Best Android Watch out right now with Galaxy note 5

Oscar Maradiaga

Well-known member
Aug 20, 2013
775
0
0
Visit site
My wife recently won an Apple Watch at her job and she is giving it to me. Now as we know I laugh at Apple products so I'm taking it to a BestBuy and getting store credit but would like to know peoples opinion on what the best Smart Watch is. I'm leaning towards the Galaxy watch that was just released. Also looking at the Huawei Smart watch

I've heard mixed reviews from different places.

Samsung Gear S2: Release Date, News, Price and Specs - CNET

http://www.droid-life.com/2015/10/06/huawei-watch-review/
 

saichick04

Well-known member
May 12, 2010
187
0
0
Visit site
Re: Best Androd Watch out right now with Galaxy note 5

I have a Moto 360 1st generation. I don't know if my watch is getting older or what but it CONSTANTLY disconnects from my Note 5. Especially when I am in my car and it's connected to the Bluetooth in the car as well as my watch. Sometimes the watch will disconnect in the mornings when I take it off the charger. I've been getting a lot of "sad cloud that didn't work" on my watch screen when I send a text but when I open the text message app it did in fact work. I hoping a new update will fix the problems. I hardly look at my watch when I'm in the car because 85% of the time the vibration is just it disconnecting. It usually reconnects before the disconnect notification even goes away though.

I love my Moto 360 when it works. I hope it's the watch and not my glorious phone lol. Another watch I had my eye on was the LG Urbane and the Moto Sport (announce the pricing on that thing already!!) Hope this helps!
 

macdarwin

Well-known member
May 20, 2014
121
0
0
Visit site
Re: Best Androd Watch out right now with Galaxy note 5

I have a moto 360 as well but i dont have any issue like the other person in here. I like it a lot and you can get it cheap now. Get the one with the metal band or just wait for the 2nd gen of moto 360 im pretty sure its a bit better than the first.

Posted via the Android Central App
 

jdfry15

Trusted Member
Feb 2, 2011
642
0
0
Visit site
Re: Best Androd Watch out right now with Galaxy note 5

I am picking up the gear s2 that was just released later today. I've tried a couple android wear watches and they didn't do much for me. The s2 looks great and reports that battery life is great as well.

Posted via the Android Central App
 

vm81

Well-known member
Apr 9, 2015
213
0
0
Visit site
Re: Best Androd Watch out right now with Galaxy note 5

I am picking up the gear s2 that was just released later today. I've tried a couple android wear watches and they didn't do much for me. The s2 looks great and reports that battery life is great as well.

Posted via the Android Central App

Only issue I have with Gear S2 is that it is not Android based.
 

me23brown

Well-known member
Jun 26, 2015
328
10
18
Visit site
Re: Best Androd Watch out right now with Galaxy note 5

Well I have the original Zenwatch and I like it a lot. It's less than half the price of the other AW watches but it does lack wifi (the second gen Zenwatch added this) and a heart rate monitor. I recently purchased the Gear S2 but took it back after a few days because it lacked a lot of the support for the apps I used and had a little reduced functionality than AW. As far as which watch you should get it mainly comes down to pricing and your particular taste as the majority of them all have the same internals. The only one that stands out from the rest from a feature standpoint is the second gen moto 360 with its ambient light sensor. The only one I'd stay away from is the original 360 because of its substandard processor which didn't due well with the AW updates.
 

recDNA

Well-known member
Jun 29, 2011
8,692
112
63
Visit site
I love my gear 2 but it kind of locks me into Samsung. Someday I might want to try an LG so if I were in the market for a watch I think I would go Andoid instead of Tizen.
 

dpham00

Moderator Team VP
Moderator
Apr 23, 2011
30,108
200
63
Visit site
I love my gear 2 but it kind of locks me into Samsung. Someday I might want to try an LG so if I were in the market for a watch I think I would go Andoid instead of Tizen.

Android wear is the most compatible for sure...Works on Android and ios. Definitely something to consider, if you ever plan to switch to a non Samsung device

Sent from my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 5
 

debdroid1a

Well-known member
Apr 14, 2014
1,646
8
38
Visit site
See what features you need, then see which watch has those as well as what you would like. Unless you're just going for purely fun factor.

I love my gear 2 but it kind of locks me into Samsung. Someday I might want to try an LG so if I were in the market for a watch I think I would go Andoid instead of Tizen.

Android wear is the most compatible for sure...Works on Android and ios. Definitely something to consider, if you ever plan to switch to a non Samsung device

Sent from my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 5

I have the Gear 2 Neo. Although it works for what I need and it was inexpensive, If I ever got another watch, it would be Android OS based. This one is not bad at all. I get all notifications I want, phone calls, calendar events, emails, texts, etc., (even the Nine app for work). It has a pedometer, I got an app for a good watch face (analog and digital time, date and battery bar) and I can change the background of that watch face. Also can make or receive calls if I want. Installed another app for texting keyboard, but it's tiny. Since that's basically all I need. I've never had a problem with it disconnecting on my Note 5 unless I reset something or it's out of range.

I'd also look for ones that you can change the watch band. Not a deal breaker because although I haven't on my Neo, there is a thread where people have and it can change the look of the watch to what you want. And I would suggest looking at protective screen covers. I got one that has a skin as well and it covers up the metal band part that says "Samsung".
 

dpham00

Moderator Team VP
Moderator
Apr 23, 2011
30,108
200
63
Visit site
See what features you need, then see which watch has those as well as what you would like. Unless you're just going for purely fun factor.





