So I'm wondering what the actual differences are between the Gear 2 and Gear Fit.
I can see most of them right away:
curved screen
shape & size
internal stuff (camera, IR blaster,..)?
But what are the actual software differences?
Will I get exercise help on Gear 2 same as on Gear Fit?
Also: is that lengthy display handy in everyday life?
Here you can see my video review for Gear Fit.
You can find out what apps does it have, how you can charge it and with which devices is it compatible
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mq-yS2dWQKc
Gear Fit is just a dumb (as in OS absent) watch with fitness functions and LED
Gear 2 is a smart watch that run Tizen OS.
Gear 1 is a smart watch that runs Android.
klau1 said:
Gear Fit is just a dumb (as in OS absent) watch with fitness functions and LED
Gear 2 is a smart watch that run Tizen OS.
Gear 1 is a smart watch that runs Android.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wrong to say it is Dumb, shows no reading of any reviews.
The Gear Fit, is a smart watch it will show notifications, it will run apps and this is my opinion looks great.
The Gear fit does have a priority OS real time OS, you are not likely to get many new apps but a few may come.
Remember the Gear 2 runs Tizen good luck getting apps for that as well.
At $100 less expensive than the Gear 2, and everything I need I may get the Gear Fit but I will never buy a Gear 2.
AstroDigital said:
Wrong to say it is Dumb, shows no reading of any reviews.
The Gear Fit, is a smart watch it will show notifications, it will run apps and this is my opinion looks great.
The Gear fit does have a priority OS real time OS, you are not likely to get many new apps but a few may come.
Remember the Gear 2 runs Tizen good luck getting apps for that as well.
At $100 less expensive than the Gear 2, and everything I need I may get the Gear Fit but I will never buy a Gear 2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just because it runs apps doesn't make it smart.
The Motorola V3 runs jar apps you can install, but it's still considered a Dumb Phone.
DUMB PHONE = FEATURE PHONE
FEATURE PHONE is Marketing BS for DUMB PHONE
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http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/62894/feature-phone
klau1 said:
Just because it runs apps doesn't make it smart.
The Motorola V3 runs jar apps you can install, but it's still considered a Dumb Phone.
DUMB PHONE = FEATURE PHONE
http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/62894/feature-phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not going to argue, what do I care what you think in my opinion it is a smart device.
And who cares about the V3, I owned own and was not stupid enough to call it a dumb phone. It did more than make calls maybe less that an iPhone which did not even exist at the time.
A smart device is an electronic device, generally connected to other devices or networks via different protocols such as Bluetooth, NFC, WiFi, 3G, etc., that can operate to some extent interactively and autonomously.
The Gear Fit meets the definition, to think of the Gear Fit as a Timex is wrong.
It's not about what I think.
It's what the academic definition has defined. No Dumb Phone is not synonymous of "Timex Watch". Timex Watch is synonymous to a basic phone with basic calling functions.
But merely having a couple apps and Bluetooth does not make it a Smart Phone.
Are you a member of society? Did you go to school? Are you an educated person? If so, remember how you were taught DEFINITIONS that the rest of society has Established?
If you don't follow the rules, and agree to commonly defined vocabulary, you don't belong to society.
---------- Post added at 12:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:45 AM ----------
It's a dumb device.
You can't even develop apps for the Fit. Samsung's not going to release an SDK for it.
http://www.trustedreviews.com/news/samsung-gear-fit-isn-t-an-android-or-tizen-device
And where did you think I got the definition?
Made it up?
According the definition of a smart device the Gear Fit is one,
A smart device is an electronic device, generally connected to other devices or networks via different protocols such as Bluetooth, NFC, WiFi, 3G, etc., that can operate to some extent interactively and autonomously.
You gave a definition of a featured phone, the Gear, Gear II, are not phones.
Smart Device is just a term on the binary scale to differentiate things like a Fridge with a computer or one without a computer. Or a DVD player with WiFi or not.
But if you map it to the Phone scale (which is more appropriate), since every watch, like every phone already has a computer, it would fit into the Dumb category.
By Smart Device definition, every phone would be "smart" since it meets that definition.
But not every phone is a smart phone by the definitions on the phone scale
---------- Post added at 01:57 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:28 PM ----------
If it makes things more clear, think of the Fit as a device with a Dumb OS.
It's a smart device, just as my Nest Thermostat is a smart device.
But it's a meaningless measure when applied to watches, you won't be able to tell the difference between a watch with a user configurable file system, installable apps, TO ones stuck without any flexibility like a Feature Phone AKA Dumb Phone
So it's clear that mapping watches to the phone smartness scale is much more meaningful and insightful than merely generic device smartness scale.
You can not compare a smartwatch with a phone, sorry.
Well not I can not.
A smartwatch first.
Tells time.
But to make and or receive phone calls, no smartwatch works without a cell phone. You know the device that makes calls?
And dumb OS, ..... sorry I can not take you seriously and if I come back I have to say thing I may regret.
A watch that offers notifications, fitness apps, syncs to you device. The OS is simpler but not dumb.
This is and advantage, I own a Gear I only use it to receive notifications the rest is over kill.
A good explanation.....
An RTOS is a far simpler OS than Android, Tizen or iOS and is dedicated to a very specific set of tasks, enabling it to process data without delay.
This means despite the Gear Fit’s smaller memory and slower processor, it can still last longer than the Gear 2 and still competently process all your fitness tasks.
The Gear Fit is focused on features like heart rate monitoring and step counting, so RTOS will allow the device to display more accurate and timely data.
Read more at http://www.trustedreviews.com/news/...n-android-or-tizen-device#MrUwCZDakjYGdKTX.99
AstroDigital said:
You can not compare a smartwatch with a phone, sorry.
Well not I can not.
A smartwatch first.
Tells time.
But to make and or receive phone calls, no smartwatch works without a cell phone. You know the device that makes calls?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, there are already Smart Watches in more Cell Technology dependent areas like China that have built-in Cell Phone capabilities, and that's let alone the fact that Gear 2 will have a version that takes SIM.
AstroDigital said:
And dumb OS, ..... sorry I can not take you seriously and if I come back I have to say thing I may regret.
A watch that offers notifications, fitness apps, syncs to you device. The OS is simpler but not dumb.
This is and advantage, I own a Gear I only use it to receive notifications the rest is over kill.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No offense, but this mentality that something should just do what it's "MEANT" to do, is what hinders innovation.
It's what drove RIM, Palm Inc into the ground.
