Samsung Gear S3 hands on

The Samsung Gear family of smart wearables is starting to get a little crowded – the Gear S2 brought a rotating clicky bezel and the Gear Fit 2 recently filled the fitness segment. Now we have an updated Gear S smartwatch that is basically bigger than the S2 in a lot of different ways. So how does it compare? While we won't be able to fully answer this question until we have more time with in, let's jump in and take a first look at the Samsung Gear S3.

Now, one of the first aspects of the Gear S3 that needs to be mentioned is that it is not replacing the Gear S2. Rather, it is sitting alongside last year's model because it fills a different portion of the Gear spectrum. While the Gear S2 had a sportier original version and a Classic edition with more fashion-forward looks, both Gear S3 watches derive from the Classic and take it too the next level.

The Gear S3 comes in a Classic edition, as well, which is the baseline model without LTE connectivity, but there is also a Frontier edition that is more rugged and is geared toward the more hardcore outdoorsy type. Think of a high-end Tag Heuer analog watch with all of the ruggedization and you get the idea. The result in both devices is a large body that might not appeal to all users, as it looks a bit bulky on even my own wrist. This is mostly due to the 1.3 inch Super AMOLED display and the large rotating bezel that looks much like the Gear S2 classic.

With the Gear S3, the Always on Display has been enhanced to support 16 million colors so there will be plenty of room to customize the screen when the watch is not in use via the Gear Manager on the smartphone.

The entire body of the Gear S3 is IP68 certified for water and dust resistance, but extra military-grade protection gives it a boost in ruggedization. Our demo with the Gear S3 Frontier, in particular, saw the phone placed under extreme cold and extreme heat, still performing as normal even under such conditions. As for the screen, Gorilla Glass SR+ (SR means 'scratch resistant') will hopefully keep the touchscreen from scratching.

The more rugged Frontier version of the Gear S3 has a matted body with flatter buttons on the side, compared to the circular buttons that pop out the side of the Gear S3 Classic. Just feeling the Frontier edition does bring to mind thoughts of hiking, camping, and generally just being outside.

The tactile feel of the rotating bezel is still pleasing to click around. The bezel has also been given a few new capabilities, like rotating it in one direction or the other in order to accept or reject calls and certain other notifications. The dial is still is utilized for a lot of other functions, like changing music volume or dialing in the amount of time for alarms and timers.

Above and below are larger lugs for watch straps that take any standard 22mm strap, plenty of which will be made available from Samsung to customize the look of the watch. And of course there is the heart rate sensor found on the under portion of the watch's body.

As mentioned earlier, the Classic edition does not come with LTE connectivity, giving the Frontier version a special advantage with this added sensor, on top of all the existing connections like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. On both models, plenty of sensors are available for typical usage, like an altimeter and barometer.

LTE makes the Gear S3 a standalone device in a lot of respects, where notifications can come straight to the watch and users can actually take calls using a built-in speaker and microphone. Yes, you can take calls right on the watch and hear the caller through the speaker that is nestled on the back portion of the phone. For a bit more privacy, using a Bluetooth headset connected straight to the Gear S3 will also allow for calls.

Speaking of Bluetooth headsets, audio is a bit of a bigger focus in this new version, which can hold local music files and play straight to any paired set of headphones. This is much like the functionality we already experienced on the Gear Fit 2, which also brought streaming capabilities with Spotify. The same streaming ability is on the Gear S3, which is especially useful on the LTE-enabled Frontier.

All of this bolsters the existing ecosystem of Samsung's Tizen OS on the Gear smartwatches. Much of what was already introduced in the Gear S2 and the Gear Fit 2 return here, including all of the fitness capabilities. That said, the watch might be a bit too big for many people to bring to the gym or even out on a run, but those who do so will enjoy the same S Health capabilities.

The biggest addition to the Gear S3, then, is Samsung Pay. After it is set up directly on the watch, the NFC and MST (magstripe reading) tech put into the watch can be used at a majority of pay stations across major stores. To activate it, just hold the back button until Samsung Pay launches. Select which card to use and bring the watch close to the card slider or the NFC portion, if available. Being able to pay for items using the watch is pretty cool, and Samsung Pay's wide support should make the Gear S3 appealing to people who actually want to use such a feature.

