Galaxy Tab S2 8.0 review

The Galaxy Tab S2 8.0 is Samsung’s latest flagship mini-tablet. It targets the same segment of the market as Apple’s new iPad Mini 4.

Packed with custom Samsung technologies and a new, refreshingly slick design, the Galaxy Tab S2 is one of the best Android tablets on the market. But its use of Samsung’s TouchWiz skin will delay how fast it will be updated to Android Marshmallow. 

GALAXY TAB S2 8.0 – DESIGN

Traditionally, Samsung has always struggled to compete with Apple in the design arena. However, in 2014 this all changed when Samsung unveiled its flagship Galaxy S6 smartphone.

The handset features a stellar design of metal and Gorilla Glass, and made past Samsung devices look like cheap, plastic toys. Thankfully, with the release of the Galaxy Tab S2, Samsung’s continued its design push and created one of its best-looking tablets to date.

The tablet has metal sides, a matte-finish plastic rear and Gorilla Glass front. While the back is plastic, it feels significantly sturdier and top-end than past Samsung tablets. This is in part due to its slightly rubberised finish, which helps it ward of scratches.

During an accidental drop-test onto a carpeted floor, the Galaxy Tab S2 proved it's well built. It survived the experience scratch-, chip- and crack-free.

Measuring in at 135 x 199 x 5.6mm and weighing 265g (Wi-Fi-only), the tablet is comfortable to hold and small and light enough to be carried around in a satche.

Security-conscious buyers will be pleased to learn that the Galaxy Tab S2 features a custom fingerprint scanner. It's built into the tablet’s front-facing physical home button. It offers the same functionality as the scanner seen on Samsung’s top-end Galaxy smartphones, and enables users to set the tablet to unlock, or approve specific actions, only after its holder has proven their identity.

I found that the scanner is reasonably accurate and successfully read my thumbprint 99% of the time. However, its accuracy dropped significantly when my thumb was even moderately wet, or moist. Coming in after a run, the tablet constantly struggled to recognise me.

I also found that after one failed scan, the sensor would go a little haywire and refuse to recognise any subsequent attempts – until I put it back to sleep and re-woke it.

GALAXY TAB S2 8.0 – DISPLAY

The Galaxy Tab S2’s 8in 2,048 x 1,536, 320 ppi, Super AMOLED touchscreen is one of its biggest selling points.

I’ve always been big fan of Samsung smartphone and tablets’ screens, feeling their use of Super AMOLED technology puts them a cut above many competing devices.

The technology offers all the benefits of normal AMOLED screens, which are able to display deeper and richer blacks by electrically charging individual pixels to generate colours. This means they can create blacks simply by halting the charge of pixels. The deeper blacks in turn make colours pop and improve the screen’s overall performance.

As an added perk Super AMOLED displays also reduce the screen's power consumption. By integrating the capacitive touchscreen layer directly into the display, instead of overlaying it on top, they remove the need for the phone to charge two components at once.

Testing the tech on the Galaxy Tab S2 8.0, my positive experience with the technology remained true. The Galaxy Tab S2’s screen features great brightness levels and uniformly deep and consistent blacks. Colours, while slightly overcooked, are also acceptable. Viewing angles are excellent.

My only slight disappointment with the Galaxy Tab S2’s screen stems from its use of Samsung’s hit-and-miss Adaptive Display tech.

Adaptive Display technology aims to let the Galaxy Tab S2 automatically optimise the tablet’s display to perform better in specific lighting, or when displaying certain types of content. While this sounds great, its attempts at optimisation are hit and miss. During my tests, the feature did little more than needlessly adjust the screen’s RGB level and brightness.

You can turn of Adaptive Display, but to do so will involve having to pick one of the Galaxy Tab S2’s AMOLED Cinema, AMOLDED Photo, Basic or Reading presets – all of which don’t look great and make detrimental changes to the tablet’s out-of-the-box calibration.

GALAXY TAB S2 8.0 – SOFTWARE

Samsung’s TouchWiz Android skin has been a constant issue for a couple of reasons. First, because it delays how quickly Samsung devices can be upgraded to new versions of Google. Second, because the services and features they add to the OS are a mixed bag.

My first issue remains true on the Galaxy Tab S2. Not only is the device running on the out-of-date Android 5.0.2 version of Lollipop, Samsung also hasn't provided a firm date – or even confirmation if – it will be upgraded to the final version of Android M.

Regarding my second issue, while it’s still far from perfect, I have to tip my hat to Samsung for the stellar work it’s done over the years to clean up the TouchWiz UI.

Samsung has radically reduced the amount of bloatware that comes preinstalled on the tablet, and made it so that the majority of the apps it has added can be uninstalled.

It’s also added a few useful productivity services and features. The best of these are the Galaxy Tab S2’s multi-window support, Smart Manager and suite of Microsoft Office apps.

The multi-window feature lets you display two apps side by side on the screen at any one time. It's a godsend in more situations than you’d first envisage. I regularly used it when taking notes on the tablet, keeping the web page or document I was reading open on the top and a Microsoft Word doc beneath it.

Smart Manager is a cool feature that lets you monitor and control which applications are using memory or battery power at any one time.

GALAXY TAB S2 8.0 – PERFORMANCE

On paper, the Galaxy Tab S2 8.0 seems a fairly powerful device. Samsung has loaded it with its own octa-core application processor and 3GB of RAM.

Running our standard suite of benchmarks, the Samsung tablet performed reasonably well. On Geekbench 3, the tablet ran in with a multi-core score of 4,206. In AnTuTu it scored 51,815, and on the gaming focused 3DMark it scored 19,306 on the Ice Storm Unlimited test. By comparison, Google’s Nexus 9 scored 3,562 on Geekbench and 55,548 on AnTuTu.

