Smartwatches

[Ghetto Caps]

What are your thoughts on smartwatches? .
I ordered my self a Pebble steel a week ago.

[demik]

i own a pebble (the 150 dollar one, not the new one)

and while it's handy, i think it's over priced for what it really does. and that's just sending notifications. i think it's worth 100 instead of it's current price.

that and they need to fix the blotching the screen has http://forums.getpebble.com/discussion/2246/dark-or-rainbow-distortion-on-screen

[Findecanor]

I think that smartwatches are not ready yet. The biggest thing problem is that designers of smartwatches view them as smartphones that are worn on the wrist - but watches are not smartphones. There is already a market for watches and conventions on how a watch should work and be used and smartwatches need to fulfil those first if they are going to be useful gadgets.

Battery life: First of all, smartwatches need to have battery lives measured in months. The digital watch that I wear on my wrist has a battery that lasts years. The current crop of smartwatches have battery lives measured in a couple of days and the Samsung watch lasts only a few hours and that is just ridiculously bad.
Design: Smartwatches tend to look ugly and bulky. Design is important in the watch space.
Durability: Watches are not discarded after up to two years, as smartphones are today. (I also think that a phone getting obsolete after only two years is bad enough... We should fight against such a wasteful society)
Watch first: The primary function of a smartwatch is still to tell time, not be something to interact with. All other use-cases are secondary.
A Better Watch: Common functions for a watch could be enhanced from being a smartwatch. For instance, have more personalized watch faces and be analogue-digital (which seems to be more rare these days for regular watches), set the time automatically by synchronizing with NTP or over cell phone network,
However, personally I have my watch set to run five minutes ahead, and if I can't do that with a new watch then that would be a deal-breaker for me.
Know the use-cases:
There are some special use-cases where smartwatches can be useful, but those use-cases have not been properly elaborated upon and there needs to software APIs and standard protocol that cater to those use-cases.
I think that the biggest purpose of a smartwatch over a regular watch is to be a companion device to a smartphone, to transform actions that involved picking up the phone into easier, more convenient use of the watch instead. The watch is there so that you could glance at the watch instead of having to pick up the phone.

Some use-cases that have been suggested for a smartwatch include:
* Show text messages, caller ID, next song etc, are mandatory...
* Answer the phone with a press on the watch, if you are already wearing a headset.
* Beep when you have walked away from the phone. The watch should be able to tell this case apart from when the phone is off or has run out of battery.
* Show digital tickets, NFC payments

Framework:
First, there needs to be more research to find the requirements for a protocol. Then, after the requirements have been cathered can watch makers and smartphone OS developers get together to cooperate on a standard protocol for communication between the watch and phone.

Myself, I use the web browser and phone in the phone (...), but I keep the phone off for most of the time because I don't want to receive notifications anytime anywhere. I use IM on the desktop computer at work, and that is enough for me. Other people might prefer a more stressful lifestyle...
I would be very happy with a smarter watch, that is analogue-digital and has some cool functions, but have no need to use it to stay connected. A couple of years ago I was looking to buy a smarter, more geeky regular watch but I only got disappointed. I bought a simple retro Casio, and I have still not had to change the battery.

[Ghetto Caps]

I think that smartwatches are not ready yet. The biggest thing problem is that designers of smartwatches view them as smartphones that are worn on the wrist - but watches are not smartphones. There is already a market for watches and conventions on how a watch should work and be used and smartwatches need to fulfil those first if they are going to be useful gadgets.

