Samsung Galaxy Fit 2 review: Chic alternative to the Mi Band. Samsung fit 2
Samsung Galaxy Fit 2 review: Chic alternative to the Mi Band
AMOLED display, a seemingly never-ending battery life, and a feeling as though it is barely there when you sleep. did Samsung accidentally send me the Xiaomi Mi Band 5 as a review unit? Of course not! However, at first glance, Samsung seems to have taken aim at Xiaomi’s hugely popular fitness tracker with the Galaxy Fit 2. This review also points to how Samsung’s heart rate monitor has improved when it comes to (more) accurate pulse taking.
Who should buy the Samsung Galaxy Fit 2?
In my opinion, Samsung offers a very good everyday tracker with the Galaxy Fit 2. Thanks to the compact form factor and the very long battery life of up to 21 days (according to the manufacturer’s specifications, more on that later), it is very comfortable to wear. So the Fit 2 remains firmly on your wrist while jogging, sleeping, walking, and even in the shower, if you wish.
However, you will not find features such as GPS or an ECG. That is not a problem at all, because with a current online price of only €30 to €40, Samsung should and have concentrated on the basic features and do it right. If you’re interested, you can purchase the tracker using the link below.
Samsung Galaxy Fit 2
If you purchase the tracker from Samsung via the link above, NextPit will not receive any profit or commission. In January 2021, I scoured around and picked out the cheapest price for you, and it was available directly from the manufacturer. If anything has changed in the meantime, please let me know in the Комментарии и мнения владельцев.
Where the Samsung Galaxy Fit 2 scores
Exceptional battery life
As I already mentioned in my recommended list of best fitness trackers, these Smart wearable devices must fulfil the following criteria in my opinion: To keep track of all the vital statistics and fitness activities of the wearer as completely and conveniently as possible. And here, rarely has a fitness tracker convinced me as much as the Galaxy Fit 2.
Concerning its battery life which Samsung stated on its homepage as 21 days, it actually lived up to its reputation in real-life. Throughout the entire month that I wore the fitness tracker around my wrist, I had to charge it exactly once. At the end of this review, the remaining battery level still stood at 53 percent and at times I even suspected that the tracker was drawing its energy from kinetic movement or my body heat.
So the longer you use it, the more you forget that you need to charge the Fit 2. The operative keyword here being “forgotten”: Thanks to its lightweight nature of just 21 grams and slim form factor, this fitness tracker literally disappears on your wrist. At its thickest point, the thing measures around an inch wide, and on my brute, impossibly massive and blatantly masculine wrists, the immovable part of the tracker fits perfectly with its rather short length of a mere six inches.
Samsung Galaxy Fit 2 / Честный обзор от владельца
Only the clasp on the wristband ruins an otherwise perfect picture. Personally, I prefer closing mechanisms that work like a classic wristwatch. With the Galaxy Fit 2 however, the clasp is clipped on and then slid under each other. While this holds it in place very well, it is much more cumbersome when (no matter how rarely) removed. On top of that, you’re constantly pricking your thumb with the retaining pin.
Aesthetics and UI design
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I’d still like to briefly note that I like the Fit 2’s aesthetics. The sleek fitness tracker does not make any bold statements on your wrist and basically goes well with any outfit. When the high-quality AMOLED display with all of its 16 million colours light up, the entire shebang looks even better. The only drawback to the display is this: the device lacks an ambient light sensor and so you have to manually adjust the brightness via a swipe and a tap or via the app on your phone. I do have to inform you that it is bright enough for use under strong sunlight.
Samsung’s beautiful operating system that is based on FreeRTOS also contributes to this, conjuring up beautiful and easily recognizable animations and icons on the 1.1-inch display. Using it is easy: all you need to do is to perform swipe gestures and make use of a capacitive button which is located below the display to get around. There are also 70 different watch faces to choose from for a more personal touch, but I’m not really interested in those for fitness trackers most of the time anyway.
Overall, I was mostly happy to scroll through the menus on the responsive display, which is a small, but clear advantage. The fact that Samsung uses 20 percent recycled plastic in the charger and produces packaging and user manual from recycled paper is also pleasing to vegan hipsters like me! Environmental protection must surely begin with the conscience, don’t you think so?
Automatic tracking detection
Another obvious advantage in my opinion is the way the Galaxy Fit 2 automatically keeps track of your workouts. It’s certainly not an innovative feature when you look at the spec-sheets of other models, but it’s definitely something worth crowing about for a device in its price range.
The Galaxy Fit 2 is also able to keep track of when you’re rushing to the bakery and understands when you’re relaxed and strolling home with a roll in your mouth. Samsung’s threshold between workout and normal wear is well calibrated and ensured, among other things, that the accidental workout stops, which are my big criticism, were at least recorded by the auto-tracking algorithm.
