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Will Galaxy Gear VR revolutionize the Mobile Industry?

Do you feel that Gear VR (Virtual Reality) will revolutionize the mobile industry in User's Viewing Experience and take a step further to Reality?
Will you be interested to buy one to experience this? Post your Comments & Feedback.
Moderators : If you feel, it is appropriate to move this Post to General Discussion Forum, Please do so.

I wouldn't use the term "revolutionary", as this comes way after the Oculus, Morpheus and even Cardboard. But I will say I am highly interested and welcome the idea with open arms. I have always joked that the Google Cardboard (which I own, and am very happy with my tiny experience) is the Poor Man's Oculus Rift. Now I feel like the Gear VR is the Rich Man's Google Cardboard, lol. The only thing that is pissing me off, is that I would take the Galaxy Note Edge over the Note 4, and it seems like Gear VR will work exclusively ONLY on the Note 4...not the edge...
I'm really hoping they change their mind (They would gain a lot more to allow Gear VR to work with the likes of the Note 3, Galaxy S4, S5, and S6)

I don't think there is any device currently using their cell phones as a source to experience VR. Is there any such models doing it so? If Yes, I stand corrected.

xda rocks said:
I don't think there is any device currently using their cell phones as a source to experience VR. Is there any such models doing it so? If Yes, I stand corrected.
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Click to collapse
the 20$ Google Cardboard...? lol

It'll get it on its way maybe

Surly the price of the head gear would be fairly low, since all the tech is in the phone.... i mean the device is all passive right o_0?

The Gear VR appears powered BY the Note 4(touchpad and back button), and the VR does not appear to have a charging/pass-through port. Would have been nice to watch a movie, play games, etc while lying in bed, and not have to worry about the phone going dead. I hope something is done to remedy this.

it's an interesting concept. unfortunately, I think it's more gimmickie than anything else. If it's cheap, it may be an interesting tinker toy with the phone.
Think big issue, it'll have a limited install base and thus limited third party developer support.

It's just a gimmick and I still fail to see the benefits of all that VR glasses ? I mean I've got headaches from just putting that 3d Glasses a few years ago and now a full helmet ummm nope.

This site says $199 but I dont know if this site is reputable or where they got the price
http://venturebeat.com/2014/09/05/s...r-headset-will-cost-199-phablet-not-included/

I wonder how would 3D movies look on it. The resolution is excellent for this but I wonder how distorted the image will be? Will it look like a cinema screen?
EDIT: From this article - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...ions-Samsung-Gear-VR/articleshow/41699899.cms - it seems to be disapointing: "However, there is a problem, and a major one at that. Gear VR shows very pixilated videos, even though the Note 4's screen has QHD resolution. The likely reason is that Gear VR's lenses focus on only a small portion of the screen to play the video and then magnify it up this portion only, thus resulting in a pixilated display."

The Gear VR isn't fully passive, looks to have extra Accelerator, Gyrometer, Magnetic and Proximity sensors for movement detection. I have an Oculus DK2 and I'm excited to try this device. As far as watching 3D video, that is not really what "VR" headsets are designed for. You would need some different lenses and a much higher resolution screen. Think about the experience like sticking your head in a dome fish bowl. To display flat video you would only be using part of the screen and the view angle isn't ideal. Now if you have video shot with a dome cam, that is cool, you can look all around the world as the video plays. Or if the 3D video is shot in a way that compensates for the edges of the frame being out of view. The Oculus DK2 uses a stock Note 3 screen and I would image the retail version of the Oculus will use the Note 4's screen from a production and cost perspective.
When playing a game or demo in a full 3D environment the resolution issue starts to disappear, your 96 (or 120 on the rift) degree field of view effectively turns into a 360 degree field of view. A good example of this is stare directly as some text on your monitor, don't move your eyes and tell me how much of the rest of the monitor is in focus? It will be very little if your eyes stay perfectly still.
I think the deciding factor for this device to succeed is the motion tracking and then secondly content. If the motion tracking is poor, everyone will just puke and throw this in the trash.

I think Virtual Reality will be great on the Galaxy Gear VR, but one thing that I feel a lot of people are overlooking and what I'm concerned about is the cancer/brain damage users would eventually get years down the road from extended use.
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/cellphones
http://guardianlv.com/2014/05/brain-tumors-linked-to-cell-phones-study-suggests/
http://www.thewire.com/national/201...uld-actually-cause-brain-cancer-maybe/370818/
I know it's been a heated debate that extended use of cellphones can cause cancer, but think how much more we are prone to it by not only using our future Galaxy Note 4's for phone conversations, but also for the Galaxy Gear VR(just a few inches from our face). Anyone consider this ?
Don't get me wrong, I'm very excited for the Galaxy Gear VR, but since I also have a Playstation 4, I was thinking of just getting Sony's Virtual Reality Unit when it becomes available since the presence of a cellphone and its electromagnetic waves would be absent. Thoughts ?