Pocket PC killed Palm Inc precisely because people were drawn to a PDA capable of being MORE THAN a PDA.
I never knew why some dinosaurs wanted to buy Palm Pilots once Pocket PCs were here. Turns out I was on the right side of history, and you see companies trying to stuff as much functionality into a device as physically possible. :laugh:
Why not push the envelop?
Why not have everything in one device?
You will see one day a device that's a medical tricorder, medical dispenser, communicator, personal computer, feeds the UI into your contact lens, phantom headphone (ultrasonic directional sound waves that travel directly into your ear before becoming audible without needing physical headphones).
AstroDigital said:
A good explanation.....
An RTOS is a far simpler OS than Android, Tizen or iOS and is dedicated to a very specific set of tasks, enabling it to process data without delay.
This means despite the Gear Fit’s smaller memory and slower processor, it can still last longer than the Gear 2 and still competently process all your fitness tasks.
The Gear Fit is focused on features like heart rate monitoring and step counting, so RTOS will allow the device to display more accurate and timely data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I find that part hard to believe. So are you saying just because the OS is handling more things at once, it can't handle HRM and Pedometer properly?
So is my Nest Theromstat that handles 200 schedules and wifi, web service, is LESS accurate than an old fashion dedicated Theromstat that does ONE job?
It sounds like Marketing BS to redeem the Fit by say "It has almost ZERO other functions... BUT BUT BUT DON'T WORRY, it does what it does BETTER!!" Just don't ask our engineers, that know it's BS.
AstroDigital said:
The OS is simpler but not dumb.
This is and advantage, I own a Gear I only use it to receive notifications the rest is over kill.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like you should have gotten the Pebble. That was solely designed for notifications and little else.
You could have saved yourself hundred dollars and gotten triple the battery life since it runs a 90nm 100MHz CPU from 10 years ago.
Simple devices for simple people...j/k but seriously.........
Pre-Ordered the Gear Fit.
Did own a Pebble hated the ink display.
Want to run apps, you can not even have a Gear 2 without a real smartphone.
After awhile I said to myself need to carry the Note 3, why not just use the Note 3 for apps.
Not simple per say but rather run real apps on my Cell phone and tablet.
The other guy with the long reply .... chill dude. No way I am reading that huge post. (likely not agree anyway)
AstroDigital said:
Pre-Ordered the Gear Fit.
Did own a Pebble hated the ink display.
Want to run apps, you can not even have a Gear 2 without a real smartphone.
After awhile I said to myself need to carry the Note 3, why not just use the Note 3 for apps.
Not simple per say but rather run real apps on my Cell phone and tablet.
The other guy with the long reply .... chill dude. No way I am reading that huge post. (likely not agree anyway)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What's the point of reading stuff you agree with? Ever heard of the echo chamber?
You will never gain new perspective and ideas beneficial to you, your life in the long term if all you hear are the ideas already in your head.
Related
http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/08/live-from-apples-iphone-os-4-event/
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Wow, they finally got around to basic functionalities after three years. Functionalities that Symbian and WinMo were doing since forever. Very revolutionary and magical. Color me awed.
Just about the only thing Android needs to do to "catch up" is a better multi-tasking UI. Then again, considering the iPhone OS 4.0 will handle a grand total of seven tasks--as opposed to Android showing the last six apps used--well...
folders!!! haha.
jarude said:
folders!!! haha.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well atleast there starting to catch up
Steve really outdid himself this time
this is so funny hahaha. they're taking things that phones have already been able to do and making it such a big deal. apple can suck deez nutz.
i can't wait till android os 3.0!!!
Austin021296 said:
Well atleast there starting to catch up
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They just got wallpapers, maybe OS5 will match Eclair.
britoso said:
They just got wallpapers, maybe OS5 will match Eclair.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL so true
So the iPhone OS 4.0 contains what's currently available for jailbroken iPhones, and adds interactive advertising...
Am I missing something?
azalex86 said:
So the iPhone OS 4.0 contains what's currently available for jailbroken iPhones, and adds interactive advertising...
Am I missing something?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, Apple just ripped off a bunch of features from Android, which will undoubtedly drive iSheep sales up.
ohhh! a bunch of stuff that almost every other phone already has... android, winMo, WebOS...
azalex86 said:
So the iPhone OS 4.0 contains what's currently available for jailbroken iPhones, and adds interactive advertising...
Am I missing something?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, you're not. However for the masses, this update will be very well received. Yes its ridiculous that they took so long to incorporate multitasking and folder functionality, but better late than never.
I was disappointed that there wasn't any interface change, the icon grids seem archaic. The iBook app will be huge. Overall, I think this is what most people were expecting in terms of a software update. The real big news will be whether a hardware update will accompany OS4 (unibody iPhone would be nice).
For now the Nexus still has an edge but the gap is narrowing
jasrups said:
Nope, you're not. However for the masses, this update will be very well received. Yes its ridiculous that they took so long to incorporate multitasking and folder functionality, but better late than never.
I was disappointed that there wasn't any interface change, the icon grids seem archaic. The iBook app will be huge. Overall, I think this is what most people were expecting in terms of a software update. The real big news will be whether a hardware update will accompany OS4 (unibody iPhone would be nice).
For now the Nexus still has an edge but the gap is narrowing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah. I was thinking of the big things they could do on the hardware side, but I'm not entirely sure they want to split their market up. People are still using the iPhone 3G, if they do a massive upgrade on hardware, app developers will have to verify it works on 3 different platforms.
Maybe they are just planning on phasing out the 3G completely by next year (considering they were hinting at the lesser features for 3G's OS4), and then using the current 3GS as minimum spec. If they increase screen resolution, they'll have to write some scaling processes as well (a lot can be seen in the iPad)
They dropped the bomb until they put this dud out.
I own a bunch of Apple devices and Ive had an iPhone before. Im not a hater, I just dont think it's cutting edge anymore. I even have an iPad so you can't say Im an apple hater
Is just another iPhone... but still Google needs to get their act together in a few areas. I borrowed a N1 for few days and like it very much, but I have been reluctant to take the plunge because of the following shortcomings:
Google needs to allow Contacts, Tasks and Notes to sync to the N1 (locally and remotely) using Google apps. It also needs to either enhance the Calendar application or make it play nice with Outlook desktop calendar functions. Me and whole bunch of other people I know, are very comfortable with Outlook to manage their email, time, contacts and tasks. Help us migrate to Android and to the Google apps without so much fuzz. Don't leave it to third parties. I don't want to risk my critical data to a vendor that is here today, but might not be here tomorrow. I'm not very happy leaving all my critical data in the cloud, but if I'm going to do it... Google needs to help me get there. Security and the integrity of my data are important. I have confidence in Google, but not on third party vendors for this critical step.
