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Of course this only matters to facebook lovers.
Right now the official list of phones that'll support Facebook Home at launch is as follows: HTC One, HTC One X, HTC One X+, Galaxy S3, Galaxy S4, Galaxy Note II, and of course the HTC First.
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http://www.androidcentral.com/facebook-home-coming-ice-cream-sandwich-and-jelly-bean-only
FC_Home in a S3 on 1:30 Vid: http://www.androidcentral.com/hands-htc-first
Great Hands-on from verge:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfRRhycN8nI
But is very interesting to know if S4 smart\gestures will be well integrated with FC_Home.
Can you imagine being able to control FC_Home with known S4 movements of hands and eyes. Competition will be very jealous of that. :crying: ehehehehe
like i said, only for facebook lovers.
.
I know, I can't wait to try it when I get my S4
that's a very intrusive launcher though o.o
I doubt I'll keep it, but I'll definitely try it!
Here is a FULL Hans-On in a Galaxy Note 2.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEN9zN4PEQs
Really smooth, i'm impressed.
.
I think this will be a something that many -who don't really use Facebook so much- will try and then dump. The majority of Facebook users are unaware or even scared to change their launcher so they are unlikely to adopt it. Another problem will be if it does not support the OEM's widgets that many are so fond of.
It going to be really interesting year ahead
If I had the money I would probably invest in some Facebook shares right now while they are still relatively low!!
just disable ur facebook account and forget this crap
Has just been released and already some people despise the launcher.
In my opinion has interesting aspects and i'm very curious to test. I think people will soon be talking more about this FB home than many would expect, we'll see.
Is just 1 version and more adds will come, FB is a $$$ machine, dont start this for MarkZucker play his phone.
Wait and watch......
Someone said on phonearena,
"Millions of android users will try it, only few will keep it and then mark will tell us see it has got millions of downloads, just like he says 900 million people use facebook, but the reality is that there are millions of those accounts which are never used"
sent from: The New S-Pen
sohebq said:
Someone said on phonearena,
"Millions of android users will try it, only few will keep it and then mark will tell us see it has got millions of downloads, just like he says 900 million people use facebook, but the reality is that there are millions of those accounts which are never used"
sent from: The New S-Pen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ehehehe
I suspect these FB contradictory comes from someone who are scared and watching its potential.
In pair to gmail FB is the most used application all over the world from kids to old people, everyone has their account and visit it regularly, not to mention people who always connect FB when turn on their PC's..
Yesterday I shared on FB a video of the FBH, 5 minutes later a girl who can't distinguish the android from Ios ask me where she could buy one of these FBH phones, that says something.
I think FBH success will depend on 3 things;
- The ability to run on mid-range smartphones
- Technical capability of FBH devs to lower the data consumption.
- The ability to integrate ALL phone notifications.
If FBH become accessible to all pockets can quickly become a major consumer product. There are thousands FB fanatics that only lacking sleep with it, because many already eat with FB next.
Obviously if FBH will only available to consumers who have a Galaxy or a One will not have any success.
Always the great things have Lovers & Haters.
Yes no one can deny from popularity of facebook. What I best liked that I lost so many friends from school and college cz mobiles were not common then, I got them all back through facebook. I can easily keep myself updated to latest news. But yeah its the facebook app which makes it a terrible experience
sent from: The New S-Pen
I was thinking about HTC One, and then realized I couldn't have it and keep all my cool Apex customizations. Same for FB. Seems pretty primative, as far as launchers go. I would love to see more "blinkfeed" sort of competition though.
In my world, FB is dying a slow death. The only growth is among grandma's.
Let me say first I am a Samsung fanboy. But we all who adopted the gear 2 should come together to sue Samsung for a faulty product. After scanning over many pages of issues we are having with the gear 2 around application installs which seem to be based on some roulette wheel of success of an app will install or not, battery issues, having to do numerous factory resets, and with an even bigger slap to the face, bringing out another watch yet again in about 3 months. We have been sold on crap that we can't even take back. Clearly there is a product or software issue where many people have the same phones, many with stock Roms even on same carriers having mismatched results on app installs. Also while using Samsung phones. I believe this is a shot in the gut to the overall care that Samsung has for its customers. Which doesn't look good as we get in this viscous cycle of new this of what we sold you just a few months ago even though what we originally sold you we still haven't been fixed. Spending 200 plus for a digital watch with some really nice features doesn't justify inconsistency of product or a faulty os. We need to send a message to Samsung that this is not acceptable. And the biggest thing that has even impacted me, I have bought several apps that will not successfully install and I am no able to get a refund for. And this has happened to many people. We surely would be all over apple or any other maker if these things where going on. Yes Samsung makes great products that we love to have, but this watch and trend is totally unacceptable!
