The design of the Active 2 reintroduced the very interesting rotating bezel that we were so used to with the Galaxy watch and Gear S3. However, the new Active 2 instead of physical bezel has digital touch sensitive bezel which I think is quite innovative.

The 10.9mm thick Galaxy Active 2 is slimmer than both the Galaxy Watch and Gear S3 which are quite thick. This leaves Active 2 with a more attractive appearance. The Active 2 also weighs less than both the Galaxy Watch and Gear S3, including the stainless steel edition of the Active 2. This makes the Active 2 a more comfortable wear all day long.

Samsung has also introduced more customization feature to the Active 2. It features My Style1 color extraction algorithm which is available in the Galaxy Wearable app. It simply enables you to take a photo of your outfit, choose from five different color patterns, and your watch face changes in seconds. This feature is now available in the Galaxy Watch.

Although this feature may be coming to other Samsung watches in future updates. (Update: the Galaxy Watch and Galaxy Active have both been updated with most of the features found in the Active 2)

All three Samsung watches are well equipped with the same sensors to comprehensively track your active life. Except that the Galaxy watch active 2 now has ECG and blood pressure tracking both of which were recently approved in South Korea. It’s the first of Samsung watches to have ECG tracking feature, following in the footsteps of the Apple Watch 4 and other smartwatches with ECG. With ECG tracking on Active 2, it can help you detect atrial fibrillation – an irregular heart rhythm that can lead to stroke or other heart complications if left untreated.

Going further, Active 2 comes with an improved heart rate sensor that’s smarter and ready to give you more accurate readings which can help you work out at your pace and manage your training intensity effortlessly. I’ve been using the Active 2 and Galaxy Watch, and I can say the heart rate tracking features on both smartwatches are pretty about the same.

Moreover, out of all the preloaded sport modes on all three watches, the Active 2 is capable of auto-detecting and tracking 7 of those which is more than what the Galaxy Watch or Gear S3 can auto track. Running programs have also been preloaded on the Active 2 which can help you manage your pace in real-time.

The Galaxy watch active 2 and Galaxy watch both have a higher water resistance rating of 5ATM compared to the Gear S3’s IP68. The 5ATM rating means water resistance up to 50 meters while IP68 means water resistance up to 1.5 meters. These means while all three watches are water resistance, the Active 2 and Galaxy watch are better choices you can safely wear to the pool or ocean, but I won’t recommend the Gear S3 for swimming.

There are slight differences in the battery capacity among the three smartwatches and this translates to a significant difference in battery life. Although with any of these three you can get up to 2 days long battery life, the Galaxy Watch 46mm with a bigger battery capacity has a longer battery life of up to 4 days or more compared to 2-3 days of Active 2 or Gear S3.