The precision in its pulse rate measurement ranks pretty well, especially when I compared it to my reliable blood pressure monitor. As you can see in the photo, the result is exactly the same during my attempts to begin the measurements as close to each other as possible. However, measuring one’s heart beat rate while remaining still is usually less of an issue with fitness trackers. As to how accurate the sensor is during workouts, I am unable to say. However, I could not find any particular discrepancies throughout my time with it.
Keeping track of time
There is one interesting function where everyone would most probably thumb their nose at in early 2019 would be this: the built-in timer for hand washing. The Samsung Galaxy Fit 2 counts down exactly 25 seconds while you wash your hands. However, since the tracker also records how often you washed your hands, one would be able to enjoy a little bit of additional motivational boost. What’s more, there is also a reminder in the app so that you will not miss the next hand washing session.
With the feature, Samsung proves not only that they are responsive and adaptable to current circumstances, but also how far-reaching help from fitness trackers can be. I always welcome it when manufacturers try to implement unconventional features. While the handwashing function is not a must-have criterion when making a purchase, it is a decidedly welcome plus point.
The Fit 2 runs out of breath here
Doesn’t work well with wet jackets
Looking back at my review notes from the past few weeks, there is one major shortcoming that I need to talk about. D uring several of my jogging routines, and especially during my longer runs, the Fit 2 seems to have problems with clammy jackets. The moisture, which also accumulates in the jacket due to my sweaty body, triggers the capacitive button of the fitness tracker.
The result is annoying vibrations that interrupt me while running. When I checked later, it cancelled my run! With the Fitbit Charge 4, for example, this did not happen to me with the same jacket, while a confirmation via a swipe gesture to cancel the run would have also provided me with an additional layer of protection. With the Galaxy Fit 2, however, a button to cancel appears directly right after pressing the capacitive button.
As noted, however, after cancelling the run, the fitness tracker at least recognized that I was actually still running and automatically kept track of that. In theory, the data isn’t completely lost, but manually compiling it afterwards is obviously a tedious affair.
I cannot predict exactly whether you will have similar problems after your purchase. After all, not everyone runs using the same jacket like mine. Its inner lining is made of 100 percent polyester and we may have found the culprit here.
To prevent any unwanted input from wet surfaces, Samsung also offers a water mode that you can activate via the notification bar even when tracking is active. You will then have to drag an icon with water drops twice across the screen to unlock the screen. When doing so, it obviously means that you should be in a swimming pool, as the Fit 2 is also suitable for swimming thanks to ATM 5 water resistance. That might just help you with this niggling issue.
Capacitive button difficult to see
The capacitive button caused a few teething problems for me, being so inconspicuous that I didn’t recognize it until halfway through my review. Before that, I found it very difficult to stop tracking. Doing so was far more intuitive after discovering the button, but the visibility of the button remains a problem.
What happened to me, of course, can happen to all other users. As a small point of criticism, which will not affect the final rating much, I must therefore list this circumstance in the review. However, those who are more patient and follow the instructions through the entire setup will certainly not notice anything strange about it since they would definitely be aware of the capacitive button’s presence.
Two apps to use
For me, what was clearly more annoying than the extremely inconspicuous button was Samsung’s app location. On both Android and Apple iOS, you’ll need to install both the Galaxy Wear app to connect your smartphone to the wearable, and then install the Samsung Health app again if you want to access all of your vital signs and other information.
The Galaxy Wear app will be used to manage the functions and settings of the fitness tracker. The smartphone as a remote control has a surprising amount to say on what can be done on the Galaxy Fit 2, even allowing you to set alarms, which are then noticeable as a vibration alarm on your wrist. The “Find my Band” function, which vibrates the Galaxy Fit 2, is also another practical feature, and Galaxy Wear directs you to the Samsung Health app for everything else.
This is where it gets down to the nitty-gritty, allowing you to track your running routes, set step goals and record your nutrition intake. Don’t get me wrong, these are all handy apps in their own right. But it would be more convenient for the user to find everything in one app and free up some of the smartphone’s memory.
No GPS
While I’ve mostly discussed minor shortcomings so far, the lack of GPS could very well be a reason against using the Galaxy Fit 2. That’s because an integrated GPS receiver is missing, and you can’t use your smartphone to check out your running distance afterwards in the app either.
So if you want to track your jogging distance afterwards, you’ll have to look for another fitness tracker or even a smartwatch. Alternatively, your handset can record your route via another app simultaneously, as I didn’t want to lose my progress in the Adidas running app in my case, leading me to do so.
Given the low entry price point, I don’t think the lack of GPS is a big negative point. If you want to save money, you will naturally have to do without some functions, and since you need your smartphone to listen to music anyway, many will not mind using the smartphone to play an additional role by keeping track of your location.
