Galaxy Gear Fit

[mountainbikermark]

Many reviews of the watch state you can't get real time heart rates. Well here's how to get a real time heart rate without a bunch of hassle during the event.
In settings, display, wake up gesture tap on then tap wake to last screen used then back up to the main screen then go to exercise. Choose one, be it walking, cycling, running or hiking. With all but walking you'll need your phone to be within Bluetooth range and your location settings to your phone on because the watch uses the phone gps to track mileage. Walking can use the pedometer to get a pretty close to accurate distance but this topic is about heart rate so I'll digress back to it and leave distance for another time.
Since I'm using walking mostly I'll illustrate using that.
Tap walking, tap start, wait a few seconds to get your initial heart rate or go ahead and take off if that doesn't matter to you. If you want a current heart rate as you're exercising just tilt the watch like you're looking at the time and the heart rate shows up at the top large enough to read at a glance. Below that the time you've been walking, maximum rate and average rate along with distance and calories burned.
Once you're done if you want a better track to look at with more info do a sync with S Health and go to walking in the app to get to menus and screens with a more detailed history.
If you don't want the wake gesture on anymore just go back to settings, display, wake gesture and turn it back off.
Hope that helps someone who has the device or is thinking about one.

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[Jonny Kansas]

Kinda wish the g watch had a hrm. And the farther I go along with it, I'd like a speaker on it as well. Not that I think I'd have many speaker phone conversations with it, but even to have Google Now speak out answers to me on occasion.

As for the hrm, I wasn't concerned that the g watch didn't have it because my Note 4 does, but I'm starting to see the appeal to having the ability right on your wrist rather than having to hold the phone awkwardly to get a reading.

I'm definitely sold on smartwatches now though and this was a great price, so I'll know better what feature to hold out for if/when I have the money to get something a little more fancy.

Glad you're figuring out the Fit as well! We're starting to build a nice little group of wearable users here that I'm sure will come in handy for the community as they become more common in people's everyday lives.

 

[mountainbikermark]

Kinda wish the g watch had a hrm. And the farther I go along with it, I'd like a speaker on it as well. Not that I think I'd have many speaker phone conversations with it, but even to have Google Now speak out answers to me on occasion.

As for the hrm, I wasn't concerned that the g watch didn't have it because my Note 4 does, but I'm starting to see the appeal to having the ability right on your wrist rather than having to hold the phone awkwardly to get a reading.

I'm definitely sold on smartwatches now though and this was a great price, so I'll know better what feature to hold out for if/when I have the money to get something a little more fancy.

Glad you're figuring out the Fit as well! We're starting to build a nice little group of wearable users here that I'm sure will come in handy for the community as they become more common in people's everyday lives.

As I wrote initially I wanted more of an exercise tracker than a phone add on and the more I use the Fit the more I feel I made the correct choice over a full blown Android wear device. I saw a Garmin one the other day that was sweet but lacked a hrm. The display is more like eink and the battery lasts about a year between changes. The price was around $80 but the need for a separate monitor to get the most from it was the deal breaker/killed the possible buyers remorse.

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[mountainbikermark]

I found another cool app that adds more functionality. The built in call app allows me to reject a call or reject with message only.
Gear Fit Phone lets me do those or by tapping the green phone icon make the phone answer the call and , if I set it this way, turn on the speakerphone. Since I use Bluetooth often I didn't set it to switch the speakerphone on.
I can also dial from contacts , favorites, or call log using the app, again tapping the icon causes the phone to dial the number I choose.
I really didn't give it much of a chance when the Fit was new before deleting it off the device.

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[mountainbikermark]

Kinda wish the g watch had a hrm. And the farther I go along with it, I'd like a speaker on it as well. Not that I think I'd have many speaker phone conversations with it, but even to have Google Now speak out answers to me on occasion.

As for the hrm, I wasn't concerned that the g watch didn't have it because my Note 4 does, but I'm starting to see the appeal to having the ability right on your wrist rather than having to hold the phone awkwardly to get a reading.

