(Pocket-lint) – Samsung announced the next generation of its Galaxy Watch in the form of the Galaxy Watch 3 in August 2020. 

The smartwatch sits alongside the sleeker, bezel-free Samsung Galaxy Active 2 and replaces the original Galaxy Watch from 2018, but how does it compare?

Here is how the Galaxy Watch 3 compares to the Active 2 and original Galaxy Watch.

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Design

• Galaxy Watch: 46 x 49 x 13mm / 41.9 x 45.7 x 12.7 mm
• Galaxy Watch Active 2: 44 x 44 x 10.9mm / 40 x 40 x 10.9mm
• Galaxy Watch 3: 45 x 46.2 x 11.1mm / 41 x 42.5 x 11.3mm

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 and the Galaxy Watch adopt a similar design to each other, with a rotating bezel sitting on the top of the display and two function buttons on the right, though the Galaxy Watch 3 is a little more refined and the bezel has been improved.

The Galaxy Watch Active 2 meanwhile, has a sleeker finish than both with a touch bezel around the face instead of the rotating bezel and two more streamlined function buttons on the right.

The Galaxy Watch comes in 46mm and 42mm size options and all models have a reasonably chunky, textured silicone strap.

The Galaxy Watch Active 2 comes in 42mm and 40mm size options and there are a couple of strap options, inlcuding leather, as well as a couple of different models, such as an Under Armour edition and a Golf edition.

The Galaxy Watch 3 comes in a three different finishes – Mystic Black, Mystic Silver and Mystic Bronze, and there is also a titanium option. Sizes are 45mm and 41mm and there are a number of strap options available, including a link bracelet.

All Galaxy Watches are IP68 water and dust resistant, MIL-STD-810G compliant and waterproof up to 5ATM.

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Display

• Galaxy Watch: 1.3-inch/1.2-inch, 360 x 360 pixels, AMOLED
• Galaxy Watch Active 2: 1.4-inch/1.2-inch, 360 x 360 pixels, AMOLED
• Galaxy Watch 3: 1.4-inch/1.2-inch, 360 x 360 pixels, AMOLED

All three Samsung Galaxy Watch models being compared here have Super AMOLED round screens protected by Corning Gorilla Glass DX and they all have 360 x 360 pixel resolutions.

The 46mm original Samsung Galaxy Watch has a 1.3-inch display, while the 42mm model has a 1.2-inch display.

The 42mm Galaxy Watch Active 2 has a 1.4-inch display, while the 40mm model has a 1.2-inch display.

The 45mm Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 comes with a 1.4-inch display, while the 41mm model has a 1.2-inch display. 

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Hardware and specs

• Galaxy Watch: Exynos 9110, 768MB/1.5GB RAM, 4GB storage
• Galaxy Watch Active 2: Exynos 9110, 768MB/1.5GB RAM, 4GB storage
• Galaxy Watch 3: Exynos 9110, 1GB RAM, 8GB storage

All Samsung Galaxy Watch models being compared here run on the Exynos 9110 dual core processor.

The original Galaxy Watch and Galaxy Watch Active 2 are both available in LTE and Bluetooth models with the LTE models offering 1.5GB of RAM and 4GB of storage and the Bluetooth models offering 768MB of RAM and 4GB of storage. 

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 comes in LTE and Bluetooth models. There is 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage.

Battery

• Galaxy Watch: 46mm – 472mAh / 42mm – 270mAh
• Galaxy Watch Active 2: 42mm – 340mAh / 40mm – 247mAh
• Galaxy Watch 3: 45mm – 340mAh / 41mm – 247mAh

The larger model of the original Samsung Galaxy Watch has a 472mAh battery and the smaller model has a 270mAh battery.

The larger model of the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 has a 340mAh battery, while the smaller model has a 247mAh battery, which is the same as the respective larger and smaller models of the Galaxy Watch 3.

Features

• Galaxy Watch: Heart rate monitoring, sports tracking, smartphone notifications, Tizen OS
• Galaxy Watch Active 2: HR, sports tracking, smartphone notifications, running coach, stress feature
• Galaxy Watch 3: Sleep tracking with REM stages, fall detection, 39 sports modes, ECG, blood pressure, blood oxygen 

All Samsung Galaxy Watches being compared here are compatible with Android and iOS devices and run Tizen OS.

They also have heart rate monitoring, smartphone notifications and sports tracking, as you would expect. The Galaxy Watch Active 2 has a running coach too, as well as a stress feature.

The Galaxy Watch 3 has the most features, with the ability to take an ECG as well as your blood pressure and your blood oxygen level, fall detection, run analysis and 39 sports modes.

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Conclusion

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 offers a very similar design to the original Galaxy Watch but with a few welcomed refinements and several extra features, including ECG, blood pressure, blood oxygen fall detection and more sports modes. 

The Galaxy Active 2 meanwhile, continues to be a smaller, more stylish smartwatch offering, whilst also offering a number of extra features over the original Galaxy Watch but not quite as many as the Galaxy Watch 3.

You can read our Galaxy Watch Active 2 review and our Galaxy Watch 3 review to see what we thought of the devices.

Writing by Britta O’Boyle.