Took the plunge..

[philliplavelle]

I really don't know what's the matter with me, lol.

Been flipping between Android and iOS for the last few years (I was diehard Android through the S2, S3 and S4 generations, then I went back to iOS). Tried all of the Samsung devices as they came out, but always end up back on iOS.

Had the Note 8 last year, and thought it was great but just felt the Apple pull and returned it. I remember looking at the Note and thinking it really was a beautiful device, but for me, I just couldn't do without the Apple Watch.

Yeah, I know there are vast alternatives out there and some are diehard Gear users, but the Gear isn't for me. The lack of Google Assistant is a big no-no as is the lack of customisable apps. One of the big things I use my watch for is in the gym - I train every day and do a combination of weight lifting with customised workouts. I use an iOS and Watch app called Gymaholic which is incredible and there is nothing close on Android. So I ended up back on the watch.

Then I took a plunge with the Note 9 back in August when it was released but it wasn't for me. It wasn't just the watch issue, but the camera. I thought the iPhone X (and then XS) knocked it out of the park and I detested the smoothing feature and poor bokeh effect on the selfie camera. So I got the XS.

Four months later, I'm so bored of the iPhone. It just bores me in terms of its rigidity. I saw the Pixel Camera had been ported over to the Note 9, so I picked one up yesterday. This, with Night Sight, is amazing. Still, there's the issue with the Watch, but I picked up a Ticwatch Pro. I thought about the Fossil Sport but a) they're in short supply and b) not seeing great things about their battery life.
Haven't taken the watch out of the box yet or had a chance to have a proper play with the Note 9 yet and if anything draws me back, it will be my S4 Apple Watch. But we'll see.

 

[mustang7757]

welcome back to Android side again
I hear the Apple watch is amazing but don't use watches, but the Samsung health app has lot of features which I don't use either lol . but we have few people on here with both apple watches and ticwatch that probably can help

 

[Beansr519]

I really don't know what's the matter with me, lol.

Been flipping between Android and iOS for the last few years (I was diehard Android through the S2, S3 and S4 generations, then I went back to iOS). Tried all of the Samsung devices as they came out, but always end up back on iOS.

Had the Note 8 last year, and thought it was great but just felt the Apple pull and returned it. I remember looking at the Note and thinking it really was a beautiful device, but for me, I just couldn't do without the Apple Watch.

Yeah, I know there are vast alternatives out there and some are diehard Gear users, but the Gear isn't for me. The lack of Google Assistant is a big no-no as is the lack of customisable apps. One of the big things I use my watch for is in the gym - I train every day and do a combination of weight lifting with customised workouts. I use an iOS and Watch app called Gymaholic which is incredible and there is nothing close on Android. So I ended up back on the watch.

Then I took a plunge with the Note 9 back in August when it was released but it wasn't for me. It wasn't just the watch issue, but the camera. I thought the iPhone X (and then XS) knocked it out of the park and I detested the smoothing feature and poor bokeh effect on the selfie camera. So I got the XS.

Four months later, I'm so bored of the iPhone. It just bores me in terms of its rigidity. I saw the Pixel Camera had been ported over to the Note 9, so I picked one up yesterday. This, with Night Sight, is amazing. Still, there's the issue with the Watch, but I picked up a Ticwatch Pro. I thought about the Fossil Sport but a) they're in short supply and b) not seeing great things about their battery life.
Haven't taken the watch out of the box yet or had a chance to have a proper play with the Note 9 yet and if anything draws me back, it will be my S4 Apple Watch. But we'll see.

I switched from apple because i was bored as well...but i haven't yet purchased the Galaxy watch. i had the 3rd Gen apple watch, but i ended up giving that to my nephew. please keep me updated on which watch you settle on. i prefer personal experience than advertised info.

 

[robinhelenehebert]

I have the apple watch with my xr. The Apple watch really is the best IMHO.

 

[neil74]

Similar situation for me, I have a Note 9 512, 3XL and IP Xs max and I have for some time had a droid and iPhone and switched between them as I fancied. Initially I was always drawn back to iOS but more recently I have favoured android and have probably used it 75%+ of the time over the last year. I love the Pixel but the Samsung has some features and extra storage that it lacks and I am currently procrastinating over what one to keep as 3 phones is just being greedy.

Apple still makes awesome hardware but the software experience in iOS has lagged behind and I have just found it dull and a little restrictive, I even got to the point where I considered selling the iPhone and it is only because it is on the upgrade programme that I didn’t (I usually buy my phones outright). Then on impulse I picked up the Apple watch (series 4) and it has just totally changed how I see the iPhone, it has made me want to use the iPhone again and the whole experience is great.

