thanks. did you manage test if it syncs properly to the iphone. my galaxy watch with the same OS doesn't sync to the health app unless i open it, and if i havent for > 4-5 days the older data disappears! do you have this problem?
liked just because you did an actual review of the features. Ppl review straight out the box or barely using it 😡 lol so I'm super glad I stumbled across your review
Agreed! I subbed to him as well, great content. I just dropped my first video as well on why I switched to Android from iPhone after 10 years. Honest feedback would be appreciated 🙏🏼
Coming from the military I would wear my watch on the flip side of my wrist (facing in, not away from me while wearing) and it hasnt skipped a beat since, maybe trying spinning that watch onto the inside of your wrist and there alot more veins which would essentially give you a better reading! Try it! Thanks for the video it was solid!
Yeah I was thinking the same thing to wear it on the under side of my wrist but seems to be doing ok on top so i haven't flipped it yet inconsistent readings can also come from not wearing the band tight enough against the wrist and can pose greater inconsistency.
@Maz this allows you to look at the time on your wrist without lowering your rifle, imagine your holding a rifle. and then imagine the watch is on the arm that isnt holding hte trigger because you wrist faces up to hold the rifle up. you can look and see the time. it alwso helps keep it out of the way form getting damaged and such. -prior service
@@cnsmooth hey joe I actually just got the active 2 and the battery is definitely longer but I’m reading you could get around 60 hours if you just use it for normal watch features but it’s been a while since I remember exactly but hope this helps!
I'm happy you mentioned the heart-rate escapes. I thought I'm special or have a broken watch. Thank you so much for the video. I have my Galaxy Watch Active for 4 weeks now and I face the same problem for the heart rate. Even in rest it seems to lock on double my heart-rate until I manually take a measurement with the watch and then I get a correct reading...still, in "Always ON" mode, it has a hard time measuring it - occasionally. Samsung Support doesn't really help even though I provided an accurate description of the problem. For me, it has better accuracy when I don't pull the strap too tightly - it's odd but I think once you start sweating, the sensors have problems determining the correct beat. By wearing it not so tight, there is less chance of sweat building up underneath the watch. These problems go away during sleeping, so it could also be that ambient light disrupts the readings. It was surprisingly accurate while swimming where other devices don't work at all. All in all I think it works great - is super light, so I can wear it while playing tennis. The heart rate thing is a bit odd but I know that the watch is capable of reading correctly, so I hope that this will be fixed in an update when enough people scream about it.
Would greatly appreciate an update for this watch. Im currently researching watches that would be good at accurately measuring stats from my swims such as laps, distance, strokes, swolf, etc. Would you say that the GWA measures these stats accurately? I swim 3x a week at a 25m indoor pool, 1hour each session so these stats are important to me. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!
Awesome review, really detailed, thanks! Do you (or does anyone) know if the heart rate issues have been updated/fixed by now? This watch seems to do everything I want it to AND it's not to big for my wrists.
I love that you went over all of the little features. It's nice to be able to weigh the pros and cons before I commit to buying it. Will you be doing a review of the Galaxy Watch Active2?
Thank you very informative! I thought something was wrong with my watch because it would tell me workout is detected after I already started or sometimes it wouldn't have my workout at all
I wound up returning mine. I wanted to like it so bad since I use a note9. The heart rate monitor just couldn't hang during workouts. Major bummer. Steps were off by over 1000 every day. The battery was terrible. Some cool apps and whatnot but who cares? For something marketed as an ACTIVE device it was severely lacking. I've now been using a Ticwatch pro for almost a week and, while it's not perfect, i've been impressed by the blend of acceptably accurate activity tracking and smartwatch features. Thanks for all your reviews 👍🏻
By far the most useful review. In depth fitness features, and HR monitoring are the open questions that I had about this watch. Now it's crispy clear. Thanks a ton!
I have one and I love it. It's much smaller on your wrist and comfortable than other watches. You can't answer calls from your watcj but if you have a headset or wireless airbuds as soon as you answer it on the watch the call will pick up on your headphones. I can even start my music on it without taking out my phone. I sometimes forget I even have a watch on which is great.
I really wanted to buy this watch, but I was waiting for your review to make a decision. I'll be sticking with my Fitbit for now, hopefully next model will have a heart sensor that competes with apple's.
The watch says its not released for another 10 days, maybe they will get an update to polish off some of the issues when it launches. Samsung probably views these kinds of release videos too see the feedback. My preorder comes tomorrow ill see how mine works.
This watch was released on March 8th in the U.S. as I purchased it myself from a local retailer. This was not a pre-release version of the device that I tested.
