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Review: Freedom! These smartwatches leave the phone behind

FILE - In this Jan. 6, 2015 file photo, an employee demonstrates the Samsung Gear S smartwatch at the Samsung booth during the International CES in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
FILE - In this Jan. 6, 2015 file photo, an employee demonstrates the Samsung Gear S smartwatch at the Samsung booth during the International CES in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher, File) FILE - In this Jan. 6, 2015 file photo, an employee demonstrates the Samsung Gear S smartwatch at the Samsung booth during the International CES in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

By Associated Press 4 min read

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) – Strap on the Samsung Gear S or the Sony SmartWatch 3 if you want to take a jog on the beach or head out for a bike ride without your phone clunking along.

One of my frustrations with early smartwatches has been how little they can do on their own. Sure, your phone might be with you most of the time, but sometimes you want to leave it behind. The Gear S and SmartWatch 3 still need to be close to an Android phone for a lot of things, but both do more solo than other smartwatches.

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SAMSUNG GEAR S ($300 to $400, plus $5 or $10 monthly service fee)

The Gear S isn’t the only smartwatch to notify you about new messages, Facebook updates and weather. It isn’t alone in having an alarm clock, music playback and apps for tracking steps and exercise.