The Music Player needs enhancement and a Google desktop application to manage one's Music Library and multiple playlist is needed. Most decent portable DAP have such application. Maybe Google can partner or acquire a vendor that knows how to do this right.
Just like the new iPhone the inbox of Android needs to be bit more friendly with other email service providers. As with the new IPhone OS 4, multiple Exchange servers should be supported along with the option to have multiple and merged inboxes.
I wonder if others feel the same way. I also know that there are other issues that need to be addressed, but in my case the top two are very important.
The soul purpose of this device is not meant to be a music player, Google does not (and I highly doubt they will) need to create an entire desktop application to move mp3s to the music folder where anyone with the right direction can do this. Managing playlist though is a different story, but I guess it is up to a third party application to do this.
Get a ipod or other portable music device if this is your wish.
Also, tamanaco, I believe Sense does most of what you said. Don't believe the Nexus is a very friendly business device...
azalex86 said:
Yeah. I was thinking of the big things they could do on the hardware side, but I'm not entirely sure they want to split their market up. People are still using the iPhone 3G, if they do a massive upgrade on hardware, app developers will have to verify it works on 3 different platforms.
Maybe they are just planning on phasing out the 3G completely by next year (considering they were hinting at the lesser features for 3G's OS4), and then using the current 3GS as minimum spec. If they increase screen resolution, they'll have to write some scaling processes as well (a lot can be seen in the iPad)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with you in that there's no need for them to boost their specs at this point, but I was referring more to a cosmetic facelift. The iPhone has pretty much looked the same for 3 years now and I think even Apple fanboys can agree that everyone is tired of the design.
Eclair~ said:
The soul purpose of this device is not meant to be a music player, Google does not (and I highly doubt they will) need to create an entire desktop application to move mp3s to the music folder where anyone with the right direction can do this. Managing playlist though is a different story, but I guess it is up to a third party application to do this.
Get a ipod or other portable music device if this is your wish.
Also, tamanaco, I believe Sense does most of what you said. Don't believe the Nexus is a very friendly business device...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, if I understand you correctly... The N1 is "not" a Music Player... is "not" meant for business... and as you say is "not" for me. So, in your book it's only good to make calls and find yourself on a map? It's called a "Superphone"... What's else is it good for?
SubyWill said:
this is so funny hahaha. they're taking things that phones have already been able to do and making it such a big deal. apple can suck deez nutz.
i can't wait till android os 3.0!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just pray for it to include VPN, proxy settings, full Exchange support (including tasks), WPA-Enterprise...
But I'm guessing it won't.
Eclair~ said:
The soul purpose of this device is not meant to be a music player, Google does not (and I highly doubt they will) need to create an entire desktop application to move mp3s to the music folder where anyone with the right direction can do this. Managing playlist though is a different story, but I guess it is up to a third party application to do this.
Get a ipod or other portable music device if this is your wish.
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is not an excuse IMO, the music player definitely needs an update. This is the one area where iPhone has a real advantage over Android. Most users would rather carry one device for everyday use, I know I certainly would.
Everyone knows I love my Note II, quad core with dedicated GPU on a 5.5 inch 720p screen. But when the galaxy gear smart watch came out it wasn't (and still isn't officially) compatible with anything but the Note III. I decided to see if I could get it to work.
After some digging I found the .apk for the galaxy gear watch manager for the note III and low and behold it installs just fine on my Note 2:
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It's not totally 100% compatible, some things I still have to work on, but it does sync contacts, take photos, show the time etc.
If you have a Samsung galaxy device and wish to get the gear, feel free to try the APK I found:
http://briananim.kicks-ass.net:9000/ftp/droidapps/gearmanager.apk
EDIT:
So I was able to update my adb sideload program I always used to use and install standard .apk files after enabling usb debug:
http://briananim.kicks-ass.net:9000/ftp/droidapps/sideload_apps.zip
Here's some video of me tooling around in minecraft PE:
I didn't keep minecraft on the watch but I wanted to see if the watch could handle it.
Thus far I've installed a small calculator, and an uninstalling application to remove things I don't want to keep. I've also tried other launchers like Nova. Nova worked fine except you can't load widgets and there is no clock on the top right so the device is useless as a watch. I'll be sticking with the standard touchwiz launcher as it has a working app drawer.
I've taken the standard launcher and taken all the home screens out except for time, app drawer, and notifications so it's much more stream lined and I can get to all my apps with just one swipe. The question is, what apps do you think would be good additions to my wrist aside from calc, schedule, phone, and time? .apk links would be great too.
You can't use any apps the require a data connection as the device doesn't have wifi. I tried using pdanet tablet edition & foxfi between this and my phone via Bluetooth but it force closes unfortunately.
Can you get notifications, and which?
Still trying to figre that out. When I go into the gear manager on the phone and click "samsung apps" the manager freezes and I have to force close it.
What I can do right now is make calls, take photos / video, see my call log, tell the time. I can also see upcomming events.
I need to find a copy of the note III's s-voice to be more compatible. Anyone have an .apk? I'm not sure if it's the exact same as the s4's
vectron said:
Can you get notifications, and which?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've done a lot of reading on the gear. It's not worth it at the moment, especially since the CEO himself said the gear is lacking a little "something extra." Also, due to this, they have already started working on the gear 2. Mainly, Samsung knows they screwed up big time and Apple and Google will most likely produce something better. Your meta watch and my pebble are still better at the moment. The problem is battery life is terrible. All notifications from apps other than stock email and messaging show nothing but a notification icon with a number. You have to open up even gmail on your phone because it will not display on the gear. The metawatch and pebble showed all this from day 1 and even improved with each update. Every big tech review site has given the same statement. It looks great but fails everywhere else. Maybe if it was $100, it would be a decent accessory to have until something better comes out. However, $300 is a complete waste for a subpar overly hyped product. I wanted this device, but glad I read all the reviews. Samsung is retarded also for making it only compatible with the note 3 on release. A very stupid and limited form of marketing that will only hinder their progress. Anyway, if anyone bought it, good for you. Trust me it's better to wait as mentioned in many reviews of this device. Then again, it's smart marketing in one way because people will buy it for the cool factor, and then they will upgrade to the gear 2 because it's better. Same concept on cars. Mercedes has this trick with the E class. They've already got a 6-10 year outline of the horsepower and design of each future car. That's why it's the most changed and most bought Mercedes. Think about it before you fall for the gear.