In real-world use the Galaxy Tab S2 mirrored its benchmark scores and offered above-average performance. Using the Galaxy Tab S2 as my primary tablet, I didn’t notice any serious performance issues. Video on Netflix streamed smoothly, apps opened instantly and never crashed. Demanding games, such as Shadowrun and Xcom also ran stutter-free.

GALAXY TAB S2 8.0 – CAMERA

In the past few years, smartphones have seen more camera-tech innovations than can be counted on one hand. Tablets are yet to catch up, however.

In general, compared to their smartphone siblings, tablet cameras have featured middling components and offered average picture quality.

The Galaxy Tab S2 does little to change this trend, but by tablet standards it does include reasonably good cameras. Specifically, the Galaxy Tab S2 features 8-megapixel rear and 2.1-megapixel front cameras.

Images shot in the automatic mode on the 8-megapixel rear camera in regular light offer reasonable contrast levels and are suitably sharp for sharing on social media. Colour balance levels were also rich – although at times, when capturing photos in mixed-light environments, I found they could begin to distort and look slightly odd.

In low light the camera struggled to perform, even with its HDR mode activated, and images did begin to pixellate.

The camera also features the same Pro mode as most top-end Galaxy smartphones. It offers you manual control for the camera’s white balance, contrast and ISO settings. While it sounds useful, I was only able to negligibly improve image quality using it on the Galaxy Tab S2.

Being fair to Samsung, the camera is better than that on most tablets; it just remains significantly behind the units on top-end smartphones.

GALAXY TAB S2 8.0 – BATTERY

The Galaxy Tab S2 is powered by a non-removable 4,000mAh battery, which during my tests proved surprisingly capable.

Streaming Netflix on Wi-Fi, with the screen in the auto setting, the Galaxy Tab S2 discharged between 10 to 15% of its charge per hour. This is pretty impressive by Android tablet standards.

Other tablets in the same size-bracket, such as the Asus ZenPad 8.0, discharge as much as 20 to 25% in the same test.

Gaming performance was equally impressive. Playing a range of games, including Banner Saga, Shadowrun and Xcom, the Galaxy Tab S2 discharged between 15 to 20% of its battery, providing at least six-ish hours of playtime before dying. Again, this is superb – most tablets usually struggle to offer more than five hours.

With regular use I generally achieved between two to three days use from the Galaxy Tab S2. This entailed watching TV shows saved on the tablet on my commute, sporadically browsing the internet, checking my social media feeds throughout the day and half an hour’s gaming before bed.

GALAXY TAB S2 8.0 – SOUND

Sound quality is a deceptively important area on tablets. After all, who wants to have to pair their tablet with a Bluetooth speaker when watching a cheeky episode or two of Brooklyn 9 in bed?

Which is why I'm fairly disappointed that Samsung has loaded the Galaxy Tab S2 with two underpowered speakers. The speakers are located at the bottom, short side of the tablet. As well as being woefully easy to block when holding the tablet, they also don’t provide terribly good sound quality.

Maximum volume levels are poor and audio could sound slightly tinny. The low end is also a little lacking – I'd say that the Galaxy Tab S2's speakers are its worst feature.

SHOULD I BUY THE GALAXY TAB S2 8.0?

Despite debatably being born in the Android ecosystem, 2015 has seen a drop in the number of decent small-form -actor tablets running Google’s mobile OS.

While some cheap tablets, such as the Asus ZenPad 7.0 and ZenPad 8.0 offer decent value for money, their sub-par components result in poor performance and woefully short battery life.

While it isn't cheap, with the basic Wi-Fi model costing the same £319 as Apple’s new iPad Mini 4, the Galaxy Tab S2 is one of a select few Android tablets to offer top-end performance.

Add to this its stellar battery life, and the Galaxy Tab S2 justifiably earns its place as one of 2015’s best tablets – and for now, I’d recommend it to those who can afford it.

However, its use of Samsung’s TouchWiz skin tarnishes its long-term appeal, leaving a question mark over whether or not it will be updated to Google’s fast-approaching Android Marshmallow operating system.

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Apple Watch Series 2 review: The best small smartwatch in the world

The newest Apple Watch may not look very different from the Apple wearable we knew, loved, and occasionally wanted to throw out a window when an app took too long to load — but much has changed under the hood: a faster processor and GPU, built-in GPS, increased water resistance for swimmers, and what might be the unsung hero of this version — dramatically increased battery life, especially on the 38mm watch.

I've liked Apple's wearable since its 2015 origins, but painful battery life and slow-loading apps have long been a point of consternation. Does the Apple Watch Series 2 conquer these challenges? Read (and watch) on to find out!

Testing ground

Since mid-September, I've been testing four 38mm Apple Watch models: My original "Series 0" Gold Aluminum, a Series 1 Rose Gold Aluminum, a Series 2 Space Grey, and a Series 2 Stainless Steel. This review covers the latter two models, but at times, I wore all four (looking like the world's worst cartoon watch salesman) to get comparison data between Apple's various smartwatches.

Over the last few weeks, I've taken these watches wandering about New York, dunked them in the Atlantic Ocean, stuck them under a wrist guard for roller derby, and recorded more walking workouts than I've probably done since getting my first-generation Apple Watch. (Plus: My dogs were thrilled.)

The result is, I hope, a very real-world test of the Series 2's new abilities, fitness capability, and battery life. I'm not going to claim that this is the only Apple Watch review you need to read — but let's be honest, if you're reading my Apple Watch review, you're probably looking at a bunch of others, too.

Design

Let's start with the basics. Despite its moniker, the $369+ Series 2 is, technically, the third iteration of Apple's smartwatch; it replaces the now 18-month-old original casing, which I've nicknamed "Series 0" (or "Series O," for Original — take your pick).