Other things to take note of.
While so far it was either good or bad features, I will briefly touch on a few other things that I noticed during the review and figured out that you simply must know about before buying. Since you probably want to arrive at a conclusion quickly, here are a few key points:
- The charging clip works via a small plastic pin and is not magnetic in nature. The integrated USB cable is unfortunately short at only approximately 10 centimetres long
- Sport modes include walking, jogging, cycling, swimming and “other workouts”, in which the heart rate monitor and pedometer work independently
- You can react to notifications via quick-reply, but you can’t set them yourself
- For calendar, music control, displaying sleep data on the tracker, steps taken, and recording your water intake, you’ll have to find more widgets in the app
- The Fit 2 also offers stress detection, but you’ll always have to activate it manually. There is no warning for too much stress
All of these points do not affect the overall result in a negative or positive manner, but they can help provide you with a better idea on what you can expect from this fitness tracker right out of the box.
Final verdict
With the Galaxy Fit 2, Samsung has set their sights on exactly what fitness trackers were once supposed to be: Inexpensive wearable devices that are hardly noticeable while recording one’s vital statistics. While many manufacturers seemed to have lost this FOCUS in the competition for introducing ever new features, have also increased in the process. However, the popularity of the Xiaomi Mi Band shows that there is definitely a demand for such an affordable device, and with the Galaxy Fit 2, those interested in fitness bands now have a great alternative.
In terms of looks and usage, there is very little to complain about the Samsung Galaxy Fit 2. And thanks to its exceptional battery life, I can fully forgive small slip-ups such as the incorrect entries due to my wet jacket and the requirement of two mandatory apps to get it up and running. For the same reason, from me, this is a highly recommended purchase if you’re looking for a fitness tracker!
Still not convinced? You can read our fitness tracker comparison here.
Samsung Galaxy Fit 2 Review
Excellent-value fitness tracker Band with a sharp screen and good battery life, which gives the competition a run for their money.
For
- Stylish design
- Bright screen
- Automatic workout detection
- Excellent value
Against
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This is a £50 wearable that’s made to take on the budget bands from the likes of Xiaomi, Honor and Amazfit (some of the best cheap fitness trackers). And it does so quite impressively, overall: it’s attractive, it has a sharp screen and its battery life – though not as strong as Samsung promises – will get you through a week without a charger.
But the sub-£50 market is highly competitive, and the Galaxy Fit 2 doesn’t necessarily do enough to differentiate itself from the £30 bands from the trio of brands above. That, combined with the weaknesses of the Samsung Health app you need to use and doubts about comfort, may mean that you’re better off spending less on something cheaper or spending more on something from Fitbit or Garmin.
We’d suggest you peruse the best fitness trackers and the best fitness smartwatches for comparison.
Samsung Galaxy Fit 2: Price And Availability
The Samsung Galaxy Fit 2 originally had an RRP of 59.99/£49. While it’s no longer available from Samsung, it can still be picked up from other retailers including Amazon.
Tracking Activity On The Samsung Galaxy Fit 2
The Samsung Galaxy Fit 2 marks a change of direction for the line. The first iteration released in mid-2019 cost twice as much but the Galaxy Fit 2 has still managed to build on it, rather than engaging in serious cutbacks to keep the price down or using the cheaper, monochrome Galaxy Fit e as its starting point.
One of the best things about the Samsung Galaxy Fit 2 is that it can be set and forgotten about. Not only are the reminders to move timely and helpful, but it’s also very good at noticing when you’re active and automatically logging it, should you forget to set it going before a walk or workout.
The Galaxy Fit 2 is capable of tracking a surprisingly wide range of exercises, more than 90 by my rough count including ballroom dancing and hang-gliding, and you can select up to ten to have on the Band at any one time. I’m not entirely convinced that there’s any significant difference between the modes, and you can expect each to track duration, heart rate and calories burned. Something like running or cycling, meanwhile, adds speed, distance and pace to that trio. Still, it’s useful for those who have more niche interests to have their activities correctly labelled.
Running With The Samsung Galaxy Fit 2
Like every other sub-£100 fitness tracker (apart from the Huawei Band Pro 4), the Galaxy Fit 2 needs to connect to your smartphone’s GPS to acquire more accurate distance and pace statistics.
There’s some confusion online as to whether it does piggyback on the GPS or just uses its own estimates. Certainly, there’s no wait for the signal to lock on as there is with other devices – you’re off and running at the end of a three-second countdown – and as far as I can tell the Galaxy Fit 2 is communicating with the phone, with a little green location logo appearing in the top right-hand corner when it has a connection.
