[SPECS] Samsung Gear Circle - Member Thoughts, Experiences And Questions - Samsung Gear S

Hey all
Here is a thread to discuss the Samsung Gear Circle and how it operates with the Gear S. Feel free to ask a question about the device, or if you own a gear circle, please post your experiences with it.
Samsung Gear Circle Specifications:
Speaker - 12Φ Dynamic
Microphone - Single MEMS
Codec - SBC, apt-X, Samsung HD
Connectivity - Bluetooth 3.0 BT Profile: HSP / HFP / A2DP / AVRCP Multi Point Connection, Micro USB (Charging only)
Sensors - Magnetic Sensor (Hall IC), Touch Sensor
Battery - 180mAh Li-ion (Standby 300h / Talk 11h / Play Time 9h)
Source: Samsung
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I wish it had active noise cancelling like the Nokia Bluetooth headset.

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What is the different between the Samsung Gear Circle and the LG Tone Plus (Which I currently have) the both go around your neck(So to speak) you can answer calls listen to music have spoken text. So am I just paying for the Brand of Samsung or is there a big difference?

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I also have and absolutely love the Tone + and would love to know if:
the majority of the weight on the back of your neck could be an issue after a while (I wear my tone + all day long and don't feel a thing).
they slide off to one side, or bounce on your neck when running.
using one plug in yiur ear and leaving one plug out would create an imbalance.
About that last point, the Note + keep the plugs in place through magnets, but I can not imagine how this would work with the Circle. They seem to be really designed to be used in both ears or none at all. I sometimes need to hear my environment, including when driving and running.

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xendula said:
I also have and absolutely love the Tone + and would love to know if:
the majority of the weight on the back of your neck could be an issue after a while (I wear my tone + all day long and don't feel a thing).
they slide off to one side, or bounce on your neck when running.
using one plug in yiur ear and leaving one plug out would create an imbalance.
About that last point, the Note + keep the plugs in place through magnets, but I can not imagine how this would work with the Circle. They seem to be really designed to be used in both ears or none at all. I sometimes need to hear my environment, including when driving and running.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought the the gear circle and I love it. It's lightweight. When I'm not using it i sometimes forget I'm wearing it. It also comes with 3 different neck guards to keep it in place so it won't slide or bounce even with one ear plug in. I have set up the eq and it sounds great.
Sent from my SM-N910T using XDA Free mobile app

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scoobrel said:
I bought the the gear circle and I love it. It's lightweight. When I'm not using it i sometimes forget I'm wearing it. It also comes with 3 different neck guards to keep it in place so it won't slide or bounce even with one ear plug in. I have set up the eq and it sounds great.
Sent from my SM-N910T using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oooh, now I get what the neckguards are all about! Thanks for the pic!!
If you wanted to go running with only one earplug in, is there a way to attach the other plug to the neckguard so it won't bounce around?

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xendula said:
Oooh, now I get what the neckguards are all about! Thanks for the pic!!
If you wanted to go running with only one earplug in, is there a way to attach the other plug to the neckguard so it won't bounce around?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem, if you use only one plug the other one will dangle, I usually just tuck it under my shirt.
Sent from my SM-P900 using XDA Free mobile app

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Why does the circle need the Samsung gear app?

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scoobrel said:
No problem, if you use only one plug the other one will dangle, I usually just tuck it under my shirt.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I guess for my use case, the Tone + are a better fit, then.

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LG tone vs Gear Circle
Having all the LG headsets, I believe the Gear Circle to be a better active headset. I have been using the headset for a week now. Audio quality is better than the LG line. The noise isolation is better than the LG line and the feel is better than the infinim headset. my only complaint is the ear buds could be much smaller. Here is my unboxing and pairing videos. I will have a pros and cons later this week., http://youtu.be/UT4NiDGOwLU unboxing and this is the setup one. http://youtu.be/9Us7oRuprn8

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Thanks. Now I know for sure these would not work for me: I can't stand earplugs that are designed like this (half in half out), and once I saw them in your hand, I realized how large the pieces in front of the earplus are, which would be hanging off my ears.
For now, LG is still my number one. Maybe the Circle 2. ..

