Develop Bugs

Considering Zenwatch...is the sports stuff as bad as some comment?

Hello!
I was wondering if the Zenwatch sports tracking stuff is as bad as some reviews I read or if that has been fixed. I like the style so I will appreciate any comments from users that owned it for a while now.
Thanks!

The only sports-type things it has are heart rate and step counting. I'm not sure if the step counter even uses the watch, actually. I think it uses Google Fit on the phone. I don't really use the step counter, but use the activity timer from Fit instead. The heart rate sensor is finicky, and you're unlikely to get an accurate reading unless your fingers are just the right dampness. Although the heart rate sensors on a lot of devices are not very accurate, either. I have a difficult time getting a good reading from the one on my treadmill, for instance.
I think none of the available smartwatches are as good at fitness functions as some of the more dedicated devices. But for an Android Wear device, the ZenWatch is very nice, and I like it a lot.

The step counter uses the accelerator in the watch and works independently from a phone. It works about as well as any arm mounted pedometer. If you don't move your arms much when you walk it may not record all your steps. It may also record some arm movements as steps, but not often. The heart rate monitor is useless, but so is every other Android Wear watch heart rate monitor. This definitely isn't a fitness band.

[Q] Should I get one?

Hi,
I'm hoping to buy an android wear smartwatch soon but I'm torn between the Moto 360 and LG Urbane. I'm leaning towards the Moto 360 mainly for the larger screen and wireless charging. But not 100% keen on the bottom bar even though I know it's needed and the design can't work without it but does spoil the design somewhat though some watch faces seem to work well with it.
I generally prefer the design of the 360 over the Urbane, though screen is slightly better resolution on the Urbane thought would prefer the bigger screen. I just want to know what the Moto 360 is like to use daily and if the bottom bar really is much of an issue and would you rather get the Urbane?

mikesaa309 said:
Hi,
I'm hoping to buy an android wear smartwatch soon but I'm torn between the Moto 360 and LG Urbane. I'm leaning towards the Moto 360 mainly for the larger screen and wireless charging. But not 100% keen on the bottom bar even though I know it's needed and the design can't work without it but does spoil the design somewhat though some watch faces seem to work well with it.
I generally prefer the design of the 360 over the Urbane, though screen is slightly better resolution on the Urbane thought would prefer the bigger screen. I just want to know what the Moto 360 is like to use daily and if the bottom bar really is much of an issue and would you rather get the Urbane?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not much of an issue to me.. I guess its personal. I realize something that I prefer in the Moto 360. In comparison to the LG watch R, the cards in it tends to get cut off, which it will not happen in moto 360.

Just got a black one yest from a closing radio shack for 125. I already have a pebble steel, but i kinda like the android wear exp.