In theory, this lack of locking-on delay should lead to initial inaccuracy before it can catch up, but in practice I found the Galaxy Fit 2 matched the distance tracked from the £300 Garmin Forerunner 245 on my other wrist. The run distances were within 0.05km of each other, which is perfectly reasonable. Heart rates were also comparable, with an average 3bpm discrepancy between them.
The Samsung Galaxy Fit 2’s small screen limits the amount of data that can be seen without manually swiping, which is fiddly when moving at speed. To Samsung’s credit, the screen is bright and sharp enough that the two bits of data on each screen can be absorbed at a glance, but expect to find swiping while running a bit of a faff.
That might not matter if you’re the kind of person who runs on feel and is happy to review duration, distance, calories, speed, pace, heart rate and cadence in the app afterwards. It’s not the most in-depth app, and – unlike rivals such as Fitbit and Garmin – there’s no web version to consult if you prefer analysis on the big screen. It’s also extremely limited in what other apps it can link to, with only Strava listed – which is an even shorter list than the last time I played with Samsung Health for the Galaxy Watch Active 2, when it also offered TechnoGym support.
Sleep Tracking With The Samsung Galaxy Fit 2
Like most of its rivals, the Samsung Galaxy Fit 2 offers automatic sleep tracking, and it can tell the difference between a nap and a period of reclining on a sofa.
The data compiled is decent too. You get a graph showing when you were awake, and in light, deep and REM sleep. The time spent in each different state is translated into an overall efficiency score – basically time awake subtracted from time asleep, and converted into a percentage. The app will even tell you how many calories you burned while asleep.
But like every other fitness tracking company, Samsung isn’t really clear as to what you should actually be doing with the data. The Samsung Health app does include a one-page summary of why sleep is important, courtesy of the National Sleep Foundation, but bafflingly there’s no explanation of how you can improve your chances of a good night’s shut-eye. It’s not that this information is particularly hard to come by, but it seems odd that Samsung doesn’t even include a cursory mention of reducing caffeine or the perils of late-night screen scrolling.
Battery Life On The Samsung Galaxy Fit 2
The 159mAh battery powering the Galaxy Fit 2 is supposedly good for 15 to 21 days, depending on whether you have normal or low usage. That promising figure is a bit of a fudge, because in this context low usage involves disabling the heart rate monitor and auto workout tracking, and normal use means you don’t wear it to bed for sleep tracking.
The upshot of this is that if you have everything enabled, you’re going to get a lot less than this – although not so little that we’d flag up battery life as a weak spot. We found we could get more than a week’s use out of it – more on lazy weeks and a bit less on active ones, but that’s pretty standard for fitness trackers.
Design Of The Samsung Galaxy Fit 2
The screen, though bright and readable, only pops on when you raise your arm or with a long press of the capacitive button – otherwise, it just looks like a nondescript black wristband. In fact, you could easily wear it with another more dressy watch, and nobody would bat an eyelid.
Looks-wise, there’s very little to choose between the new Galaxy Fit 2 and almost any other fitness Band on the market, from the Amazfit Band 5 to the Fitbit Inspire 2. It’s perhaps closer to a full-blown smartwatch than some of its rivals, thanks to the bright 1.1in AMOLED screen. As is usually the case with fitness trackers, the screen size is actually a bit of an optical illusion, with a thick black bezel masked by the black background on every screen.
The key difference is how you interact with it: there aren’t any physical buttons so you have to press the capacitive area underneath the screen, or raise your arm in a purposeful manner, before your standard touchscreen swipes and taps come into play. It’s a little bit fiddly, but it still beats the Fitbit Inspire 2’s frustratingly inconsistent “squeeze” mechanism.
The only misstep is the unusual clasp, which means you have to tuck the strap under itself once the stud is fastened. This means you’ll actually want a looser fit than you’d expect, because it tightens once you tuck the end of the strap in. The result is a fitness tracker which barely budges – handy for consistent heart rate measurements but not ideal for comfort, especially at night. While the fitness tracker can be removed from this uncomfortable Band, there’s a relative shortage of third-party straps. If comfort is king, Fitbit is far superior.
Smart Features On The Samsung Galaxy Fit 2
As with most of the competition, Smart features are pretty limited. You can check the weather, change the watch face, control your phone’s music and receive notifications – albeit with the same readability issues you get on every wearable with a tall, narrow aspect ratio – but there’s no app store to expand your experience, and the device is more of a gateway to your phone than a phone replacement.
It does, however, feel like there’s potential for Samsung to build on this in future. The device ships with a widget to ensure you wash your hands for a pandemic-friendly length of time, for example.
Should You Buy Something Else?
The Samsung Galaxy Fit 2 is a fitness tracker with a lot going for it and at under £50 it represents excellent value. It’s certainly up there with the Xiaomi Mi Band and Honor Bands of this world for functionality, and comes in at a similar price.
