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NutWrench ,
@NutWrench@lemmy.world avatar

Samsung switched from Tizen to WearOS literally 4 months after I got my Galaxy watch 2. That was annoying. $200 is way too much to spend on such a short-lived product.

Appoxo ,

Still fine with my Pixel Watch I got for free with my Pixel 7P.
I would have never get a smart watch though. Not my jam.

BigPotato ,

I mean, Fossil ended support for my Gen 5 a while back and... It still works. I mean, I mostly use it as an alarm and "ability to feel my phone vibrate when ringing" machine but it still operates...

Until it doesn't, I guess. The battery life is already shit and I'm jealous of my partner's Garmin.

GingeyBook ,

Garmin is the way to go.

Their hybrid models are chefs kiss

MeanEYE ,
@MeanEYE@lemmy.world avatar

Garmin did the same thing with Forerunner. They stopped software support 6 months after release of 220, and the very moment 235 was released. Their tech support's answer to any problem was "do a factory reset". And yet they are still considered one of the best brands for navigation and sports.

Psythik ,

Similar thing happened to me. Bought a bunch of watch faces too, only to discover that none of them would transfer over when I got a new watch.

Ghostalmedia ,
@Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world avatar

Bad headline. They’re sunsetting Tizen for watches, but not other products.

I_Miss_Daniel ,

My wife's watch6 just falls off sometimes. The pins in the upper strap just let it go.

catloaf ,

Replace them? Or take it to a jeweler and have them do it thoroughly

Damage ,

First of all uninstall unused apps!

cbarrick ,

There are still issues with WearOS, but I think some of that is hardware. Last I heard, Qualcomm's wearable SoCs were trash, but Samsung is in a good position since they have both the SoC fab and make the watch itself.

Many industries are shifting to a model where Android is the de facto OS for consumer-facing interactions. It's not well optimized outside of phones yet, but it is rapidly improving. Many cars run Android now, for example.

I'm moderately optimistic about the next generation of WearOS devices.

Paradox ,
@Paradox@lemdro.id avatar

It's not a now thing. It's already here. My thermostat, sprinkler controller, and rice cooker all run Android

HobbitFoot ,

It makes sense. Everyone knows how to program and develop hardware for it and it is free to use. The worst that will happen is that Android development goes in a different direction, and you can fork it if that happens.

Pxtl ,
@Pxtl@lemmy.ca avatar

WearOS, at least the Samsung variant of it, is goddamned awful. It seems to want to be a full standalone device when I want it to just be an extension of my phone, and it's an extension of my phone when I want it to stand alone. Worst of both worlds.

I miss my Pebble. Week-long battery, truly always-on-screen, and knew what it was trying to be (just show me notifications)

pycorax ,

I used to have a Pebble too but I've long since given up on any hope of the market building something similar that looks as cool as the Pebble was. What exactly do you think is awful about Samsung's Wear OS? I tried both the Pixel Watch and the Galaxy Watch and I greatly prefer Samsung's.

dual_sport_dork ,
@dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world avatar

I rocked an OG Pebble as well as a Pebble Time for a while. The best replacement I could find was the Garmin Fenix watches, which use a similar display and offer comparable battery life (or better, for the bigger ones) but unlike the old Pebbles they cost major bucks. They're considerably more featureful, though. All of them also have round displays, not the rectangular like the Pebbles.

I'm quite happy with my Fenix 6 Solar and have no desire to ditch it, nor trade it in for any of the newer models.

Eyron ,

I'm still rocking a Galaxy Watch 4: one of the first Samsung watches with WearOS. It has a true always-on screen, and most should. The always-on was essential to me. I generally notice within 60 minutes if an update or some "feature" tries to turn it off. Unfortunately, that's the only thing off about your comment.

It's a pretty rough experience. The battery is hit or miss. At good times, I could get 3 days. Keeping it locked, (like after charging) used to kill it within 60 minute (thankfully, fixed after a year). Bad updates can kill the battery life, even when new: from 3 days life to 10 hours, then to 3 days again. Now, after almost 3 years, it's probably about 30 hours, rather than 3 days.

In general, the battery life with always-on display should last more than 24 hours. That'd be pretty acceptable for a smartwatch, but is it a smartwatch?

