Gear Circle: Unboxing and How it works

Instead of talking in circles, we are going to get right to the point. A brand new Gear Circle was delivered to the office, so we unboxed it to see how it works. Below is what we got.

Unboxing the Gear Circle

Before we started playing, we laid out all the contents in the box, since it seems like it is a pretty standard procedure for an unboxing event. The exact contents might vary by region, but there shouldn’t be any overwhelming difference. Anyway, here is what we got

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• Gear Circle (1)

• Earbud tips (3 pairs, S/M/L)

• Neck guides (for outdoor activities, S/M/L)

• A Charger

• Quick start guide

Turning the Circle on and off

This is a pretty self-explanatory and instinctive process. All you have to do is slide the Power switch up then the status indicator will flash blue 3 times to indicate that the Circle is on. To turn off the Circle, slide the Power switch down. The indicator will flash red 3 times to let you know that it is off.

Connecting via Bluetooth

Connecting/pairing the Gear Circle with another device is a must, so this step is critical. And once you pair it with a device, it will automatically connect to the device in the future, so you only need to do this once. There are two ways you can do this: via Bluetooth or Samsung Gear App.

Generally connecting the Gear Circle via Bluetooth is like connecting any other devices via Bluetooth (turn on the Bluetooth, search then connect), so we will skip right to how to connect it via the Samsung Gear App.

If you connect via the Samsung Gear App, you can access additional features. You can also simultaneously connect the Circle, a smartphone, and a wearable device using the Samsung Gear app.

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First, you will need to install the Samsung Gear app, which is available on GALAXY Apps, on the Samsung smartphones that have more than 1 GB of RAM memory and runs Android 4.2.2 or higher.

Now, turn on the Bluetooth on the other device and the Circle. Then wait. Assuming you turned it on for the first time, it will automatically turn to Bluetooth pairing mode.

But if it doesn’t, you can press on the Play/Talk key for few seconds, then if the status indicator flashes green, blue, and then red, it means it is on Bluetooth pairing mode.

Access ‘Samsung Gear’ on the other device then taps Gear Circle to connect via Bluetooth. Go over the terms and conditions, and then tap Finish. When the devices are connected properly, the Circle will beep and vibrate.

To Answer/Reject a call…. or Place a call on hold

When you get a call while the earphones are clasped, the device will vibrate.  To answer the call, just separate the earphones and put them on your ears.

When you get a call while you are wearing the Circle, it will beep and vibrate. To answer it, you can press the Play/Talk key.

There are few ways you can reject the call: 1 you can hold the key for a second, 2 you can clasp the earphones closed,

If you are a Galaxy Note 4 user, you can also use voice commands to answer or reject calls, since you can set the Gear Circle to read the caller information while you have it on.

You can place a call on hold by pressing and holding the Play/Talk key during a call. To retrieve the held call, you can just press and hold the Play/Talk key again.

Have the Gear Circle Notify you

We mentioned briefly how the Gear Circle can read you caller information. Well, it can read you other things as well like notifications.

You can set the device to notify you of missed calls and new messages received on the connected device via voice notification to the Circle. On the Samsung Gear main screen, tap Notifications, tap the Notifications switch to activate it, and then select apps.

You can skip to the next notification by pressing the Play/Talk key. To stop notifications, clasp the earphones.

Of Course, It Plays Music

It feels like it took us a while to get to playing music, but obviously, it is one of the primary functions of the Gear Circle; it uses the APT-X codec to deliver HQ sound streaming. The music playback control is pretty straight forward.

Once the connected device’s default music player is activated, the Gear Circle will automatically play the most recently played at the touch of a Play/Talk key. 

If you press the Play/Talk key while it is playing or clasp the earphones together, the music will pause. And with the Gear App installed on the other device, you can resume playback by simply put the earphones back on and press the Play/Talk key. Pressing the Play/Talk key twice will skip to the next song while playing music.

The music will automatically pause when you answer a call and resume when the call is ended.

Pump up (or down) the volume

The Gear Circle makes it easy for you to control a simple function, volume control. If you swipe upwards on the Volume control touch pad, the volume will increase while you are wearing the earphones and vice versa. Note that when the volume reaches its maximum or minimum value, the Circle will vibrate.

In case you are wondering what the neck guide is for…

The neck guide can come handy for outdoor activities and prevent the neckband from falling off your neck. All you have to do is to insert the neckband into the neck guide.

How to Charge the Gear Circle

When the battery power is low, the Circle beeps and the status indicator flashes red. You can charge the Gear Circle via USB just like many other Samsung mobile devices.

And that’s it. Do you feel pretty comfortable about what is inside the box and how it works? If you do, welcome to the circle. Thanks for reading!

*All functionality features, specifications and other product information provided in this document including, but not limited to, the benefits, design, pricing, components, performance, availability, and capabilities of the product are subject to change without notice or obligation.