There are two possible reasons I might suggest looking elsewhere. First, these trackers, though generally solid, don’t have the best companion apps in the world; if you want a more user-friendly experience, you’re probably better off springing the Fitbit Inspire 2 which is £40 more. The Fitbit app has the added advantage of being really popular, so you’ll probably know one or two people already using it and can engage in some friendly steps-based competition.
The second is the lack of built-in GPS. True, very few bands in this price bracket have their own GPS chips, but the Huawei Band 4 Pro does, and at the time of writing it will cost you £50 – the same as the Samsung Galaxy Fit 2’s RRP.
Still, you’re unlikely to be disappointed if you opt for the Samsung Galaxy Fit 2. It looks stylish, has a sharp, readable screen and offers all the functionality you could reasonably expect. At £50, it’s a worthwhile addition if you’re already a happy member of the Samsung mobile ecosystem.
Samsung Galaxy Fit2 review – Budget fitness Band to track basic stats with
Does Samsung’s budget fitness Band deliver a good user experience, or should you spend your money elsewhere?
Galaxy Fit2 offers some good, basic health tracking capabilities wrapped up in a compact and sleek design at a great price. If you want to track anything else but the most basic of health stats, you might want to try using a Fitbit.
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Samsung Galaxy Fit 2 is the cheapest and most basic wearable by Samsung that you can buy right now. Aimed at those looking for a simple fitness Band that doesn’t cost the earth, the compact wrist-worn device counts steps, tracks sleep and monitor heart rate for most everyday activities.
Replacing the Galaxy Fit and the Galaxy Fit e, Samsung’s Fit2 delivers a bunch of upgrades over its predecessors. For one, there’s now a higher quality AMOLED touchscreen display, which makes it easier on the eye. There is now, however, a lack of any physical buttons, which we can imagine was to obtain a more streamlined design.
Still, design improvements don’t always equate to better performance, so we’re here to see how well the fitness tracker stacks up during a workout, or two, or more. Will it be allowed entry to the T3 list of the best fitness trackers? Let’s find out…
Samsung Galaxy Fit2 review – Price and availability
The Samsung Galaxy Fit 2 launched in early September 2020 with an RRP of £49 / 59. However, it’s now available for a reduced price of £39 / 49 from most major retailers, including Samsung’s own website. It’s available in either black or scarlet silicone bands.
It’s worth checking our Samsung discount codes to see if you can bag a saving.
Samsung Galaxy Fit2 review – Design
When it comes to design, the Fit2 won’t be turning any heads. It looks like just about every other generic fitness Band out there, boasting a thin silicone strap and a watch-like clasp couple with a 1.1in AMOLED display. On the plus side, it’s super comfortable on the wrist thanks to its compact and lightweight construction, which measures 11.1mm thick and weighs just 21g.
Some online reviews will have you believe that this Band’s strap isn’t removable, but the screen interface actually pops out, allowing you to swap the Band for others in different colours. Samsung doesn’t seem to have additional straps for purchase, but there are compatible options available on Amazon if you fancy.
The display is a little larger than its predecessor and comes with a slightly better resolution of 126 x 294 pixels. This ensures even small text is sharp enough to be seen clearly. There are also some good vibrant colours and brightness levels on offer here, which mean great viewing angles. even in bright outdoor settings. In what was obviously a battery-related decision, don’t expect any always-on display here. You’ll have to flick the wrist to power on the display for a few seconds before it switches to black again.
As mentioned earlier, Samsung has ditched the physical button on the Fit2 in exchange for a capacitive touch-sensitive button just under the display, which is used to either wake the tracker or navigates you back to the main screen. We found that it is responsive, but it is perhaps a little too sensitive to the touch and can result in you accidentally ending tracking in the middle of a workout if knocked.
We should also note that it’s water resistant up to 5ATM if you fancy wearing it in the shower or taking it for a dip. once the pools reopen, that is.
Samsung Galaxy Fit2 review – Features and performance
One of the first things we have to point out about the Fit2 is the initial setup process, which is a massive pain in the.abs. You have to set the fitness tracker up on the app before you can try any of its features, and then there’s heaps of hoop jumping involved. such as plug-in instalments, settings adjustments, permissions box ticking. before you can strap it on and start tracking your movements.
We’re aware most wearables require this, but it just feels longer and more arduous on the Fit2. Any technophobes that make a purchase are likely to struggle with it. Nevertheless, once it’s up and running then, at least you don’t need to do it again.
Built into the Fit2’s slim frame are a bunch of sensors that do a pretty decent job of tracking workouts, steps and sleeping. There are dedicated modes for running, cycling, pool swimming and a general ‘outdoor’ workout mode, so all the basics are covered. One big disappointment here, though, is the lack of GPS. With all exercise tracking being left to the motion sensor, you’re unlikely to get the accuracy you’d find in a more expensive smartwatch, for instance.
