With announcements for the Samsung
Gear Fit 2 and
Gear IconX
earbuds out of the way, we can now share our own, albeit brief,
personal experiences with both devices. During a small media briefing,
we got a bit of hands-on time with Samsung’s latest wearable and even
got to listen to the all-new wireless Bluetooth earbuds.
The experience was rather short lived, but I can at least provide my
initial impressions for anyone interested in purchasing one of these
devices. As a recap of the announcement, the Gear Fit 2 goes on sale
in-store on June 10 for $179, while the Gear IconX earbuds will launch
in Q3 with a retail price of $199.
Let’s start with the Gear Fit 2.
When the original Gear Fit launched in 2014, I didn’t use it all due
to its incompatibility with anything other than a Galaxy smartphone.
That is where the Gear Fit 2 excites me a bit more. As long as your
Android device is running Android 4.4+, you will be compatible. This
should open up the potential market quite a bit for Samsung. In
addition, notification support has been completely opened up, and
instead of only a few Samsung-made apps allowed to push notifications,
the Gear Fit 2 can display any notification you receive. That’s another
big step in the right direction for Samsung.
When I first picked up the Gear Fit 2, I could feel how extremely
lightweight the device is. The band is made of silicone and is very
bendy, but not at all cheap feeling. Unlike the Moto 360 Sport that
features a very sticky band, the Gear Fit 2’s band does not seem to
attract lint or any pet hair you might have on you. The UI itself, while
it is Tizen, is very snappy and responsive to touch thanks to the added
Exynos processor. When swiping through the different screens, you will
quickly realize how many features this little smartband packs. A swipe
down will access your notifications and ongoing music controls if you
have music playing, or a swipe across the display will get you to all of
your recent workout information. If you keep swiping, breakdowns for
all of your activities are viewable, which is great for those here who
need access to that information on the fly.
If you happen to know someone else who utilizes a Gear Fit 2 and S
Health, you can even begin a little challenge amongst yourselves, which
adds a decent flavor of competitiveness to the experience. Also in that
same sharing category, if you are the type to display your workouts on
social media, the standalone GPS radio can deliver a little map of your
last run, which can then be shared on Facebook, Twitter, or wherever
else.
Overall, the Gear Fit 2 is a major improvement in all categories over the original Gear Fit.
The Gear Fit 2 launches in-store on June 10 for $179, with pre-orders beginning June 3 at select retailers.
Gear IconX Wireless Bluetooth Earbuds
I am by no means a headphone specialist or audiophile, but I will say
that the Gear IconX wireless Bluetooth earbuds from Samsung are pretty
dope. Personally, I would declare that my ear canals are rather funkily
sized, but I was surprised to see that these earbuds fit in them very
snug and comfortably. Even after whipping my head around a little bit, I
could tell that they weren’t going to fall out, which is important if
you plan on dropping $200 on earbuds and then take them on runs.
When you insert the buds into your ears, you will hear a beep. This
beep indicates they have powered on and are ready for use. Do note this
happens automatically, as the built-in sensors detect the insertion.
Once done, you simply tap on the flat outside surface of the controller
bud to get going. In my case, as I am right handed, the controller bud
is in my left ear, but either the left or right can act as the
controller. To navigate the different features of the buds, such as
controlling music and workout functions, you swipe on that same outside
part of the bud. As you swipe, a soft voice will speak into your ear,
letting you know what you are about to select.
One feature that amazed me, probably because I was not expecting it,
was the ambient microphone. Say you are in the grocery store and get to
the checkout counter. Instead of taking out the earbuds, simply long
press on the controller bud, and outside sound will then be fed into
your ear. This will allow you to have conversations with people or even
here oncoming traffic if you enjoy running in the street. In terms of
overall sound quality, it was actually pretty good. Most phones feature a
built-in EQ for outputted audio, so finding the right mix should not be
too difficult for you.
For me, the only downside would be the battery life. According to
Samsung, depending on if you stream your music or use the offline
playback mode, you should only see about one and a half to two hours of
use on a single charge. That’s not bad if you plan on hitting the gym
for an hour, but don’t plan on using these for your full marathon,
considering the median completion time of a full marathon is north of 4
hours. With that said, the charge time on these little guys is pretty
good, coming in at about 30 minutes. If you take your carrying/charging
case with you everywhere, you should easily get a day’s usage out of
them.
For $199, this is certainly a good starter earbud pack for fans of
wireless Bluetooth buds, but it’s still expensive. Expect these to hit
stores in Q3 of this year.
