In this Buzzle article, we compare three of the best smartwatches. This comparison battle between Apple Watch, Moto 360, and Samsung Galaxy Gear S will give you a better idea of which smartwatch suits your needs.
TAGGED UNDER: Gadgets

Did You Know?

A recent study concluded that nearly 40% of consumers in the U.S. are interested in purchasing a smartwatch, and experts have forecasted that the value of this wearable device market will be more than $12,500 million in 2018. The digital revolution has ensured that intelligence is now commonplace, the artificial kind! Digital brains have computed their way into our T.V.s, washing machines, laptops, phones, homes, cars, and even our watches. Yes, that’s right. Those quiet little timekeepers we used to wear on our wrists have gone all smart on us! And, there’s no point in guessing or recently that the smartphone biggies, Samsung and Motorola―are leading the way.

Soile their flagship models battle it out on the smartphone war-front, these three electronics kings, in their ever-long conquest of the consumer market, are planning on sending forth a new battalion of soldiers to fight a completely different war―the war of the smartwatches. Which one of them shall reign supreme? Let’s find out.

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Apple Watch Vs. Moto 360 Vs. Samsung Galaxy Gear S

COMPARISON

The LookDesignDisplayOperating Systems and CompatibilityFunctionality and FeaturesTime for FitnessBattery CapacityPrice and Availability

The Look

Apple Watch

Image Credit/Source:
apple.com
samsungmobilepress.com
motorola-blog.blogspot.com

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Design

Samsung Gear S
Samsung Gear S is certainly the biggest in the competition. It has a gently curving rectangular display dial resembling a miniature Galaxy smartphone tied to your wrist. Though it has a metal frame, the design is mostly plastic. However, it is pretty high quality and gives a solid overall feel. It has a single ‘home’ button on the front-facing side of the display, similar to the Galaxy series of mobile phones. It has thick plastic wrist straps, a metal lock, and a metal brace.

Moto 360
Moto 360 falls in the middle-sized category. It is smaller than Samsung yet bigger than Apple. It also has another unique attribute: a round display dial that makes it look like a traditional watch, albeit a way more classy one. It is made from fine-crafted steel. It has a single button on one side, which looks like the crown on another watch. Overall, this unique round design goes a long way to enhance the appeal of thin enhWatchningApple Watch. Apple’s Watch has an almost square dial. They claim that it’s manufactured precisely; trust me, it shows. The Watch oozes quality with all the different materials used in its making, blending in perfectly with each other. A quick access button follows the fancy digital crown, and both are placed on one side of the Watch. Apple is the only one in this competition offering its watches in two sizes. The smaller one is more suitable for tiny wrists, especially females, while the larger one is designed for men. The Watch is available in 3 different editions: Apple Watch (made from stainless steel alloy), Watch Sport (made from lightweight aluminum), and Watch Edition (made from processed gold).

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Display

Samsung Gear S
The Gear S has a large, 2-inch, curved, Super AMOLED, capacitive touchscreen display with a resolution of 360×480 and a 300 pixels per inch color density. The touchscreen is eye-catching and responsive, and its color representation is vibrant and bright. It is certainly one of the best smartwatch displays on the market.

Moto 360
The Moto 360 hasn’t brought with it the anticipated OLED screen. But the 1.56 circular LCD capacitive touchscreen isn’t a bad trade-off either. It has a 320×290 resolution, 205 pixels per inch, and is quite bright. The contrast ratio is also optimum, with sufficient visibility under direct sunlight. The touchscreen is pretty fluid and responsive. It might not be the best, but being circular, it is unique.

Apple Watch
Regarding the specifics of its Watch’s display, Apple remains tight-lipped. They have disclosed that, just like in the iPhones, the Watch, too, will have a retina display. They claim it will have a very high pixel density. They will also be pressure-sensitive, allowing users to access more features by applying variable pressure levels on the screen. A special feature is the introduction of the ‘digital crown,’ a rotating dial that allows you to scroll through the menus without covering the already small display.

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Operating Systems and Compatibility

Samsung Gear S
The Samsung Gear S is the most independent of the three. Thanks to the SIM card slot on its back, it is the only smartwatch that can operate without a smartphone. However, if you want to synchronize it with your smartphone, you better ensure it’s one of the 20 Galaxy series models because it just won’t work with any other. Also, contrary to expectations, it runs on Android and Samsung’s own Tizen O.S.

Moto 360
The Moto 360 runs Android Wear O.S. and is thus compatible with Android 4.3 or higher smartphones. Hence, if you go for the Moto 360, the only thing you will need to look out for is that your smartphone is running the latest version of Android, and you should have no problems.

Apple Watch
Apple runs its proprietary Watch O.S. and is very picky regarding mobile partners. It will not pair with anyone other than an Apple phone. This is good news if you are an Apple loyalist because it will pair with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus and the older iPhone 5, 5S, and 5C. However, if you ever plan to switch platforms, beware because your Apple Watch won’t be compatible.