Still, there’s a built-in optical heart rate monitor to determine the calories you’ve burned as well as accelerometer and gyroscope motion sensors, which will track movement and automatically detect sleep if you’re wearing during nighttime.
Each day you’ll be able to see activity stats from the Fit2, including steps, distance covered and calories burned, with additional data viewable in the Samsung Health app. You’ll also get inactivity notifications. basically, alerts telling you to move your ass. in order to to keep you motivated.
In terms of battery life, the Galaxy Fit2 sports a 159mAh capacity battery, which Samsung claims will give you around 15 days of use, on average, which extends to 21 days when in low power mode. In our tests, the wearable lasted just over a week. That was with notifications turned on, the screen at two-thirds of brightness level and one 45-minute workout per day. If you’re hoping to just use this tracker for simple features such as step counting, however, we can imagine it will last much longer.
Samsung Galaxy Fit2 review – Verdict
The Galaxy Fit2 is a neat fitness Band that offers some basic yet effective health tracking abilities wrapped up in a compact and sleek design. It also boasts some welcome improvements over its predecessor, such as a sharper, more vibrant display.
However, due to its rather limited capabilities, for instance, the lack of GPS, anyone who’s remotely serious about keeping fit will probably find the Fit2 a little inadequate. Still, that’s not who this device is aimed at. Users who are looking for a simple and easy-to-use tracker that they can slap on their wrists and measure their general activity levels throughout the day, all without breaking the bank, should be more than happy with the Galaxy Fit2.
Samsung Galaxy Fit2 review – Also consider
The Fitbit Inspire 2 is a simple to set up and use sleep tracker that also works well as an all-day tracker too. You’ll need Fitbit Premium to get the most from its stats, but it’s worth the investment if you’re serious about seeing how stress and sleep affect your daily life.
The Fitbit Charge 5 is not a cheap fitness tracker, but for the price, you get a fitness wearable that can track ECG and stress, tells you your Daily Readiness Score, counts Active Zone Minutes and has a beautiful (albeit a bit small) AMOLED screen.
Samsung Gear Fit2 Review
I’ve been PCMag’s home entertainment expert for over 10 years, covering both TVs and everything you might want to connect to them. I’ve reviewed more than a thousand different consumer electronics products including headphones, speakers, TVs, and every major game system and VR headset of the last decade. I’m an ISF-certified TV calibrator and a THX-certified home theater professional, and I’m here to help you understand 4K, HDR, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, and even 8K (and to reassure you that you don’t need to worry about 8K at all for at least a few more years).
The Bottom Line
With some solid improvements over its predecessor, the Samsung Gear Fit2 is a powerful fitness tracker and a fairly functional smartwatch.
PCMag editors select and review products independently. If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing.
Cons
Samsung’s first effort, the Gear Fit (228.80 at Amazon) (Opens in a new window). was an attractive and functional fitness tracker held back by some irritating limitations. Chief among them was the fact that you needed a Samsung Galaxy phone to use it. Samsung has solved this issue, along with many others, with the Gear Fit2 (179.99). The company’s latest fitness tracker pairs with any smartphone running Android 4.4 or higher, or can work without a phone. It also adds some handy new features, like built-in GPS and a music player, so you don’t need your phone to listen to tunes or track your path on a run. And you can customize the tracker with downloadable apps and watch faces, though it doesn’t offer as much functionality as a dedicated smartwatch. Overall, the Samsung Gear Fit2 is a solid high-end fitness tracker with plenty to offer, though the Fitbit Surge (249.95 at Fitbit) (Opens in a new window) remains our top pick for its top-notch app, wider compatibility, and continuous heart rate monitoring.
Design, Fit, and Battery LifeSleeker and more streamlined, albeit larger than the original, the Fit2 (300.00 at Amazon) (Opens in a new window) has a 1.5-inch curved Super AMOLED touch screen that rests flush against the body of the tracker, flowing smoothly into the rubber wristband. Small Back and Apps buttons sit on the right (if worn on your left hand). It comes in black, blue, or pink versions, with two wristband sizes for each: Small, for wrists 4.9 to 6.7 inches around, and Large, for wrists 6.1 to 8.3 inches.
Apple Watch Series 1
Samsung Gear S2
Samsung Gear Fit
The wristband has a small peg on one end, and a series of holes running up to a wide loop on the other end. The pegged end runs through the loop to pull the wristband securely around your wrist, and the peg presses into the appropriate hole. This holds the Band comfortably in place, but it isn’t quite as secure as a conventional buckle. The peg came loose once while testing, though fortunately the wristband didn’t come undone.