Love your reviews Des! I use my Galaxy active with my iPhone I've been extremely impressed with its heart rate accuracy even in water and stroke recognition! Its impressed me so much Im considering trading in my iPhone for an S10
I know this video is a few months old, however I haven’t seen many reviews on third party apps ie Strava and Nike. Some forums detail a lot of problems with those particular apps. ALSO.... love to see a video reviewing the best third party apps for running cycling etc ❤️❤️❤️
I take that back!!! I see it in your gear sport iPhone/Android comparison. I had to do some digging but I had a feeling I heard you speak on it a bit. 😩😩😩 I am not worthy of your robust tech reviews 😭😭😭
I've been researching for hours on which fitness watch I want to buy. I find it incredibly overwhelming. Best review of this watch by far. What tracker do you recommend? Top priorities are HR and swimming. Any help, by anyone, is welcomed. (FYI, I'm using S10e, so no apple)
as far as HR go i would definitely stay away from any Samsung watches. They are all horrible at keeping accurate heart rate. Try fitbit or garmin if HR/swimming is your priority
Im also in the process of looking for an accurate tracker for swimming. Accurately measuring laps, distance, strokes/strokes per min, swolf, etc are things Im looking for. Im definitely interested in what you ended up getting or what you would suggest!
Thanks for the review Des! I took a leap and bought it before your review came out and, I'm dissapointed. My first 5k run, I also had the HR problems, even thereafter it stuggled to start reading my bpm again. The steps are okay, but its def still off. The other major problem is how Samung defines a "floor". You have to move for 3m uphill inorder to register a floor climb. So me walking up and down my house's staircase registered NOTHING, but running the stairs at my office does improve the accuracy, because it is "longer" stairs... I am really not impressed as this is labeled as ACTIVE but it seriously lacks... You might aswell buy a Galaxy Watch cause the health features are lacking. :( i am going to return mine for a refund. I believe some of Fitbits cheapest watches might even do a better job at fitness. RIP Samung , such a shame
Thank you, good man! I stay with my TomTom Runner 3 while it works. I do not have to buy a new watch ... This watch is not a sports watch, Garmin is too expensive, Suunto and Polar do not offer a sports watch with everything like heart rate monitoring and MP3 player. In reality, I'm just thinking of buying a bracelet like Polar OH1 and running it with a smartphone. And wait for a good sports watch with everything for a reasonable price. Too bad that TomTom has stopped. Greetings from Germany.
Thanks for this test. I have a Samsung Gear Sport and it is such a good smartwatch with a Galaxy phone. My Gear Sport has 2 days of battery life with continue heart Rate and Always on Display all the day. I have just got Tizen 4.0 update and the using experience is better than ever. But this Galaxy Watch Active is smaller and it is better for people that have a email wrist like my teenager wrist size.
I purchased this watch this (2019) holiday season (and I got a nice deal for $120) but it just wasn't quite good enough for me. A new update enabled the haptic rotating bezel, but it felt awkward and didn't work consistently. I'm an iPhone owner, and I could definitely tell that certain features were missing because of that. Ultimately, the battery life is what got me to return this watch to the store. I was only able to get about 18 hours from it before it went dead. If you are okay with charging your watch every night while sleeping, this wouldn't be an issue, but I don't like getting down to the last few hours of the evening and seeing my device under 15% battery. Knowing that I'll be running on fumes as I get to my nightstand isn't my cup of tea.
hey man great thorough video. Samsung released an update a few weeks ago that allegedly correctly accounts for heart rate. Seems that the algorithm was indeed off. Have you seen if the update shows improvement?
Do you have any plans to review the Huawei GT watches? Loved your reviews of fitness smartwatches and really hope you can include Huawei devices if possible..
Took a shot on this myself and ended up returning it. Samsung Health is it's Achilles heel along with the battery life. Even though the battery specs are largely the same I get much better life out of the AW4. And for pure sports tracking, Garmin or Suunto are much better and accurate. Great review though, glad it wasn't just me.
Thanks! And no it wasn’t just you. It’s a shame that over the course of 3 watches (Gear Sport, Galaxy Watch, Galaxy Watch Active) that there are very few improvements if any with Samsung Health.
Very useful review, thank you! Looking forward to comparison video, even though you already did a brief comparison here. It saddens me a bit that this watch doesn't seem like an all-around upgrade to MS Band 2, oh, well. Anyway, thanks again, great content!
What would you recommend from a fitness perspective (fitness, cycling, ...): Samsung Galaxy watch active or Garmin vivoactive music? Great video with all the needed information, thx!
Love the video! I am so torn now on what to do. Switched to Samsung for the S10+, but I am avid into fitness and tracking my workouts. I got the Active to replace my Apple watch, but now I am feeling I should just stick with Apple.
It's tough because most people are tied to their phone of choice - no judgement, every one has their own preference. With that being said, Apple does put much more effort into the algorithms and underlying software. But Garmin should also be considered - not the display quality nor the robust smartwatch experience as Samsung or Apple, but excels in the fitness side of things.
