Samsung Watch

kimberleyanddarren

Can someone help me out please I’m so confused!

I wanted to get my husband (who has an s21) a smartwatch for his birthday. Was planning to get the Samsung watch 4 as it’s more in my budget than the new 5.

Do I need a separate contract? Can I just buy a refurbished watch or do I need a SIM card and stuff? 

Thank you 🙏🏻 

RumRat

No, you don't need to buy a sim. The watch has an eSim that connects to your phone account. You can buy a refurbished watch if it's from a reliable source.
Unless your husband needs to make calls without having his phone with him, save money and just buy the Bluetooth version of the phone. It works the same, but needs to connect to the phone, which can be in his pocket or bag. that way the Watch 5 may come into budget.

flaneurs_lobster

Another consideration is that e-sim services for watches (if you decide that you want 4G rather than just bluetooth) are restricted to the four main mobile providers (+ Virgin Mobile) and will usually insist that it's an add-on/conversion to a regular PAYM contract. There are also hardware restrictions, Three (for example) only offer e-sims for Apple watches, at least that was so last month when I looked.

4G version of the watch has a significant price premium over the B'tooth-only version and, of course, the esim requires a contract, typically 5-10 quid/month on top of phone contract.

B0bbyEwing

I know you're looking at a GW4 but I would recommend you watch 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQdSOIXNwws

Only for the one reason of in case you decide last minute to buy the GW5 because 5 is newer than 4 so must be better, right?!

I've just got done watching the video myself as I'm between a few watches to replace my GW3. 

I still haven't actually decided but if I stay with a Samsung Watch then I'd probably opt for the 4 over the 5 as there doesn't appear to be much of a difference to justify the extra cost. If it was significantly better then I'd have gone for the 5.

tempus_fugit

I'm biased as I have a GW4 Classic, but the new 5 is out for me because I must have the rotating bezel, which makes scrolling much easier for me.

RumRat

The better battery life is a plus for the 5 over the 4. Personally, I wouldn't consider the Pro, because I'm not sports or trekking orientated, so it would be overkill. It's also a bit OTT in the size department....

flaneurs_lobster

Significant enhancement on 5 over 4 is an IR temperature sensor. Assume this will work in UK released version (like BP monitoring) even though these functions are still to be (officially) implemented in US and elsewhere.

B0bbyEwing

tempus_fugit said:

I'm biased as I have a GW4 Classic, but the new 5 is out for me because I must have the rotating bezel, which makes scrolling much easier for me.

Agreed. That's a pretty major omission & it's likely to put a lot of people off.

It's also why I can't really wear my watch during summer at work - because it's on show & gets grit under the bezel. Winter I'm ok because my clothes cover it somewhat. This is a little annoying to me as I'd like to wear it all the time.

Actually currently considering making the shift to Garmin life.

RumRat said:

It's also a bit OTT in the size department....

I thought this but then it's like 1mm ... depending on what size we're talking. 

If it's the thickness then yeah I'm with you on that. It's pretty chunky. 

B0bbyEwing

DC Rainmaker has just released a bit of a funny video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYUb922GZpw

If you don't want to click the link & just want a summary then basically most of the watch making companies are lying to us.

RumRat

B0bbyEwing said:

If you don't want to click the link & just want a summary then basically most of the watch making companies are lying to us.

Not sure I know anyone that goes by the sizes put out there. That said, I don't think they are 'lying', the bits they measured were accurate. they just measured different bits.....🤣

flaneurs_lobster

As with any personal kit, the advice is always to try it out/on before purchase if you possibly can. I'm just glad I didn't opt for the 46mm model, would have looked like a dustbin lid attached to my wrist.