BrianAnim said:
Still trying to figre that out. When I go into the gear manager on the phone and click "samsung apps" the manager freezes and I have to force close it.
What I can do right now is make calls, take photos / video, see my call log, tell the time. I can also see upcomming events.
I need to find a copy of the note III's s-voice to be more compatible. Anyone have an .apk? I'm not sure if it's the exact same as the s4's
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you take photos and videos, does it get stored on local memory only, or can you transfer it to phone memory (select saving destination to N2)?
Dont believe everything you read.The gear is a perfect companion watch for the note 3 and from the post above its not bad on the note 2 and it's not even officially supported for that phone.The reviewers have really got this one wrong I have had it a week and it gets better every day
Sent from my SM-N9005 using xda app-developers app
hhadrian said:
Dont believe everything you read.The gear is a perfect companion watch for the note 3 and from the post above its not bad on the note 2 and it's not even officially supported for that phone.The reviewers have really got this one wrong I have had it a week and it gets better every day
Sent from my SM-N9005 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is this your first smart watch? Btw, the gear isn't even waterproof - huge fail. So, the minute you forget it's on your wrist and it's raining or you wash your hands a little past your wrist, you're screwed
opasha said:
Is this your first smart watch? Btw, the gear isn't even waterproof - huge fail. So, the minute you forget it's on your wrist and it's raining or you wash your hands a little past your wrist, you're screwed
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Plus most of all it costs $300...ridiculous imo
Hälftebyte said:
Plus most of all it costs $300...ridiculous imo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed...and there are many top tech websites and comments by people like us on xda that agree with you, lol.
T-Mobile already sells it at 25% discount, but I think you have to buy it with N3. Yeah, unfortunately Samsung rushed into this one. It has potential since its based on modified Android 4.2 OS (or whatever 4.x), which means it will get hacked and modified at some point. But the price point of $300 is too high to make it mainstream now. Remember what happened to original Sony SW? Nobody cared about it until they dropped the price to $99 and opened SDK. Boom! It became affordable and open for XDA community to jump in with new app development and support. But with Gear, no matter rootable or not, you still will be limited by poor battery life, proprietary charging cradle (imagine forgetting it to take with you before even a 2 day trip?), and bracelet which is not replaceable and kind of flimsy looking with that camera sticking out asking to be bumped.
About a month ago if someone would have asked me what smart watch to buy at the current moment, I would suggest Pebble only (because of it being mainstream with developers support). Today, this answer would be Sony SW2 because of all the improvements (watersplash resistant, easily accessible standard micro-usb, great touch display where watch face can stay on permanently and you still get a decent multi-day battery life). My personal fav right now is Omate. Don't care about stand-alone phone (will never use it), but the whole idea of portable android device fully waterproof with a camera, micro-sd, and 600 mAh battery, and already released SDK ahead of official availability (and XDA developers already working on it now) - that intrigues me a lot!
Yes the Omate is certainly the most interesting at the moment with full Android 4.2. My only gripe with it is how thick it is. I really don't see me wearing a watch that size at the moment. Maybe in a few years I'll be saying it's too small but right now the SW2 is the largest I'll go.
The SW2 is sleek and does what I need which is be a companion to my phone, allowing me to leave my phone in my pocket a bit more especially with where I'm living at the moment :/. If Google (or anyone else) doesn't beat it by December, the SW2 will be my next gift to myself.
I've enjoyed the watch so far, even it being in my possession for less than 12 hours I'm still having fun with it. I very rarely make expensive purchases on a whim and although I did read a ton of reviews I wanted this watch more for my own curiosity more than anything.
My friends helped kickstart the pebble and if I would have known about it I too would have been on that bandwagon. So far the picture quality has been great, I've yet to take any videos however I can tell you that you can transfer the files from the watch to the phone seamlesly. I belive it does it for you after awhile or you can push them. I took some shots of my parent's dog I was watching today and the photos looks pretty good, especially on this small screen.
I like the fact that I can use multi-touch things like pinch-zoom etc. The audio controls are nice and when 4.3 comes out for the note II there will be even more things I should be able to do with this device. Samsung did say that the marketplace for this device will be open for app devs to make things for it specifically, and it can have a dozen or so apps installed at once.
Great feedback from everyone. I agree that the Sony Smart Watch 2 seems to be the best new option currently. It delivers on battery life, is splash resistant, can open and read notifications, esp with the notification pull down, and has the ability to see multiple apps on each screen similar to android phones and the Omate interface. It's definitely an improvement for the current smartwatch genre. It's actually also thinner than the Gear despite being boxier. I do like the Omate and the Neptune Pine, but they seem way too bulky and geared towards being stand alone devices despite Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity for use with smartphones. I just hope Google does one better.
The gear is the worst deal lol. A waste of $300
Sent from my SCH-I545 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
BrianAnim said:
Still trying to figre that out. When I go into the gear manager on the phone and click "samsung apps" the manager freezes and I have to force close it.
What I can do right now is make calls, take photos / video, see my call log, tell the time. I can also see upcomming events.
I need to find a copy of the note III's s-voice to be more compatible. Anyone have an .apk? I'm not sure if it's the exact same as the s4's
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Note3 s voice apk can be found here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=45948394
Hit my "THANKS" button! Come on, you can do it!
I'm going to try loading side-loading apps using the usb debug:
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013...real-apps-running-on-the-samsung-galaxy-gear/
Thanks premiatul however I tried that version of s-voice and it is only the BETA (as listed in it's info page) so it won't sync. It looks like I need one taken directly from the note 3 via root or something.
BrianAnim said:
I'm going to try loading side-loading apps using the usb debug:
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013...real-apps-running-on-the-samsung-galaxy-gear/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you try to side load gmail and see if you get emails? I saw that video and dolphin browser won't work due to requiring data connection. I assume gmail would also need data. Thanks!
BrianAnim said:
I'm going to try loading side-loading apps using the usb debug:
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013...real-apps-running-on-the-samsung-galaxy-gear/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I was able to update my adb sideload program I always used to use and install standard .apk files:
http://briananim.kicks-ass.net:9000/ftp/droidapps/sideload_apps.zip
Here's some video of me tooling around in minecraft PE:
I didn't keep minecraft on the watch but I wanted to see if the watch could handle it.
