The Gear S2 was arguably one of the best smartwatches of 2015. Its small, compact size was a great fit for small and large wrists alike, and its twistable bezel provided a superb level of control over its built-in apps. So it's no surprise that Samsung has reprised its rotating bezel for this year's smartwatch, the Gear S3. The only problem is that it's absolutely huge.
Like last year, there are two variants of the Gear S3: the Gear S3 Frontier and the Gear S3 Classic. I've been hands-on (or should that be wrists-on) with both watches, but each one looks positively ginormous on my rather tiny wrists. That's partly because, unlike last year's model, the Gear S3 now has interchangeable 22mm watch straps, so each pair of lugs adds a sizable amount onto either side of the watch, taking its overall dimensions to 46 x 49 x 12.9mm. That's fine if you're the type of person with large, manly wrists, but women may not find the Gear S3 quite so appealing as the Gear S2.
It's a shame, as Samsung's really stepped up the Gear S3's fitness capabilities this time round, adding built-in GPS to both versions. This means you can leave your phone at home when you go out for a run, as the Gear S3 will track your route for you. Likewise, its built-in speaker means you can now also use the Gear S3 Frontier and the Gear S3 Classic to answer calls, reducing the importance of your smartphone even further. Your phone still needs to be nearby, of course, as phone-free calls operate over a Wi-Fi connection, but at least it means you can leave it in another room and still receive important calls.
The differences between each watch are actually fairly minimal. The Frontier has a pair of buttons on the side for back and home keys, while the Classic has a pair of crowns. Likewise, the Frontier's straps are also slightly larger and thicker, giving it a more robust, sporty look than the slender and slightly more dainty Classic. Otherwise, both have the same 1.3in, 360 x 360 Super AMOLED always-on display, and each one supports exactly the same number of customisable watch faces.
Samsung has improved the Gear S3's battery life as well, claiming its 380mAh battery can last for up to four days in total. That's almost double what I managed with the Gear S2, so I'll be very impressed if I can get close to this figure once review samples are available. Just like last year's model, the Gear S3 will charge wirelessly via WPC inductive charging.
Elsewhere, you'll find both watches have a dual-core 1GHz Exynos 7270 chip and 768MB of RAM powering its Tizen OS 2.3.1 interface, and it has 4GB of onboard storage for apps and music. Each version supports Bluetooth 4.2, NFC and 802.11n Wi-Fi, and you'll also find an accelerometer, gyroscope, barometer, heart-rate monitor and ambient light sensor. It's water- and dust-resistant, too, as both versions are IP68-certified. This means they can endure up to one metre of freshwater for up to 30 minutes, so it won't stop working if you get caught in a heavy rain shower, for instance.
The only pieces of the puzzle still missing are the UK price and release date. However, I'm expecting both watches to launch by the end of the year at the very latest, and I wouldn't be surprised if they ended up around the £300 mark. After all, the Gear S2 cost £250 when it first launched last year, so the Gear S3 will most likely land in a similar ball park. As always, we'll bring you our final verdict as soon as review samples are available, so check back soon to see how it matches up to its highly lauded predecessor.