Featured in this comparison chart are; the Samsung Gear S3 Frontier – a standalone smartwatch with a remarkable design, its joined by the Fossil Gen 4 Explorist – an outstanding Wear OS smartwatch with a prestigious design and the Apple Watch 4 – one of the best smartwatches on the market and a standalone smartwatch as well. We compare the specs and features of these three amazing timepieces, so you know what the differences are and which is the right choice for you.
Table of Contents
Samsung Gear S3 Frontier vs Fossil Gen 4 Explorist vs Apple Watch Series 4 Specifications Compared
| Product Info |
 Samsung Gear S3 Frontier Full Specifications, Features and Price |
 Fossil Gen 4 Explorist Specifications, Features and Price |
 Apple Watch Series 4 (44mm) Specifications, Features and Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $280.00 | $300.00 | - |
| ABOUT DEVICE | - | ABOUT DEVICE | ABOUT DEVICE |
| Device name | Samsung Gear S3 Frontier | Fossil Gen 4 Explorist | (44mm), Apple Watch Series 4 |
| Device type | Standalone/Fitness smartwatch | Fitness/Classic smartwatch | Standalone/Fitness smartwatch |
| Gender | Unisex | Men | Unisex |
| Release date | November, 2016 | August, 2018 | September, 2018 |
| Predecessor | Samsung Gear S2 | Fossil Gen 3 Explorist | Apple Watch Series 3 |
| Successor | Samsung Galaxy Watch | Fossil Gen 5 Calyle | Apple Watch Series 5 |
| Versions | — | — | Apple Watch Nike+ |
| BODY | - | BODY | BODY |
| Dimension | 46 x 49 x 12.9 mm | 45 x 45 x 13 mm | 44 x 38 x 10.7 mm |
| Weight | 63 grams | — | 48 grams |
| Shape | Circular | Circular | Rectangular |
| Case material | Stainless steel | Stainless steel | Aluminum, Ceramic/Sapphire crystal back |
| Strap material | Silicone | Stainless steel | Elastomer |
| Bezel material | Ceramics | Stainless steel | Bezeless |
| Strap size | 22 mm | 22 mm | 24mm |
| Screen protection | Corning Gorilla Glass SR+ | Corning Gorilla Glass | Sapphire glass |
| Water resistance | Yes, 5ATM | 3ATM | Yes, 5ATM |
| Durability test | - | — | — |
| Swim-proof | Yes, recommended | Yes | Yes |
| Color | Black, Silver | Black, Gray, Rose-gold, Silver | Gold, Gray, Silver |
| DISPLAY | - | DISPLAY | DISPLAY |
| Display size | 1.3 inches | 1.4 inches | 1.78 inch |
| Display type | Super AMOLED, Full color | AMOLED, Full color | 1000nit, OLED |
| Display resolution | 360 x 360 pixel | 454 x 454 px | 448 x 368 pixels |
| Pixel density | 278ppi | — | — |
| Always on | Yes | Yes | No |
| Custom watch face | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Input type | 2 Physical buttons, Physical rotating bezel, Touchscreen | 3 Physical buttons, Touchscreen | 1 Physical button, Digital crown, Touchscreen |
| CONNECTIVITY | - | CONNECTIVITY | CONNECTIVITY |
| Bluetooth | Yes, Bluetooth v4.2 LE | Yes, Bluetooth v4.2 LE | Bluetooth v5.0 |
| Bluetooth calling | - | No | Yes |
| GPS | A-GPS, GLONASS, GPS | Yes | GLONASS, GPS |
| NFC | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Wi-Fi | Yes, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac | Yes, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n | Yes, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n |
| MEMORY | - | MEMORY | MEMORY |
| RAM | 0.75GB | 512MB | 0.768GB |
| ROM | 4GB | 4GB | 16GB |
| Memory card slot | No | No | No |
| CELLULAR CONNECTIVITY | - | CELLULAR CONNECTIVITY | CELLULAR CONNECTIVITY |
| Technology | GSM / HSPA / LTE | None | 4G LTE |
| SIM type | e-SIM | None | e-SIM |
| Band | — | — | — |
| NOTIFICATIONS | - | NOTIFICATIONS | NOTIFICATIONS |
| SMS alert | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Calls alert | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Email alert | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Event reminder | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Third-party apps alert | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| MEDIA | - | MEDIA | MEDIA |
| Audio | mp3/mp4 | mp3/mp4 | mp3/mp4 |
| Bluetooth music | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Loudspeaker | Yes | No | Yes |
| Microphone | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Camera | No | No | No |
| Radio | No | No | No |
| SENSORS | - | SENSORS | SENSORS |
| Accelerometer | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Altimeter | No | — | Yes |
| Ambient light | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Barometer | Yes | No | Yes |
| Compass | — | No | No |
| ECG | No | No | Yes |
| Gyroscope | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| HRM | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Pulse oximeter | No | No | No |
