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Hi,
I am an unfortunate owner of this POS. I also own a Pebble.
The battery life is 1 - 2 days. I knew this going in, but if you use it a lot outdoors (and have to turn the brightness up) then its much closer to 1 day.
The apps are terrible. Beyond terrible. Most dont work properly or at all. Eg. Evernote "recent notes", Tweet QuickView (which simply doesnt work - see my review and vendor reply on the app store.).
Notifications (surely the only thing that I *need* a smart watch for?) are pathetic. If I get a GMail, a Tweet etc then it tells me to look at it on the phone. I cannot add other apps into the notifications list... so Tapatalk, my own Android apps etc cannot send even a notification prompt to the phone.
Camera is poor quality and useless. Speaker is too quiet to use for calls (not that you would want to) and the Media Controller is not some clever OS level change - it just plays whatever music app is in "ongoing notifications". Same as Pebble and Augmented Smartwatch etc. So sometimes you dont play the media you want.
Do not buy this product. There is nothing good about it at all.
Neil
RealEvil_UK said:
Hi,
I am an unfortunate owner of this POS. I also own a Pebble.
The battery life is 1 - 2 days. I knew this going in, but if you use it a lot outdoors (and have to turn the brightness up) then its much closer to 1 day.
The apps are terrible. Beyond terrible. Most dont work properly or at all. Eg. Evernote "recent notes", Tweet QuickView (which simply doesnt work - see my review and vendor reply on the app store.).
Notifications (surely the only thing that I *need* a smart watch for?) are pathetic. If I get a GMail, a Tweet etc then it tells me to look at it on the phone. I cannot add other apps into the notifications list... so Tapatalk, my own Android apps etc cannot send even a notification prompt to the phone.
Camera is poor quality and useless. Speaker is too quiet to use for calls (not that you would want to) and the Media Controller is not some clever OS level change - it just plays whatever music app is in "ongoing notifications". Same as Pebble and Augmented Smartwatch etc. So sometimes you dont play the media you want.
Do not buy this product. There is nothing good about it at all.
Neil
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you just purchase it or??? If you just purchased it today you should take it back. I thought about purchasing it but I am going to wait. I usually jump on first gen stuff but I had the Inpulse watch, I had the Wim Labs prototype, I had the playbook (and see how that turned out).
I hope there are other people that will chime in about this. FWIW, I also think the pebble is crap. The support, I hear, is the same lousy support the company provided for the Inpulse watch.
Not surprised a bit
RealEvil_UK said:
Hi,
I am an unfortunate owner of this POS. I also own a Pebble.
The battery life is 1 - 2 days. I knew this going in, but if you use it a lot outdoors (and have to turn the brightness up) then its much closer to 1 day.
The apps are terrible. Beyond terrible. Most dont work properly or at all. Eg. Evernote "recent notes", Tweet QuickView (which simply doesnt work - see my review and vendor reply on the app store.).
Notifications (surely the only thing that I *need* a smart watch for?) are pathetic. If I get a GMail, a Tweet etc then it tells me to look at it on the phone. I cannot add other apps into the notifications list... so Tapatalk, my own Android apps etc cannot send even a notification prompt to the phone.
Camera is poor quality and useless. Speaker is too quiet to use for calls (not that you would want to) and the Media Controller is not some clever OS level change - it just plays whatever music app is in "ongoing notifications". Same as Pebble and Augmented Smartwatch etc. So sometimes you dont play the media you want.
Do not buy this product. There is nothing good about it at all.
Neil
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sucks to hear , the notifications seem like crap but apparently need to be updated by vendor. Someone mentioned a new API that would allow a 3rd party to setup a notification system. No idea how they could launch with such limited notifications.
Can you upload some camera and video samples ? One mans crap is another mans "ok"
xManMythLegend said:
Sucks to hear , the notifications seem like crap but apparently need to be updated by vendor. Someone mentioned a new API that would allow a 3rd party to setup a notification system. No idea how they could launch with such limited notifications.
Can you upload some camera and video samples ? One mans crap is another mans "ok"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hate to fan the fire between us but having read your mail I find myself asking if YOU actually own one? Why do you keep asking for pictures?
---------- Post added at 09:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:07 PM ----------
RealEvil_UK said:
Hi,
I am an unfortunate owner of this POS. I also own a Pebble.
The battery life is 1 - 2 days. I knew this going in, but if you use it a lot outdoors (and have to turn the brightness up) then its much closer to 1 day.
The apps are terrible. Beyond terrible. Most dont work properly or at all. Eg. Evernote "recent notes", Tweet QuickView (which simply doesnt work - see my review and vendor reply on the app store.).
Notifications (surely the only thing that I *need* a smart watch for?) are pathetic. If I get a GMail, a Tweet etc then it tells me to look at it on the phone. I cannot add other apps into the notifications list... so Tapatalk, my own Android apps etc cannot send even a notification prompt to the phone.
Camera is poor quality and useless. Speaker is too quiet to use for calls (not that you would want to) and the Media Controller is not some clever OS level change - it just plays whatever music app is in "ongoing notifications". Same as Pebble and Augmented Smartwatch etc. So sometimes you dont play the media you want.
Do not buy this product. There is nothing good about it at all.
Neil
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unsure what you where expecting. I am unhappy with the gear also but for different reasons. Oddly enough I have experienced zero software problems to date.
With care and respect I have to ask what you expected from the camera? Jeez its a toy and more or less just for fund snaps. I have this thing about phone cameras. I love photography so use a DSLR. I know little about the art but do know one cannot seriously expect great photos from a mobile phone., or wrist watch in this case.
It is sad as yet again I feel a major brand has introduced to a market a product that is not user ready. I mean the IP is IP55!! Water and this watch are not friends.
At present I am enjoying the learning curve and new toy. I said before I purchased it that it would end up collecting dust in some draw before long. Lets see. BTW I bought mine on the 27th and the battery only needed a charge this afternoon? £ days of decent usage and experimenting.
I expected to need to recharge every night. Not the case so far.
Don't set me of regarding the quality of that strap
In your shoes I would return it for a refund. Problem is for this type of device this is as good as it gets.
Kind regards..
I look forward to getting mine next week, but I will have 14 days to check it out and by the sounds of things I may not be happy (time will tell) and if I am not I will just return it and get something else.
BTW there is always the Omate TrueSmart watch which can be used without a SIM and is competely water proof.
Ryland Johnson said:
I hate to fan the fire between us but having read your mail I find myself asking if YOU actually own one? Why do you keep asking for pictures?
---------- Post added at 09:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:07 PM ----------
Unsure what you where expecting. I am unhappy with the gear also but for different reasons. Oddly enough I have experienced zero software problems to date.
With care and respect I have to ask what you expected from the camera? Jeez its a toy and more or less just for fund snaps. I have this thing about phone cameras. I love photography so use a DSLR. I know little about the art but do know one cannot seriously expect great photos from a mobile phone., or wrist watch in this case.