I got one today. I returned a pebble steel with a broken button. I've had it for a few hours now. I will be returning it this evening and getting another Pebble Steel. If I can convince them to give me a full refund, I might wait for the Pebble Time.
When I brought the 360 home, it was at 12% battery life. This was to be expected. I was able to turn it on for about 30 seconds before auto-shutdown. I set a timer. It took 2 hours and 33 minutes to fully charge. It immediately wanted to upgrade after turning it on and completing setup. (v5.0.2)
It has been 4 hours and I'm down to 27%. Granted I've used the watch more than I normally would as I get used to the menus, but this is not acceptable. If I reduce it to what I consider to be normal use, it will not last the day.
The watch is glitchy and doesn't always register touch. When I am able to navigate to the menu I want, the watch will frequently and randomly vibrate and shut itself off while I'm in the middle of something (the same behavior as it I had covered it with my palm). This is beyond annoying.
About 50% of the time, the watch fails to turn the display on when I lift my arm (the standard lift and rotate gesture shown on the youtube videos). I've put this through extensive testing, and the exact same gesture (what I've found to be the most effective) is only effective about 50% of the time.
The heart rate monitor doesn't work. The strap is on tight and I have actually cleared a part of my arm of hair to test it. I have never been able to get a successful heart rate. I even got my girlfriend to try it. The lights on the back come on, but nobody is home.
Most of the best watch faces and apps require a purchase. I suppose this is by intention (the designers do deserve to profit from their designs). But the real annoyance is that there is a lot of bait-and-charge software too. Software that claims to be free on the Play store, only to find it severely handicapped until you pay via an in-app purchase. AFAIK this is a big kick in the teeth for the Android Wear community and a major drawback. It won't turn away the hardened Android fan-boys who already have invested in the apps they like, but it will turn of a lot of people on the fence. If you are gonna charge for your app, at least be up-front about it. Its shady as hell.
Furthermore, I've detected that there appears to be a lot of very similar watch faces. The comments and reviews indicate that there is rampant design theft and doesn't appear to be any checks in place to prevent this. As such, I have no idea that when I am purchasing a watch app, that I'm giving money to the original artist or a plagiarist.
Not all circular watch faces will render correctly. The "flat tire" utility bay will cut some of them off.
The watch is not visible in direct sunlight. I don't care what the reviews say. I was outside in the bright sunlight today and I could barely read the watch face.
The vibration is not strong enough. When the Pebble Steel vibrated, it was very strong, but not intrusively so. This watch I can hardly even feel when I'm expecting it. Not acceptable.
Step counter doesn't work, but this is to be expected. Even the Pebble Steel was off. I've always maintained that wrist based pedometers are a fad and can't tell what your legs are doing.
Sorry for being critical, but you did presumably ask for honest opinions. I suppose it is subjective, but the 360 isn't for me. It feels very Beta. Maybe the 360 2 will get it right, but this watch is a pass IMO.

I been wanting a new gadget to play with.
I bought someone's NIB black refurb off CL for $120. So far it's been a cool experience. I don't regret my purchase. YMMV it's a personal thing.
I bought a SONY smart watch. Turned it on, could figure out anything, couldn't get it pair. Turn it off, left it in the shopping bag somewhere.

pacificwing said:
Sorry for being critical, but you did presumably ask for honest opinions. I suppose it is subjective, but the 360 isn't for me. It feels very Beta. Maybe the 360 2 will get it right, but this watch is a pass IMO.
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Click to collapse
Anyone with a 360 could have told you now was not the time to buy...
Motorola still haven't figured out the 5.1 update, and the previous update seriously hurt battery life and the tilt-to-wake function. Right now we're all in the same boat, just trying to keep the thing working properly till the end of the day...
The original software on the 360 was very responsive and had good battery life so we know it can work, but our only hope now is that Motorola's team of trained chimpanzee coders manages to set it right.

SmartWatch 3 is the best, yellow tint workaround

I must say Sony SmartWatch 3 is the best current smart watch as unlike other watches I own (LG G Watch, Samsung Gear S)...
I can use it outside in the sun
I can charge it using simple micro USB at work or simply anywhere without having to worry about charging cradle
I switch it off and power it on without cradle
Wifi!
GPS!
No need for switching to cinema mode when watching movies
As I wrote, it has a button so I can disable the damn touch to wake
Ambient light sensor!
When I first installed my watchface to my brand new SW3 I noticed that the white color looked indeed with yellowish tint while the tiny bit darker shade (#EEEEEE) looked like perfectly shining white. I ended up using this color for SW3 in this watchface. Is it just my mind playing tricks on me (because of all the surrounding black) or is it really white without tint?
This all makes want to try re-style the colors of the system clockwork apk and maybe system styles/colors to this shade.

Have to agree .. all the above points are valid and makes me more happy now. thanks

leojab said:
Have to agree .. all the above points are valid and makes me more happy now. thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you missed out IP68 and NFC
I only notice the yellow, in certain light at a certain angle... its nothing that concerns me in the slightest.
The Smartwatch 3 is definitely the est choice of a smartwatch for a utilitarian...