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ebpman said:
Having all the LG headsets, I believe the Gear Circle to be a better active headset. I have been using the headset for a week now. Audio quality is better than the LG line. The noise isolation is better than the LG line and the feel is better than the infinim headset. my only complaint is the ear buds could be much smaller. Here is my unboxing and pairing videos. I will have a pros and cons later this week., http://youtu.be/UT4NiDGOwLU unboxing and this is the setup one. http://youtu.be/9Us7oRuprn8
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice unboxing sir? You show a good view to the flexibility of the the device, and to the sizes of the ear plugs. Have much flop is there with the neck brace on?
Thank You

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I find that the circle slides backward. When it does (because of the weight of the neck support unit) it pulls the buds out of my ears. The Tones do not. I have the infinitum; should have stayed with the unit with active noise cancelling. Sound in all units is excellent. However, nothing matches the noise cancelling ability of my bose in-ear units. However, they require a headset jack.

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My review of the Circle.
I just recently JUMPed from the Note 3 to the Note 4. In the time between Tmo updated it's EIP plan to include some accessories so for an additional 6 bucks a month I decided to get the Circle.
I have never had wireless headphones before, and have often been frustrated with wires. Mow a lawn and have one cough in a bush and ripped out of your ear is always fun! I am also a big walker, and music fan so I walk all over the place and always am listening to music. All this needs to be in context to my review.
I was concerned each ear bud would be heavier and stick out farther than I was use to. Would it be a problem when wearing winter hat a hood over that and a scarf around my neck? Would the weight pull the bud out of my ear? I have this odd problem where my ears differ slightly in size and the only reason I know this is that for all my life one side would hold an ear bud nice and snug and the other would always need to be pushed back in every few minutes. I have to say that none of these concerns have been a problem, though the one side does slip from time to time as is normal no matter the weight.
The lack of media controls is also a no issue problem. It is easier to pull my phone out than to dig under tightly wrapped winter head wear to skip a song. Even more so now that I don't have a wire running under a layer up to my ears. That wire was also the only reason I could justify getting a useless smart watch, the wireless headphones have killed any desire for one.
I'm a guitarist that was on and off stage, practices, loud rock and roll.. yada yada yada... also have blasted loud rock and roll into my ears wearing headphones pretty much anywhere and everywhere I went for 20 years. So my hearing isn't great. In that light, these head phones sound as good, if not a little better than the standard stock ear buds Samsung sent with the Note 3. Which were not that bad. One little annoyance is the little "bloop" noise that Samsung has enabled by default every time you touch something. When wearing the Circle and no other audio playing, you would hear the head phones turn on, the bloop, than a millisecond later the headphones turn off. I relate it to old tape player head sets. When you hit play from the start of a tape you would hear that white noise before the first song started. It is only a short time, but so blatantly noticeable. It turns one noise, the bloop, into 3 noises. I did turn off that bloop in a hurry.
The neck brace keeps the hanging part well in place and after a short time you forget it is there. It is a bit awkward and different for me, I am still having to remind myself which way it goes on.
The magnetic clasp is awesome, but I think it is only there for when you are not wearing the neck brace, and as a fancy way for Samsung to tell the phone you are trying to answer a call. It isn't exactly fashionable when clasped and as a male I can tuck it just barely under my shirt. I can't imagine a female showing even the smallest amount of skin would want to wear these long term around her neck.
I have never owned a noise canceling set so it is hard for me to compare. I will say that I can do the dishes with these on and not hear the dishes clanking very well. Well enough to me!
Connecting to my phone was a breeze and I wonder if that is because I have Samsung Touch Wiz or what ever it is called running as my Android OS. That isn't going to last long and I wonder how well The Gear App will work on non touch wiz OS's. I also wonder how the firmware will be updated in the future if needed.
Other things, nit picking now. I don't like that Sammy didn't provide a nice, neater way to charge/store the device when you are not wearing it. Traditional earbuds I could wrap up nice and neat and put in my pocket. Even sitting on my desk they are kinda just curled up and sitting there. For example, the Moto 360 comes with that nice mount/rack that charges it and turns the device into a clock. Why couldn't Sammy run with the magnetic idea and have a little mount that the neck rest part of the Circle, even with the neck brace magnetically snaps into place and starts charging.
I wonder how long the little cover piece over the micro usb charging port is going to stay in place.
What happens when my neck brace breaks? While I'm sure I could google this right now, it is just a concern of mine.
When it is summer and 90+ degrees out and I'm doing yard work. How are the earbuds and neck brace going to handle the sweat?
A side note about charging the device. I got really good with the battery life on my Note 3 and have no doubts I'll have the same manner of success with the 4. Also hoping that those lemon batteries make a note 4 model. This and an On the Go micro usb to standard usb female cable I have should make emergency charging a breeze with out killing my phones battery.
I can't think of anything else. If anyone has questions about the Circle and Note 4 relationship or about the Circle itself please feel free to message me!
Nick