I would add to this claims for false advertisement about available apps. Example: Runtastic, mentioned in all the press releases as launch partner, still doesn't have a Gear 2 compatible app.
Also, cleverly planted hints for non-Samsung device support, which pushed many people with unsupported devices to buy the watch. Does anyone really think now this will ever happen?
I have no faults worth suing over plus you cold always just return the product no one forced you to keep the device I kean it isnt even a year old .why people love to sue if a big company like apple is in court for years how far you think wed get wake up and stop complaining.
DEMON GALAXY NO SOULS NOTED !!!!!
mpogr said:
I would add to this claims for false advertisement about available apps. Example: Runtastic, mentioned in all the press releases as launch partner, still doesn't have a Gear 2 compatible app.
Also, cleverly planted hints for non-Samsung device support, which pushed many people with unsupported devices to buy the watch. Does anyone really think now this will ever happen?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fleksy is currently vaporware as well.
I tweeted on it yesterday...
https://twitter.com/BigDanInTX/status/476529432971075585
While the Gear 2 line has been pretty popular, for what it is, it functions. It's the extra stuff that's the problem. Hardware is sound and the built-in software works (ymmv). Everything else is just gravy. I think the only way it would have traction if the hardware or built-in software had significant problems. The only thing I've installed is watchfaces, so to me, it's fine how it is. However, I do know that people are getting pretty fed up with not having access to the things everyone else does. I guess I'm just on the fence on it.
Well if everyone thought like you, nothing would ever get better and more people will get screwed over. If you are cool excepting just anything continue on till you personally get screwed. Don't worry I will be sympathetic to your situation. Next time I suggest you fully read before commenting. This comment was for diamantirecos.
sniickers said:
Well if everyone thought like you, nothing would ever get better and more people will get screwed over. If you are cool excepting just anything continue on till you personally get screwed. Don't worry I will be sympathetic to your situation. Next time I suggest you fully read before commenting. This comment was for diamantirecos.
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Click to collapse
Yeah so I read again just to please you and I stand by my comment .if you have the time and money to try to sue a giant like samsung go ahead. Plus if its faulty just factory reset and sell on ebay simple. And like I said we are early users is a new device what do you expect. But at the end of the day all users are different some issues some not. Thats life and I really can care less. I have better advice for you go get leagal advice about if you even have a case .
DEMON GALAXY NO SOULS NOTED !!!!!
Umm yea many mayor net source articles also state that mostly everything doesnt really work. What a shame because the hardware is up to par but the software not so much.
mpogr said:
I would add to this claims for false advertisement about available apps. Example: Runtastic, mentioned in all the press releases as launch partner, still doesn't have a Gear 2 compatible app.
Also, cleverly planted hints for non-Samsung device support, which pushed many people with unsupported devices to buy the watch. Does anyone really think now this will ever happen?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hate to say this, but Runtastic Pro IS available for the Gear 2!
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@henklbr: you're in Austria, right? The problem is it's not available anywhere else... I'm sick and tired trying to reach out to Runtastic and get a clear answer when the heck it's going to be available for everyone else.
Edit: sorry, just noticed you're from Netherlands. So it's available there too. What the f... is going on with Runtastic? Why can't they release the freaking app worldwide?
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
I'm perfectly happy with my watch, and thanks to these forums I knew exactly what I was getting before I bought it .
If I didn't like it, I would take it back.
I know these watches don't do half of what they will do in a year or two, but in the meantime at least I have a toy to play with. And thanks to XDA, it's a fun pastime for a nerd like me. And for $150 for the Neo, I really can't complain.
Sent from my SGH-I317 using Tapatalk
I just came from the Galaxy gear, although i would like to file a suite for getting 2 defective galaxy gears with bad cameras and making me pay the diffrence for the new watch.
Coming from the original gear the only thing I don't like about the gear 2 is the weak vibration. The sound is louder when on a call, charging is much easier, you can change the bands although I can't find any locally or even in the US for that matter. I think Samsung should have given previous gear owners something 20 app store credit something to that effect.
I hear ya, I had the gear2 and switched to the Neo and like not having the camera liability.
It is a nice toy and does what I need for now, but I can't wait til the watch has its own sim. Would be nice not having to carry a phone around everywhere. I frequently answer calls and spritz thru my email while my phone sits in my briefcase.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using xda app-developers app
raiu said:
I just came from the Galaxy gear, although i would like to file a suite for getting 2 defective galaxy gears with bad cameras and making me pay the diffrence for the new watch.
Coming from the original gear the only thing I don't like about the gear 2