Thus far I've installed a small calculator, and an uninstalling application to remove things I don't want to keep. I've also tried other launchers like Nova. Nova worked fine except you can't load widgets and there is no clock on the top right so the device is useless as a watch. I'll be sticking with the standard touchwiz launcher as it has a working app drawer.
I've taken the standard launcher and taken all the home screens out except for time, app drawer, and notifications so it's much more stream lined and I can get to all my apps with just one swipe. The question is, what apps do you think would be good additions to my wrist aside from calc, schedule, phone, and time? .apk links would be great too.
You can't use any apps the require a data connection as the device doesn't have wifi. I tried using pdanet tablet edition & foxfi between this and my phone via Bluetooth but it force closes unfortunately.
Thanks for the update bro. This thread right here is a big turn off about the Gear. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2477441
I run with my pebble and sweat a lot. Pebble is totally waterproof even in the shower. That's really pathetic on Samsung's part. They clearly didn't do enough testing.
Some thoughts going into my second day of use with my new Urbane.
•Battery life is actually pretty good. I took it off charge at 7:30am and it's currently at 72%. The Android Wear app on my phone is telling me I have 12 hours of use left after playing with it a fair bit this morning. It should improve even more as the watch 'wears in'.
•Notifications come in pretty much instantly from my phone. It's frustrating in some regards though - you can't always see images sent to you from Facebook Messenger, sometimes you can. Also, once you dismiss a notification from your watch it's gone for good - you then have to check your phone to see what it was. Having said that, it does give you a very brief period after dismissing it to 'undo' the dismissal, but it's very brief. It would be better if it could archive say the last 5 notifications for you to go and look at after you've dismissed them.
•WiFi seems a bit buggy, for instance when connected to my home network and I turn off bluetooth on my phone or go out of it's range, WiFi does seem to take over but Google Now refuses to work. If I set up WiFi tethering on my phone (and disable bluetooth) it works perfectly so I guess it's just my router - though I don't know what I would need to change to make it work.
•Also (and this is a biggy), don't assume that because the Urbane has WiFi you can just simply log onto any network without your phone being around. This is not the case. Inexplicably, you need to log onto any WiFi network using the Android Wear app on your phone otherwise the Urbane will never use it. There is simply no way to log onto a WiFi network using just the Urbane. Once you've logged on using the phone, the Urbane will then remember the log on information from that point on. This to me defeats the purpose of having WiFi enabled on the watch, you should be able to log on anywhere without the phone..
•The Urbane has difficulty in recognising my 'OK Google' command. Commands issued after that are no problem however. The Urbane gives you the option at set up to choose between US or UK English, but for me that ,made no difference in whether the watch recognised my initial command or not (and you have to factory reset the device to change language...). I did however after some searching online see that after the Urbane is set up properly, it will look at your phones native language and base the information it gives, as well as spelling and metrics on that language. This doesn't help in recognising my initial command, and either my Aussie accent is just too 'Aussie' or the 'OK Google' command recognition is a bit buggy. Perhaps a bit of both lol.
•As someone who takes their watch off as soon as I get home, it's functionality is useless to me after that - unless I go out somewhere and put it back on. I guess at home you'd usually fall back to using your smart phone/tablet anyway. It does feel odd though to discard a $400 smart device like that..
•Heart rate monitoring is good, as is the other fitness tracking the watch does. However, there is two monitoring apps on the device that measure heart rate, Google Fit and and LG Pulse. When you first ask the watch "What's my heart rate", it will give you the choice of choosing which app to use. The problem is, whatever app you choose becomes the default app after that and there is no way to change that as far as I can see.
•Playing with the different watch faces is fun. LG ships the Urbane with 18 different faces to chose from, in various styles. And of course there is a rapidly growing number of user created choices out there as well. Some faces can be a bit buggy but for the most part they are gorgeous or garish, and anywhere in between. It's fantastic to have so many choices.
The biggest issue for me is still the perceived value of owning a smart watch such as this. After playing with it for a day, my thoughts have not changed in this regard.
It's still firmly in the luxury/novelty category at the moment, and I certainly do not need to have it. Is the Urbane worth the price I paid? From a purely technical stand point, probably. The Gorilla glassed OLED display is beautiful, the stainless steel body and overall craftsmanship looks and feels like something the Japanese would make, and the technical mastery of it all as a package feels like a bit of a leap forward, particularly considering where smart watches were a year ago.
But the software is not of the same level, and has a long way to go to really match where the hardware already is. It sort of like having Windows XP running on a 2015 5K iMac - there is a mismatch between software and hardware.
The upside is that Google can, and I'm sure will, improve the software as time goes on. The launch of the Apple Watch ensures that Google will treat Android Wear very, very seriously indeed. And that can only be good for the Urbane.
From a personal standpoint, the Urbane in it's current state is not worth what I paid for it. I would argue even the GWR is still about $100 too high. Do I have buyers remorse? To a degree I guess, but I can see the potential of this device, it can be so much more. The hardware is begging for a heart and soul, and a reason to exist.
I will keep it, and see where it takes me. Being an early adopter and gadget freak in general means that you have to take risks when jumping into and investing in a new product (hello OUYA, yes I got that too at launch lol), that's part of the thrill. Gadgets are a hobby, and a hobby is not worth having if you can't indulge in it every now and then. And obviously I am not alone in investing in the Urbane and Android Wear in general, which makes me feel a bit better.
Anyway, I hope I've given people reading this a bit more clarity in forming your own opinion of the Urbane/GWR. My advice? I would just go for it if you're anything like me, but maybe start off with the GWR.
TLDR, Urbane is an impressive, if slightly flawed device that should get better with time.
Regarding Voice recognition of "OK Google", I'm also struggling with this. It is nowhere near as good as my LG G Watch (square) was, that worked well 90% of the time. The urbane seems to be closer to 30%, and is really annoying me. I'm an aussie too but I'm not necessarily convinced our accents are causing the issue as I swapped straight from my G Watch to the Urbane and noticed problems straight away.
Regarding the default app for heart rate (and others) - to change it go into android wear app on your phone, hit the settings icon, choose your watch (LG Watch Urbane) and there will be an option for "actions" . In the you can reassign default actions.
Dwayne
Thanks for that fix mate!
I find if you lift your arm and wait 1 second before saying "ok google" it works perfect 99.9% of the time.
WOW you're actually right!