Instead of leaving Series 0 on sale as the entry-level model, however, Apple decided — quite rightfully, in my opinion — to offer a supercharged "tweener" version called Series 1; starting at $269, the model includes the same processor and GPU from Series 2, but packaged in the original Series 0 casing — and only in Silver, Space Grey, Gold, or Rose Gold aluminum.

A quick note: Series 1 officially lists the S1P as its system-in-package, in contrast to the Series 2's S2: This refers to a board containing all the chips for the watch. Series 2 includes GPS, which is why the two have separate names, but they both include an identical processor and GPU system.

Series 1 and 2 have also abolished some of the "titled" Apple Watch lines: The Sport joins the Stainless Steel as being referred to as, simply, Apple Watch [insert color and material here]. The Edition remains, though it now comes in a more reasonably-priced Ceramic finish, and the other new lines are both partnerships: Apple Watch Hermes and Apple Watch Nike+.

Despite the naming nonsense, the exteriors of all three Apple Watches look virtually identical. The Series 2 is a smidge thicker than previous models, but outside of physically confirming this by taking a measuring stick to the casings, I haven't noticed the difference in daily wear. We're at the point where unless the watch either gets noticeably heavier or thinner, most users aren't going to care or notice one way or the other. It's a bulkier watch than you'd get wearing a fitness device or traditional wristwatch, absolutely; but that's the tradeoff for being able to cram a bunch of batteries and sensors into a 38mm-sized casing. Having worn some of the larger Android options, I'll take "thick" over "makes my wrist look like it belongs on a 60s science-fiction show" any day.

The only differences you may notice are these: The entire Series 2 lineup has doubled the holes on its casing, going from two (for the mic and speaker) to four (two for each). Though this might seem an odd choice for a device that's supposedly morewaterproof, it's actually designed with said swimproofing in mind: As with the iPhone 7, the extra holes allow the Watch's sensors to function properly when exposed to water.

If you pick up a Series 2 aluminum Apple Watch, you'll also get a nice improvement to durability: The rear casing (which protects your sensors) has been upgraded from a composite back to ceramic, like the rest of the lineup. Though a minor change, it should theoretically lower the chance of rear casing scratches that could obstruct heart rate sensors (a problem with a small number of Series 0 users).

Internally, though, the Apple Watch has been completely reengineered for speed, longevity, and — most importantly — fitness.

Zoom, zoom, zoom

On the Series 2 Apple Watch, everything is faster, smoother, and generally feels rightin a way the Series 0 did not. For me, it's the watch I expected from Apple back in 2015; for many new users, it'll be a perfect entry point into the smartwatch ecosystem.

That's not to say that if you're holding onto your Series 0, it's now garbage: watchOS 3 does greatly improve app launch speed and general smoothness on the system, and I see no problems for average users being able to squeak another full year of use out of it.

It's just that Series 2 spoils you. It's like flying Virgin America/insert your airline of choice: Sitting in coach is a pretty decent experience, but once you upgrade to Main Cabin Select or First Class once, it's hard to go back.

Perhaps one of the most striking examples occurred in my Series 0 vs 1 vs 2 speed tests: After a reboot, Series 2 launched Dock-stored apps almost instantly. Series 0, launching the same app, spun slowly for an additional four or five seconds before booting. It's a small thing, but immeasurably important for user experience.

Non-dock apps boot up faster on Series 2, too, especially if they've been optimized for watchOS 3. Anything that requires a data connection is still going to hang a bit (see: Maps directions and Siri), though I have noticed requests processing faster on Wi-Fi.

Anecdotally, here are a few apps and features that repeatedly caught my eye while testing Series 2 against the other models:

The Camera Remote is whiz-bang fast on Series 2, and I haven't yet run into one of those awful "Cannot launch Camera" errors. There are also new Camera controls in watchOS 3, including Live Photos, HDR, and Flash, but still no way to frame and record video, or to launch iPhone 7 Plus's new Portrait mode.

Starting a workout from Siri is much faster, there are little to no delays when starting a workout from the Workout app

There's now no delay whatsoever in the Find My iPhone ping feature.

Switching from watch face to face with the swipe gesture is smooth and no longer feels jerky

That said, there are still plenty of areas where the Apple Watch could improve. Connectivity speeds are, unfortunately, never going to be great until the Apple Watch has a cellular radio of its own, which means that as much as I love using Siri on the Watch, it's still going to occasionally be an exercise in frustration. I appreciate watchOS 3's "I'll tap you when I'm ready" alert when it has connection issues, but it's still annoying to dictate a lengthy message, wait 30 seconds, and then be told that your Apple Watch can't connect to Siri right now.

I almost wish the Apple Watch could use some of its onboard storage to locally save those audio queries until a good connection is established; you need only run into the "Siri Not Available" error a few times before you stop relying on the Watch for audio commands. And that's a shame because Siri on the Watch is rivaled only by the upcoming AirPods for its dictation clarity.

Startup, restore, and software updates remain excruciatingly slow on Series 2 — our tests had it take a whopping 1:40 to boot. In fairness, that's a good deal better than the Series 0's dismal 2:20, but it's still not great, especially when compared to the iPhone: Our iPhone 7 boot times averaged around 0:20.

Battery life to the rescue

Startup time is pretty important when you're constantly killing your watch's battery, as I was with my 38mm Series 0. I knew using a 38mm watch was a gamble back in 2015 given Apple's battery averages and its smaller casing — and thus, smaller battery — but the 42mm just looked chunky on my teensy stick wrists. (Boyfriend watches and I don't get along, I suppose.)

After about six months wearing the 38mm Series 0, my battery life would drop to about 40% by dinner time. As such, I couldn't get through a three-hour evening roller derby practice without sending it into Power Reserve hell unless I deliberately charged it for an hour before heading out.

