New Watches - Samsung Galaxy Gear

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.
Click to expand...
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.

Related

[Q] Touchless Control Uses

I've been thinking about giving a Moto X a try recently and I had a few questions for those of you who own one.
Other than while driving, what are some of the unexpected uses you have found for touchless control? In theory it sounds great, but a couple of the things I can think which would be really handy (throwing it into cupholder in car and turning on bluetooth with voice, pausing Netflix stream that is beng chromecasted) can't be done because of limitations of Google Now/Search, rather than Touchless Control itself.
Also, most people seem to love active notifications. However, if the clock flashes every so often without notifications, it seems like one would occasionally not notice a real notification unless you actually glance at it, rather than something you see out of the corner of your eye and know you need to check on. Also can they be prioritized? Like the messaging icon will appear rather than gmail if you have both, because it is higher priority?
Thanks for any information.
evolvd said:
I've been thinking about giving a Moto X a try recently and I had a few questions for those of you who own one.
Other than while driving, what are some of the unexpected uses you have found for touchless control? In theory it sounds great, but a couple of the things I can think which would be really handy (throwing it into cupholder in car and turning on bluetooth with voice, pausing Netflix stream that is beng chromecasted) can't be done because of limitations of Google Now/Search, rather than Touchless Control itself.
Also, most people seem to love active notifications. However, if the clock flashes every so often without notifications, it seems like one would occasionally not notice a real notification unless you actually glance at it, rather than something you see out of the corner of your eye and know you need to check on. Also can they be prioritized? Like the messaging icon will appear rather than gmail if you have both, because it is higher priority?
Thanks for any information.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The clock flashing threw me off when I first got it yesterday afternoon - I didn't know why it was flashing, and was afraid something was messed up. After a few moments though it does slow down/stop...or at least on mine it did.
And notifications (when you have multiple) I believe are set in order of receiving them. For instance, my G+ photo upload was ready for backup, and I got a Hangout SMS. The SMS took priority, while the G+ photo upload was smaller at the bottom. So I don't think it's based on "priority" but rather "which one is more recent".
Hope that helps.

Top 5 uses for your Galaxy Gear

Hi, proud owner of the gear for like 2 days, finding my uses a bit limited so far, so I thought i would list mine, if you list yours! Maybe we can get ideas from each other of how to best use this awesome piece of tech:
1. Notifications (the only one that isn't great is Touchdown for exchange, does normal Samsung exchange email work better - ie show a preview of the email?
2. The time: yup, it is a watch, after all
3. Calendar: : Keeping tabs on what my next meeting is
4. Camera:; For quick snaps to remind me of things, it's ideal
5. Phone:: For seeing who's calling, and rejecting their call usually
Feel like I should start using the pedometer, but i go to the gym every day, and don't walk alot. And definitely feel like there are other uses for this that haven't been thought of/ apps haven't come out yet. I haven't gone the custom ROM route, but I have updated to MK7.
A
1. To look like a geek
2. Notifications
3. Watch
4 Making short calls to find other peoples phones.
5. Checking current weather conditions
1 - time
2 - meeting events
3 - pedometer (hooked into s health)
4 - camera
5 - notificaations
6 - gaming! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAQ3xQnaW18&feature=c4-overview&list=UUZAweAIkRllQ7PjR9SfnNyg
7 - news (using zite)
8 - quick photo notes to Evernote
1. geek
2. girl magnet
3. phone/text
4. watch
5. wrist top flashlight like on the old centurions cartoon.
1. Time
2. Hacking
Not sure if the order is right
1: Notifications. Knowing who emailed me or texted me without picking up my phone is huge.
2: Music control. It works great with the stock music app, and even shows album art on the watch. I can be on the treadmill with my BT headphones and the phone completely hidden away and change songs and volume.
3: Quick pictures.
4: Weather updates.
5: Pedometer.
so what kind of things can you do with real apps, after installing the null rom? i'm really tempted to pick one up if there are any black friday deals
I really wish the #1 feature of the Gear was to tell time. But I find it so frustrating when glancing at my wrist to check the time all I see is a blank screen! C'mon! The wrist flick thing works ok if your hands are free. But at work my hands are always working/holding on something, and flicking of the wrist is not an option. Very hard to consider the Gear a true watch if I can never get it to tell me the time.
1. Notifications
2. Kill/waste time loading ROMs and customizing watch faces
3. Camera
4. Attract nearby geeks within a 25ft radius
5. Time
definitely this would come in handy when weightlifting in the gym
imdbui said:
I really wish the #1 feature of the Gear was to tell time. But I find it so frustrating when glancing at my wrist to check the time all I see is a blank screen! C'mon! The wrist flick thing works ok if your hands are free. But at work my hands are always working/holding on something, and flicking of the wrist is not an option.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agree, and even when I flick my wrist it shows up only 75% of the time... needs to be either more sensitive or always-on (it has an AMOLED screen that shouldn't burn too much battery?)
eurorauser said:
Agree, and even when I flick my wrist it shows up only 75% of the time... needs to be either more sensitive or always-on (it has an AMOLED screen that shouldn't burn too much battery?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
YEP! I was able to run Big Digital Clock app and have it running with the display always-on, but the battery on the Gear is tiny, so it does drain it quickly. Also, there is an issue with screen burn-in with the clock always on. Overall, I still wear the Gear over my other watches for the geek factor.. pretty cool to have a tablet on ur wrist that lets u read ur notifications. I'm coming from the original Sony Smart Watch on my PPC, which was a watch #1, then notifier #2.
My List
1. New geek toy to play with
2. Reading notifications while in meetings etc.
3. Taking calls while my hands are full.
4. Snoozing my alarm in the morning so I don't need to roll over and find my phone.
5. Telling the time.
6.Taking quick snaps.
7. Controlling my music for my Bluetooth headphones.
8. Using the wine scanning app

