Customer reviews from Samsung US
Samsung - Gear S3 Frontier Smartwatch 46mm - Dark Gray
Average customer rating
4.4
(1,020 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 1,020 reviews
5 Stars
704
4 Stars
172
3 Stars
55
2 Stars
32
1 Star
57
89%of customers recommend this product.
(
879 out of
985)
Customer Reviews for Samsung - Gear S3 Frontier Smartwatch 46mm - Dark Gray
Customer Rating
5
Amazing Watch
on February 2, 2017
Posted by: pooh254
from North Carolina, USA
Expertise:Intermediate
Love everything about this watch my only co,plaint would be that the watch will try to carry out an order and do something you did not even prompt it too by listening to your normal conversation it will pick up on key words and activate a prompt.
Pros: Bright display, Realistic color, Durable, Built-in speakers
Cons: not water proof
I would recommend this to a friend!
Features
5
Performance
5
Design
5
Value
4
Written by a customer while visiting Samsung US
Customer Rating
5
Awesome
on February 2, 2017
Posted by: jonnathanp7
from chicago
Expertise:Intermediate
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] The Samsung Gear S 3 is must have product. I have used for a couple of days and all I can say is AWESOME. It has many features that you will enjoy on a daily basis. Size and weight are just perfect, features, accessories and everything about this watch is perfect.
Pros: Realistic color, Durable, Lightweight, Built-in speakers
I would recommend this to a friend!
Features
5
Performance
5
Design
5
Value
5
Written by a customer while visiting Samsung US
Customer Rating
4
Easy to use
on February 3, 2017
Posted by: Kpc1
from Bismarck ND
Expertise:Intermediate
Bevel works great. Easy to use. Watch faces look terrific. Hopefully more apps are being developed.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Features
4
Performance
4
Design
5
Value
4
Written by a customer while visiting Samsung US
Customer Rating
5
Mt first smart watch is a winner
on February 4, 2017
Posted by: Gadgetscott
from San Diego, CA
Great look and feel. Most apps are great. Face is bright and clear. Wish it were waterproof to 50 meters like the apple watch. Wish it had map my fitness app. Battery will last two days even with using the gps and Bluetooth headphone features for a 40 minute run every day.
Pros: Bright display, Realistic color, Durable, Lightweight, Built-in speakers
Cons: need more apps.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Features
4
Performance
5
Design
5
Value
5
Written by a customer while visiting Samsung US
Customer Rating
5
Upgraded from s2 to s3
on February 4, 2017
Posted by: ed337a
from New Mexico
Expertise:Expert
And so glad I did. Way better battery life and a bright display. Well worth the upgrade.
Pros: Bright display, Realistic color, Durable, Lightweight, Built-in speakers
I would recommend this to a friend!
Features
5
Performance
5
Design
5
Value
5
Written by a customer while visiting Samsung US
Customer Rating
4
Great device, useful and fun, though some slight reservations
on February 11, 2017
Posted by: Gramaryen
from Troy, MI, USA
Expertise:Intermediate
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] When I received the device, I noticed that the box was quite elegant. It follows most of the design conventions that Samsung has been using for the S7 (and has been refining since the S4 or S5). It was easy to open, but the device was safely secured within. I was pleased to see that it came with a neat magnetic charging dock/cradle, along both a wall charging adapter and a cable (as it should). For the curious, the charger is just a 700mA charger, so if you want to charge it on the go, you won't need either a Fast Charge or 2.1A charger to get the job done...any old USB plug will do.
Moving on to the device, it is definitely styled like a man's watch, with a large black-bezel, large black band (actually, two black bands; one small (in the box), and one large, already attached. For reference, I've had other trackers, and have needed, if only slightly, the large watch band, and this seems to follow the same rough sizing, though the notches are at slightly different intervals, so it's either a might snug, or rotate-around-my wrist loose.
The face of the device is black and gunmetal grey, with - as you might expect - the bezel is a stylized gear. It sports hatch marks, like on most sports watches. 5-minute increments are marked out around the inside of the round frame. There are two buttons on the right side, and the bezel rotates both ways (the 5-minute increments, of course, are fixed).