It is sad as yet again I feel a major brand has introduced to a market a product that is not user ready. I mean the IP is IP55!! Water and this watch are not friends.
At present I am enjoying the learning curve and new toy. I said before I purchased it that it would end up collecting dust in some draw before long. Lets see. BTW I bought mine on the 27th and the battery only needed a charge this afternoon? £ days of decent usage and experimenting.
I expected to need to recharge every night. Not the case so far.
Don't set me of regarding the quality of that strap
In your shoes I would return it for a refund. Problem is for this type of device this is as good as it gets.
Kind regards..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
he would return if he actully bought one....these are usually paid trolls by other companies....if i have bought sometime and im not satisfy with it.i will just take it back and not write stupid stuff about it.(beauty is eye of the beholder)i may not like something that dont mean the other person wont like it.
Ryland Johnson said:
I hate to fan the fire between us but having read your mail I find myself asking if YOU actually own one? Why do you keep asking for pictures?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Obviously I do not which is why I have given no opinion on it.
He started a thread claiming the picture and video quality being poor. Why wouldn't I ask for samples?
It's crazy to just take everyone's opinion and not ask for something tangible.
When people make negative threads they should expect to back-up claims.
Also I have taken no offense to your posts.
Hi,
The Samsung Experience Store in Westfield Shopping Centre (in London) told me that I cannot have a refund. I am now arguing with them that the product is defective as its clearly not "ready to be sold and is therefore defective". To be honest I am not going to stress too much on it as I *only* paid £200 as I bought with a Note 3 (which I love) and due to a pre-order offer I got a total of £100 savings for buying the 2 together. I will sell it on eBay if I have to and probably not lose much. And in case you cannot detect the cynicism - I do feel cheated that I spent £200 on this device as the only way to get it for this price was to pre-order it BEFORE the release, which meant I couldn't try the device before pre-ordering and pre-paying. As soon as I used it for more than a day I phoned them up and they told me that they do not accept returns for anything that is not defective.
Do you really need me to give you a photo sample? Reviews are full of them. The watch strap camera is poor. I didn't expect more, but it takes awful photos in anything other than good light. This is inline with my expectations going in, but it doesn't make it any less of a half baked feature.
The Apps are dreadful. Most S-Voice commands dont work via the watch. Whoever said they got 4 days battery life has had a very different experience to me. The battery life is very much linked to the screen brightness from my experience - and anything less that full brightness is not very readable outdoors. Indoors with low brightness I guess its possible that I would get 4 days... but I dont think I will own the device long enough to really test it.
RealEvil_UK said:
Hi,
The Samsung Experience Store in Westfield Shopping Centre (in London) told me that I cannot have a refund. I am now arguing with them that the product is defective as its clearly not "ready to be sold and is therefore defective". To be honest I am not going to stress too much on it as I *only* paid £200 as I bought with a Note 3 (which I love) and due to a pre-order offer I got a total of £100 savings for buying the 2 together. I will sell it on eBay if I have to and probably not lose much. And in case you cannot detect the cynicism - I do feel cheated that I spent £200 on this device as the only way to get it for this price was to pre-order it BEFORE the release, which meant I couldn't try the device before pre-ordering and pre-paying. As soon as I used it for more than a day I phoned them up and they told me that they do not accept returns for anything that is not defective.
Do you really need me to give you a photo sample? Reviews are full of them. The watch strap camera is poor. I didn't expect more, but it takes awful photos in anything other than good light. This is inline with my expectations going in, but it doesn't make it any less of a half baked feature.
The Apps are dreadful. Most S-Voice commands dont work via the watch. Whoever said they got 4 days battery life has had a very different experience to me. The battery life is very much linked to the screen brightness from my experience - and anything less that full brightness is not very readable outdoors. Indoors with low brightness I guess its possible that I would get 4 days... but I dont think I will own the device long enough to really test it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i totally not agree with you
we just have to wait... and i can explain you why
(before all, sorry for my bad english)
the notifications works bad, i agree, BUT it's a software problem that (hopefully) will be fixed by 3rd party apps
an example? do you use Line?
if you don't use it please throw whatsapp into the garbage and try line
Line has an app for the gear that not only shows very beautiful notifications style, but let you reply with some pre-selected stickers.
we just have to wait for software houses to update and code their own notification app
i'm confident this will happen soon
the gear have a GREAT potential... something that pebble doesn't have (i've got the pebble too)
let's wait a bit... it's out since few days.
PS: battery time 2 days for me
Yes, when someone on XDA says photos are garbage then photos are requisite.
I saw pics and videos and comments were nowhere near as negative as yours. If you post pics perhaps some kind of flaw or problem with your unit can be revealed. Or we come to the conclusion your "taste" is different from others.
You guys think way too highly of your "opinions" and expect them to be taken as gospel. Make a claim back it up let others scrutinize. That's how things work, that's how problems, bugs, hardware flaws get exposed. Not "it's garbage trust me".
Gear could be the crappiest waste ever... But if you say it is... Show people why.
faremoney said:
i totally not agree with you
we just have to wait... and i can explain you why
(before all, sorry for my bad english)
the notifications works bad, i agree, BUT it's a software problem that (hopefully) will be fixed by 3rd party apps
an example? do you use Line?
if you don't use it please throw whatsapp into the garbage and try line
Line has an app for the gear that not only shows very beautiful notifications style, but let you reply with some pre-selected stickers.
we just have to wait for software houses to update and code their own notification app
i'm confident this will happen soon
the gear have a GREAT potential... something that pebble doesn't have (i've got the pebble too)
let's wait a bit... it's out since few days.
PS: battery time 2 days for me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, I dont think that anyone - not even Samsung - can release a brand new product which *requires* 3rd party app developers to do something to support it. Why would Google bother to update GMail to support a few thousand watch owners? I wouldn't.
What Samsung should have implemented - just like a lot of the supporting apps for Pebble (e.g. Augmented SmartWatch Pro) - is to "scrape" all notifications and allow them ALL to be sent to the watch. This way, 3rd party app developers don't *have* to do anything. They only have to write apps for the device if they wish to offer something extra.
RealEvil_UK said:
Hi, I dont think that anyone - not even Samsung - can release a brand new product which *requires* 3rd party app developers to do something to support it. Why would Google bother to update GMail to support a few thousand watch owners? I wouldn't.
What Samsung should have implemented - just like a lot of the supporting apps for Pebble (e.g. Augmented SmartWatch Pro) - is to "scrape" all notifications and allow them ALL to be sent to the watch. This way, 3rd party app developers don't *have* to do anything. They only have to write apps for the device if they wish to offer something extra.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes but in the moment we are talking, ebay JUST released Ebay for Gear.... and it works beautifully
and remember there is a market out there... the apps can be free or paid, so who comes first can find an open market... :good:
This product wont be a success. Samsung will learn from it and release a updated model with wider Android support and for half the price within the next 6 - 12 months. That v2 product will probably be worth considering, but I feel cheated as a v1 owner that this product has been very poorly thought out and is effectively a alpha product/proof of concept.
