Samsung Galaxy Watch Active2 (44mm GPS Bluetooth) aqua black best price

The Galaxy Watch Active2’s long lasting battery can go for more than a 5 day on a single charge. Its advanced sensors keep your pace to help you better achieve your run goals. Audio Playing Format-MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, OGA,WAV, WMA, AMR, AWB. Better insights to reach your fitness goals get more out of every mile thanks to built-in pace coaching on the Galaxy Watch Active2. Here is everything you need to know on Samsung Galaxy Watch Active2 (44mm GPS Bluetooth) aqua black review and best price.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Sleek, premium design
• Sharp AMOLED display
• Offline Spotify storage
• Touch-enabled bezel for quick navigation
• Bluetooth + LTE variants for more flexibility~2 day battery life
• Fantastic sleep tracking

Cons

• No MST payments with Samsung Pay
• Tizen app ecosystem is still lacking compared to Wear OS
• Heart rate, GPS, and altimeter sensors can be wonky
• Setup process still needs work

Specs – Samsung Galaxy Watch Active2 (44mm GPS Bluetooth) aqua black

Battery Life: 24-60 hours, depending on workouts and display
Size: 40mm, 44mm
Colors: Cloud Silver, Aqua Black and Pink Gold
OS: Tizen OS (One UI)
Music Storage: 4GB (with offline Spotify playback)
Water Resistance: Up to 5 ATM (swimproof)
GPS: Yes
LTE: Optional
Heart Rate Monitor: Yes
Mobile Payments: Samsung Pay
Special Features: ECG sensor, which will be activated sometime after launch

Samsung Galaxy Watch Active2 best price

The Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 is out now, starting at $279.99 / £269 for the 40mm version or $299 / £289 / AU$549 for the 44mm version. The 40mm model isn’t available in Australia.

The Galaxy Watch Active 2 is also available in an LTE model in stainless steel, which in the US is offered through Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile, US Cellular and Verizon. In the UK and Australia you can buy this version outright, at £399 / AU$749 for the 40mm version and £419 / AU$799 for the 44mm one.

An Under Armour special edition of the watch has MapMyRun integration at the forefront. It will cost $279 for the 40mm size and $299 for the 44 mm size, and is only available with Bluetooth and in black.

Compare Samsung Galaxy Watch Active2 (44mm GPS Bluetooth) aqua black vs Apple Watch 5

Samsung Galaxy Watch Active2 (44mm GPS Bluetooth) aqua black Review

Build & color

The 40mm version fits nicely on my smaller wrist and the metal finish looks premium compared with the first Galaxy Watch Active. The aluminum version is available in black, silver or pink gold with a synthetic rubber strap, while the stainless-steel version comes in a silver, black or gold finish, with a leather band. The LTE version is only available in stainless steel.

Like the original Active, the basic Watch Active 2 has an aluminum body. It comes in cloud silver, aqua black and pink gold colors. You can also get it in stainless steel (which is what the LTE model comes in) for a higher price, which comes in silver, black and gold.Advertisement

Variable watch face

I really like the wide variety of watch faces available in the Galaxy Wearable app and you can download more from the Galaxy Store. But being able to snap a photo of your outfit and match your watch face to the colors of your shirt using the My Style feature is probably my favorite way to customize the look of the Active 2.

Weight

As it stands, both options are pretty light, starting at 26g for the smaller aluminum (without a strap) and 30g for the larger – present but not weighty when worn during a run.

AMOLED screen

The color AMOLED screen is bright and easy to see in direct sun, as long as you have the brightness cranked up to its maximum. And now the Active 2 uses Gorilla Glass DX Plus instead of Gorilla Glass 3, which means it should stand up to more bumps and scratches than its predecessor. It’s rated IP68 or 5ATM for water resistance, the same as before.

Track your workout

You can still track over 39 workouts and see the breakdown of your data in the Samsung Health app or directly on the watch face itself. I still don’t think the Samsung Health app presents your data as nicely as competitors like Fitbit do (it’s just so much easier to visually interpret your workout data in the Fitbit app, for example).

The Active 2 gets an updated running coach, which gives you audio and visual cues through seven different running programs, from light jogging to endurance running.

Built-in ECG

It also has a built-in ECG to detect potential signs of atrial fibrillation (aFib). The ECG has finally received FDA-clearance as of September 2020 and I’ll be updating this review once I’ve had a chance to test it out fully. Note that the ECG app is only available if you tie your Active 2 to a Samsung Galaxy phone. Sorry, iPhone users, you’ll have to stick to the Apple Watch or a Fitbit Sense if you want ECG.

Music in iPhone

Listening to music was more of a chore, especially when connected to an iPhone, for which adding music is a multi-step process. Syncing up a Spotify account is easy enough, though the frequent alerts and notifications momentarily muted audio, with multiple disruptions per song. It’s odd, especially when a non-interruption feature seems like such a logical addition for a workout mode.

App integration

All the versions of the Active 2 now offer closer integration with third-party apps like Twitter and YouTube, so you can interact with tweets or watch videos. Although I’m not quite sure of why you would ever want to watch videos on such a small screen, it’s definitely a party trick. Subscribers to Spotify’s premium tier can also store songs on the watch for offline listening, or stream over LTE. A built-in speaker means you can now listen to music or take calls without needing Bluetooth earbuds. 

Battery life

If anything lives up to Samsung’s claims about the Galaxy Watch Active 2, it’s battery life. With typical use, our Active 2 lasted through two full days. While that’s not quite the four days that our original Galaxy Watch survived for, it’s more than can be said of the Apple Watch line.

