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Hey guys,
I'm looking at getting a G2N in the next few days (if I can find a shop that has them in stock!)
I just have a couple of questions...
1. Does it show WhatsApp messages? I tried YouTube but the ones that talk about WhatsApp is in German.
2. Does it show the weather forecast?
3. How accurate is the S Voice on it?
I'm using a Galaxy Note 2 (DN3 RC2 on 4.4.2).
Sent from my GT-N7100 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
I don't use whatsapp messenger so I can't answer the first question, but I do use it to receive Facebook, espn, and other notifications. I'm site if you choose to see those it will display them. It also has a ten day forecast. And as far as s voice I think it's pretty spot on, I've been using it for a week and only once have I had to re-say what I meant. I have it paired with an s5 to for what it's worth
Sent from my SM-G900T using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
kdogguk said:
Hey guys, I'm looking at getting a G2N in the next few days (if I can find a shop that has them in stock!) //
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Does it show WhatsApp messages?
I don't use WhatsApp, but *all* the apps that I have used with the watch DO show notifications clearly.
(GoogleNow, Business Calendar, Feedly, a couple of others/ etc.)
2. Does it show the weather forecast?
Yes, it even has a watch face with time and a weather logo that show the temperature and a current weather
symbol (clouds, clear, rainy). If you push the logo, you get a scrolling weather forecast in more detail (for several
days). It works well -but the fastest/most current updates in settings is hourly (I'd like 15 minutes!). I also use WeatherBug
and it pushed weather to the watch --turned it off since I was getting multiple weather more or less the same times!
3. How accurate is the S Voice on it?
- S Voice does work, and I use it to respond to text messages. (So, if you get a text message on your watch -you can read the whole thing, and there is a menu to reply (settings: either 3-4 stock "canned" messages, or using a "free form" reply with S Voice. I used S Voice, but to do so you need to a) be in a reasonably quiet location (outdoors on a windy street does not work well, riding in a car with the window open and music playing does not work well...etc.).
- Secondly, I found I needed to think through the reply completely in advance and then say it slowly. Whenever I tried to create and speak and pause and continue to speak, S voice just caught a portion of the reply and offered "here is your reply shall I send it"? (no no no! delete!). However, when I knew exactly what I wanted to say, and said it slowly but clearly, S voice did well. I would NOT recommend it for LONG message replies on the watch, (Send several short replies -that works!) However, S Voice does not seem to be as good at dictation as Google's voice keyboard, or Swype/Dragon's voice type. It is pretty good at searches.
We are very close to Android Wear devices being released. Are you prepared to possibly feel remorse after dropping money on one of these and then just a few months later, new devices will be out that may eclipse them in function and app ecosystem? I bought and kept my Neo with the knowledge that its a stopgap for a few months and I'll most probably ditch it for Android Wear this summer. There's still a lot of missing functionality that the older Gears and even Pebble watches can do that need to be caught up because Samsung decided to ditch the old platform for Tizen. So it's pretty much like a gen 1 device again instead of building on the existing ecosystem from the original Gear, which means waiting on features, apps and stability/bug fixes.
Because I love the IR blaster and mic, I kept my Neo in the chance that devs can come through and fix/add the software/apps to address my problems with it. I don't know if an Android Wear device will come out that has the IR blaster, so I'm keeping the Neo for now. Even though the WatchOn app sucks right now, because it's very limited in what devices it can control.
You must be willing to gamble on whether those apps/software features will ever come around, because those of us who buy Samsung devices regularly, know that if you don't buy one of their devices that have decent developer support, you're kind of screwed due to their penchant to release so many new devices and subsequently forget about supporting their last-gen products with updates. We'll see if the decision to go Tizen will help or hurt this product. So far the app store is pretty thin and I expected there would be a bounty of awesome apps by now since one of the advantages of Tizen promoted was that it's so easy to develop on this platform compared to android. Given that, the only reason for the lack of apps I would think is lack of developer interest.
