Since the launch of the Apple Watch, there hasn't been much in the way of true competition. Sure, Samsung had their older (and weirder) Gear S2 smartwatch with its relatively large curved rectangular display and built-in 3G radio. And sure, Android Wear watches have been steadily improving in capability, performance, and design. But when it came to hardware quality, interface design, and snappy performance, the Apple Watch really had no equal. Until possibly now, with the launch of the Samsung Gear S2.

Right off the bat, these are very different watches. The Apple Watch is rectangular, the Gear S2 is round. The Apple Watch is curvy, the Gear S2 (especially the Classic pictured here) is a bit more angular and traditionally watch-like in design. The Apple Watch uses a small digital crown dial and touch display to navigate the interface, while the Gear S2 gets around with a spinning bezel and a touch display. Okay, that last bit isn't all that different, at least in concept. In execution, the larger ring on the Gear S2 offers a bit more travel before you have to pull your finger back and start spinning again than the Apple Watch's digital crown. Get an iPhone SE with Mint Mobile service for $30/mo

There are a few interface comparisons to make. Take the round icons, for example, which Apple uses extensively on their watch, though you could argue that they perhaps make more sense on a round watch like the Gear S. Sure, a lot of them are similar, but when you're making icons this small, there are only so many ways to show what the app is. The Gear S2 does have a slight advantage here in displaying the name of the app in the center, but at the same time that also means it can only display eight apps at a time, whereas the Apple Watch displays nearly four times that many icons — but you can navigate the Gear S's app launcher with that spinning bezel, while the Apple Watch's digital crown only lets you zoom in and out. And that icon in the launcher that's a circle of smaller circles that sent the tech-watching internet into a Samsung's-copying-Apple-again tizzy when the first images were teased? That signifies the next and previous rings of apps on the Gear S, not the favorite friends feature as it does on the Apple Watch. The use of a black background simply makes sense here, with an AMOLED display the pixels light up individually (there's no single backlight), so dark pixels use less power than bright ones. It's why the Apple Watch has a black background and mostly dark watch faces, as do other AMOLED-equipped Android Wear watches like those from LG.