It can't play music on its own without overheating. It can't hold a phone call on its own without overheating. App support is limited, but the processor seems to struggle most of the time. Actually smart features seem rare, especially for something that needs consistent charging.

Most would be better off with a Pebble or less "smart" watch: better water resistance, better battery, longer support, 90% of the usable features, and other features to help make up for any differences.

themeatbridge ,

I've been contemplating getting a galaxy watch, but I was waiting for Samsung to get it right.

Pxtl ,
@Pxtl@lemmy.ca avatar

They're great hardware but the software is bad.

Retrograde ,
@Retrograde@lemmy.world avatar

Consider a Garmin smart watch. I love mine and the battery lasts over 8 days even with an OLED display

themeatbridge ,

I can actually get one as part of my company healthplan. Which model do you have? I was leaning towards the Venu 3 over the Forerunner.

Retrograde , (edited )
@Retrograde@lemmy.world avatar

I splurged and bought an Epix since I like the design and the OLED display but I've seen the venu 3 and it's really nice too.

It's been super trusty, the flashlight feature is absolutely amazing and I use it on a daily basis, it's brighter than my phone's flashlight too which is crazy.

https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/dcfcfef5-6633-4a1f-a00a-81847caec7fd.jpeg

themeatbridge ,

Thanks!

Retrograde ,
@Retrograde@lemmy.world avatar

No problem! I do a ton of research on these so if you have any questions feel free to ask

altima_neo ,
@altima_neo@lemmy.zip avatar

Isn't tizen also on their smart TVs?

Srootus OP ,
@Srootus@sh.itjust.works avatar

Yes, and fridges and probably washing machines

Texas_Hangover ,

My fridges and washing machines plug into the wall and work when I press the GO button. That's the end of it. I resist "smart" things like the plague.

Tikiporch ,

Are they Samsung?

Texas_Hangover ,

Obviously not, I said they work.

corsicanguppy ,

Don't you want to open and close the garage door when the laundry is finished?

PlainSimpleGarak ,

Don't you want to activate your washer when you're at the restaurant?

Consume. Then, consume more.

captain_aggravated ,
@captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works avatar

I think their fridges run Android.

dual_sport_dork ,
@dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world avatar

They definitely run Tizen.

The GE Profile "Kitchen Hub" over the range touch screen hood thingy runs Android, though.

boonhet ,

The what now

dual_sport_dork ,
@dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world avatar

https://www.geappliances.com/ge/kitchenhub/

boonhet ,

Ugh that just seems so... Useless.

But I guess there's a buyer for anything out there

Nindelofocho ,

?????? Why? That thing is gunna get so greasy

Ghostalmedia ,
@Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world avatar

Yes, but this article and the sources only say this is impacting their watches.

Imgonnatrythis ,

Perfectly? Your battery really lasting all day long? I gave up my 3 last year as unless I started making compromises, I could not get a full day without charging (mind you I'm an up very early and bed very late person, so it's a long day I was asking for).

Srootus OP ,
@Srootus@sh.itjust.works avatar

Yep, mine still lasts 2 days if I push it, though Ive been plonking it on its puck every morning while I get up since I got it at launch, its only ever dropped below 20% a handful of times. Sure ive been charging it more than most, but it doesnt do full battery cycles per charge so its lasted longer

octopus_ink ,

46MM Galaxy Watch here and I can get 24H or sometimes a bit more provided I switch it to night mode when I'm sleeping. Still using AOD, cont HR monitor etc. Yeah, this old thing is getting long in the tooth, but I came to it from WearOS, really don't want to go back.

Not a lot is appealing to me in the smartwatch market currently. Good for my wallet, I suppose.

itstoowet ,

Is this the norm for smart watches? I just bought my first one, a Redmi watch 3 active, 6 days ago and still haven't charged it yet (just got to 18%.)

There's no way I'd put up with another device that I have to charge every day.

octopus_ink ,

To a degree it depends on settings. But consider that I've been using this watch for 5 years or so, and I have all my settings more or less "maxed out" regarding consumption. I don't even have auto-brightness on because I always found it annoying for it to adjust when I flicked my wrist - I just have it locked at about 80%.