Battery life: First of all, smartwatches need to have battery lives measured in months. The digital watch that I wear on my wrist has a battery that lasts years. The current crop of smartwatches have battery lives measured in a couple of days and the Samsung watch lasts only a few hours and that is just ridiculously bad.
Design: Smartwatches tend to look ugly and bulky. Design is important in the watch space.
Durability: Watches are not discarded after up to two years, as smartphones are today. (I also think that a phone getting obsolete after only two years is bad enough... We should fight against such a wasteful society)
Watch first: The primary function of a smartwatch is still to tell time, not be something to interact with. All other use-cases are secondary.
A Better Watch: Common functions for a watch could be enhanced from being a smartwatch. For instance, have more personalized watch faces and be analogue-digital (which seems to be more rare these days for regular watches), set the time automatically by synchronizing with NTP or over cell phone network,
Know the use-cases:
There are some special use-cases where smartwatches can be useful, but those use-cases have not been properly elaborated upon and there needs to software APIs and standard protocol that cater to those use-cases.
I think that the biggest purpose of a smartwatch over a regular watch is to be a companion device to a smartphone, to transform actions that involved picking up the phone into easier, more convenient usage of the watch. The watch is there so that you could glance at the watch instead of having to pick up the phone.

Some use-cases that have been suggested for a smartwatch include:
* Show text messages, caller ID, next song etc, are mandatory...
* Answer the phone with a press on the watch, if you are already wearing a headset.
* Beep when you have walked away from the phone. The watch should be able to tell this case apart from when the phone is off or has run out of battery.
* Show digital tickets, NFC payments

Framework:
First, there needs to be more research to find the requirements for a protocol. Then, after the requirements have been cathered can watch makers and smartphone OS developers get together to cooperate on a standard protocol for communication between the watch and phone.

Myself, I use the web browser and phone in the phone (...), but I keep the phone off for most of the time because I don't want to receive notifications anytime anywhere. I use IM on the desktop computer at work, and that is enough for me. Other people might prefer a more stressful lifestyle...
I would be very happy with a smarter watch, that is analogue-digital and has some cool functions, but have no need to use it to stay connected. A couple of years ago I was looking to buy a smarter, more geeky regular watch but I only got disappointed. I bought a simple retro Casio, and I have still not had to change the battery.

Well said!
i do have a modest collection of automatic watch including a omega speedmaster thats over 20 years old,yet it is still  "up to date". If i don't like my pebble steel, il just swap it for something

[tp4tissue]

I think that smartwatches are not ready yet. The biggest thing problem is that designers of smartwatches view them as smartphones that are worn on the wrist - but watches are not smartphones. There is already a market for watches and conventions on how a watch should work and be used and smartwatches need to fulfil those first if they are going to be useful gadgets.

Battery life: First of all, smartwatches need to have battery lives measured in months. The digital watch that I wear on my wrist has a battery that lasts years. The current crop of smartwatches have battery lives measured in a couple of days and the Samsung watch lasts only a few hours and that is just ridiculously bad.
Design: Smartwatches tend to look ugly and bulky. Design is important in the watch space.
Durability: Watches are not discarded after up to two years, as smartphones are today. (I also think that a phone getting obsolete after only two years is bad enough... We should fight against such a wasteful society)
Watch first: The primary function of a smartwatch is still to tell time, not be something to interact with. All other use-cases are secondary.
A Better Watch: Common functions for a watch could be enhanced from being a smartwatch. For instance, have more personalized watch faces and be analogue-digital (which seems to be more rare these days for regular watches), set the time automatically by synchronizing with NTP or over cell phone network,
Know the use-cases:
There are some special use-cases where smartwatches can be useful, but those use-cases have not been properly elaborated upon and there needs to software APIs and standard protocol that cater to those use-cases.
I think that the biggest purpose of a smartwatch over a regular watch is to be a companion device to a smartphone, to transform actions that involved picking up the phone into easier, more convenient usage of the watch. The watch is there so that you could glance at the watch instead of having to pick up the phone.

Some use-cases that have been suggested for a smartwatch include:
* Show text messages, caller ID, next song etc, are mandatory...
* Answer the phone with a press on the watch, if you are already wearing a headset.
* Beep when you have walked away from the phone. The watch should be able to tell this case apart from when the phone is off or has run out of battery.
* Show digital tickets, NFC payments

Framework:
First, there needs to be more research to find the requirements for a protocol. Then, after the requirements have been cathered can watch makers and smartphone OS developers get together to cooperate on a standard protocol for communication between the watch and phone.