Except for having android wear the new Samsung and LG watches don't seem to represent any major improvement over the gear. They still have a 1 day battery life and neither one has a camera. As strange as it may seem, I find the gear camera very useful.
My understanding is the LG has a 36 hour battery life with the screen on all the time. So, you can see the time constantly like a regular watch. It gets brighter if you engage the interface.
I wish the Gear did that.
I think I only get about 2 hours of screen on time for the Gear.
screen on
screen on is nice although the screen is a lower resolution. I think the lg spec page indicates battery life is 1 day, but testing will tell.
The resolution looks good enough for the screen size in this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBWNZTYPbzA
I'd take always on screen with that resolution over the screen time of the Gear with the higher resolution any day,
Actual watch is kinda ugly though
moto
yea, they're really pushing the round moto as the "beautiful" watch, but price is supposedly above $300.
I actually like the look of the gear live, the way the metal curves over the wrist look kinda cool. Plus at £169 it's not that expensive really, the only thing I want confirmation on is can we answer calls on it ? I like being able to take a call while driving or working.
Sent from my SM-T320 using Tapatalk
Actually, I like the look and interactions with the notifications on the LG better than the Gear.
Not sure if all Android Wear UIs will be the same, or some customisation will be done by each brand.
LG G Watch Unboxing and Initial Setup: http://youtu.be/TLYgU3XErGU
Sent from my SM-N900 using XDA Free mobile app
hoddy4 said:
yea, they're really pushing the round moto as the "beautiful" watch, but price is supposedly above $300.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will gladly pay more than $300 to add the moto to my watch collection.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using XDA Premium HD app
No speakers on any of the first 3 Android Wear watches. They have mics so you can voice interact with the watch, but you wont be able to conduct a call from any of the watches.
Bladder61 said:
No speakers on any of the first 3 Android Wear watches. They have mics so you can voice interact with the watch, but you wont be able to conduct a call from any of the watches.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So can they do the following?
Make a call
Can we load music, movie, ringtones
Can we add apps like google play music
Otherwise, what can we use that 4gb internal storage for
Tia,
Ian b
richlum said:
The resolution looks good enough for the screen size in this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBWNZTYPbzA
I'd take always on screen with that resolution over the screen time of the Gear with the higher resolution any day,
Actual watch is kinda ugly though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, the Gear 1 is able to keep the screen on all the time (but it kills your battery sooner ofcourse)
I am on Null_23 and installed "Studio Clock" from Play Store.
This clock (it's an app, no widget or watchface) has the option to keep the screen on, which works perfectly.
1 click on the screen makes it brighter.
After a few seconds it dims the screen again.
EDIT : Ok, just tested a little more : watch will stay on untill a notification comes in. After that it will switch off.
no microphone and no camera
no microphone and no camera equals no go for these new phones relative to the gear.
hoddy4 said:
no microphone and no camera equals no go for these new phones relative to the gear.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The new Android Wear watches do have mics. Its the primary way you interact with "OK Google". The watches are always listening and from reviews respond instantly to "OK Google" even in a noisy room.
I still think the hardware on our Gear 1 is superior to the AW devices. Hopefully we may get some Devs that can figure out how to get AW on our watch.
hoddy4 said:
no microphone and no camera equals no go for these new phones relative to the gear.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think he ment speaker and not microfoon.
The new Gear watches don't have a speaker for calling.
In fact, as far as I have seen, they can't be used for calling whereas our Gear 1's are able to
thanks for the correction. the point is that the gear hardware is in some ways superior to the new ones.
You have to think of Android Wear devices as "Nexi." They are the wearables equivalent of AOSP meaning they're all functionally the same. Everything they do (so far) is tied to Google Services which is great if you're "all in" with Google as the main provider for what you do on your phone. The Tizen Gear's are a better choice if you are more dependent on some of the Samsung apps and services. Android Wear is really just Google Now on your wrist. At least as it currently stands. And once a notification is dismissed it's gone which, based on how I use my current Gear, wouldn't thrill me.