xda rocks said:
I don't think there is any device currently using their cell phones as a source to experience VR. Is there any such models doing it so? If Yes, I stand corrected.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's an alternative to the gear vr and google cardboard that lands around the middle of the two in quality/functionality, but really can't be beat for the price. ...btw, the site is legit, I purchase stuff from them frequently.

yes
yes ı do

iZack187 said:
I wouldn't use the term "revolutionary", as this comes way after the Oculus, Morpheus and even Cardboard. But I will say I am highly interested and welcome the idea with open arms. I have always joked that the Google Cardboard (which I own, and am very happy with my tiny experience) is the Poor Man's Oculus Rift. Now I feel like the Gear VR is the Rich Man's Google Cardboard, lol. The only thing that is pissing me off, is that I would take the Galaxy Note Edge over the Note 4, and it seems like Gear VR will work exclusively ONLY on the Note 4...not the edge...
I'm really hoping they change their mind (They would gain a lot more to allow Gear VR to work with the likes of the Note 3, Galaxy S4, S5, and S6)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think that you are getting why it is only being released on the Note 4. The Oculus technology basically relies on turning pixels on and off instantaneously. If you turn right for instance the entire screen much be redrawn to a new image, continuously. So you need a screen especially, and a processor, which can handle that kind of requirement. The Note 4's screen is the best on the market to do that. You just wouldn't have the same experience at all with the S5 (not even getting into how it is smaller), or even the iphone6. The edge wouldn't work I am guessing because of the bottom (or top) of your screen bending and looking just plain odd when used in a screen for one of these.
Until other devices come up to snuff on the specs that matter to using an Oculus type device, the experience would not be the same. You would have an experience for sure, you have one with the $20 cardboard version. But it will not be the same.

evolone said:
Here's an alternative to the gear vr and google cardboard that lands around the middle of the two in quality/functionality, but really can't be beat for the price. ...btw, the site is legit, I purchase stuff from them frequently.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can also vouch for FastTech. I have bought all of my eCig supplies from them for a couple years.

I don't believe the phone is close enough to your face to have ANY impact even if you had a mobile connection on all the time while in VR.

Magnesus said:
I don't believe the phone is close enough to your face to have ANY impact even if you had a mobile connection on all the time while in VR.
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Click to collapse
I hope that's the case. I guess I may be paranoid due to the cellphone waves coming from it since I'm sure I'd be wearing the Galaxy Gear VR for at least a good 30 minutes each session.

Just had to bump this thread. :good:

Which Smartwatch to get for 2015

Hey everyone,
I'm considering a smartwatch for Christmas this year. Since the new round of watches is out i'd like to get some input on which one to get.
I really like the look of the moto 360. It's really minimalistic. My Priorities would be: Round display, Android Wear, not too thick/heavy/Plasticy.
I like the look of the new samsung offerings, but Tizen rules them out.
The Zenwatch looks nice on pictures, but square display and big frames around it really doesn't look that nice in person.
Which watch would you get, and which is the all around best offering for the current generation?

i had the GEAR S and its better than Moto 360. but the new 360 will be the next option.
tizen in really good...

Tizen might be good now, but from my experience, everything thats Manufacturer proprietary (especially Samsung) doesn't get as much updates (if any) and no development at all. So Android Wear is a must...

domsch1988 said:
Hey everyone,
I'm considering a smartwatch for Christmas this year
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Me too
I posted my Moto 360 42mm vs Huawei Watch pros and cons over on the Moto 360 2nd Gen forums:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=63194709&postcount=4
Have a read down the whole thread to get some good insights from others too. These are the three I'm considering, as I'm only interested in Android Wear:
Huawei Watch forums: http://forum.xda-developers.com/huawei-watch
Moto 260 2nd Gen forums: http://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-360-2015
Asus Zenwatch 2 forums: http://forum.xda-developers.com/zenwatch-2
Pretty much decided on the 42mm Moto 360 though! :good:
There are lots of good video reviews on YouTube too.

Intresting opinions guys.

My gift to myself was Gear S2 4g from Tmobile. Ability to make a phone call from the watch was a tipping point and LG Urbane 2 was recalled

domsch1988 said:
Hey everyone,
I'm considering a smartwatch for Christmas this year. Since the new round of watches is out i'd like to get some input on which one to get.
I really like the look of the moto 360. It's really minimalistic. My Priorities would be: Round display, Android Wear, not too thick/heavy/Plasticy.
I like the look of the new samsung offerings, but Tizen rules them out.
The Zenwatch looks nice on pictures, but square display and big frames around it really doesn't look that nice in person.
Which watch would you get, and which is the all around best offering for the current generation?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would like Gear S2 Classic 3G to hit US market soon. It's released on Asia already. Gear S2 Classic currently sold in US is Wifi only.

GEAR S
Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk

Sony smart watch 3 is best I have used
Embedded gps, custom kernels
I had the zenwatch
Sony is much faster
Also charge 10 times as fast

Gear S Original.

After some research, I decided to go for the Pebble Time. No fancy stuff, just functionality, great battery life and great support from the community.

