Related
My G Watch was delivered 2 days ago and I am very happy with it so far. Especially since I didn't have to pay anything to get it (credit card reward points came in handy for the first time).
It sits comfortably on my wrist, it's actually lighter than the Omega I usually wear, and the screen is easy to read. That's important for a guy who needs reading glasses.
The first thing I did was install the Weather Watchface from Pizza Entertainment. Even the free version is very sharp looking, I think, and gives a lot of information at a glance.
I'm a bit disappointed that the only way to get new watch faces on my watch is to load up my phone with a bunch of apps. That's a little disappointing to me, I would think there would be a better way to do it, like loading them through the Android Wear app. Oh well, can't ask for too much this early.
Just my 2 cents.
I'm about 2 months in on my gear S, and It feels like the run is coming to an end. Main reason? No support for always on clock faces. I'm a every day watch wearer, and having really no options for a stylish always on face is unacceptable. Plus I'm finding the gear manager to buggy, I can't even manage my notifications anymore...
I'm sick of using only samsung apps, still don't know how to reply to an email correctly. Developement seems slow, all apps are paid apps, not enough apps. Really a shame considering the hardware is really nice, and tizen itself if pretty solid. S voice blows donkey chode... if it could use google now, i would be set. I do alot of random searches throughout the day, and pulling out my phone to using google now because of s voice inadequacies seems stupid.
Just called my pops to order me a moto 360, not sure if I'll be anymore happy, guess we will see. Bottom line, not using 3g card or phone call features as much as I thought, I hate svoice, and gear manager. No replacement watch bands, a rubber band on a $350 watch, malarkey, nuff said.
Update:
Looks like the jumping of the ship did not work... Got the 360, love the looks, love the charger, love google now. Dislike interface overall, whole cards thing just doesn't work, battery life is an absolute joke. Back to the gear s for now, someone please get an aftermarket band and always on faces going. Kinda shocked on how bad android wear is.... hope apple comes out and blows everyone out of the water.
Sampson0420 said:
I'm about 2 months in on my gear S, and It feels like the run is coming to an end. Main reason? No support for always on clock faces. I'm a every day watch wearer, and having really no options for a stylish always on face is unacceptable. Plus I'm finding the gear manager to buggy, I can't even manage my notifications anymore...
I'm sick of using only samsung apps, still don't know how to reply to an email correctly. Developement seems slow, all apps are paid apps, not enough apps. Really a shame considering the hardware is really nice, and tizen itself if pretty solid. S voice blows donkey chode... if it could use google now, i would be set. I do alot of random searches throughout the day, and pulling out my phone to using google now because of s voice inadequacies seems stupid.
Just called my pops to order me a moto 360, not sure if I'll be anymore happy, guess we will see. Bottom line, not using 3g card or phone call features as much as I thought, I hate svoice, and gear manager. No replacement watch bands, a rubber band on a $350 watch, malarkey, nuff said.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bye...
Bye Felicia
He does raise some very valid points, especially about the watch faces. However, the available alternatives have much less functionality. I studied the moto in detail before finally buying the gear s. I am sure I made the right decision, even with the many shortcomings of the gear s. I am also hopeful that some of those glaring omissions (which can very easily be fixed in an update) might actually be updated at some point. Although Samsung is infamous for having the slowest updates in the industry, I remain hopeful.
Agreed, gear can do much more, google wear as a whole has much less functionality. This is why I've passed up on the 360 in the past and waited for gear s. I'm just finding I don't use the gear's extra funtions hardly ever. The functions I do use, the wear watches execute better. I'll have both the next couple weeks and will report back...
Agree with all criticisms, but still Gear S is a keeper
The ability to answer a call or text on my wrist overwhelms the very valid criticisms cited above. I have owned two Pebble watches for over a year now, and while the Pebble does all the small stuff well, the Gear S is so much more powerful on the two most important things that matter, texting and receiving a phone call when your phone is stuck in your pocket. I have also tried several of the android wear devices, and both the Pebble and Gear S still blows them all away. Don't waste your time with Android Wear right now. Buy a Pebble Steel or Gear S.
I agree with jwhedberg. Yesterday after work I went out for a quick discussion with a friend over a beer. Like this happens sometimes, I ended up hitting the town with till very late in the night. My phone battery died at some time and I couldnt charge it at the bar, but I was still able to receive my phone calls on the smartphone number (activated "Call forwarding when unreachable"), I could call and send texts, all from the gear S. Thats a deal maker for me.
An always on face with stylish look would be nice, but I think that even if it was available it would drain too much battery and I wouldn`t use it. I use a combination of always on black and white faces / motion activation, depending of how much of a show off I want to be
I fully agree on the strap issue. This is the most expensive of all my watches, but the strap looks like its from a toy watch. I think first manufacturer of a really cool strap will have some cool sales.
This thread probably could have gone in the returned Gear S thread. I really liked the Gear S but just seemed buggy to me. If a software update came out I might consider getting again but wish some how you could charge the battery wireless or not have to put the dock on. I'll be checking out the Gear S 2 which I guess could be out sooner then what I thought.
The gear s is by far the best smart watch out right now. There is an always on option if you look in the settings. Also you dont wont wireless charging on a device this small. Wireless charging creates excessive heat whuch is bad for batteries. It is one of the reasons why users of the Moto 360 have had device failure. I dont even use wireless charging on cellphones, slow and not worth the added cost for the convience. I like the fact that Samsung placed an extra battery in the charger, that way you can charge the Gear S without a power supply. You can even wear it with the charger. Do you guys actually own the device? Or even read up on what you are buying? Most of the concerns addressed on this thread or easily answered by Samsung and options provided by the device itself.
sniickers said:
The gear s is by far the best smart watch out right now. There is an always on option if you look in the settings. Also you dont wont wireless charging on a device this small. Wireless charging creates excessive heat whuch is bad for batteries. It is one of the reasons why users of the Moto 360 have had device failure. I dont even use wireless charging on cellphones, slow and not worth the added cost for the convience. I like the fact that Samsung placed an extra battery in the charger, that way you can charge the Gear S without a power supply. You can even wear it with the charger. Do you guys actually own the device? Or even read up on what you are buying? Most of the concerns addressed on this thread or easily answered by Samsung and options provided by the device itself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol @ wearing the watch with the charger. The battery in the charger was cool but putting the charger on the watch was a hassle. Imo The watch is very nice and yes I owned it for 20 days and yes I could afford it. LoL I love wireless charging and Note 4 doesn't get hot with the OEM wireless cover. I wouldn't care if it did since I switch phones so much. That was another reason why I didn't keep the Gear S is because if I get a different phone I can't use all the features of the watch. Not everyone is going to love everything so don't get mad at people returning something. Not like you have to read this thread. Just saying
owned the pebble for 6 months, it was ehhh ok. It just looked crappy, and yes I did have the OG, not the steel. On the other hand, it was pretty darn rock solid in regards to working consistantly. Sold it and don't miss it... starting to think twice though about abandoning my S.