The watch starts off dark (and dims after 5 seconds; this is immutable for now). To wake up the always-on display, you can press the lock button, twist your wrist (and wait a beat or two), or tap the display. If notifications await you, they show up in card form, which you can swipe away to dismiss or swipe up to expand. Swiping to the left reveals finger-friendly icons for making the next move, like opening the notification in your phone or launching into navigation.
You can swipe down from the top to view the date and your battery life meter, or mute and unmute the phone. A long press calls up wallpaper motifs, most of which Google supplied, though a few are Samsung's own. Holding on the lock button invokes the Settings and its various options.
Still, most of what you do on the Gear Live you do with your voice: setting alarms and reminders, navigating, and composing a text message or email to contacts. Samsung, by the way, has splashed out with adding its own stopwatch interface in addition to Google's. You can ask to see your heart rate, which triggers the monitor to do its thing; you can likewise demand to see how many steps you've taken.
Notification displays come in the form of miniaturized Google Now cards and pass along information like stocks, weather, sports scores, and social interactions. You can also control a music player and field phone calls. Notifications are larger and easier to read than notifications seen on Samsung's other wearables, but this is more controlled by Google than by Samsung, whose customized contributions are heavily curtailed with Android Wear.
Google's voice-driven interface has its ups and downs: we did manage to execute several voice commands, including sending short texts and email messages. But, one drawback popped up immediately: you can't approve or abort a message if Google's voice engine misinterprets you, or if you change your mind. Grammarians also won't like the usual issues that come with voice transcription -- mainly irregular capitalization and punctuation you have to voice yourself.
Android Wear is meant to be always-on: in the default mode, the Samsung Gear Live (and LG G Watch) have displays that are bright and colorful, but power down into dimmer, black and white displays that always stay lit to some small degree. As a result, our early impression on battery life isn't good. We got less than 24 hours of use on a full charge. Making the screen go fully dark after a few seconds should help, but then you'd need to wake it up to see the time or do anything else. Battery life seems like it could be a major drawback on the first generation of Android Wear watches.http://www.cnet.com/products/samsung-gear-live/
Use Outside
BarryH_GEG said:
You have to think of Android Wear devices as "Nexi." They are the wearables equivalent of AOSP meaning they're all functionally the same. Everything they do (so far) is tied to Google Services which is great if you're "all in" with Google as the main provider for what you do on your phone. The Tizen Gear's are a better choice if you are more dependent on some of the Samsung apps and services. Android Wear is really just Google Now on your wrist. At least as it currently stands. And once a notification is dismissed it's gone which, based on how I use my current Gear, wouldn't thrill me.
The watch starts off dark (and dims after 5 seconds; this is immutable for now). To wake up the always-on display, you can press the lock button, twist your wrist (and wait a beat or two), or tap the display. If notifications await you, they show up in card form, which you can swipe away to dismiss or swipe up to expand. Swiping to the left reveals finger-friendly icons for making the next move, like opening the notification in your phone or launching into navigation.
You can swipe down from the top to view the date and your battery life meter, or mute and unmute the phone. A long press calls up wallpaper motifs, most of which Google supplied, though a few are Samsung's own. Holding on the lock button invokes the Settings and its various options.
Still, most of what you do on the Gear Live you do with your voice: setting alarms and reminders, navigating, and composing a text message or email to contacts. Samsung, by the way, has splashed out with adding its own stopwatch interface in addition to Google's. You can ask to see your heart rate, which triggers the monitor to do its thing; you can likewise demand to see how many steps you've taken.
Notification displays come in the form of miniaturized Google Now cards and pass along information like stocks, weather, sports scores, and social interactions. You can also control a music player and field phone calls. Notifications are larger and easier to read than notifications seen on Samsung's other wearables, but this is more controlled by Google than by Samsung, whose customized contributions are heavily curtailed with Android Wear.
Google's voice-driven interface has its ups and downs: we did manage to execute several voice commands, including sending short texts and email messages. But, one drawback popped up immediately: you can't approve or abort a message if Google's voice engine misinterprets you, or if you change your mind. Grammarians also won't like the usual issues that come with voice transcription -- mainly irregular capitalization and punctuation you have to voice yourself.