An observation of the hardware in general is that these watches are simply too bulky and much more so than they need to be in most cases. Getting the lugs up against the case on this particular watch would have made a huge difference by itself not just in reducing the bulk but the band or bracelet then fits better because it has more "grasp" area allowing for a grippier (if you will) fit for a given level of tightness. In other words the watch can grip better while being looser making it more comfortable to wear. Another... the killer feature these watches need is the ability to mimic a real watch face better and one way to get there is a convincing 3D effect for the screen. It doesn't have to be perfect and of course it couldn't be a battery killer but these smart watches need it. Right now people have some pretty nice stuff out there and I'm in no way taking a shot at some of those efforts which are outstanding work but they cant be convincing without a better screen tech.
Having these two things would move these watches from "what can it do for me" territory into wearing them because of what they can do for you but also just because you flat want to because the damn thing looks nice. Right now its a tool that I toss on the dresser as soon as I'm done with it and the few I know real world with one and most of what I read on the internet implies this is typical. They want to sell these things in a bigger way they need to make them something people wear because they want to because the use case isn't all that great for most people and I don't think having worn one for a while that this will change much because the window between utilizing the watch and it being easier to pull the phone is fairly small.
Keep in mind these are my opinions, I'm curious what other users think about the direction smart watches should be or need to be taking.
krabman said:
An observation of the hardware in general is that these watches are simply too bulky and much more so than they need to be in most cases. Getting the lugs up against the case on this particular watch would have made a huge difference by itself not just in reducing the bulk but the band or bracelet then fits better because it has more "grasp" area allowing for a grippier (if you will) fit for a given level of tightness. In other words the watch can grip better while being looser making it more comfortable to wear. Another... the killer feature these watches need is the ability to mimic a real watch face better and one way to get there is a convincing 3D effect for the screen. It doesn't have to be perfect and of course it couldn't be a battery killer but these smart watches need it. Right now people have some pretty nice stuff out there and I'm in no way taking a shot at some of those efforts which are outstanding work but they cant be convincing without a better screen tech.
Having these two things would move these watches from "what can it do for me" territory into wearing them because of what they can do for you but also just because you flat want to because the damn thing looks nice. Right now its a tool that I toss on the dresser as soon as I'm done with it and the few I know real world with one and most of what I read on the internet implies this is typical. They want to sell these things in a bigger way they need to make them something people wear because they want to because the use case isn't all that great for most people and I don't think having worn one for a while that this will change much because the window between utilizing the watch and it being easier to pull the phone is fairly small.
Keep in mind these are my opinions, I'm curious what other users think about the direction smart watches should be or need to be taking.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I totally disagree. Have you seen panerai? Hublot? Breitling???? They are all big. Its whats in style, and has been for years.
interfreak said:
Thanks for that fix mate!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice to read your thoughts on it I agree with 99% of it the only thing I would like to see is with Google now be nice to take a breath as you text lol
suzook said:
I totally disagree. Have you seen panerai? Hublot? Breitling???? They are all big. Its whats in style, and has been for years.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol Yes, I'm a watch person and own a number of them, surf the forums, etc. I'm guessing I've explained poorly. Its not the size itself so much as the needless bulk. I have several watches that have a face the same size but are quite a bit less bulky. This watch is a prime example with its needlessly large lugs and large bezel around the screen. It has confused no one as to what it is and I would never put it on in place of my real watches which I wear because I like them.
As to watch size in general a lot of people have never made friends with the large watch style, I'm among them. For me 40 to 42 mm is about right and I know a whole bunch of people with the same opinion. That is of course an opinion and I'm old enough to know that they vary and I do of agree that this style is popular right now but the trend is already reversing somewhat. Not surprising really, most people look like crap with a 48 mm saucer on their wrist because they simply are not possessed of the wrist size to put the watch into proportion.and my guess is the truly huge watches are going to continue going away bit by bit leaving the more reasonable 44ish mm sizing as the typical large watch with the larger stuff being outliers. At any rate it isn't just me, most of the reviews talk about the size issue with smart watches in general and particularly with this one where the added bulk particularly at the lugs hasn't been well received.
I take it you feel the size is fine then? You don't think that they might move more of these if they could move to a better and more convincing screen tech?
krabman said:
I take it you feel the size is fine then? You don't think that they might move more of these if they could move to a better and more convincing screen tech?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, i do love the size. I actually love the screen, Im not sure what you mean? I get compliments constantly. Alot of people ask what kind of watch is that??
Got mine today. Can't work out how to get lg health app to show heart rate data from the urbane. It's meant to appear automatically.
i hate you can't control how long the screen stay on..sometimes I need to time things with second hand...just so frustrating!!
gooner4life said:
i hate you can't control how long the screen stay on..sometimes I need to time things with second hand...just so frustrating!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are some watch faces that do allow you to change this setting (timeout) usually in the android wear app on the paired device. There is also a stopwatch app built in.
This app (StayLit Wear) on google playworks for me
nOISEVAULT said:
There are some watch faces that do allow you to change this setting (timeout) usually in the android wear app on the paired device. There is also a stopwatch app built in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This^
And /or this https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.phonephreak.extendedlight
My first impressions so far
part 1 - http://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/06/09/lg-watch-urbane-beauty-and-disaster-first-impressions/
part 2 - http://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/06/10/lg-watch-urbane-part-2/
gavinfabl said:
My first impressions so far
part 1 - http://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/06/09/lg-watch-urbane-beauty-and-disaster-first-impressions/
part 2 - http://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/06/10/lg-watch-urbane-part-2/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you using FaceRepo with Watchmaker? Browse the website with your connected phone, and download the faces directly to the app. It's easy to customize the faces from there...
http://facerepo.com/
slaydog said:
Are you using FaceRepo with Watchmaker? Browse the website with your connected phone, and download the faces directly to the app. It's easy to customize the faces from there...
http://facerepo.com/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I am now, thanks.
I say "ok google" -> it works (but slowly)-> I ask smth or say "set a reminder" and %50 chance it works for a while (slooowly) and says "offline" -> I get crazy. But if I use google now on the phone everything is smooth as butter. Am I doing something wrong? / Is the watch faulty? / Is the bt connection too slow for spoken commands? / Or what?
TheSanitarium said:
I say "ok google" -> it works (but slowly)-> I ask smth or say "set a reminder" and %50 chance it works for a while (slooowly) and says "offline" -> I get crazy. But if I use google now on the phone everything is smooth as butter. Am I doing something wrong? / Is the watch faulty? / Is the bt connection too slow for spoken commands? / Or what?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Speed can vary. I find just say OK Google and wait for the speak now part. Say what you want in one go, no pauses and it works 8/10.
