The Sony SmartWatch 3 is a sequel in name only. The $249.99 wearable has a completely different look than its predecessors, and is Sony's first smartwatch to run Google's Android Wear operating system. It's a better choice for tracking your physical activity than other Android Wear watches, thanks to its waterproof and standalone GPS functionality. But there are too few ways to take advantage of the GPS right now, and the watch lacks a heart rate monitor. The SmartWatch 3 ($199.99 at Amazon) helps bridge the gap between Android Wear and activity tracker, but it isn't a leader in either field.
Design
Unlike Sony's previous watch attempts—the SmartWatch ($884.86 at Amazon) and the SmartWatch 2 ($558.50 at Amazon) , which each had a blocky, toyish feel about them—the SmartWatch 3 adopts a more streamlined, if generic, design. The watch is available with either a black or yellow rubber wrist strap. The biggest difference between the SmartWatch 3 and other Android Wear devices is that the actual "watch" part is a 1.58-ounce core that pops into (or out of) the corresponding wristband. Unfortunately, this means that there's no way to swap the band out for one your own, since it requires a proprietary strap.
While the squarish design here is not nearly as attractive as the round face on the LG G Watch R ( at Amazon) (pictured below) or the Moto 360 ($179.97 at Amazon) , the SmartWatch 3 has some obvious advantages over the competition. For starters, the watch is rated IP68, which makes it waterproof to 8 feet and "dust tight." That makes it a good companion for physical activity where you're likely to get sweaty. The watch also has a slightly slimmer profile that allows it to sit a bit more flush against your wrist. It's still a large, attention-grabbing design, but the SmartWatch 3 looks a little less ridiculous than, say, the Samsung Gear Live .
Similar Products
LG G Watch R
Motorola Moto 360 (2014)
Pebble Steel Smartwatch
In order to turn it on, the watch core must be placed into the wristband so you can access the single button on the right side; without the band, there's just a divot where the button should be. When turned on, the SmartWatch 3 has an attractive, 1.6-inch, 320-by-320 TFT LCD. The display is transflective, which makes for better visibility in bright sunlight, another benefit for active users. The display is always on, which is a plus, though I found the auto-brightness setting to be too dim for my eyes, so I kept it dialed up to the maximum setting whenever it was in use.
Hardware and Battery
The SmartWatch 3 is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core ARM Cortex A7 processor and 512MB RAM, so it performs on par with other Android Wear devices. It also has 4GB of storage, 2.5GB of which are available to users out of the box.
From a hardware perspective, all Android Wear devices are very much similar, though there are a couple of differences between the SmartWatch 3 and the competition. Unlike any other Android Wear watches, for instance, the SmartWatch 3 has a built-in GPS sensor, so it can do things like track your runs without the help of a companion device (I'll go into further detail on this feature in the next section). It also has an accelerometer, ambient light sensor, compass, and gyroscope, features that are mostly standard in Android Wear at this point (though the Moto 360 lacks a light sensor). It should be noted, however, that the SmartWatch 3 does not include a heart rate sensor. For a device seemingly focused on physical activity, this is a curious, frustrating omission.
The SmartWatch 3 is also the only Android Wear device that doesn't require a charging cradle. I've bemoaned the use of the cumbersome cradle since the Gear Live, but it turns out my wish was answered in the most Monkey's Paw sort of way possible. While the SmartWatch 3 doesn't require a cradle, the charging port is inconveniently located on the inside of the watch (the part that sits against your wrist), and is sealed off with a tricky-to-open rubber cover. The included micro USB charging cable is only a few inches long, which makes it difficult to maneuver while plugged in.
On the plus side, the SmartWatch 3 has a 420mAh battery, which is just large enough to be the highest-capacity cell we've seen in an Android Wear device so far. Sony claims the battery is good for up to two days of use, but I think you're going to need to charge the watch every night, particularly if you use GPS a lot. Yes, you can definitely get more than a day's worth of battery life out of the SmartWatch 3, but it's probably going to die at some point the following afternoon.
Android Wear, GPS, and Conclusions
Android Wear and GPS
The SmartWatch 3 runs on Google's Android Wear. And unlike standard Android, Google doesn't allow for any major modification of its Android Wear software. This means that the Android Wear experience is virtually identical across all Android Wear devices. You can read my review of the G Watch or the Samsung Gear Live for a closer look at the operating system's interface and features. In general, though, it is very much about putting smartphone notifications and Google Now functionality on your wrist.
The SmartWatch 3 connects to devices running Android 4.3 and above via Bluetooth 4.0. For this review, I tested it with a Samsung Galaxy Note 4 ($307.97 at Amazon) on AT&T. The pairing process and user interface are the same as for other Android Wear devices. You need to download the Android Wear app to your corresponding device before connecting to the SmartWatch 3. Once connected, you can start using Android Wear, which consists of a series of taps and swipes for navigation. I'm really not a fan of this setup, which somehow seems less and less intuitive with the more Android Wear devices I review.
Google Play is currently home to more Android Wear apps now than when it launched in the summer, but this time around I only saw 17 additions from when I reviewed the G Watch R over a month ago, bringing the total count up to 193. That's a decent amount of apps, but it doesn't suggest that Android Wear development is necessarily spreading like wildfire.
As mentioned earlier, the coolest feature here is the ability to use the watch's standalone GPS. That allows you to track stats like distance, route, and speed, without the needing to keep your phone on you, which is particularly great for runners. The problem is, you need to find apps that support this functionality, which is easier said than done.
Google's own My Tracks lets you track walks or runs, and syncs that information with Google Fit, which is helpful. But the app I actually use—RunKeeper—doesn't support GPS on the watch, nor do other popular apps like Endomondo or Runtastic. And until they do, standalone GPS will be an interesting feature, but not necessarily a must-have one.
Sony's only real software additions come in the form of some pretty lame watch faces. I like the default Digital face, as well as a weird Coordinate view that spells out the time on a graph. But in general, the rest of the selections here are neither as classy nor as fun as you'll find on competing watches.
Conclusions
The SmartWatch 3 is definitely Sony's best smartwatch yet. The switch to Android Wear, however, is both a blessing and a curse. It's an improvement over Sony's previous smartwatch UI, but I'm just not convinced that it's ever going to become the type of operating system that makes the smartwatch something people need, rather than something they maybe-sort-of-want.
That said, the SmartWatch 3 is also the best Android Wear device yet for athletes, thanks to its built-in GPS and waterproof build. But without more apps to take advantage of the GPS feature, it isn't reason enough to pick the SmartWatch 3 over the LG G Watch R. The G Watch R has a heart rate sensor and a more attractive design, making it our favorite Android Wear watch so far. But our Editors' Choice remains with the Pebble Steel ($129.99 at Amazon) , for its longer battery life and more robust app store. At this point, though, you might want to wait and see what the Apple Watch brings to the table before making a decision.
The Sony SmartWatch 3 brings a greater focus on activity tracking to Android Wear, but there aren't enough apps available to take advantage of it.
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