Gear S vs LG Urban 2nd Edition LTE

foxbat121

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I got my hands on the new LG Urban 2nd Edition LTE watch this weekend. Played with it for two days. Here are my brief impressions/comparisons to my Gear S:

1. Watch operations and app support. No doubt, Android Wear is 10x better than Tizen. I didn't realize that I already have so many Android apps on my phone that has watch companion apps already. This makes watch/phone interaction much more interesting. For example, start a Google Map navigation, the watch will show a small map and your next waypoint and direction. Yes, it works with driving as well. I have a hard time get Here Maps working on my Gear S (it requires frequent reboot in order to load Here maps) and it only works with walking navigation. In short, working with various Google services is what I want Android for. Unfortunately, Google will never give permission for Samsung to use its services in Tizen environment. Gear S merely works as a notification extender with virtually no capability of sync between phone and watch. I can't remember how many times I have to dismiss the notifications on my Gear S for emails I already read on the phone. On the other hand, Gear S does have its own independent app/browser so that you can browser internet without the need of phone. Also Gear S supports keyboard imports on the watch while AW does not have any keyboard imports (I read there is a 3rd party app offer that). You can only use Google voice recognition to compose replies or use pre-canned replies.

2. Battery life and most importantly battery charging: No doubt, LG wins. It has a virtually twice the battery capacity as Gear S while using the same Qualcomm chipset. The charger is a small magnetic attachment that you will never need to worry about breaking. It is also effortless to attach or detach. Too early to report the battery life but so far, it is within my expectation.

3. Look and feel: the LG has cell antenna built into the strap. So, it is quite stiff and non-replaceable. It is quite a effort to get the watch on or off my wrist compared to Gear S. The watch itself is as big as Gear S. My wife commented that my Gear S is a manly watch while the new LG watch looks girly. So take that with a grain of salt :)

4. Cellular features: it is the first attempt by Google to integrate cellular functions into AW. It works in most cases but not as well thought out as Samsung. I'd give edges to Gear S. For example, when connected via BT to the phone, it needs to show up as a BT headset connection in order to receive or make calls on the watch. That means your phone can't connect to BT headphone or car at the same time or you will not be able to take or make phone calls from the watch. Gear S implemented this much better. You can allow phone to connect to BT headset or car at the same time and take calls from either device. Also, by default, cellular radio is on all the time (in auto mode) to receive calls or text to the watch number. There is no option to turn it off if you connected by BT to phone already. If you want to squeeze out a little bit more battery juice by turning off cell radio like Gear S does, you will have to manually turn on or off the cell radio. There is also no auto-forwarding features like the GSM version of the Gear S does. You have to manually turn on or off conditional forwarding yourself. But AT&T promised an update in early 2016 to support ring both phone and watch at the same time using a single phone number. So, this may not be a big issue by then.

My only reason to pick up this watch is to retire my Samsung Galaxy Alpha, one of the worst Samsung phone I ever bought (other than the GS3 that can no longer properly identify battery charging level after 1 year of use) because it can't get any signal at most places where all other phones showed a few bars. No more Samsung phone for me. My old Nexus 5 works much better than this Galaxy Alpha and comes with the latest Marshmallow. This three-year old phone feels much smoother on UI than the Galaxy Alpha although the hardware on Alpha is newer and faster. The dreaded TouchWiz rears its ugly head all the time.
 

pre1561

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I love my Samsung phone because of the big screen. As long as I can afford to i will never go to a phone with a smaller screen than my Note 4. There's not anything really wrong with Samsung phones. My Gear S is a big disappointment. I would never recommend one to somebody. I would much rather have spent my money on a tablet with a bigger screen than my phone. I read a lot of good things about a lot of other phones but the screen size is a deal breaker for me.

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foxbat121

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Screen size isn't my concern. TBH, being there done that (went from 4" phone to 6" phone and now back to small one again). However, if a 1-year old phone can't hold to any signal in any places other than next to cell tower, it is useless to me regardless of the screen. Besides, there are plenty of large screen phones out there.