I got pretty good at finding charge times throughout the day, but it often screwed up my Stand hours; and sometimes, even despite the extra juice, I'd still kill the watch. If I did a morning workout or walk? Forget it. And while watchOS 3 did greatly improve the Series 0's idle time — bumping it back up to around 60% pre-workout — a good round of skating still sent me home with a dead watch.

I say all this to give context to my Series 2 experiences: Despite several weeks of pretty in-depth testing, I have yet to send either the aluminum nor steel watch to Power Reserve mode.

At first, I treated the 38mm Series 2 in the same delicate manner I'd used the Series 0: Minimum screen brightness, no Raise to Wake, letting the watch's passive heart readings dictate all non-derby activity. After one day of this? My battery life read 89%.

So I got a little more daring. I added a morning cross-training Other workout. End of day battery life? 39%.

I maxed the brightness to its 1000-nit glory, enabled raise to wake, and took it to a two-hour derby practice, doing an Other skating workout. End of day: 25%.

Okay, fine, a four-hour derby practice: 20%.

At this point, I felt a little mad with power. During a three-watch day, I subjected all of my watches to a morning walk sans iPhones — the Apple Watch Series 2 models were on GPS, the others were just "Disconnected" and searching for a connection — followed by getting Maps directions to Starbucks, sending a few Siri messages, reading some notifications, launching a third party app, using the Camera Remote, and, in the evening, skating for two hours. At 11:17PM, the Apple Watch Series 2 read 18%. (The Series 1 was at 20%; the Series 0 was long since dead.)

These are in no way comprehensive or clean-room battery tests, and shouldn't be taken as such. I've been wearing the various series watches on different wrists, for one, and have put them on at slightly different times each morning, ranging from 8AM to 11AM (though head-to-head watch tests were always put on simultaneously, starting from 100% charge).

But those caveats aside: I'm quite frankly blown away by the battery life on the 38mm Series 2 model. Apple had me awfully nervous during the Apple Watch Series 2 announcement when presenters made no mention of improved battery, and I received my review unit pretty concerned about the feasibility of wearing 38mm going forward, especially with GPS and a brighter screen providing further battery-draining opportunities.

Instead, the smallest Series 2 watch under promises and over delivers in the best possible way. Though not advertised, it does have a slightly bigger battery; the S2 processor and watchOS 3 also do a brilliant job at power management and reducing battery drain whenever possible. This is most apparent in workouts: a morning cross-training workout dropped my battery from 100% to 89%; the same workout on the Series 0 put it at 53%. Somewhat shockingly, I also saw little to no difference in day-over-day battery life on Series 2 when enabling full-screen brightness on my Apple Watch or Raise to Wake, features I'd previously avoided like the plague.

Even GPS, while demanding, isn't the battery hog I thought it would be. That's in part due to the Apple Watch's insistence on slaving to the iPhone whenever possible — if it's connected to your iPhone, it will always prefer the iPhone's GPS signal to its own. (You can force the Watch to track GPS instead by enabling Airplane mode on your iPhone, but be aware: The watch may not immediately recognize that it needs to switch over, which might give the start of your walk a very strange GPS location.) GPS also largely only flips on for outdoor walking and running workouts.

I took a Series 1 and Series 2 Watch out on a no-iPhone walk, disconnecting both from their parent devices before beginning. They both started at 100%; 44 minutes later, the Series 1 watch, lacking GPS, was at 87%, while the Series 2 was lower, at 70% — a respectable 17% difference. (By dinner time, the watches were at 73% and 59%, respectively.) I do expect longer bouts with GPS to further drain the battery, but I imagine you can still get a pretty respectable 3-4 hour workout from the watch.

If you do fall into the "I need a hardcore exercise watch with the battery to support it" category, you're going to want to do one (or all) of the following things:

Get an external heart rate monitor to lighten the Apple Watch's load.

If you care about workouts but not GPS, enable Airplane mode when you start a workout. Doing this with a Series 1 vs Series 2 gave me a whopping 65% remaining battery life vs 25% after 161 minutes of exercise at the end of the day.

1. 
   
2. Buy the 42mm Apple Watch Series 2, which has an even bigger battery life. Friend of iMore Michael Fisher (AKA Mr Mobile) got 3+ days of usage with his 42mm watch, though admittedly sans workouts.
3. Yeah, I work out

Where battery is the unsung hero of Series 2, fitness is the marquee feature: "The Apple Watch is not only a great fitness device, but it's now a great fitness device for runners and swimmers!"

Sadly, I am neither a runner nor a regular swimmer. (Sorry, Apple marketing. If you ever release a proper Roller Derby workout mode, I will be all over that.) But that doesn't mean I completely ignored the watch's new fitness features. I am an avid walker — partially for exploring, partially for dog-walking purposes — and I know enough about swimming to at least be dangerous… well, mostly to myself.

See, I had a great plan to test the Apple Watch Series 2's new pool swim and open water swim options, which involved our local YMCA. When I struck out there, however, I decided that rather than leave the swim tests to the professionals, I'd go dunk in the Atlantic Ocean for a short swim session. In mid-September.

Nope, probably not my best idea. But though the water was a certain frigid temperature too foul to name on this website, it was at least warm outside, and I had a warm car to return to. And I got my brief test in and some sweet (albeit brief) footage of the initial dunking on my iPhone 7 Plus. (I did not take the Plus with me on the actual swimming workout: I didn't particularly want to test the limit of the phone's water resistance, nor did I have any great desire to lose my Jet Black iPhone in the jet black undertow of the ocean.)

When you swim in open water, your Apple Watch will create a GPS-based swimming map for you to look at afterward. GPS signals don't penetrate water, so the Watch grabs a connection any time your hand is above water mid-stroke. This pitch sounded pretty dicey to me — that's a very short amount of time to properly talk to a satellite — but in my brief 10-minute test, it worked pretty well. (Admittedly, not hard to do, given that I swam straight out, then straight back.) The resulting workout in the Activity app also attempts to analyze your dominant stroke, distance, and pace.