Overall, the Gear S3 is a good addition to the Gear line of smart wearables and it is nice to see that Samsung doesn't want to just strike the Gear S2 from the record. Instead, Samsung knows that the Gear S3 appeals to a specific segment of users. Even if LTE capabilities, Samsung Pay, and the move away from proprietary watch straps on the Gear S2 might put the new devices a few steps ahead of the curve, at least those who haven't made the leap to smartwatches can still go to last year's Gear S2 for a more accessible size and look. As well as a more affordable price, thanks to recent price drops.

Stay tuned to Android Authority for more on the Gear S3 and even more from Berlin as we cover IFA 2016.

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Samsung Gear S3 officially announced: here’s what you need to know

Samsung may not be focusing on the Android Wear platform anymore, but that doesn't meant the company is scrapping its smartwatch plans altogether. 2014's Gear S certainly left much to be desired, though last year's Gear S2 was a very impressive offering. Now Samsung has just taken the wraps off its new Tizen-powered smartwatch, the Gear S3! Featuring the same great rotating bezel, an all-new design and many more enhancements, this new smartwatch is definitely a step in the right direction.

Here's what you need to know about the Samsung Gear S3.

Related: The best smartwatches14

Samsung Gear S3 specifications and design

Much like its predecessor, the Gear S3 will be available in two versions – Classic and Frontier. The Gear S3 Classic is, as you may have guessed, the more elegant-looking watch, sporting a classier design and no LTE connectivity. The Frontier version, on the other hand, is the more rugged, sporty model that does feature LTE connectivity.

The Gear S3 Frontier can be used as a standalone watch

In terms of design, the Frontier version features longer, flat buttons, while the Classic model sports more prominent, circular buttons on the side.

Of course, both devices come with the popular rotating bezel that first appeared on the Gear S2, only this time it comes with a few more capabilities. You can now accept and reject calls by rotating the bezel, for instance. The rotating bezel can still be used in other cases, like when changing music volume and dialing in the amount of time for alarms and timers.

Both models feature a 1.3-inch Super AMOLED fully circular display, along with that same rotating bezel found on the Gear S2. The Gear S3 also comes with Samsung's Always On Display feature that now supports 16 million colors. The displays are covered in Corning's new Gorilla Glass SR+, which will hopefully keep scratches at bay.

Both Classic and Frontier versions also sport IP68 ratings for dust and water resistance, as well as an extra military-grade durability rating to help the watch stay functional in extreme temperatures.

The Gear S3's 380mAh battery is a huge upgrade from last year's model

It should be noted that the Gear S3 is quite a bit larger than the Gear S2, almost to the point where it may be too big for more average sized wrists. While that bigger overall size might seem like a major caveat, that also means Samsung was able to pack in a much larger battery this time around. The Gear S3 comes with a 380mAh battery, compared to the S2's 250mAh cell. The S3 also has a power saving mode that will get you a day's worth of use with only a 5% charge, and there's also a watch-only mode if you don't need any of the smartwatch features. Oh, and if you're a Gear S2 owner who wants to upgrade, the Gear S3 is backwards compatible with the Gear S2's charger.

The Gear S3 supports just about any standard 22mm watch strap out there, though Samsung will be launching plenty of its own straps for more customization options.

Under the hood, you'll find plenty of sensors and components that will make using the Gear S3 a breeze. It comes with an altimeter, barometer, speedometer, optical heart rate sensor and even a GPS. There's also a built-in SOS feature that will send your exact location to an emergency contact if you're in trouble.

Both watches also come with a built-in speaker and microphone

As we mentioned earlier, the Classic version does not come with LTE connectivity, so you'll need to rely on either Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connections. The Frontier version, on the other hand, does sport LTE connectivity, so you can leave your house without your smartphone and still receive notifications and perform Google searches on your watch. What makes the standalone functionality of the Gear S3 even more great is that both models come with a built-in speaker and microphone. This means you'll be able to take calls right on the watch and hear the caller through the speaker. Pretty awesome, right? And if you need a bit of privacy, you can always pair some Bluetooth headphones to the Gear S3 if you don't want your calls to be heard.

The watches can also hold local music files, so you can play music from the speaker or through a paired set of headphones. You can also stream Spotify through Wi-Fi or LTE, which is also a nice touch.

Samsung Gear S3 software

As you probably expected, the Gear S3 runs Samsung's Tizen OS. Samsung says the Tizen Store now has over 10,000 applications available for download, so you're bound to find some useful apps that will suit your needs.