I run always on clock face on my gear, I'm typically around 35% at the end of the day. Battery life on this watch is awesome, I charge daily, so no complaints there.
Qi charging is the best thing ever created, there's no going back. Auto alarm clock on a $25 3 coil stand charger and $8 insert on my note 3, completely worth it.
I have the moto 360 and wore it once it does not compare to the gear s because you still have to use your phone for everything
fatboypup said:
Bye Felicia
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OMG im dying here.
Sent from my SM-N910V using XDA Premium HD app
flamebeats said:
I have the moto 360 and wore it once it does not compare to the gear s because you still have to use your phone for everything
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can't use google now to respond/dictate text or email?? Or do quick searches?? If true... that sucks.
This watch is an accessory it is not for the weak at heart. It will not cook you dinner or drive your car clean your house ect. You made the right choice for YOU at this rate you will not be happy with any Smart watch. They are not for everyone with that said good luck with your search
I thought the bands on the moto360 were ugly and cheap looking.
I've owned the Gear S for a month now and love it. Not sure why someone would want the always on feature. Your not always looking at your watch and the slight twist of your wrist it comes on. Saves battery this way too. But to each his own I guess. No problems with notifications here either. In fact I think it notifies me too much. But I like the fact that I can leave my phone anywhere and get messages and calls to my Gear S. I don't get good reception in my place of work so have to use whatsapp over wifi and I like the fact that I can reply to whatsapp messages with watch. I've become a master of swiping on a small keyboard.
just my 2 cents worth, now let me get back to designing watchfaces with watchstyler. lol
so after 8 days of use ....... and totally expecting it to cook me dinner. Im taking mine back too, I hope a model with bigger battery is heading down the pipe and i can totally live with a wifi only option. It's been fun I'll still look in and see if anything happens dev wise that might make me want another. :good:
The Motorola 360 seriously looks like something out of a gumball machine, I was actually taken back by how ugly and cheap it looked the first time I seen one in person. But again it's Motorola, aesthetics and quality aren't Strong suites for them.
But I do agree with the band issue with the Gear S, I love this watch, but was looking forward to the different band options ... still nothing. While the current band looks good I think, it creaks where it touches the watch when you touch the band, two Gear S' in and same thing. Anyone else?
Regardless, this watch is a def keeper, its beautiful and functional.
My band also creaked once in awhile. The watch was either to big on my wrist to where I was moving it a lot. Or it was to tight causing it to sweat on my wrist.
I also was stuck with the band either being to big on one hole or too small on the other .... thought it was just me one left clasp marks on my wrist the other made the hrm not functional
Hello Everyone,
I just received my first ever "Smart Watch". The Fossil Q Founder. I purchased the leather band version. I am not really a watch person but I prefer a leather band over metal in general. I was actually due for a new watch as well being I lost my Seiko about two months ago. Other than my Q Founder the only other watch I have is my Rolex that belonged to my Grandfather. It is far to nice to wear daily though.
So, being I was in the market for a watch, I figured I may as well get a smart watch for the added functionality. It took me a while to make up my mind. It came down to the Huawei Watch and the Fossil Q Founder. The main reason I ended up going with the Q is the specs. I figured it may be a better investment with the Intel processor and 1GB of ram. I guess I was thinking it is " more future proof". I honestly preferred the design of the Q over the Huawei personally as well. The $275 price tag was just an added bonus. If only the Q had the Huawei display....
Aesthetics:
The overall build quality is very good in my opinion. The stainless steel case looks great, polished in some areas and flat in others. The finish is well executed. The leather band looks very nice as well. It appears to be made of high quality leather and the stitching should hold up for a long time. The charger even looks nice. It mimics the soft pillows found in watch boxes. The charging "disc" is slightly magnitized and lights up red while charging / blue when charged.
Performance:
The Q is very snappy. The Intel atom processor paired with 1GB of ram was clearly a good choice on Fossils part. I have yet to experience any lag. The display at 240ppi looks great. The Whites are truely White and the colors look really nice as well. I was wondering about the 240ppi. Obviously if you have the watch 4 inches from your face you can kinda see the pixels, but at a distance > 12 inches it appears very sharp. The 400mah battery should hold up well in the Q. It hasn't lasted me all day yet, but I have "Always on Display" turned on and being I have only had the Q for two days, I have been messing with it nonstop. lol. So I will update more on battery life later when it has a few more charge cycles and I am using it more normally.
Connectivity: The Q has Bluetooth 4.1 LE and WiFi. I believe the WiFi adapter in the Q only supports 2.4ghz, being it did not recognize my 5ghz network. I could be wrong though. I currently have the WiFi off because I am not sure why it is really needed. I just use it via Bluetooth with my Nexus 6. I have had zero issues with connectivity though. Once I had it paired with my Nexus 6, that was it. It always stays connected and connects instantly when powered on. I have yet to experience any type of connection issue.
Overall I feel the Q is an awesome smart watch and it is well worth the $275 for the leather or the $295 for the steel. This is all I have for now but I will update more later.
If you have any questions about the Q feel free to comment.
PS: I VERY carefully opened up the Q. I really wanted to know which Intel atom it is actually running. I couldn't find out though being the chip is covered with a metal shield. All I could see on the board was a Hynix chip, the vibration motor. It is actually very easy to get inside though. There are 4 tiny screws on the back side of the watch. Once removed, the circular housing slides right out of the watch housing. (The part with the lugs / where the band attaches) I will say that the battery is truely 400mah. The WH and V is printed on the battery. I did the math and it is exactly 400mah. Not 399, not 401, 400.
