the Bixby experience seems a lot better without that awful voice feedback on the Galaxy Watch & Gear S3. It also seems to work a bit better and the whole thing just seems smoother.

The GPS is on this is fantastic and so is the heart rate monitor. When I was at the hospital, my heart rate read exactly the same as what my watch said!

Automatic detection is great. I've not pressed work out on purpose when I've gone out for a walk or a run and it's known exactly what I was doing and recorded it correctly.

It's water resistant so it will be ok on your wrist while washing your hands or if you go for a run and get caught in the rain. My Gear S3 didn't survive being caught in the rain but this watch has!

Battery life is ok. By the end of the day, I'm left with around 60% battery so I'd say it would give me 2 days easily but I do charge mine every night anyway. Make sure you download and install any pending update to improve the battery life.

As an avid Galaxy / Gear Watch user, I'm used to the rotating bezel now and I thought I would hate not having the bezel. That hasn't been the case. I've not really missed it. I can get around the watch just as easily by touch. After all, the original Samsung smartwatches never had the rotating bezel.

This Samsung Galaxy Watch Active monitors your stress levels and comes with breathing exercises to get those levels down again if high

There's also a built in coach that tells you when you've been inactive and to do a torso twist etc which I think is good. Sometimes you don't realise how long you've been sat.

If you have any questions on things that I haven't covered, please drop them below and I'll try to get back to you.