The most basic functionality of Smart Watch - to me at least - is notifications. Custom apps are potentially interesting but not the "vital" feature that I could use 20 - 50 times a day. And in this regard, the Galaxy Gear is a terrible failure.
I think, I don't know, that a number of us are disappointed with the gear for several reasons.
Most of us made this a re order purchase mea culpa, to this end not only where any hands on reviews thin on the ground but until launch date non of us even knew what it would even look like.
Again I guess, It is perhaps significant that many of us purchased the Note 3 and the Gear as a pre order purchase at a discount price. Like many here I made a saving on the Gear by purchasing the two items together. Call me suspicious but perhaps and only perhaps, Samsung knew this was very much a project in the making and sold the Gear discounted knowing it would soften the blow? This is of course pure conjecture.
I made this purchase for several reasons. I have enjoyed my past Samsung mobiles, the Nexus S, SGS2, 3 and Note 1. I am a gadget freak, love the stuff always have. Lastly I collect watches, that's in by blood.
One can imagine my response when a new mobile AND watch came out together. Geek nirvana.
The Gear IS expensive, its not a cheapo try it and bin it. IF the concept had worked it would have been acceptable. With due respect to Samsung I cant see this as a consumer ready device.
Okay. The camera. Again with due respect and care for the OP I am unsure what any of us could reasonably expect from a 1,9 MP camera?
Its a sales gimmick and something to use to snap a quick shot, though even that doesn't work.
What does concern me the most is that strap and clasp. The clasp is the type that has a history of being the most problematic and is generally found on the cheaper end of the market for watches if used at all these days. When we close the clasp and here that 'click' that sound is made by a tiny piece of pressed steel bending slightly into a hole and binding with the other half of the clasp. What happens is after time that tiny tiny piece of metal weakens and eventually no longer 'clicks' into place.
What customers then do is try to bend it back so it again will hold and this further weakens the pressed steel part. I wont write again about the material used to produce the strap-under body as I simply cannot for see the future. What I can guess, again, is this strap is perhaps not going to last too long, it just doesn't feel durable and is certainly not vulcanised rubber. The strap is an integral part of the watch and cannot thus be replaced, hence my over concern regarding the strap.
As for the software, I am still learning how to use it and have come across some possible flaws BUT it may be ignorance on my part and until I read the manual and try to resolve the problem I am experiencing I will not complain.
Lastly I do agree with those owners who suggest this is very much a work in progress and should perhaps have been delayed for further development until at least the water resistance could be improved etc....
ALL opinion form an owner. Time is going to be the best teacher.
Kind regards.
Here is my take on this. I don't own Gear, yet, and my opinion is based on reading other reviews and opinions and in general based on the fact that I review gadgets on XDA as a full time hobby (check out link in my signature ).
A success of smartwatch is based on hardware and software. So far the main gripe I heard about hardware is battery life which to my pleasant surprise people reporting to as lasting1-2 days rather then "less then a day", all that with typical use or perhaps higher then average since everybody wants to play with camera. I suspect that might even improve with some software optimization in the future. Other then that, I also heard some people saying wristband is not was they expected (in terms of material) - oh well, this is not your typical $500-$1000 watch but rather an electronic gadget you strap to your wrist. So basically most of the complains are with software which we all know going to be fixed, sooner (from Samsung) or later (maybe even with some rooting or custom ROM, etc.) Once 4.3 updates start rolling in to cover S3/S4/N2 users and US market going to see N3 release that's when the real "beta" testing going to start. Right now, you guys are alpha-testers, early technology adopters. Everyone's expectations was that it will work straight out of the box. Well, it happened to some extent but not 100%. I'm sure the improvement will happen in the next few months, just have to be patient if you decide to stick around and keep this smartwatch.
Just my 2 cents.
RealEvil_UK said:
Hi, I dont think that anyone - not even Samsung - can release a brand new product which *requires* 3rd party app developers to do something to support it. Why would Google bother to update GMail to support a few thousand watch owners? I wouldn't.
What Samsung should have implemented - just like a lot of the supporting apps for Pebble (e.g. Augmented SmartWatch Pro) - is to "scrape" all notifications and allow them ALL to be sent to the watch. This way, 3rd party app developers don't *have* to do anything. They only have to write apps for the device if they wish to offer something extra.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android 4.3 has the APIs to do just that.
I'm working on that app right now. Will keep XDA updated with progress
vectron said:
Here is my take on this. I don't own Gear, yet, and my opinion is based on reading other reviews and opinions and in general based on the fact that I review gadgets on XDA as a full time hobby (check out link in my signature ).
A success of smartwatch is based on hardware and software. So far the main gripe I heard about hardware is battery life which to my pleasant surprise people reporting to as lasting1-2 days rather then "less then a day", all that with typical use or perhaps higher then average since everybody wants to play with camera. I suspect that might even improve with some software optimization in the future. Other then that, I also heard some people saying wristband is not was they expected (in terms of material) - oh well, this is not your typical $500-$1000 watch but rather an electronic gadget you strap to your wrist. So basically most of the complains are with software which we all know going to be fixed, sooner (from Samsung) or later (maybe even with some rooting or custom ROM, etc.) Once 4.3 updates start rolling in to cover S3/S4/N2 users and US market going to see N3 release that's when the real "beta" testing going to start. Right now, you guys are alpha-testers, early technology adopters. Everyone's expectations was that it will work straight out of the box. Well, it happened to some extent but not 100%. I'm sure the improvement will happen in the next few months, just have to be patient if you decide to stick around and keep this smartwatch.
Just my 2 cents.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
I will 'try' one more time....The strap. The cost of the Gear is immaterial in terms of the strap. What is vital is the strap lasts so the watch can function. No strap no watch? The watch could be 50.00€-500,000.00€ BUT once that strap goes so does the watch, its a non replaceable part. I just cant explain this point any clearer.
Regards
Personally I am holding off on this watch for two main reasons... One may be possible with third party apps, the other can't. I am not a fan of svoice and want to be able to type a reply to a text vs saying it. Most of the time I am at work and don't want svoice going off and talking to my watch to send a replay of "lol" or "ok". Omate has a keyboard but I hate the look of it. Second is the camera... I wish they made a gear without a camera. That hump on the strap is so ugly. I want the watch to look semi professional and that hump kills it. Wish I could combine omate and gear... Would be perfect for me.
Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2
Wow, just got a call from Samsung who have agreed to take the watch back and give me a refund. Nice.