All in all, a fun experiment, though I'd love to see professional athletes give this a more thorough test — surely the drag of an Apple Watch wouldn't slow down the lap time of champion swimmer Katie Ledecky.

The average non-swimming user will probably find more enjoyment over the Apple Watch's new Water lock, however: Whether you dunk your watch in bath water or dishwater, you can use the Water lock button on Control Center to forcefully eject any water that's crept into your Apple Watch's speaker. The beep-beep-beep of the speaker combined with the tiny spit of water is too close to a Star Wars droid action for me to not love it, and as much as it serves a practical purpose, it's also going to delight a lot of users (and their friends).

Of Series 2's new fitness features, integrated GPS for walkers and runners is likely the bigger selling point. I've highly enjoyed being able to leave my iPhone (and its many "PAY ATTENTION TO ME NOW" notifications) at home while walking the dogs around our neighborhood or exploring local parks, knowing I'll still get a decent route map at the end of the journey.

If you're expecting GPS to help you cheat at Fall corn mazes, however, you're going to be disappointed: While I found the Apple Watch's GPS to be fairly accurate on roads and marked trails, it has problems with off-road activity that moves quickly, relying on estimated mapping and curves to fill in the gaps. Sometimes, that works well; sometimes, it results in a lot of squiggles.

One note on GPS for older Apple Watch users: Even if you have a Series 1 or 0 Apple Watch, as long as you keep your iPhone nearby, you'll still get those nifty route maps in Activity.

What about the Series 1?

I'll have a separate (smaller) review coming soon, but essentially: If you want the speed of the Series 2 but don't care about integrated GPS, swim-proofing, a ceramic rear casing, the brighter screen, bigger battery, or the non-aluminum Apple Watch models, you'd love a Series 1. Aside from GPS, I saw very little differences between Series 1 and 2 benchmarks in my testing, including battery life; the Series 1 doesn't have the same bigger battery as the latest Apple Watch, but given that it also lacks GPS and the brighter screen, I suspect that the S1P processor does a lot of the heavy lifting here.

Bottom line

The Series 2 Apple Watch isn't the revolutionary upgrade some folks were hoping for, and that's okay. Much as I would have loved a watch with cellular connectivity, I was much more in need of a watch with impressive battery life and speed improvements. And that's what Series 2 has delivered.

Could it be further improved? Always. True all-day battery life is great; multi-day battery life and sleep tracking would be better. Heart rate tracking is solid, but still runs into problems with bent wrists and black tattoos. It is one of the few Apple products that could stand to be thinner. And as nice an upgrade as watchOS 3 is, I still yearn for custom watch faces, offline Siri, and officially-supported skating workouts. But this feels like the right step forward from Apple in the smartwatch ecosystem, especially when looked at in conjunction with items like AirPods and the new iPhone models. Iterate, highlight what's working, fix what's not.

If you don't need GPS or don't spend much time in the water, Series 2 may not be for you. Series 0 and watchOS 3 remain a good pairing, and will likely last you until the next upgrade cycle; if you're impatient but price-conscious, Series 1 is a solid upgrade, especially for 38mm users.

But even lacking in regular swimming activities, Series 2 was an easy upgrade choice for me. I can see wearing it on my wrist for several years — and it's also why I upgraded to the stainless steel version this time around. I championed the original Apple Watch for what it could be — I'm championing the Series 2 because of what it is: A great smartwatch that helps me keep my iPhone in my pocket, track my workouts, and send silly messages to my friends. It's also the best sub-42mm smartwatch on the market, hands down. It's comfortable, it looks nice on smaller wrists, and this generation actually delivers upon the all-day battery life teased in Series 0.

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60 inch TV Reviews – Best Guide for 60 inch 4k Smart TV for Sale – Buy a 60″ LED, Flat Screen Television with Confidence!

Overview

The 60 inch 4K UHD TVs included in this list represent something just short of the optimal 4K TV size for maximum enjoyment of the resolution. On the one hand, they’re not so large that even 4K graphics become evident in their pixelation at longer ranges but on the other hand, the following 60 inch TV models are sizeable enough to create a genuinely immersive experience. As we’ll see, 65 inch is an even better size for a 4K TV display but 60 is definitely a winner in many cases for those who don’t want a more conservative 55 inch display but don’t have the budget or space for a hefty 65 inch TV screen.

That said, 60 inches is certainly not a common TV display size and as such, it means a rather limited selection of truly high quality 4K TV models on offer. Thus, while the TVs we’re about to cover shortly are definitely the best in their class at this size range, they certainly don’t represent many of the best 4K TVs on the market right now, which are commonly found in the 55″ and then 65″ or larger size ranges.

A Note on Viewing Distance

Viewing distance in a 4K UHD TV is a bit of a controversial subject because it also plays into the fact that 4K really can’t easily be distinguished from high quality Full HD at larger distances on smaller TV screens. However, when it comes to 60 inch 4K UHD TVs, this becomes less of a problem since the sizeable display space starts to let the much larger resolution show off its superiority in terms of display quality. In fact, it is between the 55 and 65 inch size ranges where this truly becomes possible at normal 7 to 15 foot viewing distances.

With these general parameters in mind, it should be  noted that the ideal viewing distance for maximum appreciation of the native 4K content and upscaled non-4K content on a 60 inch 4K TV is about 8.5 to 9 feet, or just over 2.6 meters. This is the golden zone in which the 4K looks great while the TVs size still feels immersive.