Samsung Gear S3 and Samsung Pay

Perhaps the biggest news here is the addition of Samsung Pay. This will allow you to easily pay with your smartwatch without the need to take out your phone. Just set it up on your watch, hold the back button, and Samsung Pay will launch. Select which card you'd like to use, hold your watch close to the card slider or NFC payment terminal, and that's it! Easy.

See also: Samsung Pay: What is it, how does it work and how do I use it?40

Samsung Gear S3 pricing and availability

Unfortunately Samsung hasn't mentioned any pricing or availability details as of yet. We'll be sure to update you as we learn more.

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What are your thoughts on the new Gear S3? Will this be your next smartwatch, or are you not impressed with Samsung's new offerings? Be sure to tell us your thoughts in the comments below, and stay tuned to Android Authority for more IFA 2016 coverage!

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Nubia Z11 hands-on

Nubia is relatively new to the Android game, but in a short amount of time the ZTE-backed company has been making waves with a slew of great products that haven't failed to impress. While their latest flagship offering, the Nubia Z11, has been available in China for a couple of months now, Nubia is now prepping for its launch in Europe, and eventually the US, which is why the company has decided to showcase the device here at IFA 2016. Join us as we go hands-on with the Nubia Z11!

Head here to see all our IFA 2016 coverage!

The Z11 comes with a full metal unibody construction that feels very sturdy, and puts the build quality at par with many other flagship smartphones. The version seen in the video and images in this post is the silver model, but there's also a dual-tone black and gold edition that looks a little nicer and comes with slightly better specs.

Taking a look around the device, the power button and volume rocker are on the left side, the headphone jack and IR blaster are up top, and at the bottom is a USB Type-C port flanked by what appears to be stereo speakers. That has been done just for the sake of symmetry however, with there being only a single bottom-facing speaker unit, along with a microphone being housed in the other grill.

There's a fingerprint sensor on the back that not only offers an additional layer of security, but also functions as a shortcut key for taking regular and scrollable screenshots and also for recording the screen. The Nubia Z11 offers many specs and features that are on par with other flagships out there, but Nubia says that what makes this phone stand out from the crowd are its display, camera and battery.

Starting with the display, the Z11 comes with a 5.5-inch IPS LCD display. Despite what you may expect, it is of the Full HD variety. There is still plenty of sharpness to be had and colors look bright and vibrant, but obviously, the resolution isn't the stand out aspect of the display. What is most eye catching about this screen is the fact that there doesn't seem to be any bezels on the right or left sides of the display.

When looking at the phone head on, it will look like the display runs from edge to edge. Granted, we've seen with previous Nubia flagships as well, but it's still great to feel like you're literally holding a display in your hands. With the side bezels being so thin, it also makes the handling experience that much better, especially when compared to other devices with the same display size.

Moving on to the camera, the Z11 comes with a 16MP rear shooter, with an f/2.0 aperture, optical image stabilization (OIS), a phase detection auto focus system, along with an 8MP front-facing camera. This may look like a typical high-end camera package when looking at it on paper, but Nubia did make a big deal about the different modes packed into the camera app that make for an unique shooting experience.

One such mode is called Clone mode, that will overlap several images on top of each other to make it appear as though there are multiples of the same person or object in the shot. It's an old trick that can manually be done using a DSLR and some editing in post, but the Z11 does it all automatically. It's not perfect, but the device does a decent job of stitching all the photos together, especially since you are just using your hands to stabilize the camera.

Another interesting camera mode is called Electronic Aperture, which, as the name suggests, let's you dial the aperture from anywhere between f/2.8 and f/4.4. It's obviously not a true aperture change, but the purpose of this mode is to let you alter how much motion blur there is in the background, while keeping everything in the foreground in focus. It is a nice feature, but which aperture you pick will also affect the shutter speeds, so very steady hands will be required if you are looking for shots with extremely blurred out backgrounds.

Looking at the battery, the Z11 comes with a 3,000mAh unit, which is pretty standard fare for current generation flagships. However, Nubia says that they've done a lot of battery optimizations to help the device last longer than competing smartphones. You also get support for Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0, which is definitely a nice touch.

The rest of the specifications are also standard for a 2016 flagship, with the Nubia Z11 being powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor. The standard edition comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of on-board storage, but there will be another variant that packs 6GB of RAM and 128GB of built-in storage. If storage is still a concern, the device also comes with expandable storage via microSD card up to an additional 256GB.