Regardless, this thread is about watch comparison, not about phones.
 

mountainbikermark

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Screen size isn't my concern. TBH, being there done that (went from 4" phone to 6" phone and now back to small one again). However, if a 1-year old phone can't hold to any signal in any places other than next to cell tower, it is useless to me regardless of the screen. Besides, there are plenty of large screen phones out there.

Regardless, this thread is about watch comparison, not about phones.
If/when my S gets retired and I get something new I was really interested in the Urbane 2 but I think your review brought about reality. I want/need a mammoth screen on my watch but I'm merciless on my devices and don't see a stiff band holding up very long. The no forward thing won't work for me either because I'm frequently in and out of range with my phone at work or home. I really haven't seen any AW apps that are designed just for the watch so, to me, that's a wash vs what I have now. Maps and other companion apps are no big deal to me either way but I use my watch for many tasks while away from the phone such as texting, calling, voice/text memos, timers, calculator, web browsing, etc.
Thanks for the review.
 

foxbat121

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Actually, many existing apps have very good AW app that I have never seen on Gear S. For example, if you open camera app on the phone, the camera app on the watch automatically pops up. It lets you take the photo from watch and immediately get a photo review on the watch screen. Things like this makes the watch truly a companion to the phone. Also Google Now voice recognition works pretty well activating all different tasks on the watch (it has to as there is no keyboard). I enjoy use it much more than S voice.

It is a different platform and Google did a good job there. With the amount of app support (you don't have to look for it separately as most phone apps come with one already), it will surpass Tizen based watches real soon.

Samsung has a decent head start but they didn't move forward. Gear S2 is regarded by many a step backwards. A Tizen watch needs Tizen phone to have better platform support. Unfortunately, Samsung Tizen phones aren't doing that great. I don't even know if they support current Tizen watches at all.
 

mountainbikermark

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Actually, many existing apps have very good AW app that I have never seen on Gear S. For example, if you open camera app on the phone, the camera app on the watch automatically pops up. It lets you take the photo from watch and immediately get a photo review on the watch screen. Things like this makes the watch truly a companion to the phone. Also Google Now voice recognition works pretty well activating all different tasks on the watch (it has to as there is no keyboard). I enjoy use it much more than S voice.

It is a different platform and Google did a good job there. With the amount of app support (you don't have to look for it separately as most phone apps come with one already), it will surpass Tizen based watches real soon.

Samsung has a decent head start but they didn't move forward. Gear S2 is regarded by many a step backwards. A Tizen watch needs Tizen phone to have better platform support. Unfortunately, Samsung Tizen phones aren't doing that great. I don't even know if they support current Tizen watches at all.
I'm one of those that regard the S2 as a large step backwards.
In regards to those companion apps that are AW ready, how many work when not tethered to the phone? I can't get a definitive answer on that one on other forums. I basically get "why would you want them to?" which I take, possibly erroneously, as a no. It's all pretty much a moot point for me anyway as since Samsung joined the mini screen race my next watch won't be a Samsung anyway. Maybe the Neptune will be more prevalent by then. It's basically the workhorse device and you can get bigger screens as butlers for the watch itself.
 

foxbat121

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Some work. Some don't. I have not tried many of them. I know Google Maps doesn't work for navigation but you can search and display in a map.

It is just like early days of Gear S where majority apps are not designed for Gear S but for regular Gear watches. Given time, more apps will work over cell connection.
 

mountainbikermark

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Some work. Some don't. I have not tried many of them. I know Google Maps doesn't work for navigation but you can search and display in a map.

It is just like early days of Gear S where majority apps are not designed for Gear S but for regular Gear watches. Given time, more apps will work over cell connection.
Perhaps you misunderstand my question. No data connections needed, no Bluetooth needed, just total standalone apps, such as a calculator as a simple example. Productivity stuff like I use my phone for 99% of the time. I use my watch more for productivity than for phone/communication related things.
 

foxbat121

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Ok, of course. Not many of those productivity apps out there. It's a watch with a small screen. However, here is a list of apps I tested that work when untethered (phone is in airplane mode but watch can go online via its own radio):
* My Tracks.
* Alarm
* Flash light
* Stop watch
* Timer
* Google Maps (map only, navigation doesn't work)
* Messenger (text message from watch number).

It is actually quite a list.