Myself, I use the web browser and phone in the phone (...), but I keep the phone off for most of the time because I don't want to receive notifications anytime anywhere. I use IM on the desktop computer at work, and that is enough for me. Other people might prefer a more stressful lifestyle...
I would be very happy with a smarter watch, that is analogue-digital and has some cool functions, but have no need to use it to stay connected. A couple of years ago I was looking to buy a smarter, more geeky regular watch but I only got disappointed. I bought a simple retro Casio, and I have still not had to change the battery.

Well said!
i do have a modest collection of automatic watch including a omega speedmaster thats over 20 years old,yet it is still  "up to date". If i don't like my pebble steel, il just swap it for something

all irrelevant..

smart watches are irrelevant...

[Puddsy]

If they're still popular this time next year, I'll buy one.

[MOZ]

I have a MotoACTV, I like it, but there is a long way to go for them to be practical and a common site. However it does run Android and have GPS, so it is quite handy.

[paicrai]

They look cool. Sometimes. And they have internal gimmicks you'll never see or know is there that add another 300 dollars to the price.

[baldgye]

If they're still popular this time next year, I'll buy one.

Logic

[vivalarevolución]

When it comes to wearable gear, I'm holding out for a brain-embedded chip that transmits images to my contact lenses.  Everything else is a fail in my book.

[Wildcard]

all irrelevant..
smart watches are irrelevant...

Pff, you're irrelevant

Story time:

I've always had a thing for watches. Thin and light, digital, analog, GID, backlit, etc... The reality is, their sole purpose was to tell time. But this is the 21st century, the information age. A phone is no longer a phone, it's a mobile computer, it's a cloud device, it's connected.

The watch was always something that could be improved.

Nike has made some good digital watches in the past. I had internal compass, altimeter, speed. Even weather forecasting abilities. This was very useful when I was out camping, travelling, etc...

Then Nike found another niche. Let's let the user control their mobile device via their watch. And the Nike Amp+ was born. I loved this thing. I could get the time, I could have it sync with my workout schedules, I could control volume, track, play & pause, etc, all from my wrist. I would be working around the office, or working in the garage, with my ipod connected to my stereo, changing tracks via my watch. And it was awesome.

Flash forward.

I saw that there were several companies getting into the smart watch space. For me it needed to meet a few criteria.

(1) good battery life
(2) Bluetooth connectivity, no more wireless adapters
(3) physical buttons, because I can feel the controls without having to look
(4) the thinner, the better.
(5) open development.

I picked up my black pebble as part of the Kickstarter campaign and I love it. The pebble really is an amazing device, and I really hope they keep raising capital to keep growing because their first product was great, but like the 1st gen ipod it can get much better.

Right now I can track my phone with my watch, I can activate my camera and take photos remotely, I can read all my text messages on my wrist without having to pull my phone out of my pocket, I can answer or decline calls from my wrist which is awesome when I have my headset in listening to music (I pick up the call and when it ends my music goes back to playing), I can change my music tracks and read what's playing, I can see stock prices, weather updates, load multiple watch faces, I can even get GPS directions on my wrist.

Also the integrated apps is a big plus. Run keeper for example will let me see my distance traveled and track times which helps me when running/training.

I was watching an interview of the CEO from pebble and he said it perfectly. The pebble is not about putting the entire phone on your wrist, it's about managing the flow of small, important bits of data, and putting it in a place that's convenient, your wrist.

Also, I get over a week of charge. I bought some cheap charging cables on eBay for 5 bucks, so I have 1 charging cable at the 3 places I'm usually at (work, home office, bed). I don't charge it often, but when I take it off in any of those spots I clip on the magnetic charging cable so it isn't bad.

Three words for any smart-watch manufacturer reading this:

"Wireless Induction Charging"

[Jocelyn]

Every person who owns a smart watch now is nothing more than a beta tester imo lol. Wait another year or two and then "wearables" will be incredible

[Wildcard]

Every person who owns a smart watch now is nothing more than a beta tester imo lol. Wait another year or two and then "wearables" will be incredible

Technically we're always beta testers. The technology we use today is usually improved and refined through the years. That's why it's important to jump on this technology now. When they see the demand, we're bound to see more money go into the development of it. Kind of like the tablet. It took one company to do it right the first time. As more people adopted to it, other companies realized the market that existed, and voila.