Although it shares a similar design with the Microsoft Band 2 (199.00 at Amazon) (Opens in a new window). I found the Fit2 to be significantly more comfortable. I barely noticed it was on my wrist, feeling much closer to the Fitbit Charge HR (118.11 at Amazon) (Opens in a new window) in its evenly distributed weight and smooth wristband. It’s also less noticeable than my Pebble Time (78.99 at Amazon) (Opens in a new window) smartwatch, with its prominent, heavy face.
An optical heart rate monitor is underneath the display, pressing against your wrist as you wear the Gear Fit2. The underside of the tracker also has two contact points for the included proprietary charging cradle, a small stand that holds the Fit2 horizontally when charging. The cradle is necessary for charging; the tracker doesn’t have any ports for a wired connection.
According to Samsung, the Fit2 can last up to four days between charges. I found this to be a generous estimate; during testing, I saw about three days per charge with moderate use, and without taking much taking advantage of the built-in music player.
Like any good fitness tracker, the Fit2 is fairly rugged. It’s rated IP68, which means it can handle being submerged in five feet of water for up to 30 minutes.
InterfaceThe tracker runs Tizen OS, an open source platform Samsung has adopted for its Gear devices that is neither Samsung‘s original proprietary Gear platform nor Google’s Android Wear. The Fit2’s Tizen implementation isn’t as directly and simply compatible with Android as Android Wear is, but Android Wear has its own frustrations and problems, as we’ve seen on hybrid fitness trackers/smartwatches like the Moto 360 Sport. As its own interface, Tizen OS on the Fit2 is simple and relatively easy to navigate its various fitness functions and limited additional apps. While the tracker is compatible with all devices running Android 4.4 or later, it does not work with iOS, so iPhones and iPads are out. It also can work as a standalone device, though it significantly limits its features.
I tested the Fit2 with a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, which connected to the watch easily, and the Google Nexus 6P, required some awkward manual app installation. You need to install the Samsung Gear app on your phone to connect with the Fit2, and Samsung’s S Health app to complete the process. During that setup sequence, you also have to install two Android services to make sure the Fit2 communicates properly with your phone. Galaxy phones have these services and apps all set up, so it’s much simpler, but the Nexus 6P worked perfectly well with the Fit2 after some troubleshooting. A tip for non-Samsung Android users: If the Samsung Gear app hangs while trying to connect to the Fit2 on setup, you might need to manually install the S Health app. That should get things running.
The 1.5-inch touch screen is bright, colorful, and responsive. It’s laid out in a thin portrait orientation when you wear it on your wrist, which forces digital watch faces to either use small numbers or stack hours on top of minutes. The screen’s shape can make information look cramped, particularly when displaying any sort of text in large amounts; message notifications in particular often trail off halfway through words. Trackers and smartwatches closer to the Apple Watch (300.00 at eBay) (Opens in a new window) in form factor have a distinct advantage in their ability to display information, since a wider screen can show text much more comfortably. The screen is easily viewable in all but the brightest direct sunlight, where the E Ink-based Withings Go ( at Amazon) (Opens in a new window) has an advantage.
Watch faces can show the time, number of steps taken, your heart rate, the weather, and a variety of other pieces of information, depending on the face you use. The Fit2 comes with a handful of fitness-oriented watch faces that display workout information alongside the time, and in the case of the heart face, offers on-demand heart rate monitoring with a tap. Simpler watch faces, like the digital clock I settled with, let you add complications to show additional information. By default the digital clock shows a step counter, but I changed it to a weather widget through the Samsung Gear app.
Your watch face of choice appears by default whenever you push one of the buttons on the tracker, or raise your wrist to your face, a gesture I found reliable. Swiping down from the watch face brings a simplified control panel that shows Bluetooth status and battery life, a Do Not Disturb control, the ability to adjust screen brightness, and quick access to the Fit2’s music player. Swiping left from the watch face displays any notifications you’ve received on your connected phone or the tracker itself. The notifications history goes back surprisingly far, with colorful icons showing if each notification is an email, text message, phone call, fitness update, or something else. Tapping a notification brings up the first few words of the message (if it’s a text or email), which can be scrolled through by swiping the screen up or down. If it’s a message that can be replied to, the option to send a canned response shows up at the bottom. You can add your own responses through the Samsung Gear app, but they’re limited to 20 characters.
Swiping right on the watch face takes you to the Fit2’s different exercise panes. You can swipe through your progress and status in terms of calories burned, steps taken, stairs climbed, and your heart rate. You can even add additional health-oriented panes like counters for how much water and coffee you drink through the day.