But yeah, most smartwatches that I've ever been familiar with are getting a couple days when new unless you turn off features. (Bear in mind the newest thing I have first-hand experience with is my original Galaxy Watch, and which I am currently still wearing) I want to say I was making it 48h + when new, but that was so long ago...

For typical smartwatches when I see impressive claims regarding battery life much longer than that, it usually turns out that the person has turned off one thing or another that I don't want to turn off.

Look at Hybrid smartwatches in general, and in particular some of the Garmin models (pack a lunch, there are a LOT of Garmin models, some very similar to each other) for super long battery life, I think.

All this is just IME, and I don't pay really close attention to smartwatch tech except peeking every couple years to see if there's anything that might convince me to move on from my Galaxy Watch. I do like some of the Garmin hybrid models, but I'm not sure I'd like them longterm.

Imgonnatrythis , (edited )

Depends. My Garmin goes for close to a week but my galaxy 6 barely makes 20h. I don't run anything fancy on it other than enabling always on screen. I won't compromise on that as I think it's ridiculous to have to shake your arm to see what time it is.

pacmondo ,

Yeah, Garmin has been by far the best for me for battery life.

1rre ,

It's normal for most afaik but that's because manufacturers make a trimmed down phone to go on your wrist which means you have to charge it daily, without realising it's on your wrist so it doesn't need to be super slim with huge cuts to battery size to go in your pocket.

My garmin has an always on display, heart rate, steps, blood oxygen, thermometer, barometer and whatever else and yet still manages a 4 week battery life, 3 weeks with normal use (1h gps per day, using the touchscreen and higher brightness) or even around 50-60h of GPS/more frequent heart rate/active maps activity tracking

It's on 7% now and is giving me an estimated battery life of >2 days, which just shows how abysmal many smart watch battery lives are

ShepherdPie ,

I have a Galaxy Watch4 and it would last me about 3 days new and is down to around two days now. I've already bought a replacement battery but haven't bothered to put it in yet.

This is with the always on display off and everything else on including wifi.

pycorax ,

It depends. Wear OS is heavy because it's much more feature filled. I switched from a Garmin to a Galaxy Watch 4 because the feature set of Wear OS fits my use case much more than the Vivoactive 4 I had.

bismuthbob ,
@bismuthbob@sopuli.xyz avatar

Agreed. My old pebble lasts for over a week, not that I use it for much more than an alarm clock/metronome nowadays.

It does those jobs extremely well, though.

ColeSloth ,

A used watch 5 pro (or just buy a new one) can be had for like $160. I can leave all my stuff turned on and I always get over 48 hours. Plus WOS is just better than tizen, hands down.

That said, I had a ticwatch pro 5 for a bit and it was better in every single way but one, so I had to send it back. It had a couple bugs they couldn't figure out how to get rid of with my Note 20 Ultra compatibility.

Still sad I don't have that watch anymore. Awesome dual screen set up, better processor, more ram, faster ram, more storage, bigger and longer lasting battery, Smoother navigation. It would be the go to android watch if they could get their software compatibility up to snuff and support their devices longer.

octopus_ink , (edited )

Plus WOS is just better than tizen, hands down.

It's changed a lot since I moved off my Huawei then. And the primary reasons I went Tizen when I did were the glacial pace of software improvements and the shitty "upgrade" they announced to the SoC all the WearOS devices were using at the time. I don't recall the details of the crappy qualcomm "upgrade" aside from remembering that it really wasn't one in practice, and solved neither the battery life nor performance problems of WearOS at the time. (not even sure they were calling it WearOS then, IIRC they changed it from the original name around that time)

A used watch 5 pro (or just buy a new one) can be had for like $160. I can leave all my stuff turned on and I always get over 48 hours.

I'm not surprised a watch several gens newer is going to get better battery life than my original GW, but I don't find I'm fussed enough about anything about it to spend money on an upgrade currently.

LucidBoi ,

That's suprising to hear for me. I got a HUAWEI smartwatch and its battery lasted about two weeks.

Imgonnatrythis ,

That's also surprising as I had an older Huawei and it could not last more than 24h

Drummyralf ,

I have the OG 46 mm (since its launch) and still charge it only about every 3 days.

Mostly use it to track steps, check time (obviously) and skip songs on my phone.

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