LATEST GALAXY WATCH ACTIVE 2 NEWS
Introduction
Samsung launched the Galaxy Watch Active alongside the Galaxy S10 in February 2019. Considered to be a successor to the Gear Sport from 2017, the Watch Active brought many significant changes to Samsung smartwatches, particularly in the design department. By marrying great looks and performance, the wearable rivaled even the best in the market.
Given the relatively small market for smartwatches, one wouldn’t have expected a successor to the Watch Active in 2019, but that’s exactly what Samsung did by launching the Galaxy Watch Active 2 in August. Depending on whom you ask and what they consider important, the Watch Active 2 is either substantially different or not so different from its predecessor.
Design
The Galaxy Watch Active 2 doesn’t look very different from the first-gen model, but it does come in different sizes: 40mm and 44mm. It is still a minimalist-looking smartwatch as the display glass gently curves to the sides without any protruding or rotating bezel.
It sports a circular Super AMOLED display with touch-sensitive bezels that try to mimic the functionality of the rotating physical bezel on earlier Samsung smartwatches. The display also comes with Corning Gorilla Glass DX+ protection for increased damage and scratch resistance. On the right side, there is a Back key and a Home key, and on the back, there is a heart-rate sensor.
The Watch Active 2 offers aluminum and stainless steel case options – both of which come with 20mm interchangeable straps. The 40mm model measures 40 x 40 x 10.9mm and weighs 26 grams for the aluminum casing and 37 grams for the stainless steel body. The 44mm model, meanwhile, measures 44 x 44 x 10.9mm and weighs 30 and 42 grams for the aluminum and stainless steel options, respectively. Check out our Galaxy Watch Active 2 hands-on for our thoughts about the design.
Specifications
The 40mm and 44mm Galaxy Watch Active 2 models have marginally different specs, making the choice between the two more than a matter of size. Unsurprisingly, like with smartphones, the larger variant has beefier specs. It comes with a 1.4-inch circular Super AMOLED display of 360 x 360 resolution, touch-sensitive bezel, Corning Gorilla Glass protection, Exynos 9110 dual-core chipset, optional eSIM, up to 1.5GB RAM, 4GB internal storage, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, Samsung Pay, GPS, Accelerometer, Barometer, Gyro Sensor, heart-rate monitor, Electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor, WPC based wireless charging, 340mAh battery, and Tizen OS 4.0 with updated One UI.
The 40mm model packs most of the same specs, but it has a smaller 1.2-inch display and 247mAh battery. Both the models boast 5ATM water resistance, IP68 rating, and MIL-STD-810G durability standard. For the complete list of internals, you can head over to our Galaxy Watch Active 2 specifications page (40mm/44mm).
Software and Features
The Galaxy Watch Active 2 runs Tizen OS 4.0 with updated One UI on top. It works with both Android and iOS devices and requires the Galaxy Wearable companion app. Obviously, it works better with Android, particularly Samsung smartphones. It supports notification mirroring, NFC-based Samsung Pay, Bixby, voice dictation, Smart Lock, etc. The watch also comes with the My Style color extraction algorithm that allows users to change the color of the watch face to match their dress by simply taking a photo of their outfit
Coming to the fitness and health features, the Galaxy Watch Active 2 has automatic workout-tracking for seven routines and can track a total of 39 different workout routines. This includes everything from running to lifting weights and swimming. There are different profiles for indoor and outdoor swimming. It supports active heart-rating monitoring, stress and sleep tracking as well.
The biggest feature added to the Galaxy Watch Active 2, however, is the Electrocardiogram (ECG) tracker, but the functionality is not yet enabled and should become available once approved by the FDA.
Availability
Announced a couple of days before the Note 10, the Galaxy Watch Active 2 went on sale in September 2019. Pricing starts at $279.99 for the 40mm and $299.99 for the 44mm in the US, with the LTE variants costing extra. Samsung is offering aluminum with a rubber (Fluoroelastomer) band and stainless steel with a leather band material options for both the models. Available color options include Cloud Silver, Aqua Black, and Pink Gold for aluminum and Silver, Black, and Gold for stainless steel. As usual, pricing and availability vary by region.