Now, before we move onto our Top 5 60 inch 4K ultra HD TVs themselves, we should note that after these listings we review a number of crucial points to keep in mind about buying a 4K TV. These are all covered in detail right after the following 4K TVs and are worth reading, particularly if you’re a newbie to this technology.

The Best 60 inch 4K TVs of 2016

Now, without further ado, let’s get down to the meat of this guide. The following are the best 60 inch 4K TVs across the board on the current market. This list will also undergo updates as newer and possibly better 69 inch models emerge. All of the following TVs come with a native 120Hz refresh rate unless otherwise stated in a description.

Note that Samsung models predominate here. This is not out of a specific bias in favor of Samsung but simply because, as with 48-50 inch models, Samsung is the most prolific at catering to the less commonly sized 4K TV market.

Samsung 60 Inch KS8000 4K SUHD HDR TV: $2,297

Samsung 60 Inch KS8000 4K SUHD HDR TV

As the only one of the 2016 SUHD 4K HDR TVs to come in a 60 inch size option which may be a bit difficult to get your hands on, the KS8000 is nonetheless one of the best LCD 4K TVs of 2016. It compares well not only to other competitor models from 2016 and against its own 2016 SUHD cousins the KS9500, KS9000 and KS8500 but also easily beats pretty much any 2015 4K TV in tersm of display quality, specs and the sheer brightness and black levels it’s capable of.

As one of Samsung’s 2016 UHD Alliance-certified HDR 4K TVs, the KS8000 gives its viewers a display quality which includes 10-bit color, intensely bright peak luminance of more than 1300 nits (cd/m2) and possible black levels of as little as 0.02 nits. These are specs that even last year’s JS9500 flagship 2015 SUHD TV from Samsung couldn’t match and the KS8000 only comes with an edge-lit display! Furthermore, this particular model is superior in most specs to nearly any other edge-lit 4K LCD TV we’ve seen in 2016 so far.

The KS8000 is Ultra HD Premium certified

Finally, the 2016 KS8000 also comes with the latest generation of the excellent Tizen smart TV OS with Smart Hub, with wider access to streaming media apps than ever and new functionality features for even better user friendliness.

LG UH8500 "Super UHD" 4K HDR TV 60 inch model: $ 1,799.99

LG UH8500 4K Super UHD LCD TV HDR

LG may have created pure gold in its OLED 4K TVs since they were first introduced in 2014 but their LCD 4K televisions seems to have been models that the company habitually neglected in terms of quality design. For 2014, 2015 and even for many 2016 models we’ve looked at, this has almost consistently been the case with almost all of the LG LCD 4K TVs we reviewed performing worse than their Sony, Samsung and even Vizio counterparts.

Well we’re happy to say that the LGUH8500 definitely breaks this LG tendency and in a great way. This is a fine and beautifully designed piece of HDR 4K TV display technology which offers almost across the board high display performance to boot. Very good wide color gamut performance gives the UH8500 a rich, vibrant picture quality that certainly impresses and the TVs peak brightness, black level and black uniformity specs are not too bad at all (these have always been a major LG LCD TV weaknesses). Furthermore, the UH8500 is a superb model for motion handling, offers decent overall HDR performance and works well as a 4K TV for PC monitor use or console gaming. We also of course love LG’s superb WebOS 3.0 smart TV platform and the content upscaling engine on the UH8500 is nothing less than great.

Best of all, the UH8500 is not too badly priced for the HDR specs and general quality it offers up. Thanks LG for getting your LCD 4K models back on track with this TV.

Vizio 2016 M-Series M60-D1 60 inch HDR 4K TV: $1,249.99

Vizio’s second-tier 2016 4K HDR TVs are the M-Series and while they lack the wide color gamut support of the company’s flagship P-Series HDR models, they still do offer one superb package of display and motion control specs which combine to deliver a remarkably superb level of picture quality. Best of all, these TVs are remarkably affordable and in our view offer some of the best value per dollar spent of any 4K TVs for 2016. With the M-Series, you get your hands on superb black level performance, high peak brightness, great contrast levels, some superb judder and motion blur control capacity and a robust upscaling engine which is more than good enough to refine SD, 720p and especially Full HD content to look like something sharper on this TVs 60 inch ultra HD display. This TV, like all of the larger 2016 Vizio models also comes with the normally premium feature of full-array LED backlighting, resulting in a superb level of local dimming that beats most of the edge-lit competition even from major brands like Samsung or Sony.

Vizio has also improved its 2016 smart platform in a dramatic way, substituting the older Internet Apps Plus TV-based smart system for a new mobile device-based downloadable app which can be used from a majority of Android and iOS phones or tablets. In any case, the M-Series models come with their own smart remote tablet which includes the TVs smart platform built right into it.

Samsung 4K SUHD UN60JS7000 Series Smart TV: $1,997.99

Samsung JS7000 4K SUHD TV

Samsung’s JS7000 is one of the brand’s SUHD 4K TVs, which means that it offers quantum dot enhanced color in its display and also includes a few other distinct display specs. However, while many of the premium SUHD 4K TVs are rather pricey, the JS7000 is the most affordable of the line. With this TV you get the benefit of truly excellent viewing angles, great motion blur control and superb connectivity through the TV’s ports and wonderful Tizen smart TV OS. On the other hand, the quality of this model’s contrast and its overall screen uniformity both leave a bit to be desired.

Furthermore, the upscaling engine in the JS7000 is superb in true Samsung style and the color vibrancy and realism are both top notch, thanks to the hallmark quantum dot color filtration technology present in this and all USHD models. Another thing we also like about this model is its flat screen design, in contrast to the rest of the SUHD line. As we’ve said before on this site, curved screen design in home TV displays is a mostly useless gimmick that can also take away from viewing quality.

