SAMSUNG GALAXY FIT 2

The Galaxy Fit 2’s simplicity starts with the design, but it holds both good and bad surprises. The first surprise is just how bright the 1.1-inch color AMOLED screen is. I could easily leave it on the midlevel setting without sacrificing daylight viewing, meaning it has less of an impact on battery life.

The use of a color screen makes the Galaxy Fit 2 far more attractive, and more interesting to look at, than the boring monochrome LCDs found on simple Fitbits.

Samsung has made the whole affair more complicated than it needs to be, and it’s quite hard to find, and repeat, exactly the right fit. You can wear the band loosely when the heart rate sensor’s accuracy isn’t so important, then tighten it up when tracking exercise, and the Fit 2’s strap made this usually simple procedure rather infuriating.

It’s controlled using the touchscreen and a touch-sensitive button under it. It’s quite easy to miss the button at first, as the thin outline giving you a hint about where to press disappears in many lighting conditions. The operating system is responsive and logically laid out, and you use swipes and taps to navigate through the options.

Much like the original Galaxy Fit, the new version will automatically detect your activities so that you don’t miss recording a workout simply by forgetting to start the timer.

Samsung states that the tracker has an IP68 waterproof rating, meaning it will work in depths of up to 5ATM or 50 meters, so you can take it swimming, kayaking or into the shower. While I couldn’t go swimming during the test period, due to all the public baths being closed amidst the pandemic, I was out in more than one torrential Cornish downpour with the Galaxy Fit 2 and it didn’t bat an eyelid.