Samsung’s Gear Fit is a striking

                      

With every one of its gadgets this year, Samsung has shown that it has learned from its mistakes.

This started with the Galaxy S5, and it’s particularly true for the $200 Gear Fit, a device that sits somewhere between a health tracker and a dedicated smart watch. It has none of the big problems of Samsung’s ill-fated Galaxy Gear smartwatch from last year — unlike the older gadget, the Gear Fit is sleek and well-designed, and it sports a few useful features. Most important, it’s something you might actually want to wear all day.

While everyone is eagerly awaiting Apple’s rumored wearable — the “iWatch” — Samsung has actually managed to craft a device that, on the surface, looks similar what many want from Apple.

Dig a little deeper, though, and the Gear Fit’s issues quickly come to light. But while the Fit isn’t Samsung’s ideal wearable yet, it’s a sign that the company is getting closer.

The Gear Fit is such a huge leap ahead of last year’s disastrous Galaxy Gear that it’s hard to believe that the same company developed them. Where the Galaxy Gear is bulky and ugly, the Gear Fit is slim and sleek.

Its 1.84-inch curved touchscreen is unlike anything I’ve seen before on a wearable. The screen is bright and beautiful, even though it’s not displaying rich media such as photos. I often found myself staring at the screen just to admire it.

The Fit sports a plastic shell and watchband, which makes it surprisingly light. You can also easily swap in alternative watchbands to dress it up a bit or match your outfits. The Fit is also easy to place on your wrist, unlike the awkward clasp on the Galaxy Gear. (It’s similar to, but more convenient than, the clasp in Fitbit’s wearables, which I’ve consistently found difficult to snap in place.)

You can view the screen in vertical and horizontal orientations. I preferred the vertical mode, as it was easier to read on the Fit’s curved screen without twisting my arm awkwardly. The screen is smart enough to light up when you hold up your wrist, though that could be problematic if you’re wearing the Fit in a dark theater.

On top of looking good, the Fit packs in a bunch of features you may actually want to use in a wearable. It can count the steps you’ve taken, track your heart rate, and track your sleep. The Fit also has a few exercise modes for tracking your runs and biking sessions, all of which you can synchronize with Samsung’s S Health apps on its Android smartphones.