I have tried wearables on android but it just does not come close IMO, the Galaxy watch, it is very nice but the closed nature of Tizen and the lack of apps just ruins it. I do also currently have the Ticwatch pro, again it has it’s charms and it allows me to use Google Pay and assistant but boy is it slow, it can be improved with some tweaking of developer options and app disabling but I am not sure it is acceptable for a 2018/19 device even given the lower price, currently weighing up whether to keep or return it.

The thing is that I think the watch/phone integration on apple is on a level that IMO android falls way short on, so I totally get that the watch is a big factor in the overall experience.

 

[Tim1954]

So you used to be indecisive, but now you're just not too sure...

 

[robinhelenehebert]

Similar situation for me, I have a Note 9 512, 3XL and IP Xs max and I have for some time had a droid and iPhone and switched between them as I fancied. Initially I was always drawn back to iOS but more recently I have favoured android and have probably used it 75%+ of the time over the last year. I love the Pixel but the Samsung has some features and extra storage that it lacks and I am currently procrastinating over what one to keep as 3 phones is just being greedy.

Apple still makes awesome hardware but the software experience in iOS has lagged behind and I have just found it dull and a little restrictive, I even got to the point where I considered selling the iPhone and it is only because it is on the upgrade programme that I didn’t (I usually buy my phones outright). Then on impulse I picked up the Apple watch (series 4) and it has just totally changed how I see the iPhone, it has made me want to use the iPhone again and the whole experience is great.

I have tried wearables on android but it just does not come close IMO, the Galaxy watch, it is very nice but the closed nature of Tizen and the lack of apps just ruins it. I do also currently have the Ticwatch pro, again it has it’s charms and it allows me to use Google Pay and assistant but boy is it slow, it can be improved with some tweaking of developer options and app disabling but I am not sure it is acceptable for a 2018/19 device even given the lower price, currently weighing up whether to keep or return it.

The thing is that I think the watch/phone integration on apple is on a level that IMO android falls way short on, so I totally get that the watch is a big factor in the overall experience.

I have the Note for the main phone, XR for work, pixel for camera. Lol

 

[robinhelenehebert]

I agree nothing beats the Apple Watch.

 

[Mr-Guy]

I have a watch, who cares about those digitally connected ones? My Breitling stands out and is a fine piece of jewelry for a guy, my phone beeps or vibrates and life isn't that urgent that we need to be that connected all the time.

 

[robinhelenehebert]

I have a watch, who cares about those digitally connected ones? My Breitling stands out and is a fine piece of jewelry for a guy, my phone beeps or vibrates and life isn't that urgent that we need to be that connected all the time.

Yeah I'd say...Breitling is jewelry!

 

[jtcannonball]

I have a watch, who cares about those digitally connected ones? My Breitling stands out and is a fine piece of jewelry for a guy, my phone beeps or vibrates and life isn't that urgent that we need to be that connected all the time.

I get frustrated with all smart watches after a few days. The constant need to charge one more thing annoys me. But the lack of AOD drives me nuts, I hate having to tap the screen or flick my wrist non-stop to see the time. But I do miss the easy stop watch option on the AW I had. Make a lot of aeropress, pour over and French press coffee so a timer/stop watch is a big deal. Lol

 

[Auronda40]

I really don't know what's the matter with me, lol.

Been flipping between Android and iOS for the last few years (I was diehard Android through the S2, S3 and S4 generations, then I went back to iOS). Tried all of the Samsung devices as they came out, but always end up back on iOS.

Had the Note 8 last year, and thought it was great but just felt the Apple pull and returned it. I remember looking at the Note and thinking it really was a beautiful device, but for me, I just couldn't do without the Apple Watch.

Yeah, I know there are vast alternatives out there and some are diehard Gear users, but the Gear isn't for me. The lack of Google Assistant is a big no-no as is the lack of customisable apps. One of the big things I use my watch for is in the gym - I train every day and do a combination of weight lifting with customised workouts. I use an iOS and Watch app called Gymaholic which is incredible and there is nothing close on Android. So I ended up back on the watch.

Then I took a plunge with the Note 9 back in August when it was released but it wasn't for me. It wasn't just the watch issue, but the camera. I thought the iPhone X (and then XS) knocked it out of the park and I detested the smoothing feature and poor bokeh effect on the selfie camera. So I got the XS.

Four months later, I'm so bored of the iPhone. It just bores me in terms of its rigidity. I saw the Pixel Camera had been ported over to the Note 9, so I picked one up yesterday. This, with Night Sight, is amazing. Still, there's the issue with the Watch, but I picked up a Ticwatch Pro. I thought about the Fossil Sport but a) they're in short supply and b) not seeing great things about their battery life.
Haven't taken the watch out of the box yet or had a chance to have a proper play with the Note 9 yet and if anything draws me back, it will be my S4 Apple Watch. But we'll see.