@@30mattdavies I think Garmin is a worthy option, but the screen and interface is awful from what I have seen. I don't miss Apple, but I'm seriously thinking about getting the Galaxy watch as well.
Just found out about your channel, unusually very well put together video! Kudos. It's really hard to find such a detailed review on youtube for fitness devices! Subscribed! Looking forward to coming up video.
I bought it yesterday ,and i am an active woman ,but i was surprised when i saw the Calories count for my cardio class ,it was lower than expected , my friend which does the same cardio class but doesnot move as much as i do ,she burned 200 cal more than me!!! I don't know if there is something wrong woth my watch, also it was not detecting my heart beat all the time
it seems like Garmin needs to step in to the Wear OS market for people that want an active watch with more features. i had a Fenix 3HR and switched to the Series 3 because of the features that Watch OS had over it.
Thank you, I was waiting for this review. I got a little over anxious and went ahead and ordered this watch this week before your review and now I’m a bit concern knowing that it had issues with the HRM. I was looking at the Vivoactive 3 Music, but decided on the Galaxy Active. I’m tempted to cancel my order now because I’m looking for a solid fitness watch. Maybe Samsung will issue a software fix for this issue.
Same here, vivoactive 3 music or galaxy active, i've got the active now 1 week and i'm glad that Des made this video, because this are my experiences as well.. So sad, the issues with HRM, i really hope they come up with an software update to fix it.
To get a somewhat accurate VO2 Max, it would either need to have a good heart rate sensor or connect to an external heart strap, neither of which are present.
Great review as always, straight to the point, short intro, very practical insights and clear. What’s the best way to count reps, that is apps or hardware, in addition to me counting silently?
Thanks for your review, was thinking about getting one of these and just subscribed. Could you tell me what you believe is the best device that tracks your running and cycling by gps, has the most accurate heart rate sensor and is best for tracking sleep?
That's a great review! I have never seen such a detailed and kind review anywhere else. By the way, can I ask you what version you used for this review?
Yea :( I returned mije because it stops working mid workout. I got a Fitbit and so far it's been more accurate idk I like the Samsung look and functionality but need the hr to work consistently.
Thanks for putting the work in on this video. I wanted to ask about general fitness (treadmill, weight lifting) without using the specific apps. I am looking for a watch to keep track of calories but not have it be too much of a burden to use. Do you recommend this watch or something else?
I've had my vivoactive3 for a year and 5 months and I just want a garmin with a beautiful OLED screen. Functionality is far superior to Apple and Samsung but the LCD screen just looks so cheesey
I have Vivoactive 3 too, while OLED screen would be great. Just think battery life and full alway on display. I can go away for 5 days and not have to worry about bringing a charging cable for the watch, no GPS use in those days of course.
I would like the option to choose from GARMIN, either OLED and bad battery life or LCD and great battery life. Garmin has the best software hands down and I don't want to swap.
So calories burned was always bad on the GW. One issue is obviously the heartrate dropping completely, the other is how Samsung calculates it's data. I could use Under Armor Record and the calories burned would match nicely to my chest strap, whereas the Galaxy would be 30-40 percent less. Gonna take a second and thank you for all your reviews. When I was dissatisfied with the GW I turned to you to get your views on Garmin and Suunto.
Thanks a bunch! I'm gonna have a follow-up video or two about some very odd things that I found - it's all related to some of the results I have in this video but ya, I think there is a bit of work that needs to be done under the covers.
Returned mine because just like other Samsung watches the hr monitor stops working mid workout because of some sweat build up... Pisses me off because I want a Samsung watch that works for my needs :(
Do you think it's worth the upgrade coming from a galaxy sport? And I noticed that there is a big difference in the calorie count between Samsung Health and the UA Record app. Tks for your great video.
nice review - enjoyed all of your comments. Depending on how many hours a Day you wear your watch also plays a big factor - I am wearing mine from 5 AM - 9PM - which is 16 hours - I do use about 1 to 1.5 hrs of outdoor exercise and still factor that I would get maybe 30-32 hours (so for me 2 days). I do not wear it to track sleep though it is small enough to use it for that. I also will charge it every night. I don't use the Always on Display (AOD) - but might do that later. I find it a very comfortable watch and the responsiveness to the tizen interface is much , much better than the WearOS (I really wanted my TicWatch Pro to workout for me - but it just couldn't). Thanks again-
Great video as always! In the next video could you include in the comparison the galaxy watch? maybe with the last updates it would do better than your last year video! Hope to see your next video soon :)
Damn the heart rate performance is a deal breaker. Been wanting to upgrade my gear fit 2 and I was so close to picking this up but seems like it's not the one to get after watching this. Great video however.