As a few people have commented - it will get better. But I am not sure Samsung will have the patience for this particular model, and they will likely release much better hardware within then next 6 - 9 months.
They could massively improve the device via software updates - no question. But I think they can only really do this by taking a step back and starting with the position that no app maker should have to *do* anything for it to be compatible with the Smart Watch. THIS is where the device needs to start. At the very least, all notifications should be on the watch and ideally actionable. Surely thats a better starting position than with a App Store model that no big app developer will bother with?
Has anyone figured out how to get a continuous hear rate from the watch? I just got mine today and it seems that none of the apps can do it. I have tried android fit, hear rate app, and runtastic. Without continuous monitoring of the heart rate the feature is useless in my opinion.
I have same problem, without permanent checks is useless. Is giving nothing with endomondo itd. I don't want check my HR sometimes only.
I choose samsung because of this... and this problem with charger... I choose samsung first time after long time, and I think it's my next mistake.
SQ9KFX said:
I have same problem, without permanent checks is useless. Is giving nothing with endomondo itd. I don't want check my HR sometimes only.
I choose samsung because of this... and this problem with charger... I choose samsung first time after long time, and I think it's my next mistake.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What exactly happens with the charger? I had a gear 2 and the charger looked almost identical to this one and it had no issues. I don't get how they are breaking.
http://androidandme.com/2014/07/new...harger-reportedly-damaging-some-smartwatches/
SQ9KFX said:
http://androidandme.com/2014/07/new...harger-reportedly-damaging-some-smartwatches/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't really think there is an issue at all, except for a few people who misused the device and want to blame the manufacture.
Maturola said:
I don't really think there is an issue at all, except for a few people who misused the device and want to blame the manufacture.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this.
in the videos of unboxing and early looks i watched, virtually every reviewer tried to put on and take off the cradle as it they were the hulk. if put on like a normal human being who doesn't want to break their $200 gadget, the cradle works perfectly fine.
as for continuous heart rate, with the way the sensor (optical) works i don't ever see that happening. and if somehow enabled, working very well at all. the sensor needs you to not be moving and cannot handle moisture. it was designed with more of a before and after exercise use in mind. this is the same way it works on any samsung device with a heart rate monitor.
even when it works, it's okay at best.
adiliyo said:
this.
in the videos of unboxing and early looks i watched, virtually every reviewer tried to put on and take off the cradle as it they were the hulk. if put on like a normal human being who doesn't want to break their $200 gadget, the cradle works perfectly fine.
as for continuous heart rate, with the way the sensor (optical) works i don't ever see that happening. and if somehow enabled, working very well at all. the sensor needs you to not be moving and cannot handle moisture. it was designed with more of a before and after exercise use in mind. this is the same way it works on any samsung device with a heart rate monitor.
even when it works, it's okay at best.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The optical heart rate sensor is a pretty standard device that has been used in hospitals for many years. It measures blood oxygen levels. You've probably worn one in the hospital on the end of your finger, they use a red beam. Also the Gear 2 has continuous heart rate, as do other fitness watches such as the Mio Alpha. I've owned both and they work perfectly. There is no reason the Gear Live can't do it just as well as the Gear 2. Its probaby the same exact piece of hardware.
seh6183 said:
The optical heart rate sensor is a pretty standard device that has been used in hospitals for many years. It measures blood oxygen levels. You've probably worn one in the hospital on the end of your finger, they use a red beam. Also the Gear 2 has continuous heart rate, as do other fitness watches such as the Mio Alpha. I've owned both and they work perfectly. There is no reason the Gear Live can't do it just as well as the Gear 2. Its probaby the same exact piece of hardware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that's interesting, only having owned a gear 1, i was unaware of that. the hardware is most likely identical and is then most likely a limitation of either the fitness app or android wear.
The Gear Fit also has continuous monitoring while doing exercise.
Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk
Runtastic when linked to the Gear 2 allows continuous heart rate monitoring. A guy in my running group has one which was part of the reason I got the Live as figured it would work the same.
I'm assuming either Samsung will update their Gear manager to link to the Live eventually or app developers will add the feature once they work it out.
At this point I just can not live without my gear live. I felt that way about the gear 2 and this thing blows it out of the water. I really really need continuous heart rate though and hope they release something soon.
seh6183 said:
The optical heart rate sensor is a pretty standard device that has been used in hospitals for many years. It measures blood oxygen levels. You've probably worn one in the hospital on the end of your finger, they use a red beam. Also the Gear 2 has continuous heart rate, as do other fitness watches such as the Mio Alpha. I've owned both and they work perfectly. There is no reason the Gear Live can't do it just as well as the Gear 2. Its probaby the same exact piece of hardware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pulse ox at the fingertip is accurate, not at the wrist. Here's a good article about why optical sensors at the wrist aren't good.
I'm currently under 10 posts, pardon spaces in the link: cnet.com/ news /how-accurate-are-wristband-heart-rate-monitors
I've had 2 wrist mounted optical sensors and they worked with perfect accuracy.
I too had the Mio Alpha, and ran with both that and my chest strap HRM for weeks, it was never off by more than 2 bpm.
So now I've gotten a full fledged smartwatch in the Gear Live hoping it would still perform the fitness functions of the Alpha, but can't find an app to help me do so. Has anyone found anything?
poison469 said:
I too had the Mio Alpha, and ran with both that and my chest strap HRM for weeks, it was never off by more than 2 bpm.
So now I've gotten a full fledged smartwatch in the Gear Live hoping it would still perform the fitness functions of the Alpha, but can't find an app to help me do so. Has anyone found anything?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have been looking for something too but haven't found anything. I have emailed the developer for this app.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pribble.htc.ble.hrm
I also tweeted the developer for this app.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=burtonator.heartman
If I hear something back I will update here.
It's totally lame because the gear 2 does it, albeit not as good as the mio. Honestly though once I saw that the moto 360 had a HRM both my gear lives went for sale. I really hate Samsung with a passion lol and won't be buying one of their products for a while. They make these great products with potential and then use the cheapest materials on planet earth to construct them and then have a 5 year old draw their OS with crayons and release it. I hope they aren't shocked their sales have dipped significantly last quarter.
I'm basically upset about the whole charging debacle and the fact that Samsung purposely crippled the gear live by not developing a simple heart rate app because they don't want the live to compete with their horrible Tizen platform. I guarantee moto will have a continuous heart rate monitor out of the box when it's released.
seh6183 said:
It's totally lame because the gear 2 does it, albeit not as good as the mio. Honestly though once I saw that the moto 360 had a HRM both my gear lives went for sale. I really hate Samsung with a passion lol and won't be buying one of their products for a while. They make these great products with potential and then use the cheapest materials on planet earth to construct them and then have a 5 year old draw their OS with crayons and release it. I hope they aren't shocked their sales have dipped significantly last quarter.