Glad to see ya back!! I don't know if you remember me but I too have been grappling with my iOS vs Android decision. I finally picked a lane. I chose My Note 9, decided to ditch my apple stuff and started looking at Windows PC's. I've realized I have so much more fun on this platform with this phone and who cares about anything else. I switched all my info and passwords, basically my entire life over to Google and Chrome. Feels liberating as hell to have finally reached a decision. I decided to have the phone I want and like and not worry about having iMessage and facetime for the family. Guess what. No one even noticed im gone lol. Duo works better than facetime and my green bubbles were accommodated by family members within time. I was tired of being stuck in a boring ecosystem simply because everyone I know is in it. I want the phone and the PC for me. Way more fun, way more freeing. Now im not limited to iOS with an iPhone. Having gone all in with Google I can take my pick from any android device I want or any windows PC I want without worrying. I'm having a great time now!!

 

[neil74]

I have the Note for the main phone, XR for work, pixel for camera. Lol

Not just me then!

 

[philliplavelle]

I do remember you! And sorry for the slow reply.. It's been a bit of a crazy busy week.

I'm still on the fence (as you can probably imagine!)

I love this Note 9 - every time I play with it, I'm in awe of how beautiful the device is, the screen is, the way it runs (even if my Unlocked US variant STILL doesn't have Pie, despite constant checks!!).
Then I pick up my iPhone and it feels like a toy. But I look at my Apple Watch and I'm unable to break the cycle.

I know watches aren't for everybody. I have non-smartwatches too, but they're more for sentimental reasons, I rarely wear them. I use my AWs4 ALL the time for some specific things:

- I obviously use it for notifications. I reply to SMS, Whatsapp etc via it and find it a lot quicker than unlocking the phone a lot of the time.
- Some fairly specific apps: Bring Shopping List (which ties into my Google Home and couldn't live without), HeartWatch (I'm obsessive about my HR patterns), and Gymaholic which allows me to build custom workout plans, upload them to watch and log my weight training and progression per workout down to individual weights and rest times. That then syncs back to the Watch.
- I also train a lot and part of that is keeping my HR at a constant level for certain periods of time. So I use the AW for that.
- I don't obsess over the step counter, but I do look at it regularly and find it motivational to be able to see I've done 10k or more.

A number of these things can be achieved with other watches on Android or Tizen. There are workarounds. The problem is, I just can't find a decent watch to match the Note 9.

The Fossil Sport is a) out of stock, b) seems to have pretty bad battery life and c) had a massive black bezel which I don't like.

I did pick up a TicWatch Pro but going to that from the Apple Watch feels like going from a Ferrari to a Nissan Micra. It's sluggish and the screen is nowhere near as nice in terms of colour, clarity or just general quality.. Within just a few mins of wearing it, I'm feeling ready to throw it out of the window.
It may have good battery life but that's not an issue for me. As long as I can get most of a day out of the watch, that's fine for me. I tend to wear it overnight (I track sleep - not obsessively, just as a pastime. Which again, is something Wear OS doesn't do well), then take it off mid morning after I've worked out while I sit at my desk and it charges next to me. Then it's back on the wrist when fully charged by late afternoon and it stays on me until the next morning.

SO I talked myself into getting a Galaxy Watch based on the fact that I can probably do a lot of the above on that. But then I saw all the review on the poor step tracking and the inconsistency with the HR monitor not working and now I'm looking at it and thinking can I be bothered with all the hassle of buying something that seems to be pretty shoddy. The GW has some great reviews but from everything I can see, complaints about the step counter have seemingly been ignored by Samsung and there is still speculation over whether the HR issue has been fixed.
Form what I can see, there are some positive reviews for the watch but these are all from people who use it as a watch. When people have specific health uses for it as well, those people are the ones spotting the holes in the product that feel quite glaring.

I know I could go buy a dedicated fitness tracker, but then I make compromises in things like being able to reply to notifications with my voice or a richer experience (for example, the Fitbit Versa only allows you to send replies that have been prewritten.)

I can't see how else to get around this, short of reluctantly staying with the Apple devices at this rate and hating myself for it, lol! The watch element really is a deal-breaker.

 

[Auronda40]

Ugh. That's a predicament for sure lol. I've gone completely over to android. I guess if I were in your shoes I would chose the most important thing and sacrifice the other. Do you need that watch more or the fun phone more lol. Sounds like for you, one of them has to go.