I like my LG Urbane ... does the job nicely for me with pretty good battery life.

I have been through a pebble time, several AW watches and the samsung s2.
android wear has great features, more being added all the time, but getting them all to work reliably is more than troublesome (connectivity issues too). the gear s2 worked a bit more reliably, but naturally samsung screwed it all up by keeping everything proprietary, including but not limited to S-voice, which sucks... real hard.
i was waiting around with my Huawei watch for the speaker update to hit, but got to thinking about my overall experience and the lackluster of making calls on the watch.
i have reverted to the pebble time. it just works. i can't say the same about any of the others. i am a bit of a power user so things have to work for me. pebble time steel on the way.

Melissakis said:
After some research, I decided to go for the Pebble Time. No fancy stuff, just functionality, great battery life and great support from the community.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Personally I love my Pebble Time Steel

Few days back I've buyed myself a Moto 360, and I gotta say I'm really happy with it. It works like a charm. I'm really suprised that you need just max. 30min to charge it from 0-100%. Do you have any awesome watchfaces that you recommend???

Kinsman-UK said:
Me too
I posted my Moto 360 42mm vs Huawei Watch pros and cons over on the Moto 360 2nd Gen forums:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=63194709&postcount=4
Have a read down the whole thread to get some good insights from others too. These are the three I'm considering, as I'm only interested in Android Wear:
Huawei Watch forums: http://forum.xda-developers.com/huawei-watch
Moto 260 2nd Gen forums: http://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-360-2015
Asus Zenwatch 2 forums: http://forum.xda-developers.com/zenwatch-2
Pretty much decided on the 42mm Moto 360 though! :good:
There are lots of good video reviews on YouTube too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using Moto 360 1st gen for more than a year now and trying to find another watch for update. I tried several smartwatches on and compared the feel of Huawei, Moto 360 2nd gen, LG Urbane and Gear S2 @bestbuy. Strangely enough LG Urbane was looking the most masculine and robust, have some solid build feel to them. Needless to say that the screen is very sharp OLED [something that Motos 360 lacking] and packing 400mAh battery in! I'm wondering how they do in terms of music playback. I workout a lot and just use my Moto 360 with bluetooth headset (Plantronics Back Beat Fit something) and it works good, decent SQ but battery life is just for 1 hour of playback, may be 1h 20m max. So I always have to charge, be at 100% on my watch before each workout. Can someone comment on SQ and battery life at such scenario? Thanx
Another option is Gear S2 and they look fine, being tiny and light can be an advantage at the gym, right? Apparently it'll be easier to hide them under the sleeve (of hoodie or shirt). But that tiny 250mAh battery? Can it even handle 1h workout with non-stop music playback? May be Tizen is more energy efficient than AndroidWear? Can someone comment as well. Thanx in advance!
I also wonder if Tizen has better and more user friendly Music app (on a watch) because the one of AndroidWear is ugly, buggy and more of an afterthought or early alpha built! Like you gotta scroll thru your whole library, say 30 albums, to turn shuffle on! Syncing is a mess too!
If I don't use my Moto 360 as standalone mp3 player then it rocks 2 days easily on a single charge! Notifications, voice control and other stuff work just fine!

alexsoin said:
I'm using Moto 360 1st gen for more than a year now and trying to find another watch for update. I tried several smartwatches on and compared the feel of Huawei, Moto 360 2nd gen, LG Urbane and Gear S2 @bestbuy. Strangely enough LG Urbane was looking the most masculine and robust, have some solid build feel to them. Needless to say that the screen is very sharp OLED [something that Motos 360 lacking] and packing 400mAh battery in! I'm wondering how they do in terms of music playback. I workout a lot and just use my Moto 360 with bluetooth headset (Plantronics Back Beat Fit something) and it works good, decent SQ but battery life is just for 1 hour of playback, may be 1h 20m max. So I always have to charge, be at 100% on my watch before each workout. Can someone comment on SQ and battery life at such scenario? Thanx
Another option is Gear S2 and they look fine, being tiny and light can be an advantage at the gym, right? Apparently it'll be easier to hide them under the sleeve (of hoodie or shirt). But that tiny 250mAh battery? Can it even handle 1h workout with non-stop music playback? May be Tizen is more energy efficient than AndroidWear? Can someone comment as well. Thanx in advance!
I also wonder if Tizen has better and more user friendly Music app (on a watch) because the one of AndroidWear is ugly, buggy and more of an afterthought or early alpha built! Like you gotta scroll thru your whole library, say 30 albums, to turn shuffle on! Syncing is a mess too!
If I don't use my Moto 360 as standalone mp3 player then it rocks 2 days easily on a single charge! Notifications, voice control and other stuff work just fine!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the s2 is beautiful, and Tizen has much less bloat than Android. I got about 2 days out of it easy while i had it. the battery life is much more stable than with Android Wear too. very consistent. i cant speak for the music app, but if you poke around on the web youll likely find that Tizen would be much more suitable.
all of that said... none of them work very well. it took me months of playing with different watches to recognize that the technology just isnt very developed, and that these watches are all seriously lacking somehow. it's going to be at least another year or two before youre able to reliably and consistently get the performance you are looking for.
i bought a pebble steel and a pebble time steel for the price of one of those watches, and i am much much happier now. it's primitive in relativity, but it actually works.