Questions before purchase

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.

Received mine today, some negative points so far....

Ok sorry to sound a percy pessimist but here are some little gripes so far.. I'm totally understanding that its still early days yet and software may well be improved over time and also I may well be being dim and not knowing where some settings are etc. If so then please by all means let me know!
* Cradle/dock VERY awkward to attach.
* Does nots seem to have the cool "bypass phone lockscreen if watch is attached" feature which was demo'd in I/O.
* Doesn't seem to be a way to open apps or do anything on the watch if you are not in a position to talk. (other than the list of "example" searches you can see if you don't talk to the watch quick enough.
* I don't seem to be getting vibration notifications
* doesn't seem to be a way of using your own photos for the photos watch face
* doesn't seem to be a way of editing the call reject text messages
* strap is very awkward to put on and for the heart rate monitor you need to have it on pretty tight which is tricky to do one handed with the kind of clasp it has.
* **the movement to wake the watch is a bit hit or miss. it doesnt seem to be just a matter of flicking the wrist or moving up to face.** (this is beginning to be a problem. it is pretty random if it wants to wake up from movement or not. cant work out if it dependant on which watchface or not). i reallllllllllly don't want to have to touch the watch to see notifications etc.
* to even entertain viewing it outside, you have to manually crank the brightness up to max else it is pretty much unreadable. and thats in the UK sunshine!!!
other than that, it seems to be a nice watch.
i feel like i just wasted 180 quid
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
thefunkygibbon said:
Ok sorry to sound a percy pessimist but here are some little gripes so far.. I'm totally understanding that its still early days yet and software may well be improved over time and also I may well be being dim and not knowing where some settings are etc. If so then please by all means let me know!
* Cradle/dock VERY awkward to attach.
* Does nots seem to have the cool "bypass phone lockscreen if watch is attached" feature which was demo'd in I/O.
* Doesn't seem to be a way to open apps or do anything on the watch if you are not in a position to talk. (other than the list of "example" searches you can see if you don't talk to the watch quick enough.
* I don't seem to be getting vibration notifications
* doesn't seem to be a way of using your own photos for the photos watch face
* doesn't seem to be a way of editing the call reject text messages
* strap is very awkward to put on and for the heart rate monitor you need to have it on pretty tight which is tricky to do one handed with the kind of clasp it has.
* **the movement to wake the watch is a bit hit or miss. it doesnt seem to be just a matter of flicking the wrist or moving up to face.** (this is beginning to be a problem. it is pretty random if it wants to wake up from movement or not. cant work out if it dependant on which watchface or not). i reallllllllllly don't want to have to touch the watch to see notifications etc.
* to even entertain viewing it outside, you have to manually crank the brightness up to max else it is pretty much unreadable. and thats in the UK sunshine!!!
other than that, it seems to be a nice watch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The lockscreeen unlock feature relies on Android L, not the watch.
The strap is replaceable. I have 2 Silicone ones from Amazon ready to go.
And this is Google Now on your wrist. Yes it's first generation and has plenty to improve upon. But it's essentially meant to be Google Now on your wrist.
Just be happy you got yours! Haha. I'm refreshing the UPS page like a mad man (had it delivered to work.... But I received the day off. Hahaha)
STILL way way better than that Tiezen BS Samsung tried out... Be positive!!
(Keep in mind I have a gear 1 and love it)
Yep, cradle is annoying
Vibrate is very slight I hardly ever notice it
All apps need to support wear before they can be interacted with (contacts, emails, messages etc if using a non google product)
Strap clasp doesn't feel very secure
love how light it is
has google now integration which so far has been hit and miss 70/30
always on face is cool (except still emits light in dark rooms)
Alix8821 said:
The lockscreeen unlock feature relies on Android L, not the watch.
The strap is replaceable. I have 2 Silicone ones from Amazon ready to go.
And this is Google Now on your wrist. Yes it's first generation and has plenty to improve upon. But it's essentially meant to be Google Now on your wrist.
Just be happy you got yours! Haha. I'm refreshing the UPS page like a mad man (had it delivered to work.... But I received the day off. Hahaha)
STILL way way better than that Tiezen BS Samsung tried out... Be positive!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah i had a feeling it might be a L feature. although its a bit annoying as i had the same feature with my Pebble using an app called Pebble Locker which basically bypassed the requirement for entering a pin etc if the watch was connected to the phone. So its defintely possible without L. hopefully someone will make a quick little app to do that