Almost every product you use will be outdated or obsolete in less then a decade. I have no need to wait years when the technology exists now.

Also I should have mentioned, digital ink is amazing. It really is very clear, and sunlight only helps to make it easier to read, which throws you off when you're use to LCD watch displays.

[Lanx]

i bought a pebble, only cuz i was thinking of it and found it on sale/super coupon from best for 80bucks. i then bought a metal band to replace the plastic (neophene, whatever) one. (i have another metal band on the way)

the metal band makes it look less dorky, even though i got the black one (so i can use it as everyday even dress/casual) i get a comment a day, "oh is that the new pebble watch"

otherwise on functionality, it's good, it just got updated to 2.0 firmware and battery life is like 1 day more, so you can probably eek out 8 days on the pebble, but that is NOT a reality.

i use the pebble as a notifier, i get  txt , i can scroll and read it on my watch.

same thing for email

missed calls/ whose call etc

the watch buzzs' (vibrates) this is the best thing imo, i love it just for that and i can easily do a quick alarm in 5seconds.

of course with all this vibrating it'll cut life to 5days imo.

but i can listen to music and hit pause/next track while i run on my watch.



imo, it makes a huge difference, and i'm the kind that doesn't like to be swayed by tech... but you won't notice how it "slightly" changes your behavior until you use it.


it's smart paper, so it uses less time, it has a 5s backlight that i flick my wrist and it works, i've showered with it and no issues, i is not touch screen and i dont want it to be.

i use a fitbit flex, and i intended to combine my fitbit flex with my pebble, right now there still isn't an app that can do what the fitbit can (even tho pebble has a built in accelerometer) i can wait.

you know what this is like.

when in 07 the first iphone appeared and ppl (like myself) thought, WHAT? no physical keyboard? garbage phone!

now blackberries are being laughed at as old timer devices, and my 70year old mom is using an iphone.

[Oobly]

If they're still popular this time next year, I'll buy one.

I recommend a Gear S2 Classic.

[Steezus]

I have the LG Urbane and really like it. The battery life lasted me two days but it was just easy to plug it in at night along with my phone. I really like the customization of the watch faces as well. I mainly use to tell times(obviously) and read messages + notifications. There are so cool health apps like heart rate monitor, step counter, etc. but I don't use it myself.

Edit: Damn did not realize how old this thread is, Oobly with the necro.

[katushkin]

I'm probably going to try and get an apple watch this year. I'm going to get an iPhone after I know what the 7 is going to be like, then hopefully get a watch closer to the end of the year.

I love watches though, I have a growing collection of various styles, but I would probably wear both a smart watch and regular watch on the same wrist.

[whmeltonjr]

If they're still popular this time next year, I'll buy one.

I recommend a Gear S2 Classic.

How bored are you Oobly? LOL. I'm impressed by your dedication to find a year old post an bump it with a recommendation.

I have a Space Black SS Apple Watch. Overpriced, but I really enjoy it.

[xondat]

I guess we can make this active again as we have a watches thread - I've rocked a LG GWR for almost a year now; I love it. It's scratched up quite a bit so looks ****ty but battery and display are great, and I love taking the piss out of my friends Moto 360 with half of the circle missing

[Connly33]

I prefer analog watches personally, especially self winding or kinetic.  But i do like the Moto 360, i got to play with one for awhile. I really like the Garmin Fenix watches, but like someone mentioned in another thread they are huge even on a large wrist.

[xondat]

I prefer analog watches personally, especially self winding or kinetic.  But i do like the Moto 360, i got to play with one for awhile. I really like the Garmin Fenix watches, but like someone mentioned in another thread they are huge even on a large wrist.

I love the look of analogs but the benefits I get from a smartwatch are amazing for me. I considered getting a Tag Heuer at some point.

[Connly33]

I prefer analog watches personally, especially self winding or kinetic.  But i do like the Moto 360, i got to play with one for awhile. I really like the Garmin Fenix watches, but like someone mentioned in another thread they are huge even on a large wrist.

