Ryan Dube · February 27, 2020 · 7 min read The Samsung Gear S3 Frontier was first released to the smartwatch market on November 18th, 2016. To this day, it remains the #1 best selling smartwatch on Amazon.
There are good reasons for this. Not the least of which is the fact that unlike most bulky, square smartwatches, the Samsung Gear S3 has a circular face that looks like a regular watch.
The Samsung Gear S3 Frontier in particular is especially popular because of its innovative rotating bezel for interfacing with the OS, the impressive watch faces you can download, and features that’ll make you feel like you’re James Bond.
In this Samsung Gear S3 Frontier review, you’ll learn everything you’ve ever wanted to know about the Samsung Gear S3 Frontier, and why you probably should own one.
Samsung Gear S3 Frontier Design and Specs
The Gear S3’s 1.3-inch super AMOLED display has more room for apps than you might expect, when compared to square smartwatches.
The circular bezel lets you quickly navigate through apps, scroll through messages, and even answer calls. One twist left shows you all notifications, and one twist right lets you switch quickly to multiple widgets.
The body, bezel, and buttons are made of stainless steel, which means it’s a watch that’s durable enough to last you for years.
One charge of the 380 mAH Li-Ion battery will typically last you a couple of days, and you can purchase a Qi wireless charger so that you can charge at home, the office, or while you’re traveling.
Important features:
- IP68 rated to withstand dust, dirt, and submersion into up to 1.5 meters of water for 30 minutes.
- Gorilla Glass 1.3 inch touchscreen face offering 16 million colors
- Tizen-based OS running on a dual-core 1.0 GHz Cortex-A53 processor
- 768MB flash RAM with 4GB of internal storage
- 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi adapter
- Bluetooth compatible
- Embedded GLONASS GPS receiver
- Sensors include accelerometer, gyro, heart rate, and barometer
The watch weighs in at 64 grams (2.22 oz), which feels slightly heavier than a large men’s Casio watch.
Samsung Gear S3 Frontier Watch Faces
The watch faces that are available for the Samsung Gear S3 family of watches are remarkable. The most stylish and beautiful ones are usually offered at a price ranging from $1 up to $5. Most are very much worth the price.
Although, there’s also a wide selection of excellent free watch faces as well.
Watch face range from health focused or classy and stylish to military style or comic book and animated. There’s a Samsung Gear S3 watch face for just about anyone out there.
The worst thing about the selection is that you’re going to have a hard time deciding which one to use. One option is to use a different watch face every day of the week!
Samsung Gear S3 Frontier GPS Apps
All of this hardware offers you some of the coolest features to support all of your adventures.
To install apps and watch faces onto your watch, you’ll need to install the Galaxy Wearable app onto your Android from Google Play or your iPhone from the Apple Store (yes the watch is compatible with both).
The embedded GPS receiver is one of the most useful features of the Samsung Gear S3 Frontier.
MapMyRun
For example, if you install the MapMyRun app on your Android or on your iPhone, you can install the companion Samsung Gear MapMyRun app to log your walk or run even if you leave your phone in the car.
Navigation Pro
If you install Navigation Pro: Google Maps Navi on your Android or your iPhone, you can install the companion Navigation Pro app on your Samsung Gear to display navigational directions right on your wrist.
This means you can put your phone away while you’re driving and just glance at your wrist for directions.
Samsung Gear S3 Frontier Health Apps
When it comes to health, the Samsung Gear S3 doesn’t look like other sleek and stylish sports smartwatches. But when it comes to functionality, it does offer everything you might need.
Samsung Health
When it comes to monitoring your health, the Samsung Gear Health app uses the accelerometer, gyro, and heart rate monitor to log your movements, exercise, and heart rate.
These are all logged and synced with the Samsung Health app on your phone. The Samsung Health app is central to all of the tracking features available on your phone:
- Step tracking
- Heart rate
- Water and caffeine intake
- Sleep quality
Many watch faces will display your current steps, calories burned, and heart rate as well.
Download Samsung Health for Android or for your iPhone
GymRun
You can also use the GymRun Workout app on your Samsung Gear S3 to track your workouts without having to carry your smartphone around the gym.
Use the custom workouts you’ve designed from your phone app to track your exercise using your phone while you’re in the gym.
Keep in mind that the Premium version of GymRun is required in order for the Samsung Gear S3 companion app to work.
Download GymRun for Android. This app is not available for iPhone.
G’night Sleep Tracker
Another important aspect of health is how well you sleep, and yes there’s an app for that. The G’Night sleep tracking app is one of the best. This is a standalone app that runs in the background and senses every small movement you make during the night.
It’s a little more detailed than the Samsung Health app in the details it provides about your movements and how long you spent in REM sleep.
Other Useful Samsung Gear S3 Frontier Apps
If you really want to impress people around you, when it comes time to pay at the grocery store, just hold your phone up to the card reader and pay with your Samsung Gear S3 smartwatch.
Samsung Pay
This technology is made possible thanks to the Samsung Pay app. The app uses your Gear’s ability to transmit an NFC signal to the pay terminal. The Pay terminal recognizes this signal just the same as if you’d swiped your bank card.
All you have to do to set it up is install the Samsung Pay app on your smart watch and on your Android smartphone (not yet available on iPhone). Then configure your bank cards using the instructions in the app.
Forget your wallet or purse at home? No problem!
Make and Receive Phone Calls
One of the coolest features available with your Samsung Gear S3 is the ability to make or receive phone calls right from your watch.
This is because the watch hardware includes both a speaker and a microphone.
This feature includes full access to all of your phone contacts, the ability to dial out from your watch, and the ability to decline calls as well.
Tap the green phone button when receiving an incoming call, and you can carry out a full conversation with the person talking directly into your watch.
You may get some curious glances from people around you, but don’t let that stop you.
Plus, if you don’t want people hearing your conversation, just pair your bluetooth earphones with your Samsung Gear S3 and you can use the earbuds to have the conversation instead.
Barometer and Altitude
The barometer sensor in your Samsung Gear S3 means you get access to two useful readings for your environment.
Since air pressure at sea level is roughly 14.7 pounds per square inch at sea level, and since the watch’s GPS knows your location, it can calibrate the watch to detect your altitude above sea level.
You can also keep an eye on the barometer reading to see if it’s rising or falling and predict coming storms.
Should You Buy A Samsung Gear S3 Frontier?
This smartwatch is ideal for people who are going for a more rugged watch look. Since it’s a bit heavier than something like a Fitbit, it may not be idea for runners or people with a smaller body frame.
However, if you enjoy hiking or exploring and are looking for an “adventure” smartwatch that’ll track your health, monitor your location and altitude, and let you make and receive calls while keeping your phone in your pocket, then this is the smartwatch for you.