Great vid! Just wanted to ask if you found the swimming lap and stroke detection to be accurate, because you did say there were issies with the galaxy watch in a previous video
Thanks for the detailed review and really diving into the fitness features which I've never seen anyone do on TH-cam. I have a Gear S3 and have never used the weight lifting exercises so it's cool that it lets you join multiple exercises performed together into one workout. Too bad the watch performs so poorly on actually starting to count reps though. Going to try it out on my watch and see if it does any better.
I'm not surprised you did not get any altimeter readings from this watch. I had one and it never once showed any floors climbed. Also I found that it does NOT support NFC payment via iOS so I returned mine. Would have used my android phone instead but they also do not support NFC payment w android unless it is a samsung phone. So please keep that in mind if you go to buy this watch. Otherwise it is actually a great little watch, but they need to open it up to more platforms.
Thanks DesFit 😘 Man i've been waiting for this review like ages 🤩 But sadly got disappointed by the HRM just like Galaxy Watch. Does firmware update will make it better or stay the same only time will tell 😣. I'm currently looking for a fitness focused watch with good HRM and GPS onboard at $200 and under to use it for running & outdoor activities. Can you recommend me the other devices that you mentioned at $200~$250 price range 😁
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That intro was lit subtle, super crispy!
Thanks!
So wholesome. Two of the best fitness tech reviewers showing love. Appreciate you both!
thanks. did you manage test if it syncs properly to the iphone. my galaxy watch with the same OS doesn't sync to the health app unless i open it, and if i havent for > 4-5 days the older data disappears! do you have this problem?
@danny syncing is a bit quirky but for the most part I had to always open the app to get it to sync.
I trust both of u guys in these reviews 😲
liked just because you did an actual review of the features. Ppl review straight out the box or barely using it 😡 lol so I'm super glad I stumbled across your review
Thanks!
FINALLY an athlete testing the features, thank you for your time and effort. Subbed and liked. :D
You put a lot of work into this video. You earned yourself a subscriber.
Wow, thanks!
@@DesFit Same here. Very good review. I'm disappointed about the heart rate sensor :(
Agreed! I subbed to him as well, great content. I just dropped my first video as well on why I switched to Android from iPhone after 10 years. Honest feedback would be appreciated 🙏🏼
Coming from the military I would wear my watch on the flip side of my wrist (facing in, not away from me while wearing) and it hasnt skipped a beat since, maybe trying spinning that watch onto the inside of your wrist and there alot more veins which would essentially give you a better reading! Try it!
Thanks for the video it was solid!
Yeah I was thinking the same thing to wear it on the under side of my wrist but seems to be doing ok on top so i haven't flipped it yet inconsistent readings can also come from not wearing the band tight enough against the wrist and can pose greater inconsistency.
@Maz this allows you to look at the time on your wrist without lowering your rifle, imagine your holding a rifle. and then imagine the watch is on the arm that isnt holding hte trigger because you wrist faces up to hold the rifle up. you can look and see the time. it alwso helps keep it out of the way form getting damaged and such.
-prior service
@@mochabear8312 makes sense
Hello Jason, I'm thinking of getting this watch, is the battery life really only a day and a half?
@@cnsmooth hey joe I actually just got the active 2 and the battery is definitely longer but I’m reading you could get around 60 hours if you just use it for normal watch features but it’s been a while since I remember exactly but hope this helps!
I'm happy you mentioned the heart-rate escapes. I thought I'm special or have a broken watch.
Thank you so much for the video. I have my Galaxy Watch Active for 4 weeks now and I face the same problem for the heart rate. Even in rest it seems to lock on double my heart-rate until I manually take a measurement with the watch and then I get a correct reading...still, in "Always ON" mode, it has a hard time measuring it - occasionally.
Samsung Support doesn't really help even though I provided an accurate description of the problem.
For me, it has better accuracy when I don't pull the strap too tightly - it's odd but I think once you start sweating, the sensors have problems determining the correct beat. By wearing it not so tight, there is less chance of sweat building up underneath the watch.
These problems go away during sleeping, so it could also be that ambient light disrupts the readings.
It was surprisingly accurate while swimming where other devices don't work at all.
All in all I think it works great - is super light, so I can wear it while playing tennis. The heart rate thing is a bit odd but I know that the watch is capable of reading correctly, so I hope that this will be fixed in an update when enough people scream about it.
Would greatly appreciate an update for this watch.
Im currently researching watches that would be good at accurately measuring stats from my swims such as laps, distance, strokes, swolf, etc. Would you say that the GWA measures these stats accurately? I swim 3x a week at a 25m indoor pool, 1hour each session so these stats are important to me.
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!
Des only for you i have disabled my adblocker and watched the ad all the way without skipping it.
i love ur content love from india
Haha, thanks! Hope you enjoyed the video!
@@DesFit Great video as always
Did you test GPS with "high accuracy" toggled on?
I love that you do HR comparisons. Surprisingly, I find Apple Watch series 4 to be the most accurate HR smart watch I’ve ever had.