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Functionality and Features

Samsung Gear S
Samsung Gear S is the only Watch with a sim-card slot that can connect to a 2G/3G network. This allows the wearer to use it as a standalone device without pairing it with a smartphone to receive or post updates over the Internet. Other connectivity options include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and USB 2.0. The watch face is customizable with a variety of available looks. The Gear S can couple with your Galaxy phone or work as a standalone device, presenting you with all your social media updates and notifications. The screen is large enough to view the various menus clearly, and the swipe-to-scroll on Tizen works perfectly. Gear S is IP67 certified, making it dust-proof and waterproof, so you can wear it anytime and anywhere.

Moto 360
The Moto360 comes packed with a lot of features. It allows you to customize the display face of the Watch by using the companion app called Connect. It runs Android Wear; therefore, all the standard features are present. If the user allows, the Watch can grab all the data from your Android phone, including Twitter notifications, Google Now Cards, etc., and make it available on your wrist. As is commonplace in most smartwatches, you can scroll and swipe across the touchscreen to view and access various menus and notifications on display. Alternatively, you can use the voice command feature for convenience and ease of use. Like the Gear S, the Moto 360 is also IP67 certified, making it dust- and water-resistant.

Apple Watch
The Apple Watch wakes up the display when you raise your arm. Its menu shows several lightweight apps that can be scrolled very fluidly using the touchscreen. The digital crown can be rotated to zoom in on a particular display aspect without blocking it with your finger. When pressed, the button below the crown includes a list of your favorite contacts. The pressure-sensitive touchscreen lets you do much more than the limited display size. Another unique feature is its ability to share simple gesture-based notifications with other Apple Watch users. For instance, by placing two fingers on the touchscreen, you can send your heart rate to another Watch user, whose Watch will vibrate with your pulse.

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Time for Fitness

Samsung Gear S
Samsung Gear S is very fitness-oriented. Its solid rubber strap and sleek curved design are all indicative of that. Along with all the standard sensors, such as a heart rate monitor (on the back of the Watch), gyroscope, pedometer, etc., the Gear S, being 3G-enabled, can track your daily activity even more effectively using the GPS. Samsung has partnered with Nike, and the resultant ‘Nike+ Running’ app enables you to earn Nike fuel points. This is more than enough incentive for most people to keep running. Samsung’s S Health app helps you track your heart rate to monitor your fitness and activity levels better.

Moto 360
Moto 360 houses a pedometer and a heart rate monitor (located on the underside of the Watch). The ‘Connect’ app in this Watch uses these sensors to track your activity and presents you with your heart’s BPM and the number of steps you take daily. It has a ‘Heart Rate’ app with a daily activity monitor, where you can enter your vitals such as height, weight, etc., and it tells you how active you are. It also periodically monitors your BPM and encourages you to get at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise daily.

Apple Watch
Along with the fitness trend, Apple has also made the Watch fitness-oriented. It has an ‘Activity’ app that works with the inbuilt sensors. This app displays a graphical plot in the form of three rings, titled Move, Exercise, and Stand. Together, they present you with an overview of your daily activity level. Another app, the ‘Workout’ app, is designed to be used during the cardio workout. It utilizes the Watch’s sensors to show real-time stats, such as the calories burnt, the distance covered, the speed, etc.

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Battery Capacity

Samsung Gear S
Samsung Gear S has only a 300 mAh battery. Samsung claims it can last two whole days on a single charge, but, realistically speaking, without 3G on, you can expect about a day’s worth of juice and no more. On the brighter side, the Gear’s charger has a tiny battery embedded within it. Thus, essentially, you can charge the charger and then carry and use it to charge your smartwatch on the go.

Moto 360
The Moto 360 has a 320 mAh battery. Though it is not as big as others in the market, it can still get you through an entire day (12 hours) if you charge it every night. Also, unlike its competitors, it has more futuristic wireless charging, where all you have to do is place the Watch on a charging dock, and voila, it starts charging!

Apple Watch
There is no information on Apple Watch’s battery capacity, as the company hasn’t disclosed it yet.

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Price and Availability

Samsung Gear S
Samsung Gear S is expected to be released in November 2014 and should cost between $250 and $300.

Moto 360
The Moto 360 has already been released and costs a reasonable $250.

Apple Watch
The Apple Watch will be available for strapping in early 2015 and should cost around $350.

We can surely attest that all three smartwatches in our comparison are worthy contenders, each with distinct advantages and drawbacks. So now the question arises—which one should you buy? It’s not very difficult to answer that question because the three smartwatch giants haven’t given consumers much choice!

Samsung Galaxy users are better off buying the compatible Gear S, while Apple loyalists are stuck with the Apple Watch, which isn’t necessarily bad. The only one with more compatibility benefits is the Moto 360. However, some may not find its round dial suitable for all Android-related functions. So, all we can do is thank our stars, count our blessings, and hope we get the best because these matches are made in the consumer-electronics heaven.