Gadgetory

the Samsung gear s was bulky complex and rather impractical for a SmartWatch but it offered the capabilities of a smartphone on your wrist well we got our hands on the more circular second-generation gear s device today but before we set on our quest to see what it can do we have to get a box out of the way I'm Jules Wong with pocket now join me as it's time to unbox the Samsung gear s2 on a day as cold and damp as this one that's good to know that the gear s2 is rated to ip68 water and dust protection but the box isn't so let's get those stubborn stickers off and uncover the cylindrical goodness inside and centre of attention is the watch of course we should note that this is just the s2 not the s2 classic and it's the Bluetooth connected model so no 3G here but just as important as the watch is what's beneath the false bottom which contains a page from Motorola's playbook a charging cradle the other typical power accoutrement are here along with a typical packet of literature there's also a second band a smaller band for smaller wrists it's made of the same material as the one already attached for our block model it's a grey elastomer like element that actually feels pretty comfy on the wrist if you want to change out the band's be careful you have to push out the watch cases buttons and then lift the band at a certain upward angle if you end up fussing too much you might rip the band apart which I won't demonstrate for obvious reasons but I got close there are two buttons on case right the bottom one takes you home the top takes you back face down you'll see the heart pulse monitor and then back up again as you power this two up sits the 1.2 inch AMOLED screen and it's a pretty thing indeed at this point you're prompted to find your phone download the gear manager app from samsung site and go through setup now supposedly any brand Android phone can work with the gear s2 and not just galaxies but I had to trudge through to wellspect lollipop phones that more than adequately fill the bill to find a third running on KitKat that could actually download that the setup process was straightforward mind the fact that I'm still waiting to verify my new my Samsung Account to download new apps for our gear but on the watch we're all set we get a little tutorial about how to use the rotating bezel you get a look at widgets if you spin clockwise to the right notifications to the left and swipe up for it toggles but that ring sure feels satisfying to spin we'll be taking a spin with the Samsung gear s2 for a bit so be sure to keep up with this and all other coverage at pocketnow.com plus everywhere on the internet you see us my name is Jules Wong i'm on twitter at green point zero and as always more later