If you have not done so already check out my Apple Watch Series 4 review which details a lot of the HR measurements on that device.
The amount of work you put into your video definitely shows bro. subscribed!
Thanks!
I'm glad you actually review watches instead of just looking at them right out of the box. Could you review the galaxy fit? Thanks.
You can always rely on desfit! ✌
Thanks! 👍
Holy crap, I've just discovered your channel and your video was definitely one of the most informative I've seen!
Thanks!
To the point. So many vids on ohh AHH looks cool, v few about whether it works. Thanks
Sure thing. Thanks!
Awesome review, really detailed, thanks! Do you (or does anyone) know if the heart rate issues have been updated/fixed by now? This watch seems to do everything I want it to AND it's not to big for my wrists.
Pretty detailed review, and even though I'm a sedentary obese dude I wanna know more about these devices. Subbed!
I love that you went over all of the little features. It's nice to be able to weigh the pros and cons before I commit to buying it. Will you be doing a review of the Galaxy Watch Active2?
Yup, I’ll be reviewing the Active2. Thanks!
Finally someone doing a fitness review! Thank youuu!!
Sure thing
Thank you very informative! I thought something was wrong with my watch because it would tell me workout is detected after I already started or sometimes it wouldn't have my workout at all
Sure thing! Thanks!
It's also a good watch for golf as well. Pretty good for gym too! Thanks for all your effort with the review Des, much appreciated👍🏽
Sure thing. Thanks!!
I love all the data and comparisons. I was leaning towards buying this watch but will hold off for now. Thanks
I wound up returning mine. I wanted to like it so bad since I use a note9. The heart rate monitor just couldn't hang during workouts. Major bummer. Steps were off by over 1000 every day. The battery was terrible. Some cool apps and whatnot but who cares? For something marketed as an ACTIVE device it was severely lacking. I've now been using a Ticwatch pro for almost a week and, while it's not perfect, i've been impressed by the blend of acceptably accurate activity tracking and smartwatch features. Thanks for all your reviews 👍🏻
Sure thing, Matthew. I felt the same way about how they named the Gear “Sport”.
I was going to buy it but its HR performance is not what I expected...
Thank you for the great and non-biased review. It helped me a lot.
Ive been waiting for this. Yours is literally the only fitness review I trust. Keep doing this...its really valuable 😊👏👏👏
Sure thing - thanks!
By far the most useful review. In depth fitness features, and HR monitoring are the open questions that I had about this watch. Now it's crispy clear. Thanks a ton!
Sure thing
I have one and I love it. It's much smaller on your wrist and comfortable than other watches. You can't answer calls from your watcj but if you have a headset or wireless airbuds as soon as you answer it on the watch the call will pick up on your headphones. I can even start my music on it without taking out my phone. I sometimes forget I even have a watch on which is great.
Tiffanni how do you find the battery I'm only getting just over the day on it and I havent even used it for strength training yet
@@shirleycunningham6644 yeah maybe just over alittle bit more of a day. It doesn't last that long with all of the alerts keeps coming in.
There are watch faces you can get that enable you to pair to a external hr sensor. I think one is called sporty face
Great video! I have experienced the same issues with mine. Samsung custumers service is really bad.
I really wanted to buy this watch, but I was waiting for your review to make a decision. I'll be sticking with my Fitbit for now, hopefully next model will have a heart sensor that competes with apple's.
Luis Aguilar-Arellano same here ☝🏻
Mine works perfectly to be honest.
The watch says its not released for another 10 days, maybe they will get an update to polish off some of the issues when it launches. Samsung probably views these kinds of release videos too see the feedback. My preorder comes tomorrow ill see how mine works.
This watch was released on March 8th in the U.S. as I purchased it myself from a local retailer. This was not a pre-release version of the device that I tested.
@@DesFit ahh, well good vid though.
this video is one of the besssst reviews of this watch,tnx man
Just got mine today liking it was after the frontier but happy with the active
Love your reviews Des! I use my Galaxy active with my iPhone I've been extremely impressed with its heart rate accuracy even in water and stroke recognition! Its impressed me so much Im considering trading in my iPhone for an S10
Great review! Very detailed and professional. Thank you!
Sure thing
great job on this video. honest review. I just got this watch for $150.00...and it came with two chargers. A special for Sams Club members I think.
I know this video is a few months old, however I haven’t seen many reviews on third party apps ie Strava and Nike.
Some forums detail a lot of problems with those particular apps.
ALSO.... love to see a video reviewing the best third party apps for running cycling etc ❤️❤️❤️
I take that back!!! I see it in your gear sport iPhone/Android comparison. I had to do some digging but I had a feeling I heard you speak on it a bit.
😩😩😩 I am not worthy of your robust tech reviews 😭😭😭
Perfect review. Just what I wanted. Subscriber here.
