Samsung Gear S3 vs. Apple Watch 2: Specs, Price, GPS, Display

Dec 10, 2016 11:01 AM EST

With the unveiling and release of the Samsung Gear S3 and the Apple Watch 2, the war for the best wearables is at its peak. Smartwatch enthusiasts who are unsure which one they should invest in can read the guide below to see the differences between the two gadgets in terms of battery life, display, processor and memory plus other specs.

Display

The Apple Watch Series 2, which is rectangular in shape, boasts of a 38.6mm x 33.3mm size, while a bigger a variant has a size of 42.5mm x36.4mm. The Samsung Gear 3 meanwhile is circular and has a size of 49mm x 46mm. For display the Apple Watch 2 apparently is twice brighter than its predecessor and comes with an OLED Retina display with a 272x340 and 312x390 resolution. The Samsung Gear 3 has a Super AMOLED display and a resolution of 360x360.

Cellular and GPS

CRN reports that either of the two smartwatches has a GPS which works whether you have your phone with you or not. The drawback is that only the Gear S3's Frontier has a 3G/LTE connectivity and the Apple Watch Series 2 has none.

Design

The Samsung Gear S3 Classic is made out of stainless steel with a shiny finish, while the slightly larger and bulkier Gear S3 Frontier has a matte finish. Both come with leather or silicon straps. For the Apple Series 2, buyers can choose to have stainless steel, aluminum, or ceramic cases, and several bands of different designs and colors as well.

Water Resistance

The Apple Watch can resist water up to a depth of 50mm, while Samsung says that it can survive a period of a half hour in about 5 feet of water. Both also boast that they are resistant to excessive shock, vibration, heat, cold and pressure.

Battery Life

In this battle, it seems that the Samsung Gear S3 is the clear winner. It promises a battery life of four days in a single charge while the Apple Watch Series 2 only boasts of 18 hours of battery life.

Specs

Samsung's Exynos 7270 dual 1GHz processor is what powers the Samsung Gear S3 with 4GB storage and 768 of RAM. The Apple Watch Series 2 meanwhile says its CPU is 50 percent faster than its predecessor.

Price

The Samsung Gear S3 price starts at $350 while the Apple Watch Series 2 starts at $369.