alexsoin said:
I also wonder if Tizen has better and more user friendly Music app (on a watch) because the one of AndroidWear is ugly, buggy and more of an afterthought or early alpha built! Like you gotta scroll thru your whole library, say 30 albums, to turn shuffle on! Syncing is a mess too!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't use mine much for music control or playing music direct from the watch, but when I do I use PowerAmp and PowerAmp Remote for Android Wear (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.nefastudio.android.nfpoweramp_wear). It allows me to browse my entire music collection (stored on external SD on my Note 4) from my watch by Artist, Album or Folder - very handy! You also have access to EQ controls etc direct from the watch. The PowerAmp Remote can be started direct from your watch without taking out your phone.
I've found this to be pretty much all I need, although I do also use WearMedia when I want to play music direct from the watch (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=qubin.de.wearmedia) which is excellent.
I would be very hesitant to go the Tizen route, as I've found that I can find an app for almost anything I want on Android Wear, but I very much doubt that would be the case on Tizen.

Kinsman-UK said:
I don't use mine much for music control or playing music direct from the watch, but when I do I use PowerAmp and PowerAmp Remote for Android Wear (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.nefastudio.android.nfpoweramp_wear). It allows me to browse my entire music collection (stored on external SD on my Note 4) from my watch by Artist, Album or Folder - very handy! You also have access to EQ controls etc direct from the watch. The PowerAmp Remote can be started direct from your watch without taking out your phone.
I've found this to be pretty much all I need, although I do also use WearMedia when I want to play music direct from the watch (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=qubin.de.wearmedia) which is excellent.
I would be very hesitant to go the Tizen route, as I've found that I can find an app for almost anything I want on Android Wear, but I very much doubt that would be the case on Tizen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I gotta try WearMedia and see how music playback and files transfer works, IMO even slightest improvements over PlayMusic (google junk) will be a win! Thanks a bunch.
I use PowerAmp on my Note 4 as well but I prefer to leave it in a locker room while I'm working out. Less distractions and device is kinda bulky
---------- Post added at 09:07 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:53 AM ----------
WaxysDargle said:
the s2 is beautiful, and Tizen has much less bloat than Android. I got about 2 days out of it easy while i had it. the battery life is much more stable than with Android Wear too. very consistent. i cant speak for the music app, but if you poke around on the web youll likely find that Tizen would be much more suitable.
all of that said... none of them work very well. it took me months of playing with different watches to recognize that the technology just isnt very developed, and that these watches are all seriously lacking somehow. it's going to be at least another year or two before youre able to reliably and consistently get the performance you are looking for.
i bought a pebble steel and a pebble time steel for the price of one of those watches, and i am much much happier now. it's primitive in relativity, but it actually works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wouldn't personally call regular S2 beautiful S2 Calssic is better but not worth 400 bucks it's sold for. I don't have experience with Tizen and majority of reviews isn't good tho! AndroidWear's bloat apparently makes notifications and voice controls much more useful than those on Tizen. Gotta do some more research I guess. Pebbles isn't my thing since they couldn't be used as standalone mp3 players! Thanx

alexsoin said:
I gotta try WearMedia and see how music playback and files transfer works, IMO even slightest improvements over PlayMusic (google junk) will be a win! Thanks a bunch.
I use PowerAmp on my Note 4 as well but I prefer to leave it in a locker room while I'm working out. Less distractions and device is kinda bulky
---------- Post added at 09:07 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:53 AM ----------
I wouldn't personally call regular S2 beautiful S2 Calssic is better but not worth 400 bucks it's sold for. I don't have experience with Tizen and majority of reviews isn't good tho! AndroidWear's bloat apparently makes notifications and voice controls much more useful than those on Tizen. Gotta do some more research I guess. Pebbles isn't my thing since they couldn't be used as standalone mp3 players! Thanx
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ya, sorry, i meant the s2 classic.
tizen is solid. i was very skeptical but after owning one it was waaaay better than i thought. android wear has serious issues that tizen does not. the main thing lacking on tizen is voice command. its horrible. notifications on tizen were much more reliable than android wear

S-Health on S2

Hi All,
I have bumped into limited activities on S2 s-health app such as circuits, HIT, aerobics, weight training or just simple sports tracking. The ones pre-loaded on s2 are very limited and really useless. So if i want to track my exercising i have to set up on walking or running which records useless parameters such as speed, why on earth would you need your speed whilst training in weights section
I can see that there are a lot more selections on s-health app but you can only track it fro your phone standalone from s2 gear.
now is there a way to sync or add more sports activities into s2?
I would appreciate if you could guide me.
Thanks

Id like to know this too!

For now unfortunately no.