I will be ordering a metal braclet style strap sometime soon, like i had on my pebble. much more comfortable.
Brendo said:
(Keep in mind I have a gear 1 and love it)
Yep, cradle is annoying
Vibrate is very slight I hardly ever notice it
All apps need to support wear before they can be interacted with (contacts, emails, messages etc if using a non google product)
Strap clasp doesn't feel very secure
love how light it is
has google now integration which so far has been hit and miss 70/30
always on face is cool (except still emits light in dark rooms)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah the vibrate is VERY slight. it took me a while to realize it was doing it. I hope they add an option to change the intensity of the vibration as I'm pretty sure it is capable of a more stronger vibe.
thefunkygibbon said:
yeah i had a feeling it might be a L feature. although its a bit annoying as i had the same feature with my Pebble using an app called Pebble Locker which basically bypassed the requirement for entering a pin etc if the watch was connected to the phone. So its defintely possible without L. hopefully someone will make a quick little app to do that
I will be ordering a metal braclet style strap sometime soon, like i had on my pebble. much more comfortable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. App will be out soon. I already have 5 exclusive Wear apps ready & waiting. Hahha.
I wish they gave us the nicer strap from Gear 2. Not this BS from Gear Fit... Oh well.
This is a starter watch... Moto 360 & after will only get better & better. As will the software. LOVE that Google is keeping control.
Coming from Gear Neo; initial observations:
1. Watch has more metal and feels more premium
2. Watch strap is larger, will accommodate larger wrists but the clasp is junk compared to the neos.
3. OS is a little overwhelming right now, which I actually think is good. After 30 minutes, I am still cant do much- Iam not concerned with "watch cant do" xxx yet.
4. I have had 2 OS updates in the first hr.
5. Gear Manager seems to be a little more straight forward than Wear Manager but it is too new to make a final call on that
6. Watch is fast! "Okay google, what is the capital of NY?" is recognized and answered immediately.
7. Interface is smooth as silk
I use skiplock to bypass the lock screen. Works with WiFi networks and Bluetooth devices
Sent from my D6503 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
thefunkygibbon said:
Ok sorry to sound a percy pessimist but here are some little gripes so far.. I'm totally understanding that its still early days yet and software may well be improved over time and also I may well be being dim and not knowing where some settings are etc. If so then please by all means let me know!
Here's my opinions after receiving the watch today. See if you have the same thoughts, thefunkygibbon:
I was quite pleased that it is not really big
the set up process was easy enough but took quite a while - I think mainy due to downlaoding a firmware udate
there's quite a learning curve in using this new OS
the watch is a bit useless at the moment because it is constantly disconnecting so it is just a simple watch - I need to find out how to correct this
I noticed the battery on my phone goes down fast when the watch is connected.
It really sucks that there is no auto brightness
the notifications work really well and look great with the picture backgrounds
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can start apps without voice by going to the Google voice prompt then swiping all the way down to Start...
Archon810 said:
You can start apps without voice by going to the Google voice prompt then swiping all the way down to Start...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Feels to me like we are missing a launcher. Voice control is great, but there are times it just won't work and the method above is cumbersome.
Any other negative points? I want to buy a gear live soon...but I rather hear the reviews first. I'm guessing the problems listed all here are going to be on the LG G watch and the Moto 360 since most of the complaints seem to be Android wear related.
Be careful w attaching or taking off charging cradle. Reports show breaking off or breaking piece off phone. Thought mine coming in today but, scheduled for tomorrow.
Ian B
Just a couple quick notes:
- I noticed that I can somewhat bypass the lockscreen. I'm currently on 4.4.4. (S4 - KangaKat) When I have the watch open the app on my phone or perform an action on the phone, I can simply press the home button (or side power button) and I do not have to swipe my pattern.
- Vibration notifications SHOULD be working. There were two system updates that were done when I first connected the watch. Perhaps that's the issue?
- I am able to see that I have a notification without turning on the watch. When I swipe it up, I get more details, which I can then swipe away, so that the next notification with show on the screen. I think this is just a matter of managing the notifications and making sure that you are top of them. Swiping them away & handling them as they come in.