I'm basically upset about the whole charging debacle and the fact that Samsung purposely crippled the gear live by not developing a simple heart rate app because they don't want the live to compete with their horrible Tizen platform. I guarantee moto will have a continuous heart rate monitor out of the box when it's released.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure the Moto360 will have anything more available than the Live does... RunTracker, RunTastic, GoogleFit, MyTracks,etc... none of them pull data from the HRM on the Live... They are the same apps that will be available to the 360 when it finally gets here.
I also had a Gear2 and while it had software to do continuous monitoring, it was a bad hardware design. I was hopeful the Live would be better since they curved the back and moved the sensor to the middle. On the Gear2, the sensor was in the corner and the back was flat which kept the corner and sensor from staying in direct contact with my wrist.
This layout is like the Mio, but unbelievably there is no software that utilizes the HRM yet.
poison469 said:
I'm not sure the Moto360 will have anything more available than the Live does... RunTracker, RunTastic, GoogleFit, MyTracks,etc... none of them pull data from the HRM on the Live... They are the same apps that will be available to the 360 when it finally gets here.
I also had a Gear2 and while it had software to do continuous monitoring, it was a bad hardware design. I was hopeful the Live would be better since they curved the back and moved the sensor to the middle. On the Gear2, the sensor was in the corner and the back was flat which kept the corner and sensor from staying in direct contact with my wrist.
This layout is like the Mio, but unbelievably there is no software that utilizes the HRM yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I feel exactly the same way. When I saw the location of the sensor on the live I was excited and immediately offed my gear 2. Then waited weeks for my live to arrive only to find out it was literally useless. That coupled with yet another build quality issue from Samsung (charger) and I'm done. I'm confident the moto 360 will have a Motorola app capable of monitoring heart rate continuously.
Well since the moto 360 will have the same apps as the g watch and the gear live since they are keeping the manufacturers from changing android wear , it's really up to a developer to make an app that uses this function otherwise Google will have to release something.
hungmung said:
Well since the moto 360 will have the same apps as the g watch and the gear live since they are keeping the manufacturers from changing android wear , it's really up to a developer to make an app that uses this function otherwise Google will have to release something.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They can still add their own apps to the watch if they wanted to. If not they could just make an app and put it in the store to be downloaded.
I recently received a Gear 2 for my Bday
I was excited and couldn't wait to play with it to see what it would do
Well I've had it going on 2 months now, to my displeasure the Gear 2 is useless IMO
1st the heart rate monitor doesn't monitor, you have to start it and 9xs out of 10 you have to restart it and it's mostly wrong, I've started 5xs conservatively and got a range from 65-95, WORTHLESS
2nd The pedometer, we'll it's never right, I can have the gear 2 sitting on coffee table and pick it up and it say I've walked 700 FT, WORTHLESS
3rd Apps, There are very very few apps that are worth downloading, unless you want a different watch face everyday, there are tons of watch faces and most of them are unattractive, plus I've purchased a few apps at the beginning and mostly none worked as advertised or they were very buggy, WORTHLESS
4th If I'm not mistaken Gear 2 came out in 2014 and here it is Nov 2014 and the Gear 2 is out of date, this thing was purchased for $299, luckily it was a gift, MAD
in my opinion Samsung screwed the consumer, Yes the phones are very good but on this watch thing it's an other issue, and a bad one
The reason I left the IPhone behind was because they are proprietary and now Samsung is doing the same thing
I'll be leaving Samsung behind also when contract is up
Thanks for the VENTING
Lonestarman said:
I recently received a Gear 2 for my Bday
I was excited and couldn't wait to play with it to see what it would do
Well I've had it going on 2 months now, to my displeasure the Gear 2 is useless IMO
1st the heart rate monitor doesn't monitor, you have to start it and 9xs out of 10 you have to restart it and it's mostly wrong, I've started 5xs conservatively and got a range from 65-95, WORTHLESS
2nd The pedometer, we'll it's never right, I can have the gear 2 sitting on coffee table and pick it up and it say I've walked 700 FT, WORTHLESS
3rd Apps, There are very very few apps that are worth downloading, unless you want a different watch face everyday, there are tons of watch faces and most of them are unattractive, plus I've purchased a few apps at the beginning and mostly none worked as advertised or they were very buggy, WORTHLESS
4th If I'm not mistaken Gear 2 came out in 2014 and here it is Nov 2014 and the Gear 2 is out of date, this thing was purchased for $299, luckily it was a gift, MAD
in my opinion Samsung screwed the consumer, Yes the phones are very good but on this watch thing it's an other issue, and a bad one
The reason I left the IPhone behind was because they are proprietary and now Samsung is doing the same thing
I'll be leaving Samsung behind also when contract is up
Thanks for the VENTING
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I own the original galaxy gear and while I was running with andriod for the longest time, I decided to give tizen a try and it made the watch better imo. However, pedometer and all of its original apps worked flawlessly with both OS's, the only gripe I have with it is that I can't swap bracelets like the gear 2. What apps are you using for it? I'm using News replubic, fleksy messenger, calculator, instant settings, travel translator and a whole bunch of watch faces; all working well. Ive been hesitant to try any of the other apps as I feel they are unnecessary, for example all the FB, twitter and location apps. One more thing I'd like to share is that different apps are available for different model phones, don't know why samsung does this; I've been able to get most apps by modifying the build prop on S3 to make seem like it is a S5. The pedometer works with a movement motions sensor on the watch, not GPS, this is why the watch picks up a step you move the watch up and down or back and forth.
I use News Republic, calendar, and a different media controller other than stock
I am disappointed really due to the lack of quality apps and the watch is out dated so quickly, less than months old and it's outdated, uurrrr
I wish there was away to make it into an Android Wear
More apps, would be better all around
It just makes me mad the watch is outdated and the lack quality apps all $299
I work had for my money and sacrifice to get items
I've learned a valuable lesson
Lonestarman said:
I use News Republic, calendar, and a different media controller other than stock
I am disappointed really due to the lack of quality apps and the watch is out dated so quickly, less than months old and it's outdated, uurrrr
I wish there was away to make it into an Android Wear
More apps, would be better all around
It just makes me mad the watch is outdated and the lack quality apps all $299
I work had for my money and sacrifice to get items
I've learned a valuable lesson
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with you. I love my Samsung phones, but I have had the Gear 1 since inception and the apps have not been good and very far and few in between. I feel as if the gear 1 users were just abandoned by Samsung. In fact the original gear wasn't even out a few months when they brought out gear 2. This is my last try at being an early adopter to any electronics.