Thanks!! Glad it helped!
DesFit thinking of starting a tech channel too!
FoxArt Draws do it!!
Great video! I appreciate your thorough evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses.
Sure thing
The best review for galaxy watch active. I am going for it !
Thanks for all the work you put into your reviews. I'm a new subscriber and can't wait for your next one.
Thanks a bunch! Should have some new videos dropping within a few days.
I've been researching for hours on which fitness watch I want to buy. I find it incredibly overwhelming. Best review of this watch by far. What tracker do you recommend? Top priorities are HR and swimming. Any help, by anyone, is welcomed. (FYI, I'm using S10e, so no apple)
as far as HR go i would definitely stay away from any Samsung watches. They are all horrible at keeping accurate heart rate. Try fitbit or garmin if HR/swimming is your priority
Im also in the process of looking for an accurate tracker for swimming. Accurately measuring laps, distance, strokes/strokes per min, swolf, etc are things Im looking for.
Im definitely interested in what you ended up getting or what you would suggest!
really like your video, very professional and straight, really helpful!
Thanks!
Thanks for the review Des!
I took a leap and bought it before your review came out and, I'm dissapointed. My first 5k run, I also had the HR problems, even thereafter it stuggled to start reading my bpm again. The steps are okay, but its def still off. The other major problem is how Samung defines a "floor". You have to move for 3m uphill inorder to register a floor climb. So me walking up and down my house's staircase registered NOTHING, but running the stairs at my office does improve the accuracy, because it is "longer" stairs... I am really not impressed as this is labeled as ACTIVE but it seriously lacks... You might aswell buy a Galaxy Watch cause the health features are lacking. :( i am going to return mine for a refund. I believe some of Fitbits cheapest watches might even do a better job at fitness. RIP Samung , such a shame
Thank you, good man! I stay with my TomTom Runner 3 while it works. I do not have to buy a new watch ... This watch is not a sports watch, Garmin is too expensive, Suunto and Polar do not offer a sports watch with everything like heart rate monitoring and MP3 player. In reality, I'm just thinking of buying a bracelet like Polar OH1 and running it with a smartphone. And wait for a good sports watch with everything for a reasonable price. Too bad that TomTom has stopped. Greetings from Germany.
Thanks for this test. I have a Samsung Gear Sport and it is such a good smartwatch with a Galaxy phone. My Gear Sport has 2 days of battery life with continue heart Rate and Always on Display all the day. I have just got Tizen 4.0 update and the using experience is better than ever. But this Galaxy Watch Active is smaller and it is better for people that have a email wrist like my teenager wrist size.
I purchased this watch this (2019) holiday season (and I got a nice deal for $120) but it just wasn't quite good enough for me. A new update enabled the haptic rotating bezel, but it felt awkward and didn't work consistently. I'm an iPhone owner, and I could definitely tell that certain features were missing because of that. Ultimately, the battery life is what got me to return this watch to the store. I was only able to get about 18 hours from it before it went dead. If you are okay with charging your watch every night while sleeping, this wouldn't be an issue, but I don't like getting down to the last few hours of the evening and seeing my device under 15% battery. Knowing that I'll be running on fumes as I get to my nightstand isn't my cup of tea.
hey man great thorough video. Samsung released an update a few weeks ago that allegedly correctly accounts for heart rate. Seems that the algorithm was indeed off. Have you seen if the update shows improvement?
Thanks for posting a very well researched review. It helped me make decision
Glad it helped!
damn i am glad i found this channel.
👍💪
Do you have any plans to review the Huawei GT watches? Loved your reviews of fitness smartwatches and really hope you can include Huawei devices if possible..
Took a shot on this myself and ended up returning it. Samsung Health is it's Achilles heel along with the battery life. Even though the battery specs are largely the same I get much better life out of the AW4. And for pure sports tracking, Garmin or Suunto are much better and accurate. Great review though, glad it wasn't just me.
Thanks! And no it wasn’t just you.
It’s a shame that over the course of 3 watches (Gear Sport, Galaxy Watch, Galaxy Watch Active) that there are very few improvements if any with Samsung Health.
Very useful review, thank you! Looking forward to comparison video, even though you already did a brief comparison here. It saddens me a bit that this watch doesn't seem like an all-around upgrade to MS Band 2, oh, well. Anyway, thanks again, great content!
Did Samsung roll an update about their HRM accuracy?
Des, that new setting you have there with grey wall and the nice desk makes all look extremely pro. Love your reviews!
Thanks!
Great review. My active watch also doesn't record heart rate after 10 minutes of running.
That’s really unfortunate that a lot of people experience this. It’s such a shame Samsung put out a product like this. Sorry but thanks!
Hi, can you do a review on huawai watch GT
What would you recommend from a fitness perspective (fitness, cycling, ...): Samsung Galaxy watch active or Garmin vivoactive music?
