Smartwatch Thread (news/apps/updates)

A[L]C · 10 May 2018 at 18:13

V_R said:
Yeah I'm really liking the Tickwatch E, might look at one, as I'm itching to upgrade my GWR.

Did you get a tickwatch in the end? Considering one

chaparral · 10 May 2018 at 23:51

TheOtherOption said:
Has anyone here got the Garmin Fenix 5X?

A friend has it and raves about how good it is - I was looking at getting a gps tracking watch for running / hiking etc and want something rugged with good battery life and the 5X seems to fit the bill!?

Can get one for £540 ish which is a lot but seems decent for the tech you’re getting!

steve45 said:
Had the 5x for about 5 weeks now cant sing its praises enough, battery is brilliant even in its most accurate tracking mode, I'll usually charge it once every week usually Sunday as thats my rest day, thats wearing it all the time in smartwatch mode, 5 sessions of gym based activity tracking (Wattbike/treadmill/rowing etc) and 1 day of outdoor activity (~6 hours MTB or Hiking), and its incredibly robust. i'm big into my MTB and hiking and its really just faultless for what it does, accurate (tested against a DAGR unit with Y-code), also been using it with Wattbike in conjunction with the phone App to track my workouts to help visualise my progression for my fitness.
I have owned a standard version of the fenix 3 (No hrm/normal glass) for about 3 year before I bought the 5x, so i had a very good idea of what i was getting and I was really just after an updated version of the same thing but with HRM, and a more rugged screen, as the mineral glass on the 3 was a mess from scratches. Dont get me wrong the 3 is still going strong and i'm keeping it as a back up.

No its not cheap... I think i went a bit light headed when i put my card in the machine. I think i paid around the same for mine, but definitely worth every penny of the money spent on it. Its a solid bit of kit, absolutely rammed with features, great battery, robust design and ultimately comfortable device to wear that isnt a burdon to carry about on your wrist. Unless other companies up their battery game I wouldnt even consider looking anywhere else.

Are the garmin 5 /5S / 5x worth getting even if you don't use them for an exercise or any fitness apps on them ?

robj20 · 11 May 2018 at 07:24

chaparral said:
Are the garmin 5 /5S / 5x worth getting even if you don't use them for an exercise or any fitness apps on them ?

Probably not, i use mine for hiking and mountain biking mostly. It is brilliant, managed to get my Fenix 5 for about £380. Battery life is very good i have yet to run it out in one go but have got close on a 12 hour hike. You dont need the 5X for maps either, you can just install a map app on the 5 to do the same thing.

V_R · 11 May 2018 at 15:05

A[L]C said:
Did you get a tickwatch in the end? Considering one

Not as yet, but I am tempted.

chaparral · 11 May 2018 at 16:40

robj20 said:
Probably not, i use mine for hiking and mountain biking mostly. It is brilliant, managed to get my Fenix 5 for about £380. Battery life is very good i have yet to run it out in one go but have got close on a 12 hour hike. You dont need the 5X for maps either, you can just install a map app on the 5 to do the same thing.

Thanks

Plus the mapping for Guernsey is normally pretty rubbish (Or it is on my garmin edge 1000 & Zumo 590) so due to this I also not really be interested in the mapping on a smart watch..

More in interest in it having lots of great faces and useful apps..

heatonpkmassive · 11 May 2018 at 19:30

V_R said:
Not as yet, but I am tempted.

I'm camping at the moment and brought the Ticwatch. It's handy for a quick look at the weather but really good for using Google maps. The watch vibrates whenever you need to change direction and it's much better than having to hold your phone in front of you.

As I mention further up, I also have a Fossil Q watch. But the Ticwatch impresses me more given its price. If you can get it for around 120 quid, I think it's a good purchase for that price.

Liquid_Entity · 11 May 2018 at 19:35

heatonpkmassive said:
Most likely. But it'll take 5 or 6 charges before the battery is up to speed, the 2-3 times they state is a little ambitious..

You guys were right, battery ticking over nicely with all the same settings as before.