At least in Sweden, the pricing is very attractive too

I'm happy to read this topic, I've just won the bidding on eBay at $ 128 ☺
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just got it
i also have a gear 2 neo, and screen on sony looks like an old phone screen
viewing angles are rally bad
android wear has a lot more functionality and you are not tight to a brand, but i'm kind of disappointed with screen quality

al404 said:
just got it
i also have a gear 2 neo, and screen on sony looks like an old phone screen
viewing angles are rally bad
android wear has a lot more functionality and you are not tight to a brand, but i'm kind of disappointed with screen quality
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is kinda on purpose. Sony opted for transflective so it can be used in sunlight very easily. The trade off is the screen quality isn't "as good" as others. But in all honesty I'd rather be able to use it outside. You get used to the yellowing and it becomes barely noticeable.

I wonder if they'll stick with transflective. Anybody know whether it's their own technology?

AlexOB1 said:
I wonder if they'll stick with transflective. Anybody know whether it's their own technology?
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Click to collapse
Transflective? No, the version of the screen they use, maybe?
Transflective has been around for a while just always called something different:
BE+: SolarbON
Boe Hydis: Viewiz
Motion Computing: View Anywhere
LG Display: Shine-Out
NEC Displays: ST-NLT
DEMCO CSI: SOLARBON
Pixel Qi: 3Qi
Panasonic: CircuLumin
Getac: QuadraClear
Dell: DirectVue or DirectView.
Sony just calls it by what the technology actually is instead of some fancy name to convince consumers theirs is better.
Since this watch is geared toward sports transflective is the best option to me, saves battery and so much easier to see.. I don't think they will go away from it unless they make multiple versions. Right now I just hope they actually release a Z4c

runningwarrior08 said:
Transflective? No, the version of the screen they use, maybe?
Transflective has been around for a while just always called something different:
BE+: SolarbON
Boe Hydis: Viewiz
Motion Computing: View Anywhere
LG Display: Shine-Out
NEC Displays: ST-NLT
DEMCO CSI: SOLARBON
Pixel Qi: 3Qi
Panasonic: CircuLumin
Getac: QuadraClear
Dell: DirectVue or DirectView.
Sony just calls it by what the technology actually is instead of some fancy name to convince consumers theirs is better.
Since this watch is geared toward sports transflective is the best option to me, saves battery and so much easier to see.. I don't think they will go away from it unless they make multiple versions. Right now I just hope they actually release a Z4c
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Click to collapse
Interesting, but who does supply the SW3 panel? Basically I'm wondering if the technology is being developed sufficiently to keep up with AMOLED watch screens. SW3 battery life not as good as I expected, I assumed it would be better than the AMOLED watches.
Sent from my LG-D802 using XDA Free mobile app

AlexOB1 said:
Interesting, but who does supply the SW3 panel? Basically I'm wondering if the technology is being developed sufficiently to keep up with AMOLED watch screens. SW3 battery life not as good as I expected, I assumed it would be better than the AMOLED watches.
Sent from my LG-D802 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm I will look into it to see if I can find a manufacturer, I usually take my electronics apart and look at the parts and play with them but I haven't done it to any smartwatches yet... Just haven't had the time.
And your SW3 gets worse battery life than an AMOLED? I haven't seen that personally. My SW3 gets 2 days minimum on a charge. My Zenwatch lucky to get 1, my Gear S can get one with 30% or so left.

