To be honest, I’ve wanted to write about my Samsung Gear 2 since almost the first day I got it as Christmas present, but I didn’t want this post to come of like a sales pitch. This is not an ad or a review for Samsung in any way. They don’t even know I exist and my husband paid for my watch (refurbished from Amazon, score!) himself.
But since wearing it that first week, I just kept thinking – as a mom, how have I lived without this my whole life?! Gadgets are a tricky thing for moms — sometimes being more work then they are worth, but trust me, this one is very little work and so worth it!
The Samsung Gear 2 is a Smart Watch that you pair to your Samsung phone via bluetooth. You can use it just like an earpiece to make and receive calls. But it’s also so much more! Here are some of the things I love about it.
- Convenience — The very first day I had it I took my daughter upstairs to change her diaper when my phone (downstairs) started ringing. I cannot tell you how convenient it is to answer your watch phone with one swipe while changing a diaper. Double score – it was my parents and they helped distract the baby by singing to her FROM MY WRIST while I changed her. From that moment on, I was hooked!
- Water Resistant — Not 1 week later, I was giving the kids a bath upstairs when the baby slipped under the water. Instinctively, I stuck both hands in and pulled her out (she was fine), only to FREAK out about submerging my new watch under water. “OMG, it’s only a week old, I ruined my watch!” I screamed to my husband. To which he chuckled and replied “it’s waterproof.” Not quite waterproof, but close enough — my new fancy hi-tech gadget is water resistant, up to 1m. In fact, this weekend I wore it in the pool all day. I tried not to submerge it for too long, but I let it get plenty wet and it is perfectly fine.
It takes pictures! My husband is a tech lover, so we checked out the watch at Best Buy before he made the purchase, and what sold me on it was the camera. It takes pretty great pictures and 15 second video with the click of a button — from my wrist!! To this day, I cannot get over that convenience. When my kids do something insanely cute, I don’t have to fish for my phone and hope they still look cute 10 to 30 seconds later. I just push a button on my wrist, point and click! Then, the picture or video is automatically sent to my phone within seconds via bluetooth! Trust me, I still feel like it’s magic ever time I do it!- Hands free calls while driving. I know I covered the convenience already, but hands free calling while driving is so important for us moms. We have precious cargo and I am already so distracted while driving. It’s so nice to safely answer my phone with a quick swipe of my wrist while I’m in the car.
- Text Message, Facebook Instant Messages, Emails — can all come straight to my watch! You decide which phone apps you want to send to your watch. I have Amazon alerts, text messages and Facebook instant messages sent to mine, and I can reply to text messages with either a template reply or text to talk!
- Step Counter. Much like the popular FitBits, my Gear counts my steps all day and gives me praise when I reach my goals! It can also track sleep, but I don’t use it for that because I’m afraid to see how little sleep I get some nights.
- A ton of other awesome features – like the heart rate monitor, timer, stopwatch, remote for your tv, music player, voice memo, Weather App, Find My Device feature (which I use all the time when I loose my phone!), and calendar!
- Great battery life. I charge mine once every 3 to 4 days at most!
- Cost is less then the Apple Watch! Especially if you buy refurbished, but even if you pay full price! (And the Apple Watch doesn’t even have a camera!!)
- Fashionable. I get so many compliments on this watch, from people who know it’s a tech watch and from people who have no clue and just like the look of it. It is very sleek!
I hate to admit it, but my watch is something I honestly can’t live without any more. The other day I left the house without it and turned around, wasting 10 minutes to go back home to get it. I felt silly, but much like my cell phone – I’ve become accustomed to the convenience!
If I’m being honest though – there are a few negatives.
- The heart rate monitor only works for me if I am perfectly still and it is in the exact right spot. That may be because I have a plate in my wrist from breaking it a few years ago, but I have to try a few times before it will work, every time.
- I cannot get the TV remote to work for me, but I honestly haven’t tried very hard. Again – moms are busy and if it doesn’t work for me within 2 minutes, I move on with my life.
- Text to talk is not perfect. I probably only use it about 25% of the time because it doesn’t work great. For me, it’s not a big deal because my phone is usually close enough to grab if I really need to reply right away.
- I tried to wear it to bed a few times, but the screen is much too bright and flashes on almost any time I move. Not worth it to me and I haven’t found a solution that works for me, so I just take it off at night.
- The tan line is just getting silly, but since I can’t live without it, this point is almost moot!
Do you have a Samsung Gear? Or maybe an Apple Watch? I’d love to hear your opinions/reviews on it!!
Do you own Samsung? You could always send the Samsung Gear S my way for review! That’s the watch you do not have to pair to a phone, and it looks even fancier!!
My hubby works for Samsung and has had me try every Samsung wearable device. I have to admit, I am addicted too. I hope they come out with smaller, more feminine designs in the near future. That is my biggest pet peeve. 🙂
This is EXACTLY how I feel about my Apple Watch! I must admit that I’m envious of your ability to take photos… but I’m an Apple gal, so it is what it is. 🙂