Samsung 4K UHD UN60JU7100 Series Smart TV  : $ 2097.99

Samsung 4K UHD UN60JU7100 Series Smart TV

Out of Samsung’s JU-Series non-SUHD 4K TV lineup for 2015, the JU7100 is definitely one of the best and quite possibly the second best TV out of those models. In comparison to even the SUHD TVs, this is one superb performer and arguably superior to the JS7000 above with the exception of having a weaker color accuracy and gamut coverage. However, this TV offers everything you could want in a 4K UHD TV, with excellent contrast performance, full-array LED backlighting for some superb local dimming and exceptional luminance. Furthermore, Samsung has given the JU7100 an HDR firmware update as of late 2015, though we don’t consider it to be for the “true” HDR found in the top shelf SUHD 4K TV models.

Finally, the JU7100 60 inch edition comes with Samsung’s excellent Tizen smart TV OS and full access to the widest possible selection of 4K entertainment apps and media sources. The 60JU7100 is one highly recommended piece of home entertainment technology.

Vizio M60-C3 M-Series 4K Smart TV: $1,219.00

Vizio M60-C3 M-Series 4K Smart TV

Vizio’s M-Series 4K TVs are some of the finest pieces of budget 4K TV technology on the market today. These models offer up the higher brightness and more precise local dimming of full-array LED backlighting while also delivering excellent contrast and very decent color accuracy. They also give their users some truly great upscaling technology, robust access to streaming media apps and great judder performance along with decent motion control specs. And the 60 inch Vizio M-Series offers all of these specs.

On the other hand, the Vizio Smart TV Internet Apps Plus platform isn’t the best on the market and it neither offers support for 4K content from YouTube or for full web browsing. Also, color gamut coverage in these models is definitely inferior to that of Samsung’s or Sony’s best.

All that said, if you want a truly affordable 60 inch 4K TV that competes quite well against its pricier counterparts from the bigger major brands, the Vizio M60-C3 M-Series is one of your best bets.

Vizio P602ui-B3 P-Series 4K Smart TV: $2,014.98

Vizio P602ui-B3 P-Series 4K Smart TV

An oldie but a goodie, the 2014 Vizio P-Series P602ui-B3 is one very powerful piece of 4K TV technology that still sells for a decent price. With even better color accuracy, contrast and motion control performance than its newer M-Series cousin, this P-Series also offers Full-array LED backlighting but with even more local dimming zones for superior contrast accuracy. Furthermore, this TV offers one very bright display panel and some truly excellent black uniformity. Judder control and motion interpolation in the P-Series are particularly superb by any standards and would give even the best name brand competitors a run for their money in terms of performance.

On the other hand, color gamut coverage in the P-Series is less than stellar and results in a less vibrant picture quality, while the upscaling engine in this model could still have used some work, with 480p and 720p content upscaling rather poorly. Furthermore, the P-Series line has now been discontinued by Vizio, so there will be no updates forthcoming to these otherwise great 4K TVs.

Samsung 4K UHD UN60JU6500 Series Smart TV  : $ 1397.99

Samsung 4K UHD UN60JU6500 Series Smart TV

Samsung’s JU6500 is one of the lower-priced 4K UHD models from the company’s JU-Series 2015 lineup. However, it still has plenty to offer as more of a starter 4K TV with a wonderfully large display and the second lowest retail price on this list.

With the JU6500 you get all the usual high quality connectivity specs of even the best Samsung 4K TVS, along with the same top-shelf Tizen smart TV OS, with connectivity support for HEVC, VP9 and of course, HDCP 2.2. Furthermore, this TV offers up some very low input lag, great overall color coverage, contrast and panel brightness, with great color accuracy, superb motion blur control and resolution upscaling. On the other hand, the JU6500 has no judder support and delivers what we’d call sub-par viewing angles.

Connectivity

All newer 4K UHD TV models will offer generally the same basic and core connectivity essentials, regardless of their dimensions. Some brands vary the number of key ports or fail to include a certain spec in select connection ports. Thus for example, a given 4K TV may include an extra USB port or fail to include the newer, HDR-ready HDMI 2.0a instead of the older HDMI 2.0. However, for viewing of most 4K content in existence today, the following are the core essentials you need:

Samsung’s One Connect box, which is compatible with most Samsung 4K UHD TVs

HDMI: HDMI is the most important single connectivity option in any 4K TV. It’s the de facto lead connectivity port in the televisions we’re covering and it’s through HDMI that virtually all of your content from external devices will reach your TV screen. For 4K content from an external box, HDMI 2.0 such as that found in all modern 4K televisions is the only means of delivering content from external media players, 4K Blu-ray players and 4K-capable set-top boxes to the TV itself. HDMI 2.0 offers up 4K movies at a smooth 60 frames per second and its new HDMI 2.0a version takes this further by also allowing high dynamic range coding in select HDR content to reach the TV (assuming it’s HDR-capable). HDMI 2.0a is now included in the majority of Sony and Samsung 4K TVs from 2015, thanks to new firmware updates from both companies. It’s also found in numerous other models.

USB: USB is the standard issue connectivity spec for attaching external devices like smartphones, tablets, external memory units and other low-intensity peripherals to your 4K TV. This connectivity option cannot yet be used for transmitting 4K UHD content in a functional way and the USB 2.0 ports found in most modern 4K TVs are mainly good for transferring photos, small video files and for charging external devices through your TV.

Internet Connectivity/WiFi: Internet connectivity to your TV via hardline Ethernet cable connection is the most important connection your TV can have right after HDMI. This is how the entire spectrum of smart TV web apps and browsing technologies in your TV will work and it’s also the only means by which streaming content in 4K resolution from sources like Netflix and Amazon Prime Instant video will reach your TV at an effective, smooth bitrate. In other words, Ethernet is absolutely crucial for effective access to the full content and smart functionality power of your typical 4K smart TV, like all of the models we’re about to cover.