I have the Gear 2 Neo. Although it works for what I need and it was inexpensive, If I ever got another watch, it would be Android OS based. This one is not bad at all. I get all notifications I want, phone calls, calendar events, emails, texts, etc., (even the Nine app for work). It has a pedometer, I got an app for a good watch face (analog and digital time, date and battery bar) and I can change the background of that watch face. Also can make or receive calls if I want. Installed another app for texting keyboard, but it's tiny. Since that's basically all I need. I've never had a problem with it disconnecting on my Note 5 unless I reset something or it's out of range.

I'd also look for ones that you can change the watch band. Not a deal breaker because although I haven't on my Neo, there is a thread where people have and it can change the look of the watch to what you want. And I would suggest looking at protective screen covers. I got one that has a skin as well and it covers up the metal band part that says "Samsung".
I have used the gear, gear 2,gear fit, and lg g watch. The gear is nice that you can make calls as it has a mic. My g watch doesn't have a mic so I use wear speaker to enable the speakerphone on my note 5 when I receive calls. I like Android wear for the always on feature. The gear doesn't have this. Of course the g watch is an older model and doesn't have wifi or hrm, but for $30, I am not complaining. I also like the changeable band and am using a titanium band now.

Sent from my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 5
 

vlfifthdawnlv

Well-known member
May 6, 2013
153
0
0
Visit site
The gear s2 barely came out. The other variation wont be out for another 3-4 weeks but from the reviews I've seen so far, its not that great. If you're willing to wait a bit, I think the new LG Urbane 2nd edition is going to be one of the best smartwatch in terms of spec, function, and battery life.
 

me23brown

Well-known member
Jun 26, 2015
328
10
18
Visit site
Why did Samsung built the S2 with so few features then? Did they want a cheaper price point?

Personally I think they removed the features as part of there new focus on form over function. If you look at what Samsung has done this year with their flagships they have indeed made then look better in most people's opinion but often at the expense of features that some customers had become accustomed to. In this case you get reduced size and more conventional appearance at the expense of a larger screen and speakerphone capabilities on some models. It's just the direction they are headed this year in an attempt to gain further market share.
 

digitalbreak

Trusted Member
Jun 13, 2013
1,451
0
0
Visit site
I use Moto 360 1st generation and have no issues syncing with Note 5 as other person stated. Previously I was using it with my Nexus 5.

Posted via the Android Central App
 

debdroid1a

Well-known member
Apr 14, 2014
1,646
8
38
Visit site
Personally I think they removed the features as part of there new focus on form over function. If you look at what Samsung has done this year with their flagships they have indeed made then look better in most people's opinion but often at the expense of features that some customers had become accustomed to. In this case you get reduced size and more conventional appearance at the expense of a larger screen and speakerphone capabilities on some models. It's just the direction they are headed this year in an attempt to gain further market share.

It makes sense. Some people don't like big clunky phones, so they have made them smaller at the expense of expandable storage and replaceable battery Some men won't even wear a smart watch because it's big and even larger then their wrist. I wear the Neo and at first I added some bracelets to make it more feminine. But now I don't care. I like it for it's function (but that's my personality, for example, I prefer comfortable shoes but try to find nice ones).
 

Kilgore Trout

Well-known member
Jul 12, 2011
206
1
0
Visit site
I have both an Android Wear watch (the first LG) and a Samsung Tizen watch (first gen Gear). They were both ridiculously good late online deals ($29 for the LG, new in the box and $79 for the Gear). My last phone was Galaxy S4, so both watches worked. I far preferred the Tizen watch and wear it every day. Android Wear is a fairly disappointing system, IMO. The basic concept of the watch is that it is an extension of the phone's notification bar. Once you look at something, its gone. And, too often messages and such seems to disappear before I can read them, and I find all the swipes and control gestures counter-intuitive. The Gear is much more like a mini computer, with standard message centers. So, if I need to quickly go back to an e-mail I had read hours earlier, I can just pull it up. For whatever the reason, I did not have good battery life on the Gear with the S4. Now that I am using the Note 5, I get two to three days. In any case, I'm likely going to buy the new Gear watch, but will wait to November when some online deals are likely to pop up.

Honestly, I don't think Android Wear is a particularly good system and it does not compete well with the Tizen watches or with the apple watches.
 

me23brown

Well-known member
Jun 26, 2015
328
10
18
Visit site
My last phone was Galaxy S4, so both watches worked. I far preferred the Tizen watch and wear it every day. Android Wear is a fairly disappointing system, IMO. The basic concept of the watch is that it is an extension of the phone's notification bar. Once you look at something, its gone. And, too often messages and such seems to disappear before I can read them, and I find all the swipes and control gestures counter-intuitive. The Gear is much more like a mini computer, with standard message centers. So, if I need to quickly go back to an e-mail I had read hours earlier, I can just pull it up.

Its funny, I like AW more than Tizen on the Gear S2 for exactly the same reasons you dislike AW. I appreciate the fact that its an extension of the phone and that it doesn't try to replace it. For me it gives me all notifications, directions and information at a glance instead of having to pull out my phone. Also a big difference for me with AW as opposed to the Gear S2 was not having to use both hands. I constantly use the flick gesture to scroll through notifications on AW and I couldn't do that with the Gear. For me if I have to use 2 hands just to scroll through notifications I'm not gaining any convenience. Although I will admit the bezel was cool but I prefer not needing to use both hands if I don't want to. I will say if you want to run full blown apps or deep dive into information the Gear is probably better but that just isn't my personal use case. For anything like that I'd prefer to use my phone.
 

Kilgore Trout

Well-known member
Jul 12, 2011
206
1
0
Visit site
The kind of situation I'd get into: Phone is in the backpack and I'm biking, my sister texts me and says "be at such and such place to pick your niece up at such and such hour." Later on in the day, I forget the time so I have to dig out my phone. With my Tizen watch, I just pull up the notifications. Its just a lot more intuitive to me. That said, there is no beating the Wear version of Google maps, which can come in useful sometimes.