| Thermometer | - | No | App, No |
| Other sensors | — | — | — |
| ACTIVITY TRACKING | - | ACTIVITY TRACKING | ACTIVITY TRACKING |
| Blood oxygen | No | No | No |
| Blood Pressure | - | No | No |
| Calories | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Distance | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ECG tracking | No | No | Yes |
| Fitness Level | — | — | Yes |
| Heart rate monitoring | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sleep tracking | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Steps | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Stress | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Incidental fall detection | No | No | Yes |
| Menstrual cycle | - | No | Yes |
| VO2 Max | - | — | Yes |
| Swim-tracking | - | Yes | Yes |
| Swim-heart tracking | - | No | No |
| On-screen workout | - | No | No |
| Sport modes | 39 | Yes | Yes |
| BATTERY | - | BATTERY | BATTERY |
| Battery type | Non-removable Li-ion battery | Non-removable Li-ion battery | Non-removable Li-ion battery |
| Battery capacity | 380mAh | — | — |
| Battery life | Regular usage: 3 days+, Standby:10 days+ | Regular: 24hrs+ | Regular: up to 18hrs |
| Charging type | WPC based wireless charging | Charging dock | Charging dock |
| Charging time | 1-2 hours | 1-2 hours | 1-2 hours |
| Solar power | - | No | No |
| PLATFORM | - | PLATFORM | PLATFORM |
| Chipset | Exynos 7270 | Snapdragon 2100 | Apple S4 64bits |
| CPU | Dual core 1.0GHz | — | Dual core |
| GPU | — | — | — |
| Operating system | Tizen OS 2.3.2 | Wear OS | WatchOS 5 |
| MISC | - | MISC | MISC |
| Companion app | Samsung Gear app, Samsung Health App | Fossil Q App | Apple Watch App |
| Compatibility | Android 5.0+ & RAM 1.5GB+, iPhone 5+ and iOS 9.0+ | Android 6.0+, iOS 10.0+ | iOS 12.0+ |
| Payment system | Samsung Pay | Google Pay | Apple Pay |
| Interchangeable strap | Yes | 22 mm, Yes | 24mm, Yes |
| Voice command | Yes, Bixby | Yes, Google Assistant | Yes, Siri |
| Find my phone | - | Yes | Yes |
| Box content | Charger, Manual, Samsung Gear S3 Frontier | Charger, Fossil Gen 4 Explorist, Manual, Straps | Apple Watch Series 4, Charger, Manual, Straps |
| Price | $280.00 | $300.00 |
Samsung Gear S3 Frontier vs Fossil Gen 4 Explorist vs Apple Watch Series 4: Which is Better?
DESIGN:Although each of these three has got a remarkable design, the Watch 4 has got the most outstanding design. It weighs the least and also the slimmest. Moreover, the rectangular shape of the Watch 4 sees it having the biggest display size which means you get to see more at a glance.
The Watch 4 is also a more premium device with sapphire glass material covering its display compared to Corning Gorilla glass on the other two (durable material as well). The digital crown of the Watch 4 with hepatic feedback mechanism that offers a click-like feel as you scroll and the physical rotating bezel of the Gear S3 makes these two very easy to navigate.
MEMORY:While each of these three comes with onboard storage capacity, the Watch 4 with 16GB ROM allows you take a lot more of your favorite tracks with you.
CELLULAR CONNECTIVITY:Both the Gear S3 and Watch 4 are available in LTE versions which ships with e-SIM that supports cellular connectivity on these two. These makes the Gear S3 and Watch 4 standalone smartwatches that allow you make and receive calls directly from these two without needing your phone.
ACTIVITY FITNESS:Each of these three watches is fitness-focused and will be able to track your daily activities such as steps, calories, heart rate, and there’s also inbuilt GPS in all three which enables outdoor activity tracking such pace, routes and locations tracking.
Although, while Gear S3 is quite loaded with lots of fitness features, the Watch 4 is a more comprehensive activity tracker. It features incidental fall detection that can help you get needed assistants when a fall has occurred.
BATTERY LIFE: The Gear S3 will go more than 2 days on a single charge with mixed usage which is longer than what you get from the Gen 4 Explorist or Watch 4 which both will last barely a day. That’s quite abysmal, and makes the Gear S3 a better choice for tracking extreme workout activities.
VERDICT: The Apple Watch 4 is the most sophisticated and comprehensive out of these three, it’s the best choice for iPhone users. However, I’ll go with the Gear S3 Frontier, it also a comprehensive smartwatch compatible with both Android and iOS devices, and has the longest battery life.
Samsung Gear S3 Frontier vs Fossil Gen 4 Explorist vs Apple Watch Series 4: Editor’s Pick