One more thing. The only app that most gear 1 users really enjoyed was Watch Styler for making new watch faces and that was even taken away.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using XDA Free mobile app
Yeah the best thing to do about this new gimmick watch thing is to sit back and wait till everyone not just Samsung gets it right
I'm still mad at Samsung for putting out gear 2 and then months later they put out another, and then quit supporting it, it's just wrong, They should of done it right the 1st time
Even though I like there phones I'm done with them, they are screwing the consumer by putting out these watches that are obsolete in 3 months
I just hope someone that's smart enough can transform my gear 2 to something more usable
I'll be waiting
The watch let's us reply to text using s voice, emojies, text templates and of you are using fleksy it even let's you reply by using the fleksy app from your watch. You can place and answer calls using s voice and have a conversation thru the watch of you are driving, etc. You can read articles with the news republic app, take pictures with it (not pro quality but the cam is great), it let's you control the media you are playing on your phone and it plays music you've stored on your watch to use thru bt headphones while jogging/exercising, it let's read alerts from different apps and while you cannot reply to most, you at least can see who is trying to get a hold of you and if it's important to reply right away, you can use s voice to do quick searches (even though is not as accurate as ok Google) but it works fine, you can use a calculator on it, control different settings on your phone from the watch, select different fonts and background wallpapers, you can also take voice notes and memos and sync them to your phone for storage. This is a companion device, that's all. I find it very functional, what else would you like it to do?
I don't think you understand what I'm saying
Samsung has abandon the gear 2 and any gear before and the gear 2 is not even a year old, no developer will make any new apps that's worth anything
Yes it's a companion device, so what new app has come along lately that's worth anything as a companion to your phone ? , none!!!!
Do you really read News Republic from your gear 2 , Do you really use Flexky to text from your gear 2
If you do the are a small majority
So you listen to your music on gear 2 hell I can do the same with my phone with all my music not just limited
These are the apps I use on my gear 2
I heart radio has a companion app for gear 2 if you download and use I heart radio, its not in the gear manager
Calendar app that shows holidays and one or 2 watch face that show you a glimpse of the weather
I have tried to find apps that look worth using but come to find out the apps are so buggy or they just don't work as advertised
The gear manager sucks, come on be honest
All I'm saying is Samsung abandoned the gear 2 and now has the Gear S, Android wear that they concentrating on
Have you seen any support from Samsung for the gear 2, no just here on XDA
would you buy a phone that would be obsolete in 2 months of getting it with zero support no updates, you can not get any apps for the gear 2 except from gear manager all other watches you can get apps from the play store that are worth something out of a 1000 apps on gear manager out, which is very little, except maybe 5 that at with anything
This is just about to be 2015,show me some innovation
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using XDA Free mobile app
Yeah I get what you mean, but I dont think the watches are obsolete just yet. I do agree that there isnt anything new for our watches cause all development as moved to newer watches. However, the gear S as doesnt attract me, specially its battery! come on now, such a large watch couldve had a bigger than 300mah battery, thats a big no no for me not to jump on it. Android wear is as good as our gear watches at the moment, im gonna wait for the new generation of watches that will come just like im waiting on the new generation of cell phones that will come, so that I dont regret buying something now that most devices are in transition to become better.
So tell me in 2 or 3 more generations of watches what you think you'll be able to do
I don't want to look like **** Track or Maxwell Smart, I hope you know who they are, Im telling my age now
I guess I expect to much from companies
I honestly believe they rely on there engineers heavily and don't listen to the average Joe on the street, (the consumer) I'm not bad mouthing engineers, I've worked around them for over 30 years now and if it wasn't for them we wouldn't have the advancements we now but I also know they can be the most stubborn and arrogant people I have been around
I actually believe this watch gimmick as I call it will be a bust
The screen is just to small to do anything with
Does anyone remember the old calculator watches back in the 70s and 80s,do you see thoughs anymore?
a watch is a watch, it gives you the time the date and maybe a timer or an alarm, that's it
Do you really want to look like an FBI agent talking to your wrist
OK I'm thru with my venting and rant
Thanks for letting me do that
See ya
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using XDA Free mobile app
Honestly I feel watches are gonna move in the direction of the new Gear S watch, towards being devices independent from a cell phone. The question is why? simply because there is some demand for it and because there a lot invested on it. Also, they are thinking about watches just like they think about cell phones, new version every 6 to 12 months, its all about marketing and extreme consumerism.; so all we have to do is not fall for every device and research about specs and actual usability. For example, the new Gear S is a nice device but samsung messed up when they put such a small battery (300 mah just like out Gear). We just have to shop smart, personally I love watches which is why I have a "smart watch"
I love gadgets, but I'm getting old and probably set in my ways
In my life right now it's about being practical
I hope that your right, because before I pass away I want to see technology grow beyond my wildness dreams
Shot I remember when microwaves were 1st sold and we've grown every sense
I actually love new technology and gadgets, but I'm sorry to say the watch thing is going to go south, maybe not in next 3-4 years but it will be gone
I hope I'm wrong and your right
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using XDA Free mobile app
I think smart watches do have a role to play, but they're not going that way. Yes, the screens are too small to surf the web or type emails etc. But what they're the right size for is to get strapped on my wrist where I can glance at them to see if it's worth pulling my phone out of my pocket right then and there (when I'm on my bike, or driving, or doing things). They're also great for taking a QUICK phone call when my hands are full or I'm busy, long enough to say "hold on a sec" or "I'll call you right back".
So much missing the point.
All I'm trying to say is are these watches worth the 199-299 price tag just so me and you can glance down to see who's calling us just because we are to lazy to pull our phones out of our back pocket
One more time as I've mentioned in the above threads
I have a gear 2 which was released this year 2014 which I wear every day and it's already obsolete, Samsung hasn't done one thing to the watch since release and there not going too, they have moved on to the Gear S and/or Android wear, the developers have stopped making apps for it and the apps that are out there are very buggy, they aren't worth using, so by the end of the year my gear 2 will be an expensive watch that will be doing the same thing an 35 dollar Timex will do, which is give me the time, the date, a stopwatch, etc
Maybe other smart watch makers will be OK and make some decent smart watches for the consumer but Samsung has pissed me off by taking mine and your money for a watch they knew they were going to stop supporting after a few months on the market and that's just wrong, period
There's nothing you can say to defend that unless you know a major change coming
I hope the smart watch trend works out, I love gadgets, I love technology but I will not spend my hard earned money on something that's doomed by the manufacturer from the beginning which right now is Samsung
In the business world if you want to keep your customers coming back you must treat your customers right
Yes I'm mad at Samsung for deserting me and others, they've showed no loyalty
So when it all said and done, I'm going to desert Samsung and show no loyalty to them
I'm hoping that there will be a developer out there that will be able root this gear 2 and make it useable in the future as an android device not a dedicated Tizen /Samsung device
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using XDA Free mobile app
Lonestarman said:
All I'm trying to say is are these watches worth the 199-299 price tag just so me and you can glance down to see who's calling us just because we are to lazy to pull our phones out of our back pocket
One more time as I've mentioned in the above threads
I have a gear 2 which was released this year 2014 which I wear every day and it's already obsolete, Samsung hasn't done one thing to the watch since release and there not going too, they have moved on to the Gear S and/or Android wear, the developers have stopped making apps for it and the apps that are out there are very buggy, they aren't worth using, so by the end of the year my gear 2 will be an expensive watch that will be doing the same thing an 35 dollar Timex will do, which is give me the time, the date, a stopwatch, etc
Maybe other smart watch makers will be OK and make some decent smart watches for the consumer but Samsung has pissed me off by taking mine and your money for a watch they knew they were going to stop supporting after a few months on the market and that's just wrong, period
There's nothing you can say to defend that unless you know a major change coming
I hope the smart watch trend works out, I love gadgets, I love technology but I will not spend my hard earned money on something that's doomed by the manufacturer from the beginning which right now is Samsung
In the business world if you want to keep your customers coming back you must treat your customers right
Yes I'm mad at Samsung for deserting me and others, they've showed no loyalty
So when it all said and done, I'm going to desert Samsung and show no loyalty to them
I'm hoping that there will be a developer out there that will be able root this gear 2 and make it useable in the future as an android device not a dedicated Tizen /Samsung device
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same with the Gear 1 that I bought... l have been a dedicated Samsung customer on phones for years and I am beginning to rethink that..
