In Samsung's realm, it's called a fitness band, but it's much more. The Galaxy Fit3 looks and feels like the younger sibling of the pricey smartwatches. If you're not adamant about browsing websites through the watch, you'll get almost every health and fitness tracking function in return for a third of the price.
Just a few years back, if you wanted a watch to measure and track your fitness activities, you'd have to part with 1,000 shekels or more, especially for advanced models. The rapid advancement of wearable technologies brought many models of watches to the market, and prices began to plummet.
A tangible example of this can be seen in the new Galaxy Fit3 by Samsung, defined as a fitness band but functioning almost like a smartwatch, all for 399 shekels (at Samsung stores by the importer "Sani"). We examined it for two weeks; here's what we thought:
Design and Comfort
The Galaxy Fit3 is quite impressive, coming in a sleek design as if trying to mimic a luxurious smartwatch. The slim and light structure of the watch and the strap that tucks into itself, without the need for external support, make it one of the most comfortable watches to wear. Additionally, changing straps is easy with a simple button press on the back of the watch.
Display
One of the standout improvements of the Galaxy Fit 3 compared to its predecessor is the screen size: 1.6 inches (4 cm) in the current model compared to 1.1 inches previously. The difference is significant enough to momentarily confuse you into thinking it's a smartwatch. This means it's much easier to read notifications on the AMOLED screen, which produces colors in stunning quality. You can also choose from countless screen displays - all available in the app and downloaded to the watch within seconds.
Navigation
Among Functions With its minimalist design, the Fit 3 has only one button on the side. A single press takes you to the watch screen, two presses lead you to choose the exercise you want to perform, a long press turns off the watch or allows you to view your medical information. All other navigation is done smoothly and intuitively on the watch's touch screen.
The navigation is easy, setting up the device and syncing it with the Samsung Health app was simple, allowing me to smoothly track my progress and set personalized goals. Notifications from my phone were displayed quickly, keeping me connected without the need to glance at my phone every moment.
Health and Fitness Tracking
It's important to note that the Fit 3 does not come with built-in GPS. Of course, you can connect it via Bluetooth to your phone's GPS, but that means you'll have to carry your phone with you throughout your workout. Not fun.
The good news is that the watch includes a particularly wide variety of health and fitness features. It will track your daily steps, measure your blood oxygen levels (even during sleep), constantly monitor your heart rate (and alert you when it's too fast), determine if you're stressed (and if so - suggest ways to reduce it), and offer monitoring and tracking of over 100 different types of exercises - from running and walking to skiing or kayaking and even archery training. During any such activity, the watch will analyze the relevant metrics for the type of activity.
I was particularly impressed by the watch's ability to identify and accurately track various exercises, providing real-time metrics. Started running without touching the watch? It will detect it and activate running monitoring precisely from the moment you start running. The same goes for walking and other fitness activities.
Sleep Monitoring and Snoring
The watch comes with Samsung's sleep tracking feature, and every morning you can get detailed documentation of your sleep, including information about each sleep stage and how much time you spent in each stage. Additionally, you'll receive a summary score regarding your sleep quality that night. After the watch learns your sleep patterns for seven days, it will provide you with personalized sleep training to actively improve your sleep quality.
In addition, there is an option to activate snore monitoring. To do this, you need to place the phone near your head so that the device can record the snores, analyze them, and let you know if they exceed the reasonable limit and may pose a health problem. On the analysis page, you will find recordings of your snores (embarrassing!) throughout the night.
Battery Life
Samsung promises up to 13 days of use on a single charge, but if you activate the always-on screen option and use it frequently, it's reasonable to assume you'll need to charge the watch every 4-5 days. Not bad compared to smartwatches that require daily charging.
In summary, if you're looking for a watch to track your fitness activities, monitor your sleep quality, and provide you with a wide range of basic health data - all in an elegant package, with long battery life, and at a price that won't burn a hole in your pocket - chances are you'll love the Galaxy Fit 3.