Android Wear is meant to be always-on: in the default mode, the Samsung Gear Live (and LG G Watch) have displays that are bright and colorful, but power down into dimmer, black and white displays that always stay lit to some small degree. As a result, our early impression on battery life isn't good. We got less than 24 hours of use on a full charge. Making the screen go fully dark after a few seconds should help, but then you'd need to wake it up to see the time or do anything else. Battery life seems like it could be a major drawback on the first generation of Android Wear watches.http://www.cnet.com/products/samsung-gear-live/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The gear is very difficult to view outside. I hope the new watches improve on outside useability. Also, I don't understand why the use of solar power is not used to increase battery life since these devices (unlike a phone) are often in sunlight. I'm not sure if the technology is not ready or the cost is still too high, although the I know that I would be willing to pay more for significantly better battery life.
hoddy4 said:
The gear is very difficult to view outside. I hope the new watches improve on outside useability. Also, I don't understand why the use of solar power is not used to increase battery life since these devices (unlike a phone) are often in sunlight. I'm not sure if the technology is not ready or the cost is still too high, although the I know that I would be willing to pay more for significantly better battery life.
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Click to collapse
Solar power seems like a cool idea but at the current technology, the rate at which it recharges the battery under regular exposure to sunlight is very very slow. It would barely make a difference. Plus not a lot of people like to be out under the direct light (cancer and crap, y'know).
Another idea would be the watch being able to recharge by shaking (like some flash lights). We move our arms a lot but I don't know how much kinetic energy is needed for it to be effective.
Gear Manager and Battery Life
I am somewhat surprised by the apparent differences in gear battery life when using different versions of the gear manager. I haven't by any means done a scientific study, but different versions seem to effect battery life more than others. Don't know why this is.
While I am waiting for my Pioneer to arrive, one thing occurred to me. What happens to notifications from other apps? For instance, SmartThings notifies me if I left my garage door open after I leave the house; will those simply be silenced if my phone is connected to Android Auto beforehand?
Solutions Etcetera said:
While I am waiting for my Pioneer to arrive, one thing occurred to me. What happens to notifications from other apps? For instance, SmartThings notifies me if I left my garage door open after I leave the house; will those simply be silenced if my phone is connected to Android Auto beforehand?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good question. I don't think it silences them, but it doesn't show them on the head unit. You could have ST send you an SMS instead (and that would show up.)
I suspect (hope) that google will eventually allow other app notifications to pop up on the head unit's screen - even if you can't interact with them (other than to just clear them.)
Thanks. It kinda sucks that AA cripples your notifications. I don't need to interact with them, but not getting them at all seems overkill.
I share your hope that they revisit some of their decisions.
Solutions Etcetera said:
Thanks. It kinda sucks that AA cripples your notifications. I don't need to interact with them, but not getting them at all seems overkill.
I share your hope that they revisit some of their decisions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I doubt Google will backtrack on these decisions.
There is a new AA API for Audio and a new AA API for notifications.
Apps must implement these for Google to allow them to work with AA. Furthermore, the apps must be submitted to Google for approval to try and ensure they are not driver distracting.
These are very intentional business decisions Google has made.
Google does NOT want to be sued for driver distraction, nor get bad press from cases where people try and blame AA ("The tree jumped out in front of me") and does NOT want regulators banning Android Auto.
Furthermore, this reduces the competition Google faces from other audio and messaging apps. Only "select" apps will be allowed.
mikereidis said:
I doubt Google will backtrack on these decisions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Possibly, but Google's nature is to throw it against the wall and see what sticks.
If even non-interactive aspects of your device are crippled, folks may feel the need to disconnect while driving (which defeats the whole point of it).
Or, avoid the platform entirely. I know that after seeing a demo of AA I thought "my Moto X does all of this and more, without having to look at or touch it".
I'm betting that this will evolve in the same way as other projects.