I long-pressed the bottom right button to turn it on, opened up the Samsung Gear app on my S7 (you'll need to download it if you don't have it already), and got to setting it up. This process is pretty straight-forward, though you may have to bounce around the app to get all the settings straightened out. The default watch face is analog, but there is a watch face storefront, and there are a ton of both free and paid options. I have - in addition to the stock ones - an analog Monty Python Ministry of Silly Walks face, a purple Matrix-styled animated digital face, and - for $1 - an animated LCARS (Star Trek) digital face (both of these latter two show both the time, the date, my heart rate, my step count, and my calories burned). I get bored easily, so I'm sure I'll be trying others out, but the flexibility is quite nice to have, after the limited 4 or 5 boring ones from other trackers.
The interface has little bubble icons around the edge, and can be highlighted by twisting the bezel (which to me is very functional). It has a ton of built-in apps: weather, calendar, tasks, email, messaging, phone, contacts, photos, music, Find My Phone, S Voice, altimeter/barometer, Flipboard, alarm, world time, settings, S Health, Samsung Pay, and reminders. It also has widgets, both already in place, and ones you can download and add.
Now, there are some oddities here: the photos app requires that the photos actually be side-loaded onto the watch from your phone, rather than viewing your phone's gallery. I'm sure this is because this thing has LTE, and can be used in a completely stand-alone mode (with a contract), but it's still odd, and something I'd like to see the option to switch between in future. I know it's possible, because the music app has a similar ability (you can load music directly on the device and play it on the watch itself), BUT can also simply be used as a remote for playback on the phone.
Additionally, because this thing is running Tizen, it really only wants to play nicely with Samsung apps. I don't use Samsung's messaging app, nor its email app, and - while S Health is pretty nice - I've used smart fitness trackers for 3 years, so my data is all elsewhere. Additionally, I'm not used to Voice. That said...there are workarounds. I can simply get over the S Voice thing. It works well, or at least well enough, and it's not a big part of my use case. There's a free app called Fit and Healthy which syncs my data, and that’s working very nicely. For email and texting, however, it’s a bit trickier. I’m thinking of switching over from my current app (which works a treat) to the stock Samsung email app to get (or at least test) whatever additional functionality that would provide. Right now, I can read and reply to new emails, but not send cold emails, or read old ones.
That takes care of most of the issues, but for my texting, I use an encrypted texting app, because (especially now) I have privacy concerns. This presented an issue, but since I can still reply to incoming texts and emails from the watch (not write wholly new messages), I'm good. Oh, and btw, the quick replies function is very helpful. Stuff like ‘OK’, or ‘No’, or ‘On my way’ are on the list, and you can also enter text using T9, or voice recognition, or something like the old Palm Pilot handwriting recognition, one letter at a time…and an emoji keyboard (critical these days).
NOTE: When you clear a notification from the watch, you can choose whether it clears on the device or not, and vice-versa. Also, you can set whether notifications appear on the watch, even if you’re actively using your phone, and some other stuff, which is great.
Finding all of the features for replying and figuring out gestures for dismissing and moving around took about a day (not constant, of course…just occasional playing around), but now I can navigate things pretty quickly. To scroll a notification, run your finger upward from the bottom. To dismiss a notification, repeat until you drag the message into the trash can that appears. To perform quick actions, just look for them at the bottom of a notification. To do more, like reply or see something on your phone, tap the three dots at the right edge. To switch between apps, widgets, notifications, keyboards, adjust volume (both on the device and on the phone, as applicable), and to change time for alarms, etc., rotate the bezel. With a little practice, it becomes pretty intuitive, and I’m really enjoying it.
Okay, so that’s notifications and text-based stuff, but what about the phone?! Well…basically, at least with the Frontier, it connects over Bluetooth, and it works pretty well. You can dial or pick from a contact, or – if you must – speak the name of the person you want to call. When on the call, you can switch the call back and forth to and from the watch and phone. Today, I had a 25-minute phone conversation solely on the watch and it was clear both ways. Yesterday, I had a much flakier experience, but I think that was because I was in an area with poor reception, rather than a connection issue with the watch.
