Galaxy Watch Active2
It's only been a few months since the first Galaxy Watch Active was unveiled but Samsung are already back with a tuned-up take on their latest fitness-focused wearable.
As you might expect, there's a lot of overlap here with the first Active. Like that device, the Active2 features a circular Super AMOLED display, 4GB of RAM, an Exynos 9110 processor, Samsung Pay support plus the usual comprehensive heartrate and fitness tracking and integration with the wider Samsung ecosystem.
As for what's new, Samsung are bringing the back the bezel-based control scheme of the earlier Galaxy Watch. Sort of. Rather than spin a physical bezel around the device, users only need to run their hands around the "digital bezel" along the edges of the wearable to achieve the same kind of functionality.
The new Galaxy Watch Active2 also features LTE connectivity (which the original Active lacked), allowing you to use it on the go, an improved version of Bixby (yay!), the same sort of ECG tracking found in the most recent Apple Watch (review here) and a unique feature that'll allow you to quickly and easily create custom watchfaces that complement the color of your outfit from within the Galaxy Wearable app.
Garry McGregor, Vice-President, IT & Mobile for Samsung Electronics Australia, says that “Australians today want more than just a piece of tech that tells the time and counts their steps. They want devices that enhance their lifestyle and their personal style."
According to him, "the Galaxy Watch Active 2 offers true stand-alone connectivity with innovative functionality and holistic health management in a stylish and feature-packed design."
In Australia, the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active2 will be available from October 8th in two sizes (40mm and 44mm), two colors (Black and Gold) and two models (Bluetooth and LTE/Cellular).
Pricing for the strictly Bluetooth-enabled Galaxy Watch Active2 starts at AU$549 while the LTE version starts at AU$749. Unfortunately, if you're after the 40mm model, you'lll have to opt for the latter - since that size is only available as LTE.
Our take: though the speed with which Samsung are moving here is sure to irk early adopters of the original Watch Active, it does feel like a lot of our complaints and issues with that device are being remedied here. Hopefully, the digital bezel lives up to the hype because basically everything else on the docket here sounds like a recipe for Samsung's best smartwatch yet.