Great video with all the needed information, thx!
On you opinion What do you think the best overall smart watch ??
Love the video! I am so torn now on what to do. Switched to Samsung for the S10+, but I am avid into fitness and tracking my workouts. I got the Active to replace my Apple watch, but now I am feeling I should just stick with Apple.
It's tough because most people are tied to their phone of choice - no judgement, every one has their own preference. With that being said, Apple does put much more effort into the algorithms and underlying software. But Garmin should also be considered - not the display quality nor the robust smartwatch experience as Samsung or Apple, but excels in the fitness side of things.
@@30mattdavies I think Garmin is a worthy option, but the screen and interface is awful from what I have seen. I don't miss Apple, but I'm seriously thinking about getting the Galaxy watch as well.
@@30mattdavies Which Garmin? The HR monitor on the active is pretty good, but it just is so small coming from the Series 4
Real review. Thanks for the hard work you put in it. Liked and subbed.
Thanks so much!
What watches would you recommend for a good heart rate monitor for running.
Just found out about your channel, unusually very well put together video! Kudos.
It's really hard to find such a detailed review on youtube for fitness devices! Subscribed! Looking forward to coming up video.
Thanks!
You're review was great thankyou for the advise
Sure thing
Thank you for the review great information i think im sold 👍🏾
I bought it yesterday ,and i am an active woman ,but i was surprised when i saw the Calories count for my cardio class ,it was lower than expected , my friend which does the same cardio class but doesnot move as much as i do ,she burned 200 cal more than me!!! I don't know if there is something wrong woth my watch, also it was not detecting my heart beat all the time
Hi Des! Does it have manual lap counter?... like Garmin Forerunners
You can do a split every lap. It'll restart the time, but will still track total time. Basically stopwatch
Was waiting for this review & not disappointed! Thanks for the detailed explanations.
Sure thing!
it seems like Garmin needs to step in to the Wear OS market for people that want an active watch with more features. i had a Fenix 3HR and switched to the Series 3 because of the features that Watch OS had over it.
Thank you, I was waiting for this review. I got a little over anxious and went ahead and ordered this watch this week before your review and now I’m a bit concern knowing that it had issues with the HRM. I was looking at the Vivoactive 3 Music, but decided on the Galaxy Active. I’m tempted to cancel my order now because I’m looking for a solid fitness watch. Maybe Samsung will issue a software fix for this issue.
Same here, vivoactive 3 music or galaxy active, i've got the active now 1 week and i'm glad that Des made this video, because this are my experiences as well.. So sad, the issues with HRM, i really hope they come up with an software update to fix it.
I have to choose between those two now. Could you tell me if you’re happy with your choice?
good review, but also I think the Samsung watches are missing is V02 Max..
To get a somewhat accurate VO2 Max, it would either need to have a good heart rate sensor or connect to an external heart strap, neither of which are present.
Great review as always, straight to the point, short intro, very practical insights and clear. What’s the best way to count reps, that is apps or hardware, in addition to me counting silently?
Duuude, i love you reviews Thanks a lot
Sure thing. Thanks!
Thanks for your review, was thinking about getting one of these and just subscribed. Could you tell me what you believe is the best device that tracks your running and cycling by gps, has the most accurate heart rate sensor and is best for tracking sleep?
Is the step counter more accurate than in the original galaxy watch? I have heard many complains about it (doesn't count first 20 steps etc.)
No and it never will be.
Great video man, help me a lot, greetings from Chile
Thanks so much!
That's a great review! I have never seen such a detailed and kind review anywhere else.
By the way, can I ask you what version you used for this review?
Just your awesome work on fitness devices made me like and subscribe you.. awesome work !
Thanks!
Wish you had checked out the bp monitoring, which should have been available after Mar. 15
Pretty disappointed with the HR accuracy and the battery. I will buy Vivoactive 3
Exactly what I did .I use my heart rate chest belt for better accuracy
Yea :( I returned mije because it stops working mid workout. I got a Fitbit and so far it's been more accurate idk I like the Samsung look and functionality but need the hr to work consistently.
@@mileskt9232 Which Fitbit did you get?
Thanks for putting the work in on this video. I wanted to ask about general fitness (treadmill, weight lifting) without using the specific apps. I am looking for a watch to keep track of calories but not have it be too much of a burden to use. Do you recommend this watch or something else?
Amazing and thorough review even more AMAZING guy!
Haha, thanks!
Thanks so much definitely liked the video and been deciding on it great review
You’re welcome
I've had my vivoactive3 for a year and 5 months and I just want a garmin with a beautiful OLED screen. Functionality is far superior to Apple and Samsung but the LCD screen just looks so cheesey
I have Vivoactive 3 too, while OLED screen would be great. Just think battery life and full alway on display. I can go away for 5 days and not have to worry about bringing a charging cable for the watch, no GPS use in those days of course.