I'd like to use the watch for phone calls. When I've tried it in the past I can answer the call but can't hear the caller. I don't know if they can hear me.
So, I went into the app drawer on the watch and tapped on "Calling Setup" thinking that's where I control everything. But, when I tap on it my watch shows me a screen that says, "Voice Calling Info. To proceed with calling setup, please go to System Updates to install the latest software."
Alas, when I tap on "OK" it takes me to system updates and then I get the check mark stating that my phone is up to date.
How do I use the watch to talk on calls? Is Calling Setup not the place to go?
I don't remember any app named Calling Setup?
All I need to do was:
- Go to Settings on watch
- Enter Bluetooth menu
- Turn ON option: Play phone audio on watch
- On your phone, make sure your paired bluetooth profile allow Phone Audio & Contact Sharing
Then to call someone, I think you have to setup in your phone, Favorites Contact.
Go to Contact app on your phone, find Favorites group, then add people.
I think Android Watch will only sync Favorites and maybe Recent/Frequent Contact.
To call from your watch, wake your watch first then swipe left 2 times, your contacts will be there.
Just tap it then the number to call.
Harlin, thanks that worked.
Problem with "Calling Setup
I just bought zenwatch 3 and am using it with my iphone. I dont see the call feature for iphone. Will i get that feature in android wear 2.0?
re: using iphone with zenwatch
selva1993 said:
I just bought zenwatch 3 and am using it with my iphone. I dont see the call feature for iphone. Will i get that feature in android wear 2.0?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The iPhone is not fully compatible with any android wear watch.
It has very limited functions if you use the zenwatch on iPhone.
To get full functionality on android wear watches you
need to sync it with most any late model android phone.
Have a great day!
Android Wear 2.0 is suppose to be much better supported on the iPhone. Perhaps just wait for the update and try it again.
Just picked up a 2019 Mazda with Android Auto. LG V30 running Android 8.0. I have all sorts of weird things happens indicating this app is NOT stable. I'm wondering who I go to, to try to work out the problems, Google or Mazda? (I doubt Mazda can do anything.)
I've been a Software Developer for over 20 years and my opinion thus far is Android Auto is both unstable and poorly thought out.
Geez, I could build a list a mile long but here's some major things off the top of my head...
- When replying to a text message, I get as far as AA reading my reply and asking me if I want to send, which I confirm, and then it says "Ha. Something went wrong." If I then ask "What went wrong?" AA Says there was a server error but I've fixed it now. No, you haven't, because it keeps doing it.
- The command "OK Google... Send text message to {insert contact name}" responds with "I don't know how to do that." Are you kidding me? I can do that on my phone when not using AA.
- The command "read last text message" AA responds it can't do that either.
- The command "read last notification" can't do it.
There are pretty basic necessities when driving. I'm sure Google has some explanation like "apps aren't allowed to access {some data} for security purposes." But in reality, at the end of the day, the software engineer's goals should be centered around making user functionality as useful as possible and easy to use. Looks like thus far, they've really missed the mark.
The funny (but sad) thing is, the Mazda salesman said the Apple Car Play worked better, but didn't warn me about the issues I was going to have with Android Auto. I can see why he said Apple was better. But Google is such a small company with so little resources, I can therefore understand why Android Auto is subpar (NOT.)
I use AA only for Waze navigation because the weird stuff you wrote about.
Google went for a super duper restrictive use of Auto functionalities for "drive security" sake, at the point they rendered the product almost unusable. It's ironic the AA software is even more restrictive than automotive manufacturers ones.
In my case, the only really usable software in AA are Waze (even with its frequent errors) and Google Maps.
nangu said:
I use AA only for Waze navigation because the weird stuff you wrote about.
Google went for a super duper restrictive use of Auto functionalities for "drive security" sake, at the point they rendered the product almost unusable. It's ironic the AA software is even more restrictive than automotive manufacturers ones.