I love the look of analogs but the benefits I get from a smartwatch are amazing for me. I considered getting a Tag Heuer at some point.

I imagine if i spent a couple weeks with one id really miss not having it, being able to check notifications and stuff without touching my phone. Kind of something i dont need but if i got used to having it i would need it :p

[xondat]

I prefer analog watches personally, especially self winding or kinetic.  But i do like the Moto 360, i got to play with one for awhile. I really like the Garmin Fenix watches, but like someone mentioned in another thread they are huge even on a large wrist.

I love the look of analogs but the benefits I get from a smartwatch are amazing for me. I considered getting a Tag Heuer at some point.

I imagine if i spent a couple weeks with one id really miss not having it, being able to check notifications and stuff without touching my phone. Kind of something i dont need but if i got used to having it i would need it

Biggest thing for me is music - listen to over an hour every day whilst walking so being able to change anything without getting my phone out of my pocket is a god send. Still not ballsy enough to use the voice commands in public though.

[Connly33]

I prefer analog watches personally, especially self winding or kinetic.  But i do like the Moto 360, i got to play with one for awhile. I really like the Garmin Fenix watches, but like someone mentioned in another thread they are huge even on a large wrist.

I love the look of analogs but the benefits I get from a smartwatch are amazing for me. I considered getting a Tag Heuer at some point.

I imagine if i spent a couple weeks with one id really miss not having it, being able to check notifications and stuff without touching my phone. Kind of something i dont need but if i got used to having it i would need it

Biggest thing for me is music - listen to over an hour every day whilst walking so being able to change anything without getting my phone out of my pocket is a god send. Still not ballsy enough to use the voice commands in public though.

I'm thinking it would be nice for music and my GPS as i bike for transportation most of the time, i was going to mention voice commands, but i most likely would not use them in public either. lol

[baldgye]

I'm probably going to try and get an apple watch this year. I'm going to get an iPhone after I know what the 7 is going to be like, then hopefully get a watch closer to the end of the year.

I love watches though, I have a growing collection of various styles, but I would probably wear both a smart watch and regular watch on the same wrist.

dont waste your money bra

[Zapheo]

I also plan on getting an apple smart watch to accompany my iPhone 6s+. If it isn't worth it I suppose I can just return it.

[katushkin]

I'm probably going to try and get an apple watch this year. I'm going to get an iPhone after I know what the 7 is going to be like, then hopefully get a watch closer to the end of the year.

I love watches though, I have a growing collection of various styles, but I would probably wear both a smart watch and regular watch on the same wrist.

dont waste your money bra

F U MAN I DO WAT I WANT

I'm gonna get one.

[raymogi]

I bought Apple Watch just because it's something new back then. But honestly I'm never into the whole smartwatch thing. It is kinda useful though in a sense that I don't need to keep checking on my phone for notification.

Nowadays I use it during work hours but during weekend I'm back to my fancy watches

[baldgye]

I'm probably going to try and get an apple watch this year. I'm going to get an iPhone after I know what the 7 is going to be like, then hopefully get a watch closer to the end of the year.

I love watches though, I have a growing collection of various styles, but I would probably wear both a smart watch and regular watch on the same wrist.

dont waste your money bra

F U MAN I DO WAT I WANT

I'm gonna get one.

one of the managers at my place has one, he barely uses it and only finds it useful during meetings to see who's calling him without getting his phone out. Most of the time the battery is dead or it's on charge and to get a strap that dosn't look like a children's first watch is insane money.
If your dead set on getting one, wait till the new one comes out in a few months time, along with the iPhone 7

[Brammm87]

I have an LG G Watch R. I use it while I'm in the US (I often fly to SF for work), but not really at home. The battery doesn't last two full days, so you have to charge it every night, which is a pain. The "I'm looking at my watch" gesture detection also isn't perfect, resulting in lot's of over exaggerated arm swinging to activate the display and thus looking like a complete tool.