I photographed all my watch faces on the watch to give everyone a better idea of what they look like, and created a gallery.
Google Photos then made a GIF of them lol
http://gavinsgadgets.com/2015/06/15/lg-watch-urbane-my-watch-faces-shown-photographed-gallery/
@interfreak and others - thanks for your input, it has been very helpful! (I'm in for one, will be delivered tomorrow)
I'm looking around for some smart watches, for my note 5, but cannot decide which one is the best for my needs. I'm looking for something that monitors my activities such as lifting, sleeping, walking, running. So right now my top choices are s2 or moto 360 or Microsoft. Idk what to do, thought? Personal experience?
There are probably a lot better watches out there for reasonable prices, so my question to you guys are:
1) which one do you guys think is the best for the price?
2) best 'smart' features?
3) best battery life?
4) user friendly?
5) most accurate reader, heart rate/sleep/fitness?
Also if you decided to pick "other" for the pole, could you leave a comment which watch. And if you can please explain why?
- Thank you
I have the 1st gen moto360 champagne...it runs like a champ...or the LG watch urbane
psn1819 said:
I have the 1st gen moto360 champagne...it runs like a champ...or the LG watch urbane
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How accurate does it read heart rate, sleep, fitness activity?
Personally I'm still using My Gear 2 Neo. All that you have listed can be met with this device. Being that we lost our beloved IR Blaster having it available in this model is priceless!
I have no complaints the Gear 2 Neo works seamlessly with S Gear and is definitely customizable!
This was/is my first wearable and I am very impressed!
I'll be updating soon and I'm sure I'll remain with the Galaxy wearable line.
Possibly even the Huwaei.
Chuck
I believe the best options are the LG urbane, the hwawei watch (the best) than the moto 360
Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk
@egren58 and @charlesrogers74
I have read quite a bit as hwawei being one of the top tier for smart watches, but I don't know as to why. The smart feature is out beaten by Moto and s2 and I have read even fitbit doesn't a better job of recording 'activies' than hwawei. Was the information wrong incorrect, what are your thoughts?
Hence why it never made it to my top 3.
eventheodds1 said:
@egren58 and @charlesrogers74
I have read quite a bit as hwawei being one of the top tier for smart watches, but I don't know as to why. The smart feature is out beaten by Moto and s2 and I have read even fitbit doesn't a better job of recording 'activies' than hwawei. Was the information wrong incorrect, what are your thoughts?
Hence why it never made it to my top 3.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well to me smart watches still in its beta. I feel like its still a bit too early. Specs wise. I feel like its not that important at this moment as smart watches are not really mean to run alot of processes. The hwawei watch is by far best looking. Which imo its important. Also battery I heard was great... The gear S2 also caught my attention and the moto 360 lower black screen anoyyed the crap out of me..
Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk
egren58 said:
Well to me smart watches still in its beta. I feel like its still a bit too early. Specs wise. I feel like its not that important at this moment as smart watches are not really mean to run alot of processes. The hwawei watch is by far best looking. Which imo its important. Also battery I heard was great... The gear S2 also caught my attention and the moto 360 lower black screen anoyyed the crap out of me..
Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreeded, I like s2 specially with $14/month from T-Mobile. I just need something that can monitor and is compatible with lifting apps.
eventheodds1 said:
Agreeded, I like s2 specially with $14/month from T-Mobile. I just need something that can monitor and is compatible with lifting apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well the gear s2 is not exclusive to Samsung phones so any watch app will work. And there is hundreds of work out apps as that is one of the big focus of smart watches so that's something you should have to worry. Also the gear s2 fits more of your need. Since the other watches are focus towards classy and luxury.. If your going to be using it for fitness I'd go with the gear s2..
Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk
the s2 if you have a samsung device
I have the Sony Smartwatch 3, and everything is okay (battery life is great) except the screen is not very vibrant like other models that use amoled. If I can re-choose I'd take the Gear s2.
I had the Asus Zen and it was the biggest waste of money I've ever spent on tech. Did nothing my note 4 couldn't do and found it a hindrance constantly buzzing and remembering which way to swipe things for certain functions. I can appreciate some will benefit ie I get FitBits but I think they are gimmicky. Just my personal experience. Sometimes having tech when theres no need....
Do you want a watch you can goof around with as a health logger? Or do you want a health logger that has some smart watch?
The Microsoft unit is the best at health, it has continous heart rate which the others do not. It also has the most sensors in it.
Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk
david_b01 said:
Do you want a watch you can goof around with as a health logger? Or do you want a health logger that has some smart watch?
The Microsoft unit is the best at health, it has continous heart rate which the others do not. It also has the most sensors in it.
Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
looking for something to track my health, I am a lifter and I use JEFIT to track and monitor my progress. So I need a watch to track and correspond with health apps to record my performance.
http://www.androidauthority.com/best-android-watches-572773/
This was just released by Android authority, do you guys agree or disagree? Thoughts?
Definitely get an Android Wear based watch. Samsung's Tizen OS doesn't have many apps.
i'm not into the health tracking thing, so i can't relate to that, but for the moto360 vs huawei watch, my 2 cents (but this is about the 1st gen moto): huawei, hands down. much better screen, much better battery life.
remiotte said:
i'm not into the health tracking thing, so i can't relate to that, but for the moto360 vs huawei watch, my 2 cents (but this is about the 1st gen moto): huawei, hands down. much better screen, much better battery life.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I've been reading a lot about new software for s2 where it is not as compatible with alot of apps.
http://www.androidauthority.com/moto-360-sport-coming-to-the-us-january-7-for-299-659078/
Moto 360 second generation just announced their fitness watch. This might be the one
eventheodds1 said:
Yeah, I've been reading a lot about new software for s2 where it is not as compatible with alot of apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The thing about android wear is the apps that are compatible are useless without a phone. With the Gear S2 4G you have real apps that don't need to have a phone connected. I've had an android wear watch for the past year and just got the Gear S2 and let me tell you from a person who actually uses the watch Tizen is way better imo. First of all the notifications on the Gear S2 are way better, for example if I get a Google+ notification on android wear you can only look at maybe the first 2 lines and then you can only open it on your phone. With the Gear S2 you can read the entire message and read the comments. And also when you receive a mms message on android wear it doesn't show you the picture on the watch, while the Gear S2 shows pictures and all. The watch faces are way better on the Gear S2, especially in ambient mode and to my surprise S voice actually works just as good as Google now. Tizen overall is a much more fun OS, I was so bored with Android wear and I knew for sure I wasn't going to get another one.