Yeah I'm really enjoying the watch, and the GPS has been spot on for me, but I just cant trust it like I can my Garmin.
I would like the option to choose from GARMIN, either OLED and bad battery life or LCD and great battery life. Garmin has the best software hands down and I don't want to swap.
So calories burned was always bad on the GW. One issue is obviously the heartrate dropping completely, the other is how Samsung calculates it's data. I could use Under Armor Record and the calories burned would match nicely to my chest strap, whereas the Galaxy would be 30-40 percent less.
Gonna take a second and thank you for all your reviews. When I was dissatisfied with the GW I turned to you to get your views on Garmin and Suunto.
Thanks a bunch! I'm gonna have a follow-up video or two about some very odd things that I found - it's all related to some of the results I have in this video but ya, I think there is a bit of work that needs to be done under the covers.
Returned mine because just like other Samsung watches the hr monitor stops working mid workout because of some sweat build up... Pisses me off because I want a Samsung watch that works for my needs :(
Do you think it's worth the upgrade coming from a galaxy sport?
And I noticed that there is a big difference in the calorie count between Samsung Health and the UA Record app.
Tks for your great video.
Well in my humble opinion I think its worthless to upgrade
Great detail comparison and review! Thank you.
Sure thing.
Does it pair with a chest HRS
nice review - enjoyed all of your comments. Depending on how many hours a Day you wear your watch also plays a big factor - I am wearing mine from 5 AM - 9PM - which is 16 hours - I do use about 1 to 1.5 hrs of outdoor exercise and still factor that I would get maybe 30-32 hours (so for me 2 days). I do not wear it to track sleep though it is small enough to use it for that. I also will charge it every night. I don't use the Always on Display (AOD) - but might do that later. I find it a very comfortable watch and the responsiveness to the tizen interface is much , much better than the WearOS (I really wanted my TicWatch Pro to workout for me - but it just couldn't).
Thanks again-
Thank you, that's what I wanted to know.
Glad I could help
Great video as always! In the next video could you include in the comparison the galaxy watch? maybe with the last updates it would do better than your last year video! Hope to see your next video soon :)
Great job Des. It's a bummer that you can't use external HR sensors with this. The Apple Watch has that.
Thanks John, and ya, it is a bummer it can't do this natively.
@@DesFit It would be great if both Samsung and Wear OS could come out with watches that would do this but clearly not a priority for them.
They have their own roadmap, for sure. Opportunity knocks however they aren’t answering.
DesFit Agreed. Apple did it with the Apple Watch.
Damn the heart rate performance is a deal breaker. Been wanting to upgrade my gear fit 2 and I was so close to picking this up but seems like it's not the one to get after watching this. Great video however.
Thanks, ya, disappointing considering this was the third Samsung in a row with the same results.
Great work budd thanks for the info, be a great combination with my Galaxy S10.
Always love your video. What is the application to compare those heartbeat? Please share. Thanks
Thanks! It's the DC Rainmaker Analyzer: www.dcrainmaker.com/analyzer
Great vid! Just wanted to ask if you found the swimming lap and stroke detection to be accurate, because you did say there were issies with the galaxy watch in a previous video
Missed the stroke type on only a handful of laps but lap counting seemed to be fine.
Thanks for the detailed review and really diving into the fitness features which I've never seen anyone do on TH-cam. I have a Gear S3 and have never used the weight lifting exercises so it's cool that it lets you join multiple exercises performed together into one workout. Too bad the watch performs so poorly on actually starting to count reps though. Going to try it out on my watch and see if it does any better.
It was hit and miss where it worked really well on the original Galaxy Watch but didn’t really work on the Active. Very strange.
compare the Galaxy watch Active with Amazfit stratos, about same price and features. thanks
Samsung is better...
I'm not surprised you did not get any altimeter readings from this watch. I had one and it never once showed any floors climbed. Also I found that it does NOT support NFC payment via iOS so I returned mine. Would have used my android phone instead but they also do not support NFC payment w android unless it is a samsung phone. So please keep that in mind if you go to buy this watch. Otherwise it is actually a great little watch, but they need to open it up to more platforms.
Amazing video, keep up the good work
Thanks!
Great review, do you think a firmware update could improve the HR tracking or that is just related to hardware? Thank you.
Thanks DesFit 😘 Man i've been waiting for this review like ages 🤩 But sadly got disappointed by the HRM just like Galaxy Watch. Does firmware update will make it better or stay the same only time will tell 😣. I'm currently looking for a fitness focused watch with good HRM and GPS onboard at $200 and under to use it for running & outdoor activities. Can you recommend me the other devices that you mentioned at $200~$250 price range 😁
Gear Sport
Garmin instinct
huawei watch gt