UPDATE:
I read an early article on the Q Founder from Android Police that stated it did have a speaker. This proved to be false. This was one of the deciding factors on my purchase of the Fossil. I was at Best Buy a couple weeks ago and was able to try on the Huawei Watch. I really liked it, and much more than my Fossil. It just seemed to fit me much better being it is not nearly as "huge" and I really liked the higher resolution AMOLED display with no "flat tire". I ended up ordering one from BH Photo being it was on sale for $300, no sales tax, and free overnight shipping. This is pretty much the same price I paid for the Fossil after tax, which I returned for a refund.
I did like the Fossil Q Founder, I really did. I just liked the Huawei Watch even more. Having owned both, I have no regrets going to the Huawei. If someone were to ask me today which to get, I would have to say the Huawei due to the display, speaker and battery life.
I got the metal band one, and the charger is the same as the leather band one, it's kind of a pain, you can't just lay it on there, but I got a Moto 360 charger, and it works perfect. I still need to try the 5GHz network.
From a traditional watch owner's perspective I really like the Founder. Its size and fit are similar to my traditional Fossil watches and I found the price to be reasonable considering the watch's specs.
What kind of battery life are you getting and if this is not your first Android Wear watch how does it compare? My first full day with the watch was about 14 hours before it powered off. I'm already looking at ways to extend my battery.
I've seen some people claiming the Moto360 charger works with the Founder and others that say it doesn't. The chargers are Qi (same as Fossil), cheep, and widely available on Amazon and Ebay so if anyone has tried it out I would love to know.
Hello everyone,
i got the leather version for Christmas and i'm pretty happy with this watch.
My batterie life is good enough for one day. After a 16h day there is round about 20% left.
I charge my watch with the fossil charger but it should work with every QI-charger.
I tried it out with the original QI-station of my LGG4 and it work.
I limited my notifications, adjusted my brightness to 1, and installed Wear Battery Stats. I am seeing a full day and then some now.
One oddity, I use the Fossil digital face and the temperature is off constantly. I can't seem to find any settings for refresh or location. Anyone else see this problem?
We have a forum!
Help identify the CPU
Anyone with the Q Founder have AIDA64 installed?
Go to 'System Files' and tap 'Build Properties' to view the build.prop.
Look for ro.board.platform .. This should help identify which Intel CPU is in the watch.
Post a picture of it, if possible.
Thanks.
Here you go.
Cool. Thank you.
So the SoC is a variant that sits between the unit in the Intel Edison & the z34XX Series.
This is also the first 64bit SoC in an Android Wear device.
temp wrong
Wetzel402 said:
I limited my notifications, adjusted my brightness to 1, and installed Wear Battery Stats. I am seeing a full day and then some now.
One oddity, I use the Fossil digital face and the temperature is off constantly. I can't seem to find any settings for refresh or location. Anyone else see this problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am seeing the same thing with that watch face. But the Fossil app watch settings shows it correctly.
bcas400g said:
I am seeing the same thing with that watch face. But the Fossil app watch settings shows it correctly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I noticed when Fossil published the Fossil Q app update a week or two ago the temperature is now accurate for me. I'm now getting full days out of the battery with anywhere from 20% to 50% battery left depending on usage and length of my day. I am happy with my purchase.
bcas400g said:
I am seeing the same thing with that watch face. But the Fossil app watch settings shows it correctly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I noticed the temperature issues as well and it is annoying as hell. I live in europe, so I want to see celsius degrees and the digital watch face
is either completely off or shows fahrenheit. On the classic watch face the scale is USELESS. If you set the temperature to celsius the scale goes from +40 to -20.
An information in digital is here way better. An analog scale looks good - i give you that - but if you want a quick information, you are looking in the wrong place.
And it goes on: The classic watch face changes often by itself from celsius to fahrenheit and when you want to change it back in the settings you have to do it
several times or juggle around with the other indicators. I contacted fossil via twitter and email and got ZERO answer to my feedback and my wish for a obviously needed
software update.
I like the looks of the watch, it does its job. The battery life is worse than on the huawei, the g watch r and the moto 360 2nd but the most annoying issues are the ones emntioned above.
/rant end.
Dito13 said:
Yeah, I noticed the temperature issues as well and it is annoying as hell. I live in europe, so I want to see celsius degrees and the digital watch face
is either completely off or shows fahrenheit. On the classic watch face the scale is USELESS. If you set the temperature to celsius the scale goes from +40 to -20.
An information in digital is here way better. An analog scale looks good - i give you that - but if you want a quick information, you are looking in the wrong place.
And it goes on: The classic watch face changes often by itself from celsius to fahrenheit and when you want to change it back in the settings you have to do it
several times or juggle around with the other indicators. I contacted fossil via twitter and email and got ZERO answer to my feedback and my wish for a obviously needed
software update.
I like the looks of the watch, it does its job. The battery life is worse than on the huawei, the g watch r and the moto 360 2nd but the most annoying issues are the ones emntioned above.
/rant end.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My temperature was good for quite a while after Fossil updated the Fossil Q app but it is now stuck again.
I would like to see an option for the classic watch face to show the weather digital. I would also like to see options to show more info in ambient mode (like temp).
Regarding the battery life, it is decent but I am hoping that an Android Wear update is released with optimizations for the Intel chip set.
I will forward this thread to Fossil. Hopefully this will speed up the process.
Dito13 said:
I will forward this thread to Fossil. Hopefully this will speed up the process.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With any luck they will read it but I'm not going to hold my breath. It would be great to see one of their software engineers get on XDA to discuss features and improvements.
They answered right away that they will forward this thread to their android development division. I hope that a software update will change some of the points discussed here to the better. It would be quite brash to throw a product on the market with quite a number of teething troubles and just leaving it at that.
... but it did happen quite so often in the past
Dito13 said:
They answered right away that they will forward this thread to their android development division. I hope that a software update will change some of the points discussed here to the better. It would be quite brash to throw a product on the market with quite a number of teething troubles and just leaving it at that.