I'm definitely sold on smartwatches now though and this was a great price, so I'll know better what feature to hold out for if/when I have the money to get something a little more fancy.

Glad you're figuring out the Fit as well! We're starting to build a nice little group of wearable users here that I'm sure will come in handy for the community as they become more common in people's everyday lives.

Here's where I used "cycling" the other day to get a general map of a pond I was kayaking on to be able to write some depth findings at various spots for fishing using the Notes s pen to write on top of the screen shot. The s pen works fine through my Joto phone holder/dry bag and I tied knots every foot on my kayak anchor rope to get a decent depth accuracy .

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[mountainbikermark]

Before I forget again, here is a screen protector I got for the Fit.
It took about a week for all the bubbles and wrinkles to settle out totally but now you can't even tell it's on except it adds a smidge of tactile to the watch and stuff like fingerprints and goo no longer stick to the screen.
ArmorSuit MilitaryShield - Samsung Gear Fit Screen Protector Anti-Bubble Ultra HD - Extreme Clarity Touch Responsive Shield with Lifetime Free Replacements - Retail Packaging Amazon Cell Phones Accessories

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[DJTURNz]

I was thinking of getting a fitness tracker like the FITBIT. I started looking and found the GEAR FIT and really liked it. For not much more money, you get the same pedometer/ sleep monitor / syncing functions, plus the screen and notifications and the "light" Smart Watch features. While it may be cool to have a couple Dick Tracy conversations on my wrist, it's really not necessary. Nor do I need a spy camera with crappy quality. The NOTE 4 camera is amazing and I don't ever want to go less than that again.

But the forum reviews of the GEAR Fit suck. They say the pedometer is drastically off, and you have to manually start it. While that works fine if you are "going for a walk", I'd like it to also count when I simply walk around the office, or walk through the parking lot, but without having to constantly act like it's a stop watch I have to click everytime I get up from my desk. The phone counts steps automatically if it's in my pocket, but at work I usually leave it at my desk. So I go out on the production floor for 45 minutes and come back and I get that Judgemental S-Health notification "Inactive for 1 hour fatty, why not go for walk?"


You seem to like yours, but mostly from a "Smartwatch" stand point. What are your thoughts on it as a fitness tracker? That is it's primary purpose. A lot of reviewers said it's typical Samsung, tries to be too many things, and does none of them well.


Another question, does it work at all with Google Navigation? I would love to be able to see the navigation prompts on my wrist while driving or riding my motorcycle.

 

[mountainbikermark]

I don't get where y'all say you have to start and stop your pedometer. From the box mine was on and I have to manually pause it to skip areas where I know it'll be off. Reboots don't put the pedometer in pause unless I do it. Are y'all having it not auto run in exercise mode or the dedicated pedometer area itself?
I actually use it more for the fitness than notifications and the heart rate monitor is a better indication of health than steps anyway.
Here's the results from a half hour walk I took because I was more interested in time than distance with it being 25f outside. I chose the course because the bigger loop was all major hills, the smaller loop a warm up before the big one.

The only thing woefully off was the elevation changes and I get that on any device short of my dedicated Garmin GPS.
Maybe it's just me but I'm not seeing the suck factor after using it a few weeks. I'm actually using it more and more as I find new ways to use it, both for its phone connection and health tracking.
With S Health just set your notifications to not call you fatty. I have all of mine turned off because I don't need to be reminded that the bacon cheeseburger I had for breakfast wasn't the best idea and at almost 51 I know 1 half hour walk isn't going to counteract years of pizza, cheeseburgers and cupcakes.
I honestly wrote the first review above because I didn't find any that didn't concentrate heavily on where Samsung messed up and none of them had follow up edits after Samsung released updates that fixed most of the prior gripes and frustrations. To be honest I'm still content with using it just for health tracking but the ability to answer a call, use a calculator and change settings on my phone are just bonus points to me. I also put more emphasis on the smart part the way I did because that's what many are looking for on this forum. If this were a health forum and not an Android forum I would have worded it to be geared more towards that aspect.
Bummer that it didn't work for you. I hope you find what you're looking for in your next purchase.