There are major bugs affecting battery life, and the sw3 seems more susceptible due to the transflective screen. Right now many people get hours. This is an android bug and not a function of the tech itself. Sony is working on it, but it is making many people myself included rethink the device.

lekofraggle said:
There are major bugs affecting battery life, and the sw3 seems more susceptible due to the transflective screen.
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Click to collapse
On what bloody planet does the screen tech have *anything* to do with the battery drain bug!?!?
Sent from my SM-N910G using XDA Free mobile app

The theory is that our screen stays in ambient mode constantly whereas most people do not let the others stay on so long due to battery drain. On our screen, ambient mode should not use much battery so we use it constantly, but on the other device gives most people leave the always on off because the screen is actually always on.
In ambient mode in addition to the normal mode, the watch is constantly connecting and disconnecting from the phone. This is triggering a drain.
If the screen is off, it is not happening.
It seems logical, but is not my theory. I am just reiterating the chatter on the other thread.
One thing I can say, our watch sleeps differently than other wear watches because of the screen. Therefore we will potentially notice wakelocks differently than them.

Would you buy one today?

Hey everyone,
So I like to bike maybe once a week and have typically used Map My Ride or Strava to, well, map my rides. But I'm on Project Fi now so am becoming a miser with my data. I was thinking of getting a SW3 and using GhostRacer and the built in GPS to handle that but wanted to see if it is still worth it. I know the 360 Sport is around but the reviews haven't been stellar. Assuming the price is in the $100-$125 range is it still worth it?
I do also go to the gym a couple of days a week so keeping music on the watch and using headphones is a plus as well.
Thanks,

I owned both SW3 and Moto 360 Sport, however I just sold the 360 Sport yesterday because the battery drained on it a lot faster than on the SW3. I prefered the look of the Moto 360 Sport over the SW3 even though I own the SS, Universal strap and silicone strap for the SW3. Both are also water resistant.
Here is a breakdown of pro and cons.
The display of both watches are similar other than round vs square, however the Moto display is a bit nicer with more vibrant colors and while in ambient mode it's in color vs b&w.
Moto 360 Sport also has a built in optical HR monitor SW3 does not.
SW3 has replaceable watch band, infinite combination, Moto 360 Sport comes in White, Black, and Orange and you can not replace the bands.
Again, battery life is night and day better on the SW3 additionally you can charge is with any Micro USB cable vs a proprietary wireless charger. Additionally SW3 charges really fast, almost 2X faster than Moto 360 Sport.
SW3 has built in NFC, you can't do much with it now but future updates may give you more options.
I haven't used either watch with the headphones, so I can't comment on that aspect of the watch.
So I would say go with SW3 and save some money, you'll have no regrets.

Had the SW3 for about 6 months now and I love it. I use it for tracking runs, playing music paired with BT headphones and for keeping track of my appointments. It's great for the price, but I suggest holding out a while longer until announcements for support (or lack thereof) for Android Wear 2.0 come out. Motorola has confirmed it won't be getting the software update for the 1st gen Moto360, so there's a good chance the SW3 won't either..so you might be better off getting one of the newer models. I'm thinking the price might still go down if it won't support AW 2.0, but if it does, at the current price it's a steal.

pawces said:
Motorola has confirmed it won't be getting the software update for the 1st gen Moto360, so there's a good chance the SW3 won't either..so you might be better off getting one of the newer models.
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Click to collapse
Because first gen has bad processor and bad battery.
SW3 has same processor than Moto 2nd gen and other actual wear watch.

dersie said:
Because first gen has bad processor and bad battery.
SW3 has same processor than Moto 2nd gen and other actual wear watch.
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Click to collapse
I won't get my hopes up. It may have the hardware requirements , but seeing as the SW3 was the last of the 1st gen devices to get the recent android update, Sony may not be too keen on putting any more effort into the device. Still a great device for the price it's going for now though, and a good entry point into Android Wear for minimal $. Just bear in mind that when purchasing any piece of tech, it's bound to become obsolete in a year or so, simply because that's how fast technology is evolving. Hardly anything is future-proof these days.