[xondat]

I have an LG G Watch R. I use it while I'm in the US (I often fly to SF for work), but not really at home. The battery doesn't last two full days, so you have to charge it every night, which is a pain. The "I'm looking at my watch" gesture detection also isn't perfect, resulting in lot's of over exaggerated arm swinging to activate the display and thus looking like a complete tool.

Mine lasts over 3 days with moderate use, don't know what you're doing to yours to kill it in under two days.

[FrostyToast]

The only reason I want a smart watch is because my phone doesn't vibrate strongly enough.
I can't imagine trying to read an email or a text on a tiny ass screen. Furthermore, whenever I get a text I will almost always reply which would call for the need to pull out my phone anyway.
Additionally, in the rare event that such a thing becomes useful to me, I don't want to have another gadget I need to remember to charge every day.
I would much rather have a watch as a simple time teller and a fashion piece.

[Brammm87]

The only reason I want a smart watch is because my phone doesn't vibrate strongly enough.
I can't imagine trying to read an email or a text on a tiny ass screen. Furthermore, whenever I get a text I will almost always reply which would call for the need to pull out my phone anyway.
Additionally, in the rare event that such a thing becomes useful to me, I don't want to have another gadget I need to remember to charge every day.
I would much rather have a watch as a simple time teller and a fashion piece.

I miss the ability to have different notifications for one app, depending on phone or watch. For some notifications, I'd like my phone to be quiet, but have my watch vibrate. As far as I know, that's not possible right now with Android Wear.

I have an LG G Watch R. I use it while I'm in the US (I often fly to SF for work), but not really at home. The battery doesn't last two full days, so you have to charge it every night, which is a pain. The "I'm looking at my watch" gesture detection also isn't perfect, resulting in lot's of over exaggerated arm swinging to activate the display and thus looking like a complete tool.

Mine lasts over 3 days with moderate use, don't know what you're doing to yours to kill it in under two days.

Hmm, odd. Maybe it's the watchface I'm using. And I do fidget with it a lot when I'm wearing it.

[xondat]

I use World Clock, lowest brightness and screen always on.

[iLLucionist]

Though I love my iPhone and iPad and other smart-devices, I try to keep them away from my body when I do not need them because of radiation and the likes. Because a smartwatch is on you constantly, I think this actually poses a health risk in itself.

Other than that, I do not really see the added value except for sports. I would love one for running. A phone is just unpractical during running.

[xondat]

There is zero scientific evidence to back up radiation causing harm. It all operates in a frequency that doesn't affect us. It's harmless. The worst thing that can happen is that your hand warms up a bit from using your phone at 100% for a while.

[iLLucionist]

There is zero scientific evidence to back up radiation causing harm. It all operates in a frequency that doesn't affect us. It's harmless. The worst thing that can happen is that your hand warms up a bit from using your phone at 100% for a while.

That is simply false. Google it. There are plenty of studies and reports looking into that. That it is kept out of the mainstream is obvious: it would hit the sales of these devices tremendously. There are even videos with a gauge counter next to it showing the levels.

[lishi]

Bought a Moto 360 over a year ago, it's been sitting on the charger for the past few months.


Honestly, I just enjoy wearing mechanical watches more. There are definitely benefits to wearing a smartwatch though, I just don't get that much utility from mine.

[iLLucionist]

Bought a Moto 360 over a year ago, it's been sitting on the charger for the past few months.


Honestly, I just enjoy wearing mechanical watches more. There are definitely benefits to wearing a smartwatch though, I just don't get that much utility from mine.

How long does it last on the battery? I think the Moto looks relatively nice as it looks more like a traditional watch. But yeah.. I also would like a classical watch more. Perhaps strange analogy, but that's why I like my shoes leather and my shirts 100% cotton: the real deal. For me, smartwatches are "too much electronic" and less "real pure materials". Although saying that I do realize that the Apple Watch also has letter bands and  that many classical watches also feature metal housings. But still..

[lishi]

Bought a Moto 360 over a year ago, it's been sitting on the charger for the past few months.


Honestly, I just enjoy wearing mechanical watches more. There are definitely benefits to wearing a smartwatch though, I just don't get that much utility from mine.