Still can't decide on a favourite watch face. Liking the ease of Google Fit for my gym workouts and exercises. The HRM is pretty accurate as it sits abut 2 or 3 bpm different to the gym machine HRM so that's good. Calorie count seems a little low but can't tell if accurate or not as gym equipment not set up for me personally. I'd rather it be under anyway and if it is doing more burn than it says then thats only a good thing.

So are there any killer apps I should be adding to this. Don't really have much to offer but I guess I dont do much else with it.

V_R · 11 May 2018 at 20:11

heatonpkmassive said:
I'm camping at the moment and brought the Ticwatch. It's handy for a quick look at the weather but really good for using Google maps. The watch vibrates whenever you need to change direction and it's much better than having to hold your phone in front of you.

As I mention further up, I also have a Fossil Q watch. But the Ticwatch impresses me more given its price. If you can get it for around 120 quid, I think it's a good purchase for that price.

Yeah I agree, and as my G Watch R isn't getting updates and is obviously EoL now I'm looking for a replacement.

welshdragon · 11 May 2018 at 21:13

uvarvu said:
Looks like Qualcomm are pulling their fingers out designing some new chips for Wear OS. I think we might see the outcome of this project in the Autumn.

https://www.theverge.com/circuitbre...alcomm-snapdragon-wear-smartwatch-chip-coming

Fingers crossed for a pixel watch!

heatonpkmassive · 11 May 2018 at 22:35

Liquid_Entity said:
Still can't decide on a favourite watch face.

I like the Pavilion one by Liongate, although the Ticwatch is a little modern for that one I still have it on there. Looks better on the Fossil Q, but still good on the Ticwatch. That's if you like old skool analogue watchfaces...if you do, Liongate has a few good ones. If you don't, maybe someone else will come along with a good suggestion

chaparral · 11 May 2018 at 22:36

This is an excellent video of going in depth through the Samsung gear S3 here..

steve45 · 11 May 2018 at 22:42

chaparral said:
This is an excellent video of going in depth through the Samsung gear S3 here..

Beautiful looking watch with interesting features and a lovely looking display, but i'll never take them seriously until they start pushing battery life to a week+ including daily use with GPS, activity tracking and more.

heatonpkmassive · 11 May 2018 at 22:43

The Gear does look good, I wish it didn't run Samsung's proprietary operating system though.

chaparral · 11 May 2018 at 22:53

heatonpkmassive said:
The Gear does look good, I wish it didn't run Samsung's proprietary operating system though.

But it is nice to have another operating system to choose from instead of just the big players (Apple & Google)
I don't know what OS the Garmin watches use

steve45 · 11 May 2018 at 23:10

chaparral said:
I don't know what OS the Garmin watches use

I think it might be their own propriety system, its not the most pretty or sophisticated, it is however extremely "functional"!

DagsJT · 12 May 2018 at 07:01

heatonpkmassive said:
I'm camping at the moment and brought the Ticwatch. It's handy for a quick look at the weather but really good for using Google maps. The watch vibrates whenever you need to change direction and it's much better than having to hold your phone in front of you.

As I mention further up, I also have a Fossil Q watch. But the Ticwatch impresses me more given its price. If you can get it for around 120 quid, I think it's a good purchase for that price.

Mobvoi have their Ticpods on Indiegogo at the moment, I managed to get the bundle where I got a pair of Ticpods and a Ticwatch E for $174. Might be worth checking that out if you're after earphones too.

deuse · 12 May 2018 at 09:30

chaparral said:
This is an excellent video of going in depth through the Samsung gear S3 here..

I liked my S3. It was the OS that I hated. I'm wearing a LG watch sport now and it's so much better

uvarvu · 12 May 2018 at 09:41

welshdragon said:
Fingers crossed for a pixel watch!

Looks like one or more are on the way!
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=pixel+watch

welshdragon · 12 May 2018 at 09:50

Cant wait, its the one thing I sorely miss from my time with Apple, the Apple Watch

chaparral · 12 May 2018 at 11:12

deuse said:
I liked my S3. It was the OS that I hated. I'm wearing a LG watch sport now and it's so much better

I just ordered a Gear S3 Frontier this morning

But I am worried the huge size of it is going to look very stupid on my very thin wrists...