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[mountainbikermark]

To answer about navigation, I have an app that sends driving directions and what not to the watch that is tied into Google Nav, or whatever it's called. It doesn't send photos of the map, just worded directions for current and next change. I used it when new just for the cool factor but don't need that particular function but it'll be nice to have it should that need change. The fonts are big enough to see without my readers, white lettering on a black background.
Watch setting screen brightness 3 (middle setting), indirect sunlight on a sunny day. I can set the brightness higher if needed.

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[DJTURNz]

What is the length on the band. I'm rocking about a 9inch wrist. I keep finding dimensions as if the watch is closed only. And I also haven't found any specific replacment bands that are "over sized". I've got some gift cards to burn up, and I'm thinking about getting one.


Another thing I heard on a Podcast, but had not read anywhere else, was that you can load music onto the Fit, and stream it to BT headphones, without the phone present. Any truth there?

 

[mountainbikermark]

My oem and aftermarket bands are 9" out to out, a smidge too short to be able to clasp on your wrist unfortunately. I saw Samsung has an "extra long" available on their site for $19.99 but specs didn't list its actual length.
Gear Fit Large Band Black
AT&T also has it available but my local store is out of stock so I can't go measure one to get a true length.
As far as loading music locally, the podcast is mistaken. The Gear Neo has that ability but not the Fit.

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[DJTURNz]

I saw that on AT&Ts website. I did a chat with their customer service. He didn't know either, and couldn't find any stores around me with it in stock. Though if your stock band is 9", the Large band by the same company has to be at least 10 I would think, or why make it.

So $125 for the Watch and $20 for the band. Not bad I guess.

 

[mountainbikermark]

Not bad at all. Retail at carrier stores is $199 for the Fit and same $20 for extra bands.
I was thinking the large is probably 11" out to out but that's just a guess on my part.

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[DJTURNz]

Walmart.com has it for $125 And I bought the band from AT&T online because they have free shipping. I think I'll have the watch beginning of next week.

I was having trouble using multiple gift cards on Walmart.com, so I chose an option I didn't know existed. I chose CASH as my method of payment, then I took the slip to my local store and paid there, then they authorize the order for processing.

Neat option for someone not wanting to use a credit card online, or not having a card to use.

 

[Clintlgm]