... but it did happen quite so often in the past
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Impressive. Thank you.
Hopefully we see something come of it.
I have noted that each time my weather temperature gets stuck my battery also drains rapidly. I believe there is a bug there needed to be squashed.
My observation is that the battery runs a lot longer after I turned the watch off for some time. I don't do this normally but I noticed it right away. Maybe there is some overflow issue
Amazon app on fossil q
Had mine since Christmas, anybody have a problem with amazon app? Mine always says needs update, then it says updating but nothing ever happens. I contacted fossil but they say to contact amazon and they haven't had much advice. Tried the usual uninstall and reinstall on phone, restart everything yada yada yada. If no fix, anyone know how I can just remove app from with and not phone?
Thanks
curious to see how many of the Samsung Galaxy S8 community have smartwatches, and which ones they are using?
I've had the Asus Zenwatch 3 since before I got the S8 back in November.
this watch is very stylish and serves as a great time piece.
everything seems to run fairly well. I get notifications, able to respond with my voice, etc. but my main concern is lag. when I disable the "OK Google" detection from the watch, the lag is almost gone. thus, in order to enter a command, I need to press a button on the watch to launch google assistant. and each time, on the first pass, I get an error that google was unreachable. but when I try a second time, it works fine. so I'm not sure if this is due to the handshake between the phone and the watch or just the watch. also, when going on a run/walk/bike ride, I would like to start the activity through the watch. however, I cannot seem to get Map My Run to work properly. I'm fine using Google Fit, but it does not call out the milestones to my bluetooth headphones - only when I start the activity through the phone. to me, this makes have the smartwatch almost pointless if I have to initiate the activity through the phone.
I know that Samsung has their own line of smartwatches, but from what I read, they do not use Google, they use Tizen. I also read that the next release of their watch (Galaxy watch, I think) will have Bixby install as it's assistant. those two factors alone will keep me away from getting a samsung smartwatch.
however, I am eyeing the Ticwatch Pro, but just want to be sure that watch is true upgrade over mine.
I used to have the original moto 360 (paired with my Motorola Droid Turbo), and that was a great combination except that the heart rate monitor was spotty at best (the Asus Zenwatch 3, FWIW, does NOT have the heart rate monitor, also a downer).
curious to see anyone else's experience....
If you're not in the rush, I recommend you to just wait for Samsung / Google next upgrade on smartwatch, because it is very near already..
Personally, I'm using Samsung gear S2 and loved it a lot for quite long... The rotating bezel is the best navigation out there imo... Sadly, Gear S3 and Gear Watch is a bit overpriced for me, so I'm still using the outdated Gear S2 for quite some time.
StardustGeass said:
If you're not in the rush, I recommend you to just wait for Samsung / Google next upgrade on smartwatch, because it is very near already..
Personally, I'm using Samsung gear S2 and loved it a lot for quite long... The rotating bezel is the best navigation out there imo... Sadly, Gear S3 and Gear Watch is a bit overpriced for me, so I'm still using the outdated Gear S2 for quite some time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I keep reading reviews of how everyone loves the rotating bezels. I'm sure I would like it, but i'm just fine with flicking my wrist to view the notifications or using my voice.
I wound up selling my Asus Zenwatch 3 and bought the TicWatch Pro. I had some difficulty setting it up at first - meaning that it took more than an hour to complete the process. but once it was done, seems to be working quite well so far.
the tough part is that in order to NFC to make payments via google pay (I think that the gear watches force you to use Samsung Pay instead?), is that you need to have a screenlock password/pin/pattern - and this is extremely inconvenient for normal use. But i believe that is more of a feature of Android Wear rather than the watch itself. if anything, I would prefer the to enter the password/pin/pattern only when I attempt to use google pay.
my only reason for waiting until the pixel watch would be to see it offered a watch with more RAM. however, this TicWatch Pro is very responsive and I'm able to leave the "ok Google" enabled - very helpful when driving.
jco23 said:
I keep reading reviews of how everyone loves the rotating bezels. I'm sure I would like it, but i'm just fine with flicking my wrist to view the notifications or using my voice.
I wound up selling my Asus Zenwatch 3 and bought the TicWatch Pro. I had some difficulty setting it up at first - meaning that it took more than an hour to complete the process. but once it was done, seems to be working quite well so far.
the tough part is that in order to NFC to make payments via google pay (I think that the gear watches force you to use Samsung Pay instead?), is that you need to have a screenlock password/pin/pattern - and this is extremely inconvenient for normal use. But i believe that is more of a feature of Android Wear rather than the watch itself. if anything, I would prefer the to enter the password/pin/pattern only when I attempt to use google pay.
my only reason for waiting until the pixel watch would be to see it offered a watch with more RAM. however, this TicWatch Pro is very responsive and I'm able to leave the "ok Google" enabled - very helpful when driving.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also ended up with a Ticwatch E model - didn't want to go all in with an expensive, high end watch until I was sure I liked the idea. Bought this one during Amazon Prime Days and have been really happy with it. Syncs to the S8, messaging, notification, Fit, Assistant, Maps, etc., all just work the way you think it should. You're right, it took about an hour before everything got set up and updated correctly. I even run Google Keep on it and check off my grocery list with the phone still in my pocket - no more burying the phone in the cart, then digging to find it!
Samsung Galaxy Watch is up, but I don't see any difference with the Gear S3?
Everything just looks the same.
The size.
The OS.
The feature.
I don't even feel Gear S3 is worth the price, and here comes a newer, more expensive one.
Yes, I totally love android smartwatch. I own Gear S2 for quite some time, and I really enjoyed it. But, smartwatch price just feels so ridiculous.
i use my moto 360.
i got a tic watch S but sending that back it was the white one. + android wear 2 is stupid... u can only voice talk in one language... but im dutch and live in france so i need 2 language... but its only french or english.. i tried looked on internet it seems normal android wear 2 is stupid, otherwise its great to talk and reply to people but i can do that same on my moto 360 with android wear 1. with just a extra app on my phone i can get keyboard and all on watch.. and i can speak 3 language and its know which it talk and it works... but for real im really disapointed by android wear 2. . its great but seems stupid to not have multi language....
so yeah i guess i will never change my moto 360...