I have this watch for a couple of months now and yes I absolutely love it. Might even buy a second one, for no other reason than having a spare, just in case. I'm sad that smart watches aren't really popular - I'd love to have a SW3 with better hardware and a heart rate sensor - but this watch is great. I use it for stuff like skating and thanks to the great location tracking, I can safely leave my phone at home, and when I'm back it will sync my whole route. This took a looong time the last time I did it, but ok, I rode for 30km so that's probably a lot of data to sync. Now I can see my entire route back on Google Fit. I really love that.
As a sysadmin I also use my watch for easy notifications, and for dispatching tasks to Tasker, using WearTasker. It's great that I don't need to take my phone each time I get a notification. This also applies to when I'm driving - using my phone when I'm on the road is something I absolutely never do, and now, when I get a message, I get it on my watch, so at least I can see if it's something urgent.
The voice capabilities work well enough to also make this a lovable feature.
The rubber wrist band fits nicely. I also bought a, what's the name, the plastic thing in which you can fit a band of your own choice. But I like the rubber band a lot more.
The display works great with a screen protector and the light sensor also works good.
All in all.. what's there not to love about this watch?

Have had mine for about seven months now. Overall I'm very happy with the watch and will probably (hopefully) keep it for a long time.
I'm most impressed by the battery life, which is great, and the durability of the display. I'm very neurotic about my phone's screen, always using tempered glass protectors, but I've worn the SW3 without any kind of screen condom pretty much all the time for over half a year, and the display still looks like brand spanking new. Thing is tough, is what I'm saying.

I just went through all of this myself when my original SW3 broke. I went through all of the available smartwatches and started narrowing them down. I like running but hate taking my phone because of its size (6p). I found an awesome Amazon Warehouse deal on a 360 Sport. The band is a deal breaker. Plain and simple. Its awful. Everything sticks to it and it was uncomfortable for me. This wouldn't be an issue normally, but you cannot replace the band...ever. Also, potential issue with the 360 Sport is IP67 water resistance vs IP68 on the Sony SW3.
I also tried the Samsung Gear S due to its IP68 rating and heart rate. While the fit and finish is above and beyond what the SW3 has to offer, I missed the always-on TFT screen, Wear, Google Now (voice commands work amazingly well), and my customized Watchmaker Premium face (with Tasker integration .
I would still choose the SW3 today due to these things: battery life (2 days not uncommon), TFT display (always on without killing battery-visible in direct sunlight), ambient light sensor (I'm looking at you Huawei and Asus), microUSB charging (yes, it's kinda a pain, but you can charge anywhere-getting a right-angle USB cable helps make it less annoying to plug in), and interchangeable bands (I have 2 bands now. They are comfortable for me and quick clasp). Lack of heart rate does not bother me b/c I don't think any wrist-based HR is accurate enough to matter.
Note: I use my SW3 with headphones all the time. Works great. Syncing music is cake with Play Music, though, since it has USB, I would prefer if it supported MTP and you could just drag and drop whatever straight to the device. Definitely not a problem, just annoying to have to wait for all your offline music to sync over BT.

My main issue with my SW3 is the very very.... poor readability indoor in dim mode. With low light it is very difficult to read. And with only black & white dim mode most of the wear face are very bad. Even the pebble time LCD screen color is much better
Good outdoor 1% of the time but bad indoor 99% of the time.

dersie said:
My main issue with my SW3 is the very very.... poor readability indoor in dim mode. With low light it is very difficult to read. And with only black & white dim mode most of the wear face are very bad. Even the pebble time LCD screen color is much better
Good outdoor 1% of the time but bad indoor 99% of the time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will say that the LCD in the SW3 is not the best for viewing angles and resolution. However, readability is never an issue for me. The main reason is the ambient light sensor. I tried a Zenwatch 2 (which is a nice watch for the money), but the lack of the ambient light sensor meant the screen was always too dim or too bright. I don't want to fiddle with brightness every time I go outside or back inside. Yes, the always on TFT mode is going not the greatest for inside, but that's not its point. Still, sitting here at my desk under weak, florescent light, I can read it perfectly at a glance. That is another selling point for this watch. It is fairly useful as a watch...lol.