The two physical buttons are only used for returning to the watch face and navigating backward from different screens; every other function depends on the screen. I found the touch screen responsive, but not always perfectly accurate. I could swipe easily left and right between the different exercise panes most of the time, but the Fit2 occasionally registered my gesture as a tap rather than a swipe, telling the active pane to go into a more detailed view, start an exercise activity, or measure my heart rate.
App Integration and Standalone FunctionalityApps and watch faces are available through the Samsung Gear app and the Samsung Galaxy store (which the Gear app automatically sends you to), though I found few examples of either when testing the Fit2 ahead of its official launch. The most useful apps available were updates of Samsung’s own Stopwatch and Timer apps. Besides that, I only found three Fit2 watch faces from an unknown developer, and a few additional pieces of software, like a Weather Channel app/watch face combination and Asphalt 6, which are clearly intended for the round Samsung Gear smartwatches, and not the Fit2’s narrow, rectangular screen. The Weather Channel watch face installed, but the Fit2 could only show a portion of the round layout. Watch faces and apps for the Fit2 have already begun trickling onto the Galaxy Store trhe morning of the watch’s launch, so hopefully a steady supply of customization options and applications will come to the device over time.
You can also use the Gear app to send music directly to the Fit2 in order to use the tracker as a standalone music player. It can make a separate connection to Bluetooth headphones, even when it’s connected to your smartphone. The Fit2 has 4GB of built-in storage, but about half of that is taken up with Tizen OS and other system software; the rest can be used for music, or for additional apps and watch faces. You can swipe up in the music player to navigate by albums, artists, and playlists, making it a bit more flexible than just a directory to dump tracks to listen to on shuffle.
The Fit2 also supports Spotify, but not for streaming music directly from the watch to your earphones. It’s a control system that works in conjunction with Spotify on your smartphone to control it, and it’s your phone that streams music to your Bluetooth earphones. The Fit2’s Spotify app shows album art and can navigate your library’s playlists, albums, and songs. It can also play music from Spotify’s automatically generated workout playlists. However, you can’t browse other music or search from the Fit2.
You can also use the Fit2 without a smartphone, and it’s surprisingly functional this way. Obviously, notifications, music uploads, and syncing fitness information cannot be performed when the tracker is running in phone-free mode, but it can still do a great deal. The fitness elements, including the heart rate monitor, are still available when not connected to a phone, along with many settings and customization options like different watch faces and rearranging how apps appear in the Fit2’s menu. It works as a perfectly functional watch, too, with the ability to set the display to always-on and manually set the time through the touch screen.
Fitness FeaturesSamsung loaded the Fit2 with sensors, including a pedometer, GPS, and a heart rate monitor, which is rare in the sub-200 realm. Most of these sensors function automatically depending on the active watch face or fitness pane open. They also work automatically to detect when you’re exercising and exactly what you’re doing. The Fit2 clearly tracked when I walked, jogged, and ran on an elliptical. It also noticed when I sat still for too long, and gave me a nudge to get moving for a bit (these notificaitons, as well as exercise detection, can be disabled if you wish).
Thanks to built-in GPS, the Fit2 can track your walks and runs, recording the routes you take. It won’t track your location when it automatically detects exercise, however; you need to manually set your runs through the Exercise pane. Once you enter the activity and desired time, the Fit2 will track your movements as soon as you tap Start. While the Fit2 will record your location and display the shape of the route you take on its own (which you can check in the watch’s exercise log), it won’t display a map to provide context for your route until you can sync it with your smartphone so it can download map information. Once it does this, however, the results are detailed and accurate.
The heart rate monitor requires a few seconds of not moving to measure your heart rate, and isn’t ongoing, like the Fitbit Charge HR’s monitor. The Fit2 will automatically record and track your heart rate when you’re still, but when you’re active you’ll need to stop for a moment to check your pulse.
I wore the Fit2 along with a Fitbit Charge HR for a long run on an elliptical, a short power walk after, and a long stroll through the East Village after that (with a subway ride between them). The Fit2’s pedometer stayed within 50 steps of the Fitbit’s the whole way. The heart rate results were similar as well, within about 5bpm. The Fit2 was slightly less generous when counting stairs than the Fitbit, recording a flight less than the Charge HR.
ConclusionsThe Gear Fit2 shows just how far Samsung has come in the field of fitness trackers. It’s a major improvement over the original Gear Fit, adding support for non-Samsung Android devices, standalone functionality, and more sensors than you’ll often find at this price point. That said, the smartwatch functionality isn’t terribly robust, with few apps and watch faces to choose from at launch. But overall, the Fit2’s additional functionality and fairly reasonable price tag make it an attractive option for users who want a fitness tracker that can do much more than just tell time and track your workout. But if you’re truly dedicated to fitness, the Fitbit Surge remains our Editors’ Choice for its more reliable, continuous heart rate monitoring and longer battery life.