Anyone have experience with Huawei watch 2 4G?
miloshp said:
Anyone have experience with Huawei watch 2 4G?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just picked up the Huawei Watch 2 Classic from Best Buy (also available on Amazon). I think it is JUST the bluetooth version, as I am not interested in getting the cellular version..
I compared it to the Ticwatch Pro, and the Huawei has a much better feel and classiness to it. The battery life has been great - I even have everything enabled (always on-display, "ok google detection", wrist gestures, etc.). At the end of the day (6:30am-10pm), I'm still at 50%+. I also take it off at night, and it charges very quickly. So I really do not need more than 2days of battery life. The watch also has an eco mode, where (just like the Ticwatch Pro), it will disable Wear OS, and you'll just get the time while it tracks your steps.
I'll submit my video and full specs review a bit later...
hope this helps.
Introduction:
I am comparing two smartwatches that use Android Wear 2.0. I have read where many people prefer the Samsung watches with their Tizen OS and rotating bezel, thus I felt that comparing a AW OS smartwatch to a different OS would not be fair. From my experience, Samsung tends to handcuff their customers (much like Apple), so many folks are already turned away from using any additional Samsung products. my previous devices were the original Moto 360 (paired with a Motorola Droid Trubo) and Asus Zenwatch 3. The Moto 360 had a heartrate feature, but was only available on demand, and took over a minute to find my heart rate. The Asus Zenwatch 3 is very classy, but lacked the heartrate monitor, and always seemed slow to respond. Neither of these watches had GPS, NFC, or IP68 rating. The Moto 360 capped out at AW 1.5 (which some still say is better than 2.0), while the Asus Zenwatch 3 started with 1.5 and moved quickly to 2.0. I had the Moto 360 for nearly three years (11/2014-8/2017) and the Asus Zenwatch 3 for less than one year (8/2017-7/2018). Battery life on both barely made it a full 24 hours. Both felt very comfortable and looked classy.
Tiwatch Pro:
I tested the Ticwatch Pro for about two weeks. Pairing it to my phone took well over an hour. There were many times when I had to disconnect/reset the watch, as I thought that the phone/watch was stuck. But really, it just took significantly longer than my other watches. The watch worked fine from the get go, however, setting up my credit card for NFC payments took some time as well (including disconnecting/resetting, as your watch must have a PIN/password/pattern in order to use this feature). Did not realize until later that each time I disabled the lock screen, I lost NFC, so I had to re-enable the lock screen and then set up my credit card all over again. But I think that is more of a feature of AW than the watch. Supposedly, the watch knows when it is on your wrist, so when you take it off/on, you'll have to get through the lock screen each time. The watch was not very consistent with this, so there were a few times when I had to enter the info even though the watch had been on my wrist for a while. Also, when I docked/charged the watch, I had to bypass the lock screen just to get to the nightstand mode. In terms of feel, the Ticwatch felt like I was wearing a smartphone on my wrist, and not a watch. This felt awkward to the point where I could not wait to take it off. The idea for the band is great - leather on the outside and a breathable silicon on the inside. However, the length was a little odd and felt too stiff. The battery life was acceptable, as I always take it off when I sleep, so I really only require 1-day+. The Ticwatch's best feature is what I dislike most - the digital display. In my opinion, this is not classy - not the reason to spend $250. Thus, I had to enable the always on display - which was fine, but for the stock watchfaces, I did not like having to read, "Ticwatch", and they were not that nice. I installed Watchmaker and used a custom watchface, which was much nicer, but with the always on display, my wrist was always illuminating (and not fading like the stock faces). However, the Ticwatch functions as it should, and is a nice watch. Just that it does not feel right to me.
Huawei Watch 2 Classic:
I tested the Huawei Watch 2 Classic for one week. Much like the Ticwatch, it took well over an hour to pair to my phone. The functionality is essentially the same as the Ticwatch with these few exceptions: the screen lock had to be entered far less. Only had to bypass the lockscreen when putting the watch on my wrist, and NOT when I docked/charged the watch for nightstand mode. Since I had the Ticwatch previously, the Huawei had a noticeably smaller screen size. Not a big deal, but the featured watchface has a circle that shows the date, and this circle is not legible, this making it useless. In terms of feel, the Huawei felt like very comfortable. Similiar to the Ticwatch, the Huawei has a dual band with leather on the outside and breathable silicon on the inside. However, this band feels more genuine and softer than the Ticwatch band. Also, the two tone (brown leather) looks better than the black band only offered by Ticwatch (Huawei also offers a black band). Battery life is better than expected, as I could get 2-days easily with limited use, and could probably get even longer if enabled "Smart Power saving" or "watch mode" via the Battery setting. Response is realatively quick, even with "Ok Google" detection enabled.
Conclusion:
Both watches work very well as advertised, and are great for both casual users and athletes. I go running/walking/biking at least twice a week, and both watches perform well with no hiccups. Battery life is a non-issue to me due the Huawei having it's own essential mode. The key difference is that the Huawei has more RAM (thus, performance is slightly better), and the Huawei looks/feels classier and far more comfortable. The Ticwatch has a slight edge for a larger screen size and being newer. However, given that the Huawei is now on clearance (could be a bad sign), the Ticwatch is more expensive. Thus, due to these factors, I went with the Huawei Watch 2 Classic.
by the way, the Huawei Watch 2 Classic on clearance at Best Buy for $180 ($125 open box) - not a bad deal for what I think is one of the best AW smartwatches available right now. Consider that the Pixel and next generation smartwatches will be $300+ (albeit they'll have an updated processor and probably more RAM). The Huawei Watch 2 is already in line to get Android P to sync up with our phones (whenever the Samsung Galaxy S8 gets pie).
I got 2 gear S2s and they are absolutely wonderful I bought a second one as I am a mechanic and figured I would tear it up fast...Nope take most of the abuse and other than a beat up band which i have 3 others still 6 months later the watch has a couple scratches and thats it
I've got 3 watches. Diesel On Full Guard, Michael Kors Grayson, and Nixon Mission. The first 2 are essentially the same thing just different styling. The Nixon has the same processor and is more rugged for out doorsey use. All three lack NFC and heart rate monitoring. So unless you need to pay for your Starbucks after your power walk they are not for you.