Speaking of talk time, I fully charged the device the first night I had it, but haven’t since, and – with lots of testing and that long phone call – it’s down to about 40%. The dock, btw, is classy and super-easy-to-use. It takes a microUSB cable, but can be detached and stuck in a pocket or backpack for travel, and hooked up anywhere, which is handy. Anyhow…even with 2 solid days of use, I figure I can get another day out of it, maybe two.I also like that it has Samsung Pay, the heart rate monitor seems pretty accurate, and as mentioned above, the watch bands are changeable.
Bottom line: I’m really enjoying the Gear S3 Frontier, despite a few quirks and some ecosystem limitations. With some tweaks, I’ve made it fit my lifestyle, and unlike my other/previous smart accessories, it has a great deal of practical uses (and some great show-off because-I-can features, as well). If you have the money, it’s a worthy gadget.
Okay, so that’s notifications and text-based stuff, but what about the phone?! Well…basically, at least with the Frontier, it connects over Bluetooth, and it works pretty well. You can dial or pick from a contact, or – if you must – speak the name of the person you want to call. When on the call, you can switch the call back and forth to and from the watch and phone. Today, I had a 25-minute phone conversation solely on the watch and it was clear both ways. Yesterday, I had a much flakier experience, but I think that was because I was in an area with poor reception, rather than a connection issue with the watch.
Speaking of talk time, I fully charged the device the first night I had it, but haven’t since, and – with lots of testing and that long phone call – it’s down to about 40%. The dock, btw, is classy and super-easy-to-use. It takes a microUSB cable, but can be detached and stuck in a pocket or backpack for travel, and hooked up anywhere, which is handy. Anyhow…even with 2 solid days of use, I figure I can get another day out of it, maybe two.I also like that it has Samsung Pay, the heart rate monitor seems pretty accurate, and as mentioned above, the watch bands are changeable.
Bottom line: I’m really enjoying the Gear S3 Frontier, despite a few quirks and some ecosystem limitations. With some tweaks, I’ve made it fit my lifestyle, and unlike my other/previous smart accessories, it has a great deal of practical uses (and some great show-off because-I-can features, as well). If you have the money, it’s a worthy gadget.
Pros: Bright display, Realistic color, Durable, Lightweight, Built-in speakers, customizable
Cons: some app compatibility limitations
I would recommend this to a friend!
Features
3
Performance
5
Design
5
Value
4
(click to see the video)
Written by a customer while visiting Samsung US
Customer Rating
4
Luv'vin my Gear S-3
on February 5, 2017
Posted by: K0sr0c28
from JAG-SUN-ville, Florida
Expertise:Intermediate
ABSOLUTELY love this watch.. I have owned just about every version of the gear watches (along with a couple other brands) and I have to say that this one lives up to the hype.. It has far exceeded my wishes and I love how it interacts with S-Health to keep me motivated to keep moving.. I can't even remember the last time that I rode the elevator.. I was also impressed with the better battery life and noticed that I can actually go over a day without charging the device even in the always on display mode.. If I could change anything, I would hope that the makers would increase the on board memory as I tend to load my workout music on the watch to keep from bringing my phone to the gym's floor.. OK so I would hope that future models would allow the user to answer phone calls via bluetooth headphones.. This would keep me from removing the headphones to answer a call which interrupts my workout.. All in all, I am VERY happy that I chose this watch..
Pros: Bright display, Realistic color, Durable, Lightweight, Built-in speakers
Cons: expensive, samsung's back order wait
I would recommend this to a friend!
Features
5
Performance
5
Design
4
Value
3
Written by a customer while visiting Samsung US
Customer Rating
5
Awesome design
on February 5, 2017
Posted by: Dollarbill82
from Columbus, OH, USA
Expertise:Intermediate
Great look and feel takes everything you love about the gear s2 and makes better plus what i wanted in the gear s2 it did buy makeing the watch bigger and able to anwer calls and have a speaker. The fact that you can buy different bands at a cheap cost allows you to customize like never before making this wearable a jack of all trades
Pros: Bright display, Realistic color, Durable, Lightweight, Built-in speakers, great design
Cons: lil expensive
I would recommend this to a friend!
Features
5
Performance
5
Design
5
Value
4
Written by a customer while visiting Samsung US