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CHRIS VELAZCO: Samsung
Unpacked is just days away,

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and the company has
already started to show off

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some of the devices that
it might have normally

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saved for that splashy show.

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We already saw
the Galaxy Tab S6,

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and now we're taking a
closer look at the new Galaxy

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Watch Active 2.

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And I know what you're thinking.

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It's kind of soon for
a sequel, isn't it?

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I mean, the last
Galaxy Watch Active

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only came out a few months ago.

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That is, in fact, true.

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But I don't think it's
fair to look at the Galaxy

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Watch Active 2 as a sequel.

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It's actually more meant to
fill the gap between the Galaxy

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Watch Active, and
the flagship watch

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that Samsung still
has out there,

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the bog standard, Galaxy Watch.

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So let's take a closer look.

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[MUSIC PLAYING]

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If you've seen the
Galaxy Watch before,

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you will look at
these new models

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and not see a whole
lot of difference.

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And that's, frankly, fine by me.

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The real change here is
the differences in sizes.

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Just like the original
Galaxy Watch Active,

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there is a version
of the Watch Active 2

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that comes in a 40
millimeter body.

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But that's not great if you
have big hands, or beefy wrists.

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So Samsung has also
introduced a 44

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millimeter buy that for
me, at least, actually

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works really, really well.

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I think a lot of you
are going to like this.

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More importantly, we are seeing
Samsung introducing features

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into the Watch Active line that
just haven't been there before.

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Maybe the biggest is LTE.

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Largely, you're
meant to kind of use

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the Galaxy Watch
Active when it's

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connected to your smartphone.

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But once you've got LTE enabled,
you can take it out for runs,

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and really kind of not
worry about bringing

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your phone with you
when you don't need to.

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You'll still be able to get
your messages and stream music.

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So if all you're
really looking for

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is a device that can support
you while you're out exercising,

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this actually might be
a pretty good way to go.

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I will say, though, that some
of the material differences

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between the standard Bluetooth
and the LTE versions,

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are really noticeable.

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The standard Bluetooth model
has an aluminum body, which

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is perfectly nice, I think.

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The Galaxy Watch Active
kind of had the same.

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But if we splurge
on those LTE models,

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you are getting stainless steel,
too, which adds a little bit

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of verve-- a little panache--

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to its otherwise really
clean, minimal design.

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Now like the Galaxy
Watch Active before it,

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the Watch Active 2 lacks the
really cool spinning bezel

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that made devices like the
Galaxy Watch so interesting

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to use.

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And, to this day, I will
still go out on a limb

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and say that the rotating bezel
is probably most elegant way

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to interact with a smartwatch.

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Samsung gets this.

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So they tried to replicate
that feature in software,

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and it kind of works.

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When you, sort of, move your
finger around the outside

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of the screen, you'll
get some haptic feedback

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to make it feel like
you're clicking that bezel

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around a Galaxy Watch.

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It works to an extent,
but it's not the same.

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It's fine.

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It just feels less interesting
when you're replicating this

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in software, rather than using
something actually mechanical

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and well put together.

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Now we are looking at
Samsung's classic ties

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in smartwatch platform, and if
you've used one of these things

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before, you basically know
exactly what to expect.

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That said, Samsung has made
a few choices in the software

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and the hardware that
do make this a more

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complete fitness experience.

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Which is great, especially if
you're Samsung's target market,

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which I believe is, literally,
28-year-old millennials

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with big goals.

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I swear to God, they told
us something like that.

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It's a little crazy.

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For one, the accelerometer
inside the Galaxy Watch Active

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2 is about twice as
sensitive as the one

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in the original version.

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I know that doesn't
sound like a whole lot,

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but Samsung says it'll help
the Galaxy Watch Active to more

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accurately track your workouts.

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It doesn't track any more
workouts automatically

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than it did in the original
Galaxy Watch Active,

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but that extra sensitivity
gives Samsung leeway to do

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more stuff with this overtime.

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I should also point out that if
you are a fan of accessorizing,

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you can take a picture of
something with a smartphone,

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and have an algorithm
running on the Galaxy Watch

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2 turn that into a custom watch
face, so everything matches.

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Cool, I guess.

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And beyond all of this,
Samsung's partnerships

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with certain app
developers have culminated

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in fuller experiences that
run directly on your wrist.

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Google Translate is a
really good example of this.

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We saw a brief demo in which
one person said something

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in Spanish to a watch,
and the watch rendered

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something back in English.

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It seemed accurate
enough, but these

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aren't exactly
complex sentences,

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so your mileage may vary.

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I don't actually know that this
is any better than just doing

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the same thing on your phone,
but it's on your watch,

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so that's interesting.

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Right?

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You can also now get fuller
versions of Twitter and YouTube

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on your smartwatch.

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And if that sounds like
something you would

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never want to do, I agree.

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But you can do it now.

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You can watch YouTube
videos on your watch.

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Why anyone would want
to do this is beyond me.

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But it's there for
you, the consumer.

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They're looking out for you,
and it's a wonderful future

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we're living in.

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I'm being a little glib, because
some of the stuff that Samsung

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did here is legitimately
questionable, in terms of value

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to actual human beings.

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That said, I do think Samsung
has done a pretty good job,

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actually, of filling in the
gap between the Galaxy Watch

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Active and the Galaxy Watch.

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There is a slice of people who
want a slightly more premium

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smartwatch, that
actually could be well

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served by something
like this, as long

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as they focus on the basics.

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We're talking fitness,
we're talking some apps,

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and we're talking messaging.

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Not a bad way to go.

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If you're really interested in
what Samsung is trying to pull

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off here, you might want
to pick one of these things

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up for about $280.

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That's for the 40 millimeter
Bluetooth version,

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but expect to spend a
little more for some

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of the bigger, flashier models.

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