How long does it last on the battery? I think the Moto looks relatively nice as it looks more like a traditional watch. But yeah.. I also would like a classical watch more. Perhaps strange analogy, but that's why I like my shoes leather and my shirts 100% cotton: the real deal. For me, smartwatches are "too much electronic" and less "real pure materials". Although saying that I do realize that the Apple Watch also has letter bands and  that many classical watches also feature metal housings. But still..

My battery life was actually pretty great from what I remember. Lasted over a day, though I'm not the kind of guy that has a phone blowing up with notifications all the time-- though even when it was getting a lot of notifications it didn't seem like it struggled too much with battery life.


The main thing I appreciate about my automatic watch is how magnificent of a mechanical device it is. So many small and intricately designed parts. Not that smartwatches lack these, it just seems more remarkable knowing there isn't a single bit of electricity pushing the second hand, just the power reserve.

[jerue]

So a few months ago, I went to NC for the Raleigh meetup...brought my moto360 charger and it went missing until very recently. So, I was without a watch for a few months...

Charge it back up, now it won't display the correct time. And for some reason it won't sync to my phone either...everything has been updated/reset, the strange thing is that it sort of works during initial setup but after that it just won't sync. Maybe I'll try again somewhere that doesn't have so many BT devices on...

[alexjd99]

Although I'd love to have a Moto360 or some or LG G Watch R, it's too early. They're still mostly first gen, and have a lot of room to improve. Once battery life is raised so that I can go 2 or 3 days without charging, and there are more functionality available, I'd be all in, but for me, it's just too early. I do have a feeling we'll be seeing lots of improvement in the next year or so.

[27]

I have both a Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 NEO and a Pebble.  Both are great for notifications, checking the time, setting timers, and checking your calendar.  The gear 2 neo has much greater control over the actual phone, pausing and playing music, dialing numbers, setting dates in the calendar, but comes at the cost of horrific battery life.  The pebble on the other hand, is perfect for notifications and time, but not much else, but that comes with a battery lasting about a week.

Overall I find mine useful and use it most days.

[Oobly]

There is zero scientific evidence to back up radiation causing harm. It all operates in a frequency that doesn't affect us. It's harmless. The worst thing that can happen is that your hand warms up a bit from using your phone at 100% for a while.

That is simply false. Google it. There are plenty of studies and reports looking into that. That it is kept out of the mainstream is obvious: it would hit the sales of these devices tremendously. There are even videos with a gauge counter next to it showing the levels.

Relatively low power EM radiation in the right frequencies can disrupt some processes during cell division when the components rely on electrostatic forces to orient and position them. So non-ionising radiation can cause medical problems.

I've ordered a Gear S2 Classic. Already have a nice ceramic band for it Looks to have the best UI and control system of all the smartwatches and only a few limitations. I'll be building a few Tizen apps to do tasks I really want that aren't handled by available apps. It also looks awesome, has wireless charging, can be used as a bedside clock while charging and IP68 certification. Lots of great watchfaces already developed.

Already all the most useful functions are covered (look at the list of most useful Android Wear apps and you can find equivalents of the majority already on the S2) and I think it'll get more and more support from those who really use a smartwatch for daily tasks and not just as a gimmick. I just wish Samsung had made it easier for devs to code for. Not the easiest platform to develop for and the processes of getting the app to the device and getting it passed through approvals to the store are quite painful.

Also, IMHO, Tizen is a much more appropriate platform for wearables than Android Wear. More efficient overall (so better battery life), designed from the ground up for intermittent and event-based functionality (again, better battery life), snappier response, and easy enough to code for (but this could be better).

[Alline Cliff]

I currently own a Samsung gear fit, very handy with work outs and morning jogs. Keeps my heart rate in check AND tells me to change pace when I'm running too fast or doing it too slow. Nice!

[studentben]

I have the OG pebble and it's been working great for me so far. I love it, but sometimes I still wear my G-Shock because I need the seconds

Can't really read seconds on a Pebble very well.

Notification wise it's amazing. Sucks when other people can read it or know what you're doing though.

[xondat]

Bought some cheap watch strap. Last time I buy a cheap strap - it's ****.