I have the exact same problem! I don't understand why Samsung hasn't included more activities? There is so much more space to turn the bazzle for more activities!

I just want, at least, an "other" category that tracks heart rate and estimates calories burned

Jrobsky said:
I just want, at least, an "other" category that tracks heart rate and estimates calories burned
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Click to collapse
Yeah "other" or general gym would do as well. Not practical to measure your gym workout under walking
Any solution yet anyone?

I agree with the rest, this would be very useful, i like to go kayaking, it would be very helpful to have that as an option on the watch. You would not think it would be to difficult for them to make the ability to have the same activities on the watch as on the phone. Hopefully they will get something done with it soon.

You would think that this new amazing watch would do at LEAST what the crappy little Gear Fit did from which I upgraded... So far I'm not overly impressed... no Google Now, no sleep monitoring, no real customization... maybe with time there will be more functionality, but I am wondering (since I just got it 3 days ago) if I should have went with the Moto 360 g2 instead...

That sums up Samsung great hardware but piss poor software integration and updates, so an article the other day saying their own employees say this !!!

Look at the picture i post, it is the same with sleep tracking, i am so disapointed ... my last sam**** product ...

svavrek said:
You would think that this new amazing watch would do at LEAST what the crappy little Gear Fit did from which I upgraded... So far I'm not overly impressed... no Google Now, no sleep monitoring, no real customization... maybe with time there will be more functionality, but I am wondering (since I just got it 3 days ago) if I should have went with the Moto 360 g2 instead...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From what i have been able to gather from outside sources.
It is the Tizen OS.
I have used an app for working out called JEFIT, i use the Pro version.
This is a very good app.
I contacted them to see about future app updates and watch integration. With Tizen, Android Wear, and Apple.
They did not give me a full answer but did answer with using the Apple watch as an example.
I do see that there should be something very soon to be able to get this watch in the field it should be.
The other problem:
most people that want a smartwatch are not Lift Junkies, more of cardio junkies.
So the market to create and adapt for the lifters to utilize isnt as high as everyone else who wants to use the GPS to track distance and speed, as well as how much cardio they did.
I have been rethinking the whole watch thing too.
Im beginning to think i should have gotten the Moto 360 g2

I ended up saying F Samsung. Traded in, got the LG Urbane and the new V10 and sooooooooooooo happy! Never looking back.

Anybody ever figure this out? I don't understand why there isn't other options other than running and walking and hiking and biking
Sent from my SM-G928V using Tapatalk

svavrek said:
I ended up saying F Samsung. Traded in, got the LG Urbane and the new V10 and sooooooooooooo happy! Never looking back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What's your battery life like and does Google actually offer many more apps ?
Sent from my SM-G935F using XDA-Developers mobile app

Samsung Gear 3 Frontier and Golf GPS apps

Has anyone used any GPS apps on the Samsung Gear 3 Frontier? i'm keen to get the watch but want it to have this capability, in particular to use as a golf GPS

nashman888 said:
Has anyone used any GPS apps on the Samsung Gear 3 Frontier? i'm keen to get the watch but want it to have this capability, in particular to use as a golf GPS
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is one of the main reasons (ok, in truth there are probably closer to 5 main reasons :laugh I have my order patiently waiting at Samsung.com since 11/20/2016. I believe there is an app called Navi or Navi+ that is supposed to work with S2, and apparently will work with S3 as well. I currently use both my phone and my MS Band 2 for golf, but with MS apparently dropping releasing further iterations, the S3 was a clear winner for me based off my other "smartwatch" needs (although I still intend wearing both the Band 2 and the S3).
However, I have not been able to clearly identify any apps that will "definitely" do what I require for a golf app (track score, show distances, and work independently from my phone). My golf buddy who has an Apple Watch 2 is still waiting for a decent golf app on that.....so I'm holding out hope that something decent will be done for the S3 before his watch. Anyone know if Navi or any other app is workable yet on S3?

hsolo said:
This is one of the main reasons (ok, in truth there are probably closer to 5 main reasons :laugh I have my order patiently waiting at Samsung.com since 11/20/2016. I believe there is an app called Navi or Navi+ that is supposed to work with S2, and apparently will work with S3 as well. I currently use both my phone and my MS Band 2 for golf, but with MS apparently dropping releasing further iterations, the S3 was a clear winner for me based off my other "smartwatch" needs (although I still intend wearing both the Band 2 and the S3).
However, I have not been able to clearly identify any apps that will "definitely" do what I require for a golf app (track score, show distances, and work independently from my phone). My golf buddy who has an Apple Watch 2 is still waiting for a decent golf app on that.....so I'm holding out hope that something decent will be done for the S3 before his watch. Anyone know if Navi or any other app is workable yet on S3?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I saw a post on another forum that someone had used Golf Navi on a S3 and was impressed with the speed and accuracy of the readings. I've been watching for reports also and was told that Golf Navi ran natively on the watch. There is also another app by Golfzon called Smart Caddie that looks encouraging.
I bought a S3 Frontier LTE 2 days ago and set it up with the IOS beta app but unfortunately I could not download the golf apps from the store using the beta app. I'm returning it until the S3 and iPhone play well together.
For you Apple Watch friend: I have a AW2 and am using FunGolf. It's not free but has the best graphics of any Golf GPS app or standalone watch I've ever seen. Also will use the AW2 GPS when the iPhone is not present or out of range. If they would convert the app for the Gear S3 it would be a real winner!