The actual capacity of the 40mm model is 247mAh, slightly larger than the 230mAh of its predecessor. The 44mm’s 340mAh capacity might give it the edge over its smaller sibling (the only one we tested), though that’s also powering a larger screen.

Water resistance

The Galaxy Watch Active 2 is IP68-rated for water and dust resistance, and can survive being submerged up to 5 meters in liquid and getting a little grimy. There’s even a ‘water lock’ mode that disables touchscreen functionality and vibrates to shake out excess water.

How to connect Samsung Galaxy Watch Active2 (44mm GPS Bluetooth) aqua black with smartphone?

Turn on the watch before connection to your phone.

1. From the Apps screen of the smartphone, tap Galaxy Wearable. If necessary, update the app to the latest version.
2. Tap Start the Journey and select your device.
3. When the Bluetooth® pairing request window is displayed, confirm the passkeys displayed on your watch and smartphone match, and then tap OK.
4. Follow the prompts to complete the connection. When the devices are connected, a tutorial is displayed on the watch’s screen. Follow the prompts to the learn basic controls.

Back up data

The watch can only be connected to one smartphone at a time. When you connect the watch to a new smartphone, the watch automatically resets and all data is removed from its memory. Make sure you back up any important data stored on your watch.

1. From Galaxy Wearable, tap the Home tab.
2. Tap Account and backup > Back up and restore > Back up data.
   

Remote connection

Set the watch to remotely connect to the smartphone when a Bluetooth connection between the devices is not available. With this connection, you can still receive notifications from your smartphone. The watch and smartphone must be connected to the same Wi-Fi® network in order to receive notifications and calls. To enable or disable this feature:

• From Galaxy Wearable, tap the Home tab.
• Tap Account and backup > Remote connection.

Samsung Galaxy Watch Active2 (44mm GPS Bluetooth) aqua black Performance review

I tested the watch against my Wahoo Tickr X heart rate strap and my Garmin Forerunner 245 Music during a 37-minute outdoor run. The results can be found below.

Throughout this and one other workout, though, heart rate readings were sluggish. Taking a look at the Samsung Health, you’ll see the heart rate sensor leveling out for a solid 10 minutes before increasing again. It did keep up with the major trends for the most part, but only after it got over that period of sluggishness.

The Tickr X chest strap reported a max heart rate of 177bpm, the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 reported a max of 180bpm, and the Forerunner reported a max of 157bpm. The Samsung watch was definitely closer in terms of max heart rate, though it didn’t quite get back up to the maximum after the short dip towards the end of the run. Average heart rate readings were closer to the Tickr X as well. The chest strap reported an average of 154bpm, while the Galaxy Watch reported a closer reading of 161 compared to the Garmin’s 174bpm average.

Samsung did, however, improve resting heart rate readings with the new watch. When I typed this, I sat at my desk, relaxed, looking at my heart rate chest strap and Galaxy Watch Active 2. The chest strap showed a resting heart rate of about 73bpm, while the Galaxy Watch Active 2 reading showed 70bpm. Every time I’ve compared resting heart rate readings, the Active 2 has been mostly in line with other watches as well.

Overall, the Galaxy Watch Active 2’s heart rate sensor seems to be a step in the right direction, but it’s still off compared to other fitness watches. I don’t think Samsung’s heart rate sensors can compete with the big players yet.

The same can be said for GPS accuracy. On two separate occasions, my Watch Active 2 over-reported distance traveled during my runs. It was about a quarter-mile over the run you see above and a bit more than that during another run.

However, many of the recent Play Store reviews for the My BP Lab app claim the application has been much more reliable and accurate after recent updates. Even so, we wouldn’t recommend buying the Galaxy Watch Active 2 solely for blood pressure monitoring.

The Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 can still take blood pressure readings, but Samsung isn’t necessarily flaunting that feature this time around. This is probably a good thing because the bp tool was the worst aspect of the original Galaxy Watch Active. Samsung is still working with the University of California, San Francisco, to research blood pressure monitoring from the wrist, so this is by no means a full-fledged feature or a viable replacement for a medical-grade blood pressure monitor.

Samsung Galaxy Watch Active2 (44mm GPS Bluetooth) aqua black customer review

This watch is great

I had an MK Access watch and it was starting to show its age (slowed down, battery life was getting worse, etc..) I searched for an upgrade and came down between an older Frontier or the Active2 I went with the Active 2 for its minimalist design and increased IP rating. Performance has been fantastic. HR monitor has been very accurate (I work in an emergency department so I have been able to confirm the HR with a medical grade heart monitor.) The Active2 has been accurate with a margin of error of 2-3 BPM. Battery life is phenomenal getting 2.5 days with HEAVY use. My only complaint is the built in keyboard for responding to texts the MK watch had android wear so it came with a built in qwerty keyboard and swype. If galaxy offered a qwerty keyboard it would be a home run.

By Akocak at Best Buy

Differences between Samsung Galaxy Watch Active2 (44mm GPS Bluetooth) aqua black vs Galaxy watch3

Alternate of Samsung Galaxy Watch Active2 (44mm GPS Bluetooth) aqua black

The all-new Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 is pitched as a versatile smartwatch for those with versatile needs. The Galaxy Watch Active 2, on the other hand, might find it fits in better among best fitness trackers going forward.

As we’ve said repeatedly, the Apple Watch 3 is identically priced, proven, and likely discounted even more during deals seasons. watchOS is more robust and beloved for good reason. While you’ll miss out on the Active 2’s haptic dial and demonstrably better battery, the tighter integration with iOS is more compelling.

Our Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 vs Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 face-off answers several important questions about whether this year’s pricier lifestyle smartwatch or last year’s workout-focused one is better for you. Be sure to check it out before buying.

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