【Japan Archives】

Samsung is Japan Archiveson an unbelievable roll.

The Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge are its two best smartphones ever, the Gear S2 received rave reviews after Samsung's previous smartwatches flopped, and the Gear VR is arguably the best mobile VR experience on the market. 

SEE ALSO: Samsung's fitness-tracking wireless earbuds are completely cable-free

With this renewed focus on quality comes the Gear Fit 2 fitness tracker. 

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The original Gear Fit released two years ago wasn't bad. Mashable's deputy tech editor Samantha Murphy Kelly awarded it a Mashable Choice, calling it "beautiful inside and out" and "our best hope for wearables to date." But like all first-generation devices, it wasn't without its flaws.

The $179 Gear Fit 2 is a big improvement. It's the first fitness tracker that I didn't want to take off at the end of the day -- high praise, because as useful as I find my Apple Watch (for notifications, not apps, at least for now), I don't hesitate to remove it as soon as I'm home from work.

An even better fit

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Samsung paid a lot of attention to getting the fit of the Gear Fit 2 right. Rather, even more right. 

The Gear Fit tried too hard to be a fitness tracker and a fashion statement. The Gear Fit 2, however, chooses substance over style -- and there's nothing wrong with that.

I think it sends a clearer message the device is specifically for working out and not something you would want on your wrist at a posh dinner party. 

Because let's face it: Wearing a fitness tracker (no matter how luxurious it may look) will never be classy.

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The Gear Fit 2 comes in three different colors (blue, pink and black). Its curved interior wrapped comfortably around my wrist and felt a lot less stiff than the Fitbits I have tried on. It also comes with a choice of two strap sizes, with an option that fits smaller wrists better than the Fitbit. 

Compared to other wearables with long, rectangular screens -- including the Microsoft Band, Gear Fit, etc. -- the Gear Fit 2 is the comfiest I've ever worn.

Improving the essentials

The Gear Fit did a lot of things, but none of them exceptionally well. It wasn't the hardware so much as the custom Samsung OS software that was lacking. 

The company decided to go with Tizen for the Gear Fit 2, its own versatile OS that has worked great with wearables like the Gear S2.

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The entire user interface is faster and more responsive than before. Most importantly, the UI is vertical and not horizontal. No more awkward head twists to see what's on the screen.

You now get twice as many horizontal pixels than before, which means more information on the screen.

There are two buttons on the Gear Fit 2: a back button and a home button. To navigate the various different activity homescreens, you swipe left and right. Actions are selected with a tap and then you scroll vertically. It's simple and easy to understand and nowhere near as confusing as the Apple Watch (both with watchOS 1 and 2).

Another thing that makes the Gear Fit 2 better than its predecessor is the screen. The 1.5-inch Super AMOLED display is smaller and wider than the Gear Fit's 1.84-inch screen. But you now get twice as many horizontal pixels than before, which means more information on the screen. It's also easier to see outdoors in the sun, because it makes strong use of black backgrounds and sharp, bright colors.

Gearing up with the Fit 2

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Getting started with the Gear Fit 2 is hassle-free. You download the Gear Fit app, switch on the wearable and verify a Bluetooth code, and that's pretty much it. The Gear Fit 2 walks you through a quick tutorial and you're on your way.

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The Gear Fit 2 only works with smartphones (any phone, not just Samsung ones) running Android 4.4 and higher. iOS compatibility is still up in the air, but if the rumors are to be believed, Samsung is working on it. So, yeah, obviously, you're out of luck if you don't use an Android phone.

Via Giphy

Using the Gear Fit 2 is is a breeze. You can select from a number of different watch face homescreens (activated by pressing and holding down the watch face). Each one shows the time and at least one activity statistic.

Swiping right from the homescreen brings up a notifications screen, where all of the notifications you've approved within the Gear Fit app are displayed. 

App notifications Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable Step counter Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

And if you swipe left from the homescreen, you'll bring up the various activity screens for step counting, calories burned, floors climbed, etc. You can add and remove the activity screens based on what you want to keep track of. Tapping each screen brings up more details.

Swipe down from the top of the screen and you'll bring up a few quick settings and a quick launcher for the music player. Press the home button from the watch homescreen and you'll bring up a vertical list of apps. It's all intuitive and straightforward.

On the activity screen, you can bring up a log of a walk or run, see how close you are to achieving your fitness goals, and check your average walking speed all on one vertically scrolling screen. 

Moreover, and this is what makes the Gear Fit 2 special, is the built-in GPS, which logs your location. At a glance, you can see on a small map where you've walked or run and then share that little nugget to Facebook.

I'm not the type to share these kinds of personal statistics on social media, but the Gear Fit 2 tempted me. 

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The heart rate sensor is also one of the better ones I've used on any fitness tracker or smart watch. The Gear Fit 2 still requires you to be still so it can take your pulse, but I noticed it's way more lenient with a shaky hand, than, say, my Apple Watch. I had fewer failed heart rate readings with the Gear Fit 2.

The Gear Fit 2 also has an auto-activity mode, which detects what kind of activity you're doing and automatically starts tracking data after about ten minutes. It was a bit of a hit or miss during my testing. When I would go for late-night walks, sometimes it would automatically track my activity and sometimes it wouldn't. 

Built-in GPS Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable Built-in music player Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Additionally, the Gear Fit 2 comes with 4GB of internal storage for you to store your own music for listening during workouts. You can still stream music to Bluetooth headphones from your Android phone and the Spotify integration is nice, but I like the local music storage because it unshackles you from needing your phone.

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All of your activity data can be synced to Samsung's S Health app for easy digestibility. Furthermore, you can export activity data to third-party apps like Strava and Runkeeper. 

A great fitness wearable, except...

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Maybe it's just my bony wrist, but I've never tried any fitness tracker that has felt truly comfortable and offered features like built-in GPS. 

The ones that do feel good on my wrist (like the Withings Activité and Timex Metropolitan+) aren't as full-featured as the Jawbone Up or models from Fitbit and Garmin. I wear an Apple Watch everyday and while it's rewarding to see the fitness rings fill up, I can't say I've ever cared if I went a day or week and missed all my fitness goals.

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The Samsung Gear Fit 2 is so comfortable, on some days I even showered and slept with it on. That's saying a lot since my Apple Watch is the very first thing I take off when I get home from work.

I realized quickly I had to take it off nightly, not because of choice, but necessity. The battery life just isn't as long as I had expected. Samsung says the Gear Fit 2 is good for 3-4 days of typical use, but I only got two days max on a single charge and I wasn't even pushing it hard. 

Samsung's Gear Fit 2 is the only fitness tracker that I've never wanted to immediately take off as soon I got home.

Perhaps the GPS is sucking up a lot of battery life, or maybe it's the local music player. Whatever the case is, the Gear Fit 2 needs to be charged up every night or every two nights if you don't want it to run out of juice in the middle of a day.

But still, that's OK. I'm used to charging my Apple Watch every night and it's not really an issue to do the same for the Gear Fit 2. Overall, the Gear Fit 2 is a solid second-generation fitness tracker. If you're looking for a new one or just getting started, I definitely recommend it.

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Samsung Gear Fit 2

The Good

• Really comfortable

• Smart, intuitive interface

• Accurate activity tracking

• Charges easily on magnetic dock

• Internal storage for local music playback

The Bad

• Weaker than expected battery life

• Auto-activity mode is hit-or-miss

The Bottom Line

The Gear Fit 2 is one of the most full-featured activity trackers out there, if you don't mind the battery life.

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