TScottTX said:
I saw a post on another forum that someone had used Golf Navi on a S3 and was impressed with the speed and accuracy of the readings. I've been watching for reports also and was told that Golf Navi ran natively on the watch. There is also another app by Golfzon called Smart Caddie that looks encouraging.
I bought a S3 Frontier LTE 2 days ago and set it up with the IOS beta app but unfortunately I could not download the golf apps from the store using the beta app. I'm returning it until the S3 and iPhone play well together.
For you Apple Watch friend: I have a AW2 and am using FunGolf. It's not free but has the best graphics of any Golf GPS app or standalone watch I've ever seen. Also will use the AW2 GPS when the iPhone is not present or out of range. If they would convert the app for the Gear S3 it would be a real winner!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like me - I had thought about buying a golf watch for a couple hundred bucks, and for another hundred I get this?! Sold!
I've got those two apps, and GolfPad ( http://golfpadgps.com/#golf-pad ) installed on my S3, but it's been too cold to play since I've had my watch!
All three will keep score, and show distances on the watch (although GolfPad does it only on the premium, $20/yr version). When you say independent of the watch, I assume you mean the GPS distance. You're still going to have the phone in the bag/cart, right? Unless you've got the LTE version, you'll need the phone to download courses. But it does look like all three will use the watch GPS to show distance.
GolfPad will use the GPS on the watch, but only in the premium version. ($20/year). It does say that they are a "Samsung Strategic Partner" right on their home page, so I'm thinking they should have pretty good compatibility! (It does already list our watch as a supported device). They also have the tags that you can put on the end of your club to track distances on clubs, and supposedly, will account for current and target elevation, and give you a club recommendation. Sounds great, but curious on real-life usage. (Some reviews say the tags are annoying because you have to tap them against your phone or a belt sensor before each shot. (So I'm considering Arccos, but it's way more expensive).

"When you say independent of the watch, I assume you mean the GPS distance." Absolutely....yes, download the course via the phone's connection for my Band 2 days before I play......but then don't need the phone anymore for yardages because I can use the GPS in the Band 2. Exact same way I want the S3 to work. It's no good having my phone in a golf cart 20 yards away at my partners ball, when I want to see the yardage from my ball.
I had a quick look at Golf Pad (free version), and will give that a shot prior to me taking delivery of my S3. If it works great, I have no problem paying a yearly subscription.
I could never bring myself to put tags anywhere on my clubs (unless at the range). Besides, isn't part of the fun for golf the mental arithmetic used in calculating your yardages hit in your head? Or am I just weird.......

Awesome info everyone. Thanks for taking the time to reply. I think I'm going to go ahead with the purchase. I might just wait till after xmas when the silly season ends

Saw this YouTube review on the watch with GolfNavi. It's over 1/2 hour long - he does a whole unboxing, taking it out on the course, and a lot of filler, but if you fast forward to 21:08, he gives his review.
Still a little long, but does answer a lot of questions. It can be used by itself without a phone, but doesn't have a lot of features you'd find on a phone - for example, distances to hazards. Basically says it would be a good supplement to a phone app.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJPbGUa13v8

More good info here from a fellow forum member using the GolfPad app...
http://forum.xda-developers.com//ge...best-1-day-t3512736/post70305030#post70305030

I used the Gear S3 Frontier (non LTE version) Golf Navi App on Monday. Before the S3, I used the Motorola MotoActiv.
I'm used to using a stand alone golf watch without the phone.
On Monday i wore both watches and compared them.
Finding the Golf Course on the S3 was as easy as determining the State and City and picking the course.
At the 1st hole the S3 gave me distance to the back, center and front of the green.
There was a minimal of 3 - 4 yards difference between the watches.
The MotoActiv allows me to set which tees I play from, it.
The MotoActiv allows me to mark where I hit my next shot from.
This lets me review my round and see my distances and where in the fairways (or rough, or out of bounds), I hit from.
I was not able to find anything like that on the Golf Navi.
Also missing from Golf Navi was scoring a Penalty Stroke and Hazard locations.
Monday was "cart path only". I had the phone in the cart and left BT on, on the Phone.
Every time i came back to the cart, the S3 vibrated it was connected back to the phone.
Throughout the 9 hole round, I got text messages, emails, and other notifications to the S3 (when i was in BT range of the phone).
I will need to play more with Golf Navi and phone companion Golf Note apps to see anything I missed.