I am bit disappointed with my SW3, or more with Android Wear actually.
Besides notifications I have not been able to find much use for it. I had Pebble for two years and loved the way it handled notifications, with a certain third party app though. IMO Android Wear is quite clumsy and I miss more customisation options especially with the way notifications are handled. My battery lasts about a day and a night. For a smartwatch I guess that is not bad but I do miss Pebble's several days of juice.
So I am not sure if I would buy one now that I have used SW3 for few months...
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Which Smart Watch?
I own the Sony S3 Smartwatch, the Samsung Gear S2 and two Moto 360 2nd generation watches. Yes, I have four smart watches for no reason other than I love gadgets. I also owned the Huawei smart watch for about a week before I exchanged it for a Moto 360. The Huawei is great but I have huge wrists. So the Moto looks best on my wrist. Anyway, I use each watch for different activities. Each watch has it's pros and cons and correlates directly to which activities they are best for. For instance, the Sony Smartwatch has the best waterproof rating. So I wear the Sony to the beach and for playing beach volleyball (any activity with the possibility of submersion). The Sony is also one of the only watches with on-board GPS. That's great when you want to track your movement without lugging the phone around with you. The Samsung Gear S2 is probably the most versatile and it's sort of a hybrid between a sports watch and a casual dinner watch (depends on which band you install). The Samsung works great in every aspect and is probably the best overall performer but you cannot wear it as a luxury piece. It just does not have the look of a luxury piece. That's where the Moto 360 2nd Gen comes into play. The Moto performs great but you don't want to wear it playing beach volleyball. The Moto is designed to look like a luxury time piece and it looks the part. Of course the stock straps with the Moto are absolute garbage. You will want to order good thick leather straps online (or nice stainless steel). Once you have installed the new 3rd party strap your Moto will look very much like a fine time piece similar to a Breitling, Tagheur, Omega, etc.... Then you just need to use the Watchmaker premium app to download hundreds of custom watch faces that resemble luxury time pieces. In conclusion, if you want the smart watch solely for exercise I suggest the Sony S3. If you want a very nice (large) watch that looks like a Rolex I'd suggest the Moto 360 (46 mm). If you want a smart watch for the office and exercising I'd suggest the Samsung Gear S2. Most importantly, all three of these watches are top performers with good processors and great screens. So the only thing that differs greatly is the appearance of the piece itself.

Huawei GT2 GPS in open water / triathlons

Does anyone have any experience using this watch in open water or triathlons? Huawei makes a lot of ads about swimming with the watch, but most other smartwatches are highly inaccurate when it comes to GPS in open water.
Also, how does the touch screen reacts on water? I can imagine it will go bezerk in triathlons, but Huawei does advertise the triathlon mode.

ic3j said:
Does anyone have any experience using this watch in open water or triathlons? Huawei makes a lot of ads about swimming with the watch, but most other smartwatches are highly inaccurate when it comes to GPS in open water.
Also, how does the touch screen reacts on water? I can imagine it will go bezerk in triathlons, but Huawei does advertise the triathlon mode.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would not get this yet if you are planning to use it for triathlons or anything fitness related that uses GPS, as it is off by at least 1/2 mile in most cases. Other than that, this watch is pretty neat and i have no remorse in getting this over a garmin watch.
I am sure they will continue to tweak this and improve the accuracy, but it is not there just yet.

seandm69 said:
I would not get this yet if you are planning to use it for triathlons or anything fitness related that uses GPS, as it is off by at least 1/2 mile in most cases. Other than that, this watch is pretty neat and i have no remorse in getting this over a garmin watch.
I am sure they will continue to tweak this and improve the accuracy, but it is not there just yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply. Than i'll stick with Suunto. It's a bit more bulky, but i'd at least know it works as it should.

I also compared the GPS of the GT2(42mm) with my more than 3 years old TomTom Runner watch, and the TomTom is much more accurate.
Anyone else did a comparison with a sport watch? Weird thing is that most reviews are quit positive about the sport qualities of the GT2.