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using XDA Free mobile app
I realized I was sloppy and vague in my earlier post, so to fix that: "so much missing the point" was meant to apply to Samsung & smartwatch makers in general, and not Lonestarman and Rsmin, with whom I substantially agree. I just wish the focus could be on doing the simple things (email, messaging, notifications, maps) *well*; after that, anything else is gravy. At least for how I roll.
I can't begin to tell you how peeved I am that Sammy's latest few Manager updates broke rich notifications.
Ha! You guys are insane! I love my Gear watch. I have the original gear watch and I found it useful in more ways than one. Take my post light heatedly guys, I know each situation is different for everyone.
For those of you with gripes about the apps and functionality, you need to seriously sit back and re-think what it is you thought this watch could do. Being able to see messages because you are too lazy to pull it out of your pocket is ludicrous. I drive a lot for work, not only that, when I am in the office I am often in different team members cubes assisting with something. I don't have to pull my phone out of my pocket and fumble around with the side key then swipe up and enter messages to see who just messaged. It's there at a quick glance. I don't have to unplug my phone each time I walk away from my desk so I don't miss a call.
If I am at a team members desk and my phone is ringing (usually on silent) I know about it. I have missed many, many important calls before simply because I forgot my phone was on silent or I was away from my desk. With this watch, I am alerted no matter what. You're telling me that alone isn't worth the price tag?
What about when you are driving and your wife asks you to bring something home for dinner. All the food places are miles from your home. You get home, only to realize you missed the call, and have to go back out. This has happened to me also.
These situations may be specific to me, but reading all these negative posts leads me to believe you all thought your watches would become your wives. Cooking dinner for you, rubbing your feet, telling you how great you look in those new skinny jeans of yours. It's not a "fleshgear" gents. And the pedometer and heart rate sensor? Of course it's not going to work! LOLOL. It's a stupid gimmick Samsung keeps throwing in all their ****, everyone knows this, and you should have too.
I have found usefulness in quickly telling someone the weather in the coffee room while my phones at my desk. I used the calculator daily. I use the vrecord app to take pictures of me and my family on Halloween from my phone that was set 10 feet away. I use the media control to control the music on my phone connected to a blue tooth speaker while my phone is in the other room charging. I use svoice to send texts and make calls right from the watch. I find it most useful at home, when I move about the house and the phone is charging in the cradle.
This is an accurate portrayal of all the things this watch can do, and I have a first gen. Please don't write something nasty back, I won't bother answering you. These are my 2pennies and information for anyone who might be thinking about grabbing a first gen gear on A4C.com for $84 and free shipping.
Best of luck to you all,
-Dave
---------- Post added at 01:53 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:52 PM ----------
Oh, and I do agree Gear Manager sucks. Samsung is the WORST about updates.
I just received my watch in the UK direct from Samsung.
The 2 main reasons i purchased the watch are for the features above.
1) How do i get to the ECG and BP app on my new watch (its on firmware 5 and above)
2) I didnt realise my network provider had to offer a plan so i could use my watch as a phone if my phone was not with me - now i find ou Three dont offer plans for this watch....have i no choice but to switch provider? If so which providers offer a plan?
Vodafone offer plans
Mines on EE (not purchased from them, from Samsung directly)
nk33 said:
I just received my watch in the UK direct from Samsung.
The 2 main reasons i purchased the watch are for the features above.
1) How do i get to the ECG and BP app on my new watch (its on firmware 5 and above)
2) I didnt realise my network provider had to offer a plan so i could use my watch as a phone if my phone was not with me - now i find ou Three dont offer plans for this watch....have i no choice but to switch provider? If so which providers offer a plan?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Look on youtube for the instructions, but I can confirm you can easily install the ECG and BP (look for the instructions that only use your phone and not need a computer). It's just a download and install two apk's then give the watch permissions. You'll need a BP cuff to calibrate the BP function and it looks to require this every 28 days.
When you sideload ECG/BP app as shown in the YouTube videos, does it create problems when you receive official update?
i dont get it - this watch is advertised as having BP and ECG sensors - yet we have to jump through hoops to get it to work? I just dont get it why are the apps not already installed on the device?
nk33 said:
i dont get it - this watch is advertised as having BP and ECG sensors - yet we have to jump through hoops to get it to work? I just dont get it why are the apps not already installed on the device?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
According to Samsung it is because they are not allowed yet in certain countries by authorities.
Truth behind this could be that it is not accurate enough though ? Dunno...
It pisses me off when all brands, even cheapest watches get SPO2 and other ECG... Apple got this in no time.
Yet it takes over a year and 2 watch models of advertizing these features and still they arent available for Active 2 and GW3 here in France.
Was lucky to find these apk but still missing SPO2 feature ! I wonder if i could install the right Samsung health to get it to work, thru a VPN for example, but since my GW3 is LTE i dont think i'll be able to do this... i cannot remove the sim card like we do on smartphones. Also maybe it is done through a firmware update, dunno.
So we're let with a O² tracker that is never used for a premium price ?
Then next year they will release a GW4 and advertize a SOP² "that really works" !...
The watch is awesome really, but the brand is ****tiest on the planet, they are crooks.
I didn't have any issues with the update, that I'm aware of.
It seems if you have the LTE version, the update will come through your carrier (so you'll have to activate your watch to get the update). That update contains the SPo2 feature. But you're not missing anything - it's slow and extremely temperamental, so I don't think it can be integrated into a fitness app for anything useful. I don't know if it's just the LTE version with the issues, but right now the SPo2 feature is completely worthless.