Picked up one of these little gems yesterday. I wanted something to sync my fitness stuff with my s health but not a full blown smart watch .
A little back story. Just like every other new tech out there I balked when the wearable first was released because of their huge size, yet too small for older eyes screen , and their very short battery life as being gimmicky and a way to separate more folks from their cash with false promises of nirvana. I thought because of their price tag and limited capability the gear was ahead of the market. Perhaps it still is but not as much as just a year ago since real watches are actually coming back into accepted fashion, the price tag of some models is actually not so bad and they can do much more than copy a text and make a speakerphone call when connected to your phone via Bluetooth.
Anyway, I had resigned to the fact that I would be "stuck" with some Jetsons sized mini tv strapped to my wrist if I ever capitulated to the new tech. I'm horrible on watches so the bigger it is the sooner I destroy it by accident, thus I wasn't following the stuff coming out until I got my Note4 and saw AT&T had return return refurb Galaxy Gear 1s for $75. I thought long and hard about it for weeks, decided to go get one yesterday but alas, they are no more there. Since I'd already signed into the waiting queue I decided to wait it out and see what's available and ask about their Fitbit selection compatibility with a Note4. I told the lady I wanted a watch that'll sync with my phone that isn't huge (hey since I'm dreaming might as well dream all the way) , has more than 1 day battery life and comes in basic or flat black. I just knew this would stump her into saying there was nothing in the store that fit that since I'd searched every part of the store (so I thought) looking for that refurb watch. Alas she says "I think we might have what your seek" and starts heading toward the G3 area, somewhere I'd skipped. What caught my eye before we got there was this sleek black jewel of a device that I'd assumed went with the LG G3 since it was sitting right in front of it. She picks it up, taps the button on is side and this gorgeous landscape screen lights up, but it was landscape. I'm thinking it was gorgeous but a rum dumb way to implement reading the output and said so and asked could it be changed to portrait that I'm old and haven't adapted to landscape anything as I was scrolling screens hoping beyond hope they weren't that ignant in their design to have left that ability out. She said "no I don't think you can change it" and said something else that I didn't hear because I'd stopped paying attention when the choir started singing in my head when I found the screen orientation setting and wallpaper change setting (amoled screens must have dark wallpaper after all). At that point I asked "how much" she said "when did you buy your phone" I said a couple of weeks ago she says "$99 after your discount for recently buying the phone" to which I asked if they had black in stock.
I had to install the Gear Manager app on the phone, charge the Fit and it paired up quickly and painlessly, a must for my impatient tech challenged self.
What it does it does pretty nicely and , unlike reviews I'd read, doesn't try to do things half way. I'm thinking those pro reviewers had ulterior motives or were worse at new gadgets than even I am because all their complaints seem to not be happening to me, their biggest being the heart rate monitor not working when moving.
The pedometer is accurate, heart rate monitor is accurate, sync with the phone is spot on and quick and the app selection on the Play Store was surprisingly not tiny and the apps are actually ones I'll use and not just gimmicks.
The built in non fitness apps are access to more downloaded apps , find your phone, music player control (including non Samsung or Google. Power Amp works flawlessly), a timer and a stop watch. The ones I've downloaded so far are a custom clock maker, phone notification bar settings toggles, calculator, calendar,note taker, navigation app that syncs with Google Nav, flashlight and phone dialer. They all work nicely and are things I can now skip pulling the phone out for.
When not actually being used it's a very comfortable piece of plastic technology that Samsung seems to have done a nice job in the ergonomics by curving the back to fit the wrist. It's so low profile in its design only my 7 year old noticed I was wearing it and she notices everything so....
If, like me, you're inside and outside often during the day and don't want to adjust your screen every time they included a neat little feature in wake the watch, double tap with 2 fingers and the brightness control pops up and the toggles are huge, making it easy to turn up the brightness in direct sunlight. In direct sunlight the highest setting is actually very usable if the device isn't smothered in finger grease. It also has a feature where max bright automatically changes back to medium after 5 minutes asleep, again making it so I don't have to change it back when I go inside or waste precious battery juice.
You can, and I just think this is so cool, use a selection of built in wallpapers or make your own from your gallery. I like dark themes but don't want something plain or outer space looking that are so prevalent today so I took a photo of my daughter that was darker and it's my wallpaper.
The Bluetooth range is far beyond that of a regular talk earpiece in that I can leave my phone in the den on one end of the house and it never loses connection throughout the house, even going upstairs. When it does go out of range once it reconnects any notifications that came on the phone quickly sync , within a couple of seconds quick. You're not limited to just stock apps to get notified on either. I've got Color Note, Handcent, Inbox, Copy, Box and Dropbox set to notify me and they work like they're supposed to. You can set it so the screen wakes with a notification or not but the vibration at each one is strong enough to definitely feel without feeling like you got hit with a tazer.
If you want a full blown fitness piece, this isn't for you. What it does it does well but it is limited.
If you want a full blown smart watch this isn't for you because it will not replace your phone in a lot of areas, but again what it does it does well.
If, like me, you want something to remind you to get up off your big butt and move and have something to help you see you're actually making progress but don't want to use your phone while making progress this might just be the ticket . It was for me.

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Very good review, even though this is 2017 and I just bought the Fit2 Pro, I find your review very promising for me liking this product. Like you I have held back not really being interested in a full blown smart watch. Still needing some thing that could show me what my heart rate is and record a recorded of it. I'm working out fairly intensely for a 71 year old fat boy. I came close to getting the Garmin but I'm not really interested in GPS, I work out at the club and it has a metal roof so GPS pretty much not needed. I checked out the FIT. Someone suggested I check out the Samsung watches and boom there it was great reviews everywhere and great sale on Samsung with free shipping. So I'm off on my journey and landed here it this forum to see if I can figure out how to use the dam thing. Goes great with my S8+