Nixon has very basic functionality, it will accept voice imput, but will not talk back (no speaker). The Grayson and Full Guard has a speaker and is a real '**** Tracy' watch. All of these are considered fashion watches and have built in watch faces that are extensive. Add an app like!e Watchmaker and you can expand the looks. Nixon is pretty fixed when it comes to bands, while the other will easily take any 24mm band and the stock bands are quick release.
Working with my S8+ has been easy. Notifications are easy to read and interface with. Assistant works well. Battery life needs improvement, and the next generation should address this. But for now I'm pleased with these choices. All are in my daily rotation based on my mood or style preference for any given day.
I've got a LG G Watch R and I'm happy with it after all these years. The battery sadly doesn't lasts that much anymore but it's perfect for me.
With Bluetooth : ~2-3 days
With Wi-Fi : ~1-1/2 day.
Airplane Mode : ~ 4-5 days.
It's rooted, all the bloat removed and TWRP on it. Android Wear 2 installed. Cheap too nowadays
TheMadScientist said:
I got 2 gear S2s and they are absolutely wonderful I bought a second one as I am a mechanic and figured I would tear it up fast...Nope take most of the abuse and other than a beat up band which i have 3 others still 6 months later the watch has a couple scratches and thats it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got those for my kids (used on e-bay), so far, so good. lone downside is that I had to a samsung phone for best results. I feel that samsung is trying to be like apple with all of their propriety crapps.
jco23 said:
I got those for my kids (used on e-bay), so far, so good. lone downside is that I had to a samsung phone for best results. I feel that samsung is trying to be like apple with all of their propriety crapps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I found a modded gear app for any phone and any ram size no 1.5 gb ram limit Its posted in the gear s2 thread
I used mine on a 30$ ZTE straight talk and my lgs
TheMadScientist said:
I found a modded gear app for any phone and any ram size no 1.5 gb ram limit Its posted in the gear s2 thread
I used mine on a 30$ ZTE straight talk and my lgs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah, I saw those apps. somewhat unreliable in my experience. but since I won't be using the phone or watches, I needed something that would require zero maintenance (or as close to zero as possible).
if it was just for me, then I probably would have gone the same route. however, I did use the windows executable that copies MP3 files from the computer to the watch via WiFi - that was pretty nifty.
I'm using a Fitbit Versa and it works flawless with my S8+ (before I had a Moto G4 and it worked terrible tbh).
I'm looking at the new Galaxy Watch but A. It's too expensive, B. It doesn't have MST like the Gear S3. So that's a deal breaker for me.
I have tag heuer connected modular 45 and seriously it's great to use both together with 1.5 day battery.
I am using Zenwatch 3. Its more than 1 yr now and running fine.
I've spent time with a Huawei Watch, HW2 and now a Ticwatch Pro and they all share the same problem - WearOS. It is so slow and unreliable. battery life.....
I loved my Pebble Time Steel and briefly had a Amazfit BIP - which I was very impressed with. I just wanted something that looked a bit better, so went back to Huawei watches.
I only use my watch to tell me of incoming notifications and phone calls. Not for any exercise or sport stuff.
Looking at what's out there, the Stratos and Verge keep garnering my attention. I was relieved to see a dev community for these watches.
What do people prefer? Stratos looks gorgeous, but Verge has calling ability. I suppose both have an equal amount of development done on them. Is installing APKs on these as simple as ADB'ing to them?
Thanks
Hi,
i have few Pebble (Steel and Pebble 2), on rebel.io soft last time but its development is dead practically. wife have Samsung Gear Classic but i want to try Verge.
I was interesting about long battery (2 days with continuous pulse, 4-5 normally), pulse measuring (really good sensors), reply to messages and speaker for calls and low price - so i buy for 120$ Verge and it does the job. Great GPS ! and software.
Of course its plastic but this is not so important for me, it's light great screen and for this price you can't find anything better i assume... Try to use PACEficator from @Saratoga79 and this is it !
white43 said:
I've spent time with a Huawei Watch, HW2 and now a Ticwatch Pro and they all share the same problem - WearOS. It is so slow and unreliable. battery life.....
I loved my Pebble Time Steel and briefly had a Amazfit BIP - which I was very impressed with. I just wanted something that looked a bit better, so went back to Huawei watches.
I only use my watch to tell me of incoming notifications and phone calls. Not for any exercise or sport stuff.
Looking at what's out there, the Stratos and Verge keep garnering my attention. I was relieved to see a dev community for these watches.
What do people prefer? Stratos looks gorgeous, but Verge has calling ability. I suppose both have an equal amount of development done on them. Is installing APKs on these as simple as ADB'ing to them?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you want best battery, Amazfit Bip.
If you are interested on notification replies, answering calls, Amazfit Verge.
If you are focusing on sport, notification replies, Amazfit Stratos.
Saratoga79 said:
If you want best battery, Amazfit Bip.
If you are interested on notification replies, answering calls, Amazfit Verge.
If you are focusing on sport, notification replies, Amazfit Stratos.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you
So you can reply to messages - inc WhatsApp with Verge and Stratos?
Is battery life equally good on both?
Is PACE worth considering?
white43 said:
Thank you
So you can reply to messages - inc WhatsApp with Verge and Stratos?
Is battery life equally good on both?
Is PACE worth considering?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, on Stratos/Pace/Verge, not sure on Bip,, using AmazMod or WatchDroid apps.
Battery depends on usage but 4-6 days with some sport and notifications.
Saratoga79 said:
Yes, on Stratos/Pace/Verge, not sure on Bip,, using AmazMod or WatchDroid apps.
Battery depends on usage but 4-6 days with some sport and notifications.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool. I see in some reviews they're saying you can't reply? Or do you mean you need to install AmazMod or WatchDroid to reply? Is it easy to install on Verge?
white43 said:
Cool. I see in some reviews they're saying you can't reply? Or do you mean you need to install AmazMod or WatchDroid to reply? Is it easy to install on Verge?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need to install a 3th party app on watch and phone (Android only).