On the software side of things, the Z11 is running Android 6.0 Marshmallow, with Nubia's own custom skin on top. It is admittedly not the best looking user interface out there, but there are some interesting features baked in, with some of them taking advantage of the super thin side bezels. You can swipe up or down along both edges to adjust the screen brightness, swipe in to skip to any homescreen, swipe up or down along either edge to easily switch between apps that are running in the background, or even swipe rapidly along the edge to clear all the apps.

So, there you have it for this quick look at the Nubia Z11! The Z11 will be available in Europe starting at €499 (~$556), but the exact details of its availability and pricing in the US is still unknown. Overall, this is a very solid offering from Nubia that is comparable to a lot of flagships out there, and if you are looking for something different, the edge to edge screen will certainly stand out.

What do you think of the Nubia Z11? Let us know the comments section below, and stay tuned with Android Authority, TabTimes, and VR Source, as we continue to bring you more great coverage from IFA 2016!

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Nubia Z11 coming to Europe, US to follow

ZTE has been on a bit of a roll recently. First, there was the ZTE Axon 7, which recently landed in the US and has been turning a fair amount of heads in the tech community along the way. Now it's Nubia's turn to enjoy the spotlight.

Ahead of the official kick-off of IFA 2016, Nubia announced that the Nubia Z11 is on its way to Germany, Spain, and Italy in the near future. Even more surprising, the ZTE-owned Nubia brand will also be landing in the US sometime after its European debut.

While the Nubia Z11 was actually announced for China back in June, it is good to see it is finally making its way to more markets. After all, the more budget-friendly flagship alternatives that make their way to the US, the better.

See also: Best cheap Android phones (August 2016)423

The Nubia Z11 offers the kind of specs you'd expect from a 2016 flagship class device, including a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor and either 4GB or 6GB RAM, depending on if you pick up the 64 or 128GB storage configuration. You also get microSD for expansion, a 16MP camera with OIS, an 8MP front cam, a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, a beautiful metallic body, and a 3000 mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0 support over an USB Type-C connector.

The only area where the Z11 isn't on the bleeding edge is in the display, with the 5.5-inch screen offering a 1080p resolution that is more than capable of providing a great viewing experience but isn't quite as impressive as the QHD displays featured in most modern flagships. Still, it's hard to complain when you factor in the price.

At €299, or roughly $332.89, this is one heck of a value, putting it in a similar pricing category to the Honor 8, OnePlus 3, and ZTE Axon 7. It's hard to say what the actual US price will be once it finally makes it to the new world, but we wouldn't be surprised to see it debut somewhere in the $300 to $350 range. For now, no exact release dates are known for Europe or the US, though hopefully more details aren't too far off.

What do you think of the Nubia Z11 compared to some of its "flagship killer" competition? Let us know your thoughts below, and be sure to stay tuned as we bring you more great coverage live from IFA 2016. 

 

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Google’s new In Apps search mode is an easy way to find info inside your apps

We use so many applications nowadays, it can be hard to keep them all straight. Now Google is making it much easier to find specific content within each one of your apps.

Today Google has unveiled a new search mode called In Apps, which will allow you to quickly find information within apps on your Android phone. To access it, just navigate to the Google app on your phone, tap the In Apps tab, then start searching.

Here are a few examples of how the In Apps feature might be useful:

• Find your contacts and messages. Easily find the friend you want to catch up with, or the name of the new sushi place that your friend told you about last month — just search for [sushi] and find the message.
• Listen to your favorite running song or watch that sneezing panda video for the 15th time — all in one place.
• Stay organized with your tasks and notes. Want to check off items on your grocery list? No problem, just search for [groceries].

The new In Apps feature already works with Gmail, Spotify and YouTube, and Google will add more apps to the lineup in the coming months like Facebook Messenger, LinkedIn, Evernote, Glide, Todoist and Google Keep. Oh, and this searching functionality takes place on your phone, so you don't even need a Wi-Fi or data connection to make it work.

In addition, Google says the upcoming LG V20 will feature a dedicated In Apps shortcut on its home screen, as well as an option to add it to the Second Screen. The V20 will be the first smartphone with this dedicated shortcut, and it will also be able to search through pre-installed apps on the V20, not just the apps Google listed above. If you were wondering about that mysterious In Apps shortcut on the V20 leak from a few days ago, now you know.

As per usual, the In Apps feature will roll out soon. I personally don't have it yet on my Nexus 6P running Android 7, but I've heard some users on the Google app beta channel can use it already. Is this a feature you're looking forward to using? Tell us your thoughts in the comments!

See also: Google adds Solitaire and Tic-Tac-Toe games to search results6

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