Thanks for the replies everyone. Great info here. I think I'd be happy if i just get distance to green to be honest. Not expecting this to track shots or even show me hazard distances etc. After all its not a dedicated golf watch. I'd love to see some people who own the watch upload some more youtube videos. That review on coursr was ok but id like to see the display etc on coursr

Gear 3
Have just installed latest GolfNavi for Gear S3. One round and what a difference to the Gear S2 version. Clearer face, easier shot recording, auto advance on holes and seems to know the course better not mixing up the In and Out 9 as the earlier version which often caused confusion on Hole 10 which was the real fault of that version. I stopped using it in favour of Golfpad which doesn't have as good a face as Navi and does not auto advance of holes which annoys me (like GolfShot which was my old favourite but non Tizen) but now it seems fine and will be my App of choice for the moment! Add standalone GPS so phone doesn't need to be handy and I think it's a winner. Shame it shows elevation making it illegal for serious competitions.

Robo4609 said:
Have just installed latest GolfNavi for Gear S3. One round and what a difference to the Gear S2 version. Clearer face, easier shot recording, auto advance on holes and seems to know the course better not mixing up the In and Out 9 as the earlier version which often caused confusion on Hole 10 which was the real fault of that version. I stopped using it in favour of Golfpad which doesn't have as good a face as Navi and does not auto advance of holes which annoys me (like GolfShot which was my old favourite but non Tizen) but now it seems fine and will be my App of choice for the moment! Add standalone GPS so phone doesn't need to be handy and I think it's a winner. Shame it shows elevation making it illegal for serious competitions.
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I bought my S3 Frontier LTE 50% for use with a Golf GPS app. Unfortunately I'm on the IOS Gear S app and can't download any paid apps
A question or two on the GolfNAVI app; does it require any companion app on your phone or is it self contained on the watch? I'm assuming it shows front, center back of the greens - does it show any layups or hazards? Also, have you looked at or used Smartcaddie?

Samsung Gear S3 as a Golf GPS watch review
In my never ending search for the perfect Golf GPS watch I setup my new Samsung Gear S3 Frontier LTE last night, loaded a couple of golf apps and headed to the course this morning. Skies were sunny and temp hit ~60 degrees when I finished around 12:30.
The watch was set to cellular, no Bluetooth connection so your battery results may vary. Started with 100% battery and after a 3½ hour round I had 64% left. I fiddled a lot with the watch, watch face always on and received a few text messages.
The apps loaded were Golf NAVI and Smart Caddie, both free from the Galaxy Store, both are standalone apps that need no smartphone link as long as you download the course before you leave an internet connection. With my LTE cellular connection, the courses downloaded at the course. There are other apps available: Golf Pad and Hole19 which are also free to download but need to be paired with your smart watch. I also took along my iPhone and ran Golfshot Plus for yardage comparisons.
I’ve also owned and used various Garmin watches in the past, the Approach S6, S20 and X40. Although I liked them, they were good only for golf and notifications from them, ie texts and phone calls, disappeared quickly and the vibration was hard for me to feel. I also gave the Apple Watch Series 2 a go but there was no real standalone app for it. To be able to use its GPS chip you had to turn bluetooth off and thus had no contact with your phone for calls or text messages. Kind of defeated the purpose of a smartphone watch. The Samsung Gear S3, on the other hand, alerted me to text messages that I could easily answer. Phone calls are a snap. Bottom side however was that the Samsung Gear S3 was a little hard to see in the bright sun. I could easily see the center green yardage but the front and back readings were too small to see in the bright sun. Next time out I’ll try turning up the screen brightness but today I was concerned with battery life. My screen brightness level was set to 7.
Now, to the accuracy. I was a bit disappointed in Smart Caddie, at first, as the yardages were 10 to 20 yards below the reading from Golfshot. I’ve been using Golfshot for years and the yardages from Golfshot on my course are pretty close to the markers. Well, once I got home I noticed that I had Smart Caddie set to meters rather than yards and once I did the conversions the numbers were very close. Golf NAVI was spot on in yardage, maybe even more accurate that Golfshot. Golf NAVI also showed the elevation change from your location to the green. Maybe not so accurate but pretty cool nonetheless.
Attached are a couple of pics from the teeing area of our 9th green. You’ll see the marker at 129 yds, Golfshot shows 126 yds, Smart Caddie at 121 meters = 132 yds and Golf NAVI spot on at 129 yds. Results were similar around the course at fairway markers and 150 poles.
Golf NAVI has a screen named “green” that just says coming soon so that sounds encouraging. Neither Gear S3 app showed yardages other than front/center/back so some hazards and layup distances would be nice. Both apps would do scorekeeping but just score and putts, no provision for other stats or your buddies score.
All said the Gear S3 with its cellular connection will fit my needs perfectly. Leave the phone at home, be able to get important calls or messages and get accurate readings to the green. Hopefully as time goes on the apps will mature and become even more useful.