However, for 4K video over Ethernet to be effective, your home or office web connection has to deliver at least 15Mbps at an extreme minimum and more practically should deliver at least 20Mbps for smooth streaming of the many ultra HD video entertainment options your TV will offer through its apps ecosystem.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that any 4K TV worth its salt should also offer compatibility with video compression technologies like HEVC (H.265) and VP9 in order for most 4K content from a streaming source to be accessible. HDCP 2.2 content copy protection is also crucial for streamed 4K content support. Luckily, all of the TVs we’re covering here and most 4K TVs on sale today offer all of these technologies, or at least HEVC and HDCP 2.2.

On a quick side note, we should also mention WiFi. This is built into virtually all modern 4K TVs but cannot be used for sharing 4K content to other devices in a home, since most current WiFi connections don’t support the necessary bandwidth. However, sharing non-4K content between your TV and devices like smartphones is a great use of your TV’s WiFi connectivity. Thus, you can mirror a home HD video from your phone to the TV screen and enjoy it with an upscaled resolution on the native 4K screen.

Smart TV Platforms

Smart TV functionality is the backbone of modern 4K TVs of any quality and all major models offer this technology. It’s one of the oldest UHD TV features in existence and is also crucial for access to a whole world of streaming media apps like those we mentioned above. Smart TV also offers thorough adjustability of TV controls, access to external device content and in many cases also we browsing features.

Sony’s 4K UHD TVs come with their highly intuitive Android TV smart OS, Samsung’s 4K TVs now offer their Tizen OS with “Smart Hub” and LG’s 4K TVs offer either WebOS 2.0 or the newer and even better WebOS 3.0, which are both widely considered to be the best smart TV platforms in existence today. Then there is Firefox TV for Panasonic 4K Television models and Vizio’s new SmartCast mobile device-based smart TV platform, which is a complete game changer in smart OS functionality. It’s however only available for 2016 4K TVs from Vizio though we’re deeply impressed with the nature of its performance from what we’ve seen so far..

LG’s WebOS 2.O platform

While there are numerous differences between the assorted smart TV platforms among the major brands, all of them will at least feature: access to media apps, a main user interface with a home menu, built-in WiFi, streaming content navigation and navigation of content from external media devices.

Some of the best 4K smart TV platforms also offer features like voice or gesture control, full web browsing and the inclusion of a smart remote for doing many of the above. A lot of smart TV platforms also allow their users to set up individual profiles with their tailored preferences on them which can be activated through passwords, voice recognition and even more exotic technologies in some cases.

Upscaling and Native 4K viewing

While all 4K ultra HD TVs obviously offer the ability to view native 4K ultra HD content in its original resolution, the quality at which this content is displayed can vary widely depending on source and on the quality of the TV display itself. Hard media 4K movies from 4K Blu-ray players and external media devices usually offer the best and sharpest grade of 4K resolution while streamed 4K media sources can be somewhat inferior, and in some cases even inferior to upscaled Full HD video from a disc or media player. Furthermore, among brands of TV and different models, quality of displayed 4K videos can vary depending on the quality of a TVs contrast, whether it offers HDR and on how good the TV is at displaying vibrant realistic colors. Thus, don’t be fooled simply by seeing the phrase “4K resolution”. Pixel count is far from the only metric of native content quality.

As for upscaling, it’s another crucial feature of all 4K TVs worth their salt and algorithmic upscaling engines exist in the processing cores of all major TV models. The importance of upscaling technology lies in the simple fact that most content today isn’t native 4K and an upscaler engine reprocesses lower resolutions so that they look sharper and more “4K-like” on an ultra HD screen. The best upscaling engines, such as those found in the TVs we’re covering, do a great job of upscaling and are a crucial part of what makes 4K TVs superior even if you don’t use them to watch 4K videos of any kind.

Other Display Features

The best 4K TVs on the market and all of the models we’re covering here offer other display enhancement technologies besides just ultra HD resolution and resolution upscaling.

These display technologies often include high dynamic range, superior contrast, enhanced color gamut through special filters and high speed native refresh rates of 120Hz or more. There are also backlighting technologies in place which play a crucial role in how local dimming and contrast are delivered.

Quantum dot color enhancement technology

These extra display technologies without a doubt add a lot of extra value to buying  a 4K TV over an HD model since many of them are only available un ultra HD TVs.

HDR

HDR is very noticeable in the 4K TVs that have the technology in their displays

HDR technology is also a crucial feature of the leading 2016 4K TVs in the 60 inch range which have it. With high dynamic range, display quality takes a major leap upward and the 2016 standards for HDR that the top four 4K TVs in this list have adopted are considerably better than what we saw of this technology in 2015. For an even more detailed breakdown of how the HDR in 4K UHD OLED and LCD TVs works, check out our guide to high dynamic range for a complete overview.

Backlighting

Backlighting in 4K ultra HD televisions can basically be divided into two different technologies: OLED and LCD/LED. For a highly comprehensive review of how these differ from each other and which is best, check out our OLED vs. LCD page here.

However, in basic terms, OLED is the superior lighting technology by which pixels in the screen itself provide their own light for visual elements on the display, and LCD, the slightly to highly inferior technology, generates illumination and contrast by activating arrays of LEDs behind an LCD display in the TV screen. These LED arrays can be of the best kind, called full-array LED backlighting and involve dozens or even hundreds of specific dimming and brightness zones or they can be designed so that lines of LEDs are places only along the edges of a 4K TVs screen, with rather imprecise “local” dimming delivering darkness or light horizontally from the TV bezel inwards.

None of the 60 inch models we’re covering here offer OLED technology (which currently belongs only to select premium LG and Panasonic 4K TVs) but some of them do offer full-array LED backlighting and others only edge-lit LED arrays.

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