In the forum there is a thread about AmazMod.
white43 said:
I've spent time with a Huawei Watch, HW2 and now a Ticwatch Pro and they all share the same problem - WearOS. It is so slow and unreliable. battery life.....
I loved my Pebble Time Steel and briefly had a Amazfit BIP - which I was very impressed with. I just wanted something that looked a bit better, so went back to Huawei watches.
I only use my watch to tell me of incoming notifications and phone calls. Not for any exercise or sport stuff.
Looking at what's out there, the Stratos and Verge keep garnering my attention. I was relieved to see a dev community for these watches.
What do people prefer? Stratos looks gorgeous, but Verge has calling ability. I suppose both have an equal amount of development done on them. Is installing APKs on these as simple as ADB'ing to them?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When broke down my previous smartband i looked for new smart wearable device. I had to found new manufactor at all, cos previous device's manufactor don't release and did not released yet new wearable devices at all. My requirements:
1. Inexpensive, price must be from 50 to 100 euros.
2. GPS (navigation is my wish, i hope Amazfit will add this feature (widget) in future)
3. Heart Rate tracking
4. Sleep tracking
5. Steps tracking
6. Long battery life
7. Notifications of call/messages/calendar and ect.
8. Microphone/Soundspeaker was request, cos previous device had it too, but all previous models which i checked before i bought Verge, havn't that (if say exactly - microphone, voice assitant), so it wasn't so important, but was big plus and reason to buy Verge model.
So in my market sellers in theirs shops by these my requirements could offer just some models and one of them was Amazfit Bip. Ofcourse i wanted good manufactor, i didn't wanted cheap product which will break down after month or little more. So i discovered Amazfit as manufactor in this way. I read a lot of opinions about this company and most or maybe all was birliants: long time battery life, good heart rate tracking and ect. All features which i wanted they could offer me in my wanting price. So i started to search more about Amazfit and Bip. I liked in first sign this model: very very long battery life - 45 days, it's something incredible. Device which cost about 70 euros (2 - 3 months ago) with heart rate tracking, GPS, sleep tracking and many more. But Bip have some minus too: cheap display, small screen, can't read my language text (letters), ofcourse most features is missed which have Stratos and Verge. So i continued my search further. I saw in market Stratos too, which cost at these days around 200 euros, which was to expensive to me. So i was confused, i did not knew what to do: to wait untill price of Stratos will be lower or to buy inexpensive Bip model, which have a lot of deficiencies if compare with Stratos and Verge. I read and watched a lot of compare, reviews and ect., about these both models and one day my suprised i found name "Verge". This model was new these days, wasn't in my market yet, but i thought maybe to wait, maybe one day will be in my market, must be. Ofcourse i continued my search, i still looked into Amazfi's products. I read they are leaders of wearable devices or one of them. So quality i thought will be good, must be. So patient i looked further. And for bigger as 100 i found that is Pace, was discount. So i decided to buy it, but... Seller which offer this model had only one device in all my country, so i had to ask about possibility to get this model in my city. They prosimed to call if will be this possibility. So after some weeks i did not got any call and i saw in theirs web site that model is sold. Then i decided to buy Verge, which by the way came to market very fast if say honest. Most market in all world havn't this model until now, or got it just few weeks ago. I have Verge from this year beggining around 2019 Februrary, my search started from 2018 end December, after Christmas, so i looked this model and waited really not so long. Stratos in the market is still now, Pace some sellers sold out long time ago, some of them selling just now. When i looked for new model most of this models (Stratos/Pace) wasn't in market at all, cos was sold out or was with big prices. So that's why i did not bought it at all in my search period. After i decided to wait Verge, i did not checked others models. Then i started to ask about possibility to buy it in my country. After showed up first sellers i went to see in shop how look it and ect. So i saw then all Amazfit models and decided to buy only Verge. Startos looks great too, but is expensive or was when i bought it. Pace wasn't in market and Bip was to small, cheap display compare to others models.
Why Verge?
This model could offer to me what i wanted, all my requirements total completed fulfill. Pace havn't microphone, which have Verge, have poorer water protection - IP67, when Verge have IP68. Similar is with Stratos if i'm not wrong, Stratos have better protection of water from these all models, but havn't microphone too. So Verge in this way for me look better. Design all models is wonderful, Stratos maybe look most beautiful, but Verge and Pace look great too. It's a little bit hard to compare, coz all models i think is dedicated for various people. My opinion Verge best look for people which like to sport, with Startos you can wear classic clothes, Pace? Pace maybe for daily usage, i mean leisure time, leisure people. Design for me never been most important thing, i like good design, but most important to me is features. So in this way win Verge again. Coz Pace was sold out, i had to choose Verge or Startos, ofcourse and you writing that you liked only these models, so maybe i will write about it only.
My opinion Verge and Startos is similar to each other models. I mean specifications. Stratos have better protection from water, but Verge have better display and many others things. Why i chose Verge? Verge price is lower, also this model is newest. I am opinion that newest things can offer better things. So these argument helped to me to choose what to buy. But let's talk more about difference of these models. Verge is plastic that's not maybe good, but how much i read, it's not cheap plastic. If say honest all time i was againts Chinese products, a lot of people know quality of Chinese products. But i don't know why, but i trust in Amazfit. Maybe for great opinions, maybe that i found a lot of great reviews Maybe that this company is leading in wearable devices market. I don't know. But i am happy that i bought Amazfit product yet, and even i'm happy that i chose Verge model. I started compare these two model what i want: Stratos have oxygen tracking (if i'm not wrong), but microphone for me sounds better, i like voice assisntans too, i had it in previous device, so this feature was important to me more as oxygen, water proof resistant which have Startos, as i mentioned and price in this place wasn't last argument. Also if i'm not wrong Stratos havn't NFC, so which watch impossible to do payment in shops. Ofcourse voice assistant, payment via NFC this moment is not available in all market, working just in China and voice assistant in US too, but as i know it coming and it's only time question when will be available in all or most market. Maybe with upcoming updates, maybe later. verge is very new model, so Amazfit as i know working in this already. I very suprised how they fast doing updates, release it and how company so good working on this at all, all mistaked fixing process, so fast and good. I'm very happy of Amazfit Verge at all. By the way Stratos i did not tested, i just saw it in shot, so maybe i more will be talk about Verge. But before that some compare of these models from official web sites:
SCREEN:
Verge - 1.30" AMOLED
Stratos - 1.34inch reflective low-power consumption color display screen
RESOLUTION:
Verge - 360x360
Stratos - 320 X 300
* Both models have always on display feature and Corning Gorilla glass. About that you can read more in offcial Amazfit web site
BOTH HAVE:
1.2GHz Dual-Core Processor, 512M RAM 4GB internal flash memory, GPS + GLONASS. Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11b/g 2.4GHz；Bluetooth 4.0. Heart Rate, Sleep tracking and many others.