Hi. did you install golf app on G3 via an iPone (iOS) for samsung device?
I have an iOS and unable to install golf apps on my G3.

mikemakeitso said:
Hi. did you install golf app on G3 via an iPone (iOS) for samsung device?
I have an iOS and unable to install golf apps on my G3.
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No, not installed via IOS! I purchased a cheap Android phone (without service) to download the apps from the Galaxy Store. My watch is set up as a Standalone using AT&T's Numbersync so I'm able to get texts and phone calls via my iPhone number but still able to install apps via the Android phone.

"Still a little long, but does answer a lot of questions. It can be used by itself without a phone, but doesn't have a lot of features you'd find on a phone - for example, distances to hazards"
I can never understand this..why would they leave hazard distances out? It's just a set of data points like green positions and pretty essential to know (like distance to doglegs) if you are playing a new course. Being interested in the watch I also had a look at Golfpad and on their site they posted a reply to a question about stand-alone operation by saying that due to the way Samsung have implemented things you can't use the watch GPS on it's own..which is exactly what most people would want to do.
---------- Post added at 10:40 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:33 AM ----------
Useful review..many thanks. Those front and back figures though are way to small, getting your reading glasses out every shot is no fun!

I'm a GolfPad user myself. I always keep my phone in my pocket anyways, while on the course, because I use their Golf Tags to mark my shot locations easily.
I've used it on the Pebble, Android wear devices, Gear S2, and now Gear S3 and all have worked great.
Also : If you ever run into any issues with the app (or the golf tags), their support is amazing. I've had multiple exchanges with their support, and my suggestions were taken into consideration and included in newer releases of the app.

I tried out all the apps available and the one I liked most overall was Golf Navi. Even though Hole 19 used much less battery power than the others, it required having the companion app open on my phone. Any of them will do me on my home course, but I play a couple of tournaments each month and knowing the distance to hazards and doglegs is crucial on courses I'm not familiar with. For that reason, I'll probably only use the S3 for my home course and go back to Golfshot for the others.
Sent from my SM-T530NU using Tapatalk

Looks like using the S3 GPS for golfpad might not happen let alone a standalone app.
http://support.golfpadgps.com/support/discussions/topics/6000042514

rahadza said:
Looks like using the S3 GPS for golfpad might not happen let alone a standalone app.
http://support.golfpadgps.com/support/discussions/topics/6000042514
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I don't get their reasoning, since there are other standalone golf apps that work fine, but must short on features.

Gear VR 2018

Hello to all
i am thinking about buying the Gear VR 2018 for the note9.
is it worthit buying it or should i choose other option?
what are the advantages about gear VR? maybe exclusive features for samsung users?

mclaudio said:
Hello to all
i am thinking about buying the Gear VR 2018 for the note9.
is it worthit buying it or should i choose other option?
what are the advantages about gear VR? maybe exclusive features for samsung users?
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Click to collapse
IMO even the latest VR is still pretty bad regarding being very pixelation and bad clarity. The only real time I can see myself using it is on a airplane to watch a movie and very occasionally playing a game. I really wish the experience was better but seeing how you're putting this phone half inch away from your face I don't see how it couldn't look bad.

mclaudio said:
i am thinking about buying the Gear VR 2018 for the note9.
is it worthit buying it or should i choose other option?
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Click to collapse
I don't know about exclusive features, I guess just some stuff like Samsung Internet working on it or, Gallery app..
But for mobile VR in general it is nice.
I was divided between getting an Oculus Go or the Gear, but, the Go has the 64GB storage while my Note 9 offers 512gb, so more games and movies on it while not worrying that much about space. Also, it cost me 1/3 of the price.
Then from what I have read, both options (Note 9 Gear, or Oculus Go) run the same games/apps from Oculus Store. That was the deciding factor for me. No Oculus Go exclusives, so why bother.
One could argue that while my Gear and/or Note 9 will be left behing in a near future, when I change phones, or a new/better mobile VR solution is released like the Oculus Quest etc. At that time the Oculus Go as a standalone product would still have some use, even if just gifting it away to someone or storing is for future nostalgia. But idk.. I just don't care about that with this specific niche (first gen mobile VR).
One thing though.. I had a Dome glass cover perfectly installed, and ruined the bottom part of it (small 1mm x 10mm area on the bottom center). Because I used my Note 9 with the old adapter, as I have not yet gotten the new, proper adapter, so it forced the screen a bit. Be sure to use the proper adapter, even though it works without it.

thanks a lot for the feedback.
it helped me a lot... i think that maybe it is not yet the time to invest in this tech

Got the Gear VR free with my Note 9 last month. It works well, tracks well and is immersive. Main thing I have to worry about it the wife taking pictures of me with it on and posting to my friends and family

I also have gear vr headset and here in Poland there is very big troble in getting that proper connector, no one here knows anything about that connector, when we will gets it and if it will be available here. So for now for me there is no VR experience with Note9. And on the other hand i am still waiting for some "magician" build device that can have it`s own 2k resolution screens (one for each eye) but device that can use power and other resources from phone. That would be great because phone manufacturers don`t have to mount 4k screens in their products just to have enough PPI density for best vr experience. I know, i know, dreams for now but maybe reality in future?