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I'll probably get a lot of hate for this, but after 10 years of being an avid Android fan and supporter, I have moved back to iOS and the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
All I can say is I don't regret it one bit. I was the first to make fun of iPhone users in the past, but Apple have made such strides, it's a real pleasure to be back. Yes Apple wait years to implement features that have been available on Android for ages and call it new and revolutionary, but what they do, they do better than anyone else. The biggest thing is just the cohesiveness between the hardware and software. Everything works flawlessly together and the user interface looks great.
What has annoyed me with Android are things like manufacturers not having their own email or messaging apps. You're forced to download a third party app which never really feels in tune with the particular phone/skin/version of Android. And yes you can say the Gmail app is the stock Android email app, but not everyone is a fan, including me. I know it's probably unavoidable due to nature of AOSP, but still, there is a clear divide between the hardware and software for the most part compared to iOS.
The other thing that stopped me using (and mocking) iOS is the fact that a lot of things were a pain in the backside to do and the general incompatibility with a lot of platforms. That seems to have changed as well as I had no issues connecting directly to my NAS drive and Windows PC to access all my files, either while on the same LAN or through 5G when I'm not at home. Youtube Vanced (now ReVanced) was another big thing, but you have options in iOS for that as well.
App tracking was another reason I made the switch. You can simply disable app tracking for all apps with one toggle and all newly installed apps will abide by this as well. Yes, no one really knows if it stops all tracking in its entirety, but it's an option that is not available in Android. You can use a third party app like Blokada to achieve the same result, but you cannot run a VPN service at the same time. Now I can run my VPN service and have app tracking blocked at the same time. Not to mention battery life. I am not a super heavy user, but I get three days out of a single charge with 20% battery left. Even with heavy use, you will struggle to kill this thing's battery in a day as you get 10-14 hours of screen on time depending on how you use it. Standby drain is also nonexistent, the bane of so many Android users' lives, mine included. The cameras and especially video recording is also top notch. Possibly a little boring compared to some of the features you get in Android, but as an everyday point and shoot device, it's hard to beat.
Notifications is the one thing where I would say I still prefer the way it's done in Android, but with everything else working so well I can forgive that. Price is another drawback as Apple charge ridiculous amounts for their hardware, so this is the only time in 10 years where I will keep the same phone for more than a year.
I will still keep my Pixel and have it as a backup phone, but for now I am super happy I made the switch. And I will understand it if not many of you agree.
Biggenz said:
And I will understand it if not many of you agree.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not about whether we agree, but whether we care. We don't.
Good luck and let us know when you return....
galaxys said:
Good luck and let us know when you return....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Or not. That's OK, too.
Biggenz said:
I'll probably get a lot of hate for this, but after 10 years of being an avid Android fan and supporter, I have moved back to iOS and the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
All I can say is I don't regret it one bit. I was the first to make fun of iPhone users in the past, but Apple have made such strides, it's a real pleasure to be back. Yes Apple wait years to implement features that have been available on Android for ages and call it new and revolutionary, but what they do, they do better than anyone else. The biggest thing is just the cohesiveness between the hardware and software. Everything works flawlessly together and the user interface looks great.
What has annoyed me with Android are things like manufacturers not having their own email or messaging apps. You're forced to download a third party app which never really feels in tune with the particular phone/skin/version of Android. And yes you can say the Gmail app is the stock Android email app, but not everyone is a fan, including me. I know it's probably unavoidable due to nature of AOSP, but still, there is a clear divide between the hardware and software for the most part compared to iOS.
The other thing that stopped me using (and mocking) iOS is the fact that a lot of things were a pain in the backside to do and the general incompatibility with a lot of platforms. That seems to have changed as well as I had no issues connecting directly to my NAS drive and Windows PC to access all my files, either while on the same LAN or through 5G when I'm not at home. Youtube Vanced (now ReVanced) was another big thing, but you have options in iOS for that as well.
App tracking was another reason I made the switch. You can simply disable app tracking for all apps with one toggle and all newly installed apps will abide by this as well. Yes, no one really knows if it stops all tracking in its entirety, but it's an option that is not available in Android. You can use a third party app like Blokada to achieve the same result, but you cannot run a VPN service at the same time. Now I can run my VPN service and have app tracking blocked at the same time. Not to mention battery life. I am not a super heavy user, but I get three days out of a single charge with 20% battery left. Even with heavy use, you will struggle to kill this thing's battery in a day as you get 10-14 hours of screen on time depending on how you use it. Standby drain is also nonexistent, the bane of so many Android users' lives, mine included. The cameras and especially video recording is also top notch. Possibly a little boring compared to some of the features you get in Android, but as an everyday point and shoot device, it's hard to beat.
Notifications is the one thing where I would say I still prefer the way it's done in Android, but with everything else working so well I can forgive that. Price is another drawback as Apple charge ridiculous amounts for their hardware, so this is the only time in 10 years where I will keep the same phone for more than a year.
I will still keep my Pixel and have it as a backup phone, but for now I am super happy I made the switch. And I will understand it if not many of you agree.
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Most sincere condolences
I agree with you. System IOS showed myself very good thought last years. I think that IOS more stability than Android OS thought it has not so great functionality.
Strephon Alkhalikoi said:
It's not about whether we agree, but whether we care. We don't.
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Strephon Alkhalikoi said:
It's not about whether we agree, but whether we care. We don't.
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Actually, that's a rather self-indulgent/pompous comment to assume that "we" don't care. "You" might not care but I'm glad to hear about the experiences of people that have had both Android and Apple products. I've had Windows mobile phones and am now going on my 4th or 5th Android device, but I've never had an Apple product. I'm very much interested in the point of view of somebody that has lived with both products.
TravisBean said:
*useless drivel snipped"
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Please. At the time this thread was originally posted it was in the Pixel 6 forums...an Android phone. The only reason they made that post was to grab the spotlight. And you fell for it, hook, line, and sinker.
Strephon Alkhalikoi said:
Please. At the time this thread was originally posted it was in the Pixel 6 forums...an Android phone. The only reason they made that post was to grab the spotlight. And you fell for it, hook, line, and sinker.
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You're the one with Apple on your face
iPhone 14 Pro Max? are you sure?))
Android is just far better than iOS at this stage, it might be cohesive and all but honestly it still sucks
Jool2637 said:
The good thing about Android for me is F-Droid.
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And the ability to install any apk.
I promised myself that I would never use IOS. Android is enough for me and for now, I will stick to this position, but maybe someday I will change my mind just like you.