 

[JHBThree]

I do remember you! And sorry for the slow reply.. It's been a bit of a crazy busy week.

I'm still on the fence (as you can probably imagine!)

I love this Note 9 - every time I play with it, I'm in awe of how beautiful the device is, the screen is, the way it runs (even if my Unlocked US variant STILL doesn't have Pie, despite constant checks!!).
Then I pick up my iPhone and it feels like a toy. But I look at my Apple Watch and I'm unable to break the cycle.

I know watches aren't for everybody. I have non-smartwatches too, but they're more for sentimental reasons, I rarely wear them. I use my AWs4 ALL the time for some specific things:

- I obviously use it for notifications. I reply to SMS, Whatsapp etc via it and find it a lot quicker than unlocking the phone a lot of the time.
- Some fairly specific apps: Bring Shopping List (which ties into my Google Home and couldn't live without), HeartWatch (I'm obsessive about my HR patterns), and Gymaholic which allows me to build custom workout plans, upload them to watch and log my weight training and progression per workout down to individual weights and rest times. That then syncs back to the Watch.
- I also train a lot and part of that is keeping my HR at a constant level for certain periods of time. So I use the AW for that.
- I don't obsess over the step counter, but I do look at it regularly and find it motivational to be able to see I've done 10k or more.

A number of these things can be achieved with other watches on Android or Tizen. There are workarounds. The problem is, I just can't find a decent watch to match the Note 9.

The Fossil Sport is a) out of stock, b) seems to have pretty bad battery life and c) had a massive black bezel which I don't like.

I did pick up a TicWatch Pro but going to that from the Apple Watch feels like going from a Ferrari to a Nissan Micra. It's sluggish and the screen is nowhere near as nice in terms of colour, clarity or just general quality.. Within just a few mins of wearing it, I'm feeling ready to throw it out of the window.
It may have good battery life but that's not an issue for me. As long as I can get most of a day out of the watch, that's fine for me. I tend to wear it overnight (I track sleep - not obsessively, just as a pastime. Which again, is something Wear OS doesn't do well), then take it off mid morning after I've worked out while I sit at my desk and it charges next to me. Then it's back on the wrist when fully charged by late afternoon and it stays on me until the next morning.

SO I talked myself into getting a Galaxy Watch based on the fact that I can probably do a lot of the above on that. But then I saw all the review on the poor step tracking and the inconsistency with the HR monitor not working and now I'm looking at it and thinking can I be bothered with all the hassle of buying something that seems to be pretty shoddy. The GW has some great reviews but from everything I can see, complaints about the step counter have seemingly been ignored by Samsung and there is still speculation over whether the HR issue has been fixed.
Form what I can see, there are some positive reviews for the watch but these are all from people who use it as a watch. When people have specific health uses for it as well, those people are the ones spotting the holes in the product that feel quite glaring.

I know I could go buy a dedicated fitness tracker, but then I make compromises in things like being able to reply to notifications with my voice or a richer experience (for example, the Fitbit Versa only allows you to send replies that have been prewritten.)

I can't see how else to get around this, short of reluctantly staying with the Apple devices at this rate and hating myself for it, lol! The watch element really is a deal-breaker.

Same boat here. I have a Series 4 and it's the best watch I've ever owned. I got a Galaxy Watch from Costco, but its too darn big and heavy. (with their return policy I have 60 days on case the smaller one goes on sale at Best buy) I've been eyeing the Ticwatch C2 and the Fossil Sport, but each has their own drawbacks. I've also gone the other direction and tried a Versa, because I owned an original Pebble Steel and it was perfect. (looked like a watch, was honest about just being a notification relay instead of trying to do everything) The versa was close to the Pebble, but Fitbit OS is terrible. What keeps drawing me back to the iPhone is things like the watch, and every time I go back to Android it's impossible to find anything as slick or comparable.

 

[cckgz4]

While I haven't gone back and forth for the same reasons, I understand the dilemma in deciding on an ecosystem and sticking with it. I miss iMessage from time to time and how integrated things are with Apple, but the things that I currently rely on for the note has definitely remained consistent. I hate the battery life on any apple phone. Had the 7 plus and even starting the day off in save mode, I still didn't make it through a full day and felt like I was always on the charger. With my note battery and quick charge, I'm still amazed at how much my phone is actually in my hands and not plugged in. While apple does a lot of things well with social media, productivity on the note has been miles ahead. Split screen, s memo, everything helps me to be more organized. So with that I can live without the blue bubbles.

I do miss the selfie cam on iPhone and I hate the smoothing of Samsung, but I just take a selfie on Instagram or snapchat and the smoothing feature isnt on there. Problem solved.