You can do the hack to get the ECG and BPM features. Nice to have, but if you're healthy you won't be using them. Also on-demand only, so they're not going to monitor your health 24/7 in the background. I think for BPM that could be automated, and that would be pretty big. ECG requires you "complete the circuit" placing your index finger on one of the buttons, so it will never be able to take automated readings in the background.
kodiak799 said:
I didn't have any issues with the update, that I'm aware of.
It seems if you have the LTE version, the update will come through your carrier (so you'll have to activate your watch to get the update). That update contains the SPo2 feature. But you're not missing anything - it's slow and extremely temperamental, so I don't think it can be integrated into a fitness app for anything useful. I don't know if it's just the LTE version with the issues, but right now the SPo2 feature is completely worthless.
You can do the hack to get the ECG and BPM features. Nice to have, but if you're healthy you won't be using them. Also on-demand only, so they're not going to monitor your health 24/7 in the background. I think for BPM that could be automated, and that would be pretty big. ECG requires you "complete the circuit" placing your index finger on one of the buttons, so it will never be able to take automated readings in the background.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But I am in the UK - isnt this one of the countries it is allowed in? Maybe i am missing something...could the app be in the health app on the phone and i have to enable it from there?
nk33 said:
But I am in the UK - isnt this one of the countries it is allowed in? Maybe i am missing something...could the app be in the health app on the phone and i have to enable it from there?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are 2 apps required: Samsung Health and a new one, Samsung Health Monitor. The second one also installs on the watch and is what allows BP and ECG.
As noted above the O2 sensor is close to worthless. It reads all over the place. One time my level is 85% (bad enough for serious medical treatment) and 5 minutes later I'm at 97%. When you watch it, you can see your heart rate strong, weak, then ? Then, without moving your arm, you take a BP measurement, and the heart rate is perfectly even and smooth. The systolic (high) numbers seems to be within about 5 points of my cuff, the diastolic (lower) numbers within about 3 points, and the pulse accurate within 1 or 2 bpm of the cuff. Quite good for this device, in my opinion. You need to touch the button to take a ECG and like the BP, looks very stable, although I have no experience knowing what I'm looking at.
PS: my watch is bluetooth only, so the O2 issues are not related to the LTE version
agbva said:
There are 2 apps required: Samsung Health and a new one, Samsung Health Monitor. The second one also installs on the watch and is what allows BP and ECG.
As noted above the O2 sensor is close to worthless. It reads all over the place. One time my level is 85% (bad enough for serious medical treatment) and 5 minutes later I'm at 97%. When you watch it, you can see your heart rate strong, weak, then ? Then, without moving your arm, you take a BP measurement, and the heart rate is perfectly even and smooth. The systolic (high) numbers seems to be within about 5 points of my cuff, the diastolic (lower) numbers within about 3 points, and the pulse accurate within 1 or 2 bpm of the cuff. Quite good for this device, in my opinion. You need to touch the button to take a ECG and like the BP, looks very stable, although I have no experience knowing what I'm looking at.
PS: my watch is bluetooth only, so the O2 issues are not related to the LTE version
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you try to take measures with the watch below your wrist instead of above ?
mafy31 said:
Could you try to take measures with the watch below your wrist instead of above ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's not how it's supposed to work!
I'm hoping it's just a software fix. It's hard to imagine Samsung released this feature given how many people appear to be having issues. Seems like it would be a simpler thing to pull off than ECG or BPM, which appear to work surprisingly well.
kodiak799 said:
That's not how it's supposed to work!
I'm hoping it's just a software fix. It's hard to imagine Samsung released this feature given how many people appear to be having issues. Seems like it would be a simpler thing to pull off than ECG or BPM, which appear to work surprisingly well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have read somewhere that it worked better this way for spo2... Dunno
mafy31 said:
I have read somewhere that it worked better this way for spo2... Dunno
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I saw that, too. But that's not how anyone wants to wear their watch. Gives hope for a software fix, though.
I assume the BPM works very similar, with respect to sensors. So it seems like it should be fixable.
Hello everyone,
recently it turned out that I have trouble with high blood pressure.
At first I tried to use an ordinary cuff sphygmomanometer.
The readings from it are highly volatile: From around 140 mmHg Dia to 160 mmHg Dia within the span of a few minutes.
At first I thought the sphygmomanometer was broken, so I had it checked against the one from the doctor and it turns out mine is fine.
It seems that in order for me to learn where I stand with my blood pressure, I need to measure it regularly, maybe every 20 to 30 minutes, at best even at nights.
The cuff type sphygmomanometers are way to bulky and loud for that.
So I thought of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 3, which seems to be the only medicine rated smartwatch on the market right now.
But this seems to only work with a modern Samsung smart phone, which I don't have and don't want to buy.
And I'm also not too keen on sharing this kind of data with Samsung (and the rest of the world) and going with all the other market imposed restrictions.
Is there a way to get an device that measures the blood pressure silently every 20 to 30 minutes and once a day (or so) connect it directly to my Fedora-PC to unload the values as a .csv-file?
From there I can write my own analytic-tools in R.
I'm a computer guy, so I can write a script for or flash a new software on it, I just have no clue about smartwatches and the their software.
Thank you in advance
It would be handy if it took several reading throughout the day when it detected you had been sitting down for 15 minutes.
But because of how all you need to sit to get a proper reading, no one has automated tracking. I don't think GW3 allows you to code/script anything advanced when the watch is in dim mode.
Now the new GW4 with WearOS could be interesting, because with WearOS you could POTENTIALLY have the ability to automate a BPM reading with either scripts or Tasker.
If you need frequent monitoring, you're never going to get the needed quality of reading with a passive/automated approach. BPM is a little bit of a novelty on GW3 - useful mainly only for tracking lifestyle changes.
Thank you for helping me here
as far as I know the measurement gets more inaccurate when you keep moving or shuffling around, but it still works. My idea to deal with that was just averaging stuff out over some time, maybe an hour or even a whole day. But the manual triggering means that you can't measure at night, which is a big part of the purpose for me.
I still want to regularly use a medicine rated cuff sphygmomanometer, so I can deal with a bit of measurement drift/inaccuracy.
I haven't invested in anything yet, for me it also would be fine to use a other model (maybe a fitbit?), if that's more realistic. Maybe I should move this thread to another part of the forum.
So it seems like there is a lot of movement in the wearable market regarding this feature. Maybe it's best I wait for another year or so to see how things have progressed by then.
great idea
It's a great idea to tinker with. But it seems fairly simple, and if averaging produced reliably accurate results, I'm sure Apple/Sammie would have already implemented this.
Also the fact Sammie still hasn't gotten FDA approval for BPM in the US. Not sure how the standards differ by country, but good chance it's doesn't meet the bar as a medical grade device (hence lack of approval in the US).
The galaxy active 2 watch makes it possible to measure your blood pressure without the need of an expensive blood pressure monitor and a smartphone.