So probably biggest differnce between these models is price, resolution, protection of water and some features, like voice assitan, NFC and ect. That's why i bought Verge. Now my feedback about Verge:
This model i have from around 2019 February first days. When i bough it immediately i got update. After month (around this time) i got second update and later another two (one was update, after week was bug/issue fixing, cos did not worked double tap option). So Amazfit on update working hard, fast and really good. As i know Chinese manufactor release update at all very fast: Huawei, Amazfit now, Xiaomi (which actually is Amazfit part or Amazfit is part of Xiaomi) and many others, which i can't remember right now. Amafit Verge by manufactor must be alive about 5 days after last charge. With my settings (sport modes is not activated. Heart rate working all the time. Double tap is activated. Low light mode (always on display mode if say in others words), don't disturb mode, wrist up mode working in specific time, all modes working or not working for 9 hours. Double tap which i mentioned and wrist up modes not working when is activated always on display mode. Is tracking sleep (if i remember right from 22 to 10 or something like this, in day sleep is not tracking, is not tracking and second sleep if you have one). With these settings i charging battery every 2 - 3 days. Before was updated device was moment when i had to charge after 4 days or around it. So i don't know it's update changed charge time or something else. Usuage is the same, settings always was the same or similar to these which i posted. Notifications which you want to get you can choose in Watch App. Facebook, Messenger, Whats Up, SMS you can get with full text, but from Gmail is showing only subject, all full message you can't get. Amazfit is reported a lot of about this, but... maybe will be fixed later. Watch is easy to wear, is not heavy. Sometime i forgetting that i wear it. But... for me size of band is not comfortable so much. If i close it more on my hand, you know, more tighten, when after some minutes annoying, cos pressing to much. If i release band, when moving from place. Even this happening in hot days, when is a little bit sweat or water, cos i cleaning my hand often with this watch (ofcourse i don't trying to special immerse it to water, but after some work need to watch hand, which sometimes going on hand too, included watch band). Maybe it just for me. Is not so bad, but sometime annoying, need to close it again and again. Heart rate this watch tracking very accurate. I compared it with blood measure device, company which creating these devices is one of the best in market of blood tracking. It's medical device, approved by companies which sets these accurate and ect. Sleep tracking is often incorrect. Most time this watch did not detected my correct wake up time. Often was missed 1 - 3 hours from my sleep. It's a little bit weird, coz Amazfit i read working with one of best world University science workers with sleep tracking, if i understand everything right of course. I reported that a several times, so maybe in future will be fixed that too. Steps counting with question too. I tried to check and seek it, one moment looks like everything is fine, next time it looks like tracking is with mistakes. For example when i walking steps by steps was counted right or maybe one or twi steps more, but sometimes i sitting on chair, but watch counting as steps. Weird. I mentioned a lot of time here soundspeaker and microphone. So with this watch you can call from watch to friends or to get their call and talk via watch. Also you can listen music with bluetooth headphone without smartphone. One big problem you can get message, but you can't answer in it from watch. I had smartband which had this option, so little bit weird why Amazfit did not this possibility. Screen is shine, bright. Display is wornderfull, Oled is really cool display. What else? If you have question, post it. If i did not wrote something. By the way soundspeaker is not loud of this watch, to talk with people or to listen straight from watch music (you can do that without headphone too) need enoguht silence place. This watch havn't calendar, watch faces official is a little bit more as 15 after update, but you can easily add ęrd parties or create own if you know how to do that. Every hour watch reminding you to walk if you sitting a lot of, this feature impossible to turn of yet, but if i understand right, this possibility will be add. Voice assistant, NFC payment working as i mentioned right now only in China and US (voice assistant only right now), but as i understand company working in this right now, so maybe soon will be available in all rest world. What else? Weather is getting from yours smartphone, but i don't know from which app or Amazfit have own source. This watch have own oeprating system as you know, so from Google Play you can't install more apps, there is in this forum too some guys which created some apps like Calendar which havn't this watch yet, but to install it it's not so simple. But maybe it's just for me. In watch you can add only two widget from 13: weather, health (steps counting), heart rate, sports, sleep, activities, phone, music, alarm, find phone (if you forget where to left your phone, this app will help you to find it, will turn on alarm of smartphone), timer, stopwatch, compass (working fine) and last settings, but settings i don't count as widget, cos you can add it as i remember. Weather is 5 days in widget, so really good widget. I forget to say, i mentioned that Bip model can't regonized specific language. For example my language letters is not showing in bip message notifications, with verge i can read my language text without any problem. So probably that's all. Big text, but if i missed something just ask, i will try to say it.
Finally watch it's really good, plastic, but is strong, good quality platsic. Have Gorrila Glass protection (3rd generation which is better when in smartphone). Have some minus like incorrect sleep tracking often, but not daily, steps with question, but most feature working fine, battery is good, display is very nice. I recommend you to buy it.
---------- Post added at 05:57 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:27 PM ----------
Saratoga79 said:
If you want best battery, Amazfit Bip.
If you are interested on notification replies, answering calls, Amazfit Verge.
If you are focusing on sport, notification replies, Amazfit Stratos.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I disagree, Verge is much more better for sport as Stratos. Verge have more as 10 sports genre from running to football
Well done my friend to the post above! It was a great read! I hope you enjoy and have pleasure with your new Amazfit!
Give that man a cigar!
?
Damoedge said:
Well done my friend to the post above! It was a great read! I hope you enjoy and have pleasure with your new Amazfit!
Give that man a cigar!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't smoke :laugh: But thanks, user asked opinion - here is it