[Poll Results!] A virtual bezel over a physical rotating bezel: Yay or nay?
We’ve been able to confirm that Samsung’s next smartwatch will have a virtual bezel instead of the physical rotating bezel we’ve been seeing on the company’s smartwatches since the Gear S2 (which launched back in 2015). The Galaxy Watch Active 2 will have what Samsung calls Touch Bezel (it could also be called Digital Bezel), allowing users to swipe around on the edges of the screen to navigate through the user interface.
We didn’t see a virtual bezel on the first Galaxy Watch Active, and the fact that it will be present on the Watch Active 2 lends further credence to our belief that Samsung has a problem when it comes to a long-term vision. But it’s also good to see the Korean giant isn’t completely giving up on what has set its smartwatches apart from the competition, and long-time users of Gear/Galaxy smartwatches upgrading to the Watch Active 2 will appreciate having an alternative to the physical rotating bezel.
It will also mean there are fewer moving parts on the watch, making it more reliable in the long run (the rotating bezel on existing Samsung smartwatches can lose its clicky nature after a year or so of regular usage). However, the joy of moving a physical bezel wheel will be lost in the process, along with the rugged mechanical watch-like design the physical rotating bezel made possible, so a virtual bezel won’t be something that will please everyone.
Which brings us to today’s question: Would you be okay with a virtual bezel instead of a physical one, or would you prefer Samsung stop this experiment and just stick to the latter? Tell us by voting in the poll below, and if you have any thoughts you’d like to share on the matter, do leave a comment as well.
Results: It seems many of our voters are willing to give the new virtual bezel a chance before coming to a conclusion, with 40 percent voters saying they’ll reserve judgement until they see it in action. 36 percent said they wouldn’t be okay with a virtual bezel, which is a sentiment we can understand. 16 percent of voters say they’d be fine, while the remaining 9 percent said they would be okay with both a physical and virtual bezel.
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“allowing users to swipe around on the edges of the screen to navigate through the user interface.”
They resigned from this feature with latest GWA update. Look this picture
Show us how this virtual bezel work in action.
a physical bezel that is raised above the glass is an absolute must have. It need not physically rotate but it is crucial in protecting the display, particularly on a device that is meant to be used for sports and an active environment.
It makes sense why the Active doesn’t have a physical bezel. Its literally in the name. I will however, be very disappointed if the new Galaxy Watch does go virtual.
I just want to start by saying I have my Gear S3 Frontier 3 years now and my wife has the Classic the same amount of time, and both are still just as clickey! If you think you’ve lost your clickiness just clean your watch by running warm water gently over the bezel holding the watch edge to the flow. It will clean the crap out of it and it will click again. Cleanliness is next to clickiness. Lol. As for the virtual bezel, I like a clean smudge free watch face. That’s why I got the S3. A virtual… Read more »
You can also remove the ring to really get at all the crud underneath. Just don’t let the springs and bearings go flying!
Yes, you’re right, if it’s necessary you can do that too, particularly for people who are working or involved in sports where heavy contamination is possible. Also the Active would probably not even survive conditions like that. Just like the Apple Watch this device is not built to survive. The S3, Galaxy Watch and Gear Sport are built to take a beating and survive.
I am more than happy with the physical bezel of my Galaxy Watch. I’d be really sad to see it go.
nay🤣
I can’t judge before trying it. But i’m leaning towards the physical bezel. It has a nice feel to it and i have bumped it ample amount of times and it still shows no signs of damage, i’m not sure if that would still be the case with the new design.
Why go through the effort of making it look like a nice watch, even including the ticking sound, which I love! To jus remove everything that made it so nice for another cheap sheep in the smartwatch world. Yes, I have a strong feeling this bezel will be huge and I’d rather have the physical because its nice to turn.
Nope for me too easy to scratch vs the bezel . Add a Ringke Bezel to that and easy to replace
Even the original bezel is easy to replace. I finally hit something abrasive enough to scratch mine, but three minutes of effort got me a new-looking watch again.
Suggestion: you should come after a week or smth with an article commenting the results of a poll. I think we, the readers, tend to forget checking the original article back and don’t know the final results.
We do update and reshare polls once they’re closed after a week, but perhaps the results could be amplified a bit more. Suggestion noted!
I believe I am going to upgrade from my Galaxy Watch for this bad boy.
So am I Landon….
This could turn out to be great, a big display without a huge case. My biggest worry is how will it perform with winter gloves on, one possible advantage of rotating bezel