Samsung Gear S3 Frontier vs Samsung Galaxy Smartwatch This Black Friday

Ariolander · November 11, 2018

So there are a lot of deals for smartwatches this holiday and I am interested in a Samsung one because I am already in the Samsung ecosystem, with my Samsung phone, already using Samsung Pay, etc. That being said I can't find many honest comparisons between the S3 Frontier and the Galaxy Watch that really highlight the differences beyond low effort "this one is newer, buy it" on SEO-optimized blogspam sites.

Besides the Galaxy Watch not supporting MST Samsung Pay and having superior battery life what are the main differences between the two? I know the Galaxy Watch has a faster processor but what does that mean in practical terms? I never have seen anyone complain the S3 Frontier is slow, so in real life terms, I never have seen anyone tell me the differences beyond reading off a tech spec sheet and honestly I am doubting if a few extra mhz is a noticeable upgrade.

Some more in-depth reviewers note that the Galaxy Watch uses a newer version of the Tizen OS, but almost no one goes in depth the differences and changes made beyond a version number change.

If anyone has any experience with these two devices, or point me to a comparative review that may help me make my decision I appreciate your feedback and insight. With the S3 Frontier set to go on deep deep sale this Black Friday ($190 at Costco, $199 at Target/BestBuy) do you think the Galaxy Watch is worth almost 70% more?