Even though Samsung has slimmed down the sizes of Galaxy Watch 3, its 45mm and 41mm case sizes and 11.3mm thickness is still bigger and thicker than the 44/42mm Galaxy Active 2. Although both Active 2 and Galaxy Watch 3 have the same display sizes of 1.4 and 1.2 inches for the bigger and smaller case sizes. It’s the same AMOLED powering both smartwatches with touch support and physical buttons to match. The two sizes of Active 2 weigh a little less than Galaxy Watch 3.

Galaxy Watch 3 brings back the physical rotating bezel of the original Galaxy Watch while Active 2 has a digital rotating bezel. The physical rotating bezel of the Galaxy Watch 3 is slimmer and smoother. Moreover, you can use the rotating bezel to solely control the watch without touching the display. This is one of the main differences between the two smartwatches.

While Active 2 is available in stainless steel (LTE) and aluminum (Bluetooth), Galaxy Watch 3 has a stainless steel case and leather straps. It’s also available in titanium material.

The bottom line, Galaxy Watch 3 looks like a traditional smartwatch unlike Active 2 which has a slight geeky appearance. However, both smartwatches have got outstanding designs that are very attractive and comfortable to wear.

Galaxy Watch 3 gets a storage boost in both RAM and ROM that improves performance and gives you more room to take your favorite tracks with you. While Active 2 comes with 4GB, Galaxy Watch 3 has 8GB. Moreover, it’s 1GB RAM for the Bluetooth model of Galaxy Watch 3 and 2GB RAM for the LTE model compared to 0.75GB for Bluetooth and 1.5GB for the LTE model of Active 2.

Both smartwatches are equipped with a microphone and loudspeaker that enable Bixby voice assistant and you can also make calls with a Bluetooth connection to your phone or without your phone with the LTE versions.

Just like Active 2, Galaxy Watch 3 is also fitness-focused. Each of these two can track all your daily activities such as sleep, heart rate, calories, and steps. Both smartwatches also have inbuilt GPS that enables you to track outdoor activities, and as well as feature preloaded workout modes.

ECG and blood monitoring which are present on Active 2 and were cleared in South Korea are also available on Galaxy Watch 3. Although, ECG tracking on Galaxy Watch 3 has just been cleared by the FDA.

Other new features introduced to Galaxy Watch 3 include blood oxygen tracking, trip detection, and fitness level VO2 Max. tracking. Galaxy Watch 3 also expands on the running coach introduced to Active 2.

There are 120 preset workout modes on Galaxy Watch 3 which you can cast to your TV, and it then shows your heart rate on the TV as you train.

In other words, Galaxy Watch 3 is a more comprehensive fitness tracker than Galaxy Watch. These new fitness tracking features may come to Active 2 in future updates over OTA upgrades.

According to Samsung, Galaxy Watch 3 can last up to 2 days which isn’t much different from Active 2’s 2-3 days long battery life.