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Anyone here experiencing pairing issues with gear circle and host samsung phone? I have a tab S and it does pair to gear Circle and use it as BT headset. Thing is, gear manager cant seem to detect the gear circle, it keeps on connrcting to my gear 2. I tried everything from reinstalling gear manager to force pairing but it still cant detect the circle. Any advise?

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ThE_SoUrCe said:
Anyone here experiencing pairing issues with gear circle and host samsung phone? I have a tab S and it does pair to gear Circle and use it as BT headset. Thing is, gear manager cant seem to detect the gear circle, it keeps on connrcting to my gear 2. I tried everything from reinstalling gear manager to force pairing but it still cant detect the circle. Any advise?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exchange them if you can. I bought a pair that had trouble connecting and the touch volume didn't work. Tried to unsync, resync, nothing. Replaced and made sure to sync only in Gear Manger and never a problem since. But that's my experience.
I only wished noise supression mics. My wife hears the wind under my motorcycle helmet but I had some cheap Quikcell BT that were flawless. Debating about returning but the sound quality is outstanding for me.

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AITT said:
9​
Exchange them if you can. I bought a pair that had trouble connecting and the touch volume didn't work. Tried to unsync, resync, nothing. Replaced and made sure to sync only in Gear Manger and never a problem since. But that's my experience.
I only wished noise supression mics. My wife hears the wind under my motorcycle helmet but I had some cheap Quikcell BT that were flawless. Debating about returning but the sound quality is outstanding for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We have another circle here and it's the same story, perhaps tab S is not fully supported yet, we could pair it as headset though.

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ThE_SoUrCe said:
We have another circle here and it's the same story, perhaps tab S is not fully supported yet, we could pair it as headset though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mist likely the case then.

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My Gear Circle
I started using Gear Circle since three days and I am loving it. I am using it in conjunction Gear S and the whole experience is amazing. The sound is great, compared to other headphones in this range the sound is not that good but yes the functionality it offers is simply amazing. The Gear app is a headache initially but later on when you start using it you will realize that the app is worth the hassles. Overall I will give it an 8/10.

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Unfortunately I was not a fan of the Gear Circle. My personal opinion is that if your just using them to make calls or listen to music and you don't do a lot of physical movement than they work fine. Sound quality was great but found that the range compared to other Bluetooth headsets I have was not to great. I work out in the gym alot and also run and having to keep pushing the ear buds back in constantly was a pain. And yes I was using the supplied neck piece. Its also had some issues pairing to my Gear S. Pairing to my Note Edge was fine. So returned them and for now I will continue to use my Rocketfish Bluetooth Stereo headset, which has never failed me and for 50 bucks does everything I need.