- Yes, outside sucks. Today is pure sunlight, I was having trouble seeing it with a setting of 3. I was able to view it better when I put my hand over it. Not much different from trying to look at portions of my phone's screen in the outdoors with a similar brightness.
All in all, I'm pretty satisfied and I understand that this is first gen. I am hoping that through some proper feedback to google / developers, we start to see some software updates & applications developed that further the watch's capabilities. For now, though the notifications are great....although I wish I could not have it send work emails to the watch. The thing vibrates non-stop.
ElPajaro14 said:
Just a couple quick notes:
- I noticed that I can somewhat bypass the lockscreen. I'm currently on 4.4.4. (S4 - KangaKat) When I have the watch open the app on my phone or perform an action on the phone, I can simply press the home button (or side power button) and I do not have to swipe my pattern.
- Vibration notifications SHOULD be working. There were two system updates that were done when I first connected the watch. Perhaps that's the issue?
- I am able to see that I have a notification without turning on the watch. When I swipe it up, I get more details, which I can then swipe away, so that the next notification with show on the screen. I think this is just a matter of managing the notifications and making sure that you are top of them. Swiping them away & handling them as they come in.
- Yes, outside sucks. Today is pure sunlight, I was having trouble seeing it with a setting of 3. I was able to view it better when I put my hand over it. Not much different from trying to look at portions of my phone's screen in the outdoors with a similar brightness.
All in all, I'm pretty satisfied and I understand that this is first gen. I am hoping that through some proper feedback to google / developers, we start to see some software updates & applications developed that further the watch's capabilities. For now, though the notifications are great....although I wish I could not have it send work emails to the watch. The thing vibrates non-stop.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
can't you blacklist apps? or do you use the same app for work and personal email?
adiliyo said:
can't you blacklist apps? or do you use the same app for work and personal email?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have not seen yet that you can blacklist apps. Since it uses native notifications, the only way I can see to prevent this would be to disable email notifications altogether Not something I want to do. I will either just have to have the notification sit there and disappear as I check my emails / dismiss the notification. Hopefully, there are some changes in the future on this.
ElPajaro14 said:
I have not seen yet that you can blacklist apps. Since it uses native notifications, the only way I can see to prevent this would be to disable email notifications altogether Not something I want to do. I will either just have to have the notification sit there and disappear as I check my emails / dismiss the notification. Hopefully, there are some changes in the future on this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i thought i read somewhere you could blacklist apps though the wear manager app
here you go #7 on that list
http://www.androidcentral.com/first...e-today-here-are-10-more-things-you-need-know
I'm the wear manager you can blacklist apps.
adiliyo said:
i thought i read somewhere you could blacklist apps though the wear manager app
here you go #7 on that list
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are correct. I missed that completely. I have muted my email application, let's hope tomorrow is a little more quiet. Thanks for pointing that out!

Best App

Hi everyone!
Just got my LG G R the other day, part-ex'd it for my old Gear 2 Neo.
So far the watch is so much better than the Samsung one, it looks better, feels better, performs better and is more customizable.
3 hours after getting my watch I was running LeeDrOID and I'm getting into the whole sideloading apps, what apps have you guys found to be must have's for your watch?
I was looking at the android wear forum that has a list of working apps via sideload but just wanted to know what your favourite sideload/non-sideload apps are for this watch.
These are some must have apps for your smart watch
Interval Timer
Interval Timer will come in handy by allowing you to record your split times, reps, rest periods.
Wear Audio Recorder
you can quickly record the sound around you using this simple app. Using the Google Material design guidelines, the app lets you sync to both Google Drive and Dropbox, and you can even record with the screen display off if you'd prefer people not to know.
Aeris Wear Weather
Aeris is one of the best ones out there at the moment. Get detailed hourly forecasts for your day, check the weather in other locations, and even see a weather map from regional radar.

Categories

Resources