In my case, the only really usable software in AA are Waze (even with its frequent errors) and Google Maps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can see myself going the same route if things don't get better. One thing though I was really happy with was on my Acura, I'd usually have to turn down the volume to issue voice commands because I believe without Android Auto, you are talking to the phone mic, not the car mic for "OK Google" commands. With AA, it appears to use the car mic and picks up and understands your voice commands a lot better. Of course if most of the useful voice commands you want to use AA doesn't support anyway, I guess it's sort of a moot point.
I just deleted all the AA app data and cache and reinstalled thinking maybe I accidentally skipped over a permissions grant when I installed, but then, the app wouldn't be reading my text messages if I did that but I'll try anything to make it work.
I can't think of any BIG advantage to using Google Play Music via AA as opposed to the car's Bluetooth. It's also a little annoying to have to plug the phone in. Gee, here we are in 2019 and we're really *this* far from a well engineered solution from Google? I guess considering the app doesn't generate revenue for them, this may be the real issue. But I would guess car manufacturers have to pay some sort of licensing fee to include it in their cars. So AA technically would be more of a revenue generator than say the free Google Assistant - which ironically is more useful and works better than AA. Go figure. Although one could argue GA is a must have O/S feature to compete with iOS and therefore indirectly generates more revenue via phone sales.
@nangu
Is Waze still *that* much better than Google Maps? I know it was better in the past but hasn't Google added more features like accident reporting, etc. I believe Google actually owns Waze so maybe they are gradually merging the feature sets? So does the car actually display the Waze map? How to you indicate you want the Nav button to bring up the Waze map instead of Google Maps?
jazee said:
@nangu
Is Waze still *that* much better than Google Maps? I know it was better in the past but hasn't Google added more features like accident reporting, etc. I believe Google actually owns Waze so maybe they are gradually merging the feature sets? So does the car actually display the Waze map? How to you indicate you want the Nav button to bring up the Waze map instead of Google Maps?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi @jazee
Actually, GMaps render to the car screen a lot better, it's smoother and graphically nicer. I have to test the "waze added" features like dynamic navigation based on traffic, speed camera alerts, warnings alerts, etc.
Last GMaps version available on my region doesn't display speed camera warnings as far as I tested, so it's a waze keeper for me until Google decides to incorporate this functionality on Maps at least.
The car does display the Waze map, alert icons, speed cams, etc, both visually and audible.
To display Waze or Maps on car screen, you press Android Auto navigation button. It depends on your default navigation app which is shown on the screen at first, but if you are displaying Maps in example, and you press the AA navigation button again, you can choose which navigation app you want to use and it is saved as default.
jazee said:
Just picked up a 2019 Mazda with Android Auto. LG V30 running Android 8.0. I have all sorts of weird things happens indicating this app is NOT stable. I'm wondering who I go to, to try to work out the problems, Google or Mazda? (I doubt Mazda can do anything.)
I've been a Software Developer for over 20 years and my opinion thus far is Android Auto is both unstable and poorly thought out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi @jazee,
I'm a user of AA for the last 3 years. Here my recomendations:
- For better AA experience, exit from all Gloogle BETA services.
- Don't try to use conversational language with the Google Assistant (yes! AA use GA). Use only accepted "commands".
- Remember that without Internet connection only a very limited commands are available. So, without network use only the screen.
Besides that AA is far away of the creapping media interfaces from car manufacturers!
manos78 said:
Hi @jazee,
I'm a user of AA for the last 3 years. Here my recomendations:
- For better AA experience, exit from all Gloogle BETA services.
- Don't try to use conversational language with the Google Assistant (yes! AA use GA). Use only accepted "commands".
- Remember that without Internet connection only a very limited commands are available. So, without network use only the screen.
Besides that AA is far away of the creapping media interfaces from car manufacturers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
- Where is the list of "commands" ?? (Can't use them if I don't know all of them.)
- I pretty much always have an Internet connection being on Verizon so doubt it has to do with my connection.
Well after several hours of troubleshooting and searching various forums, I found a solution to why I can't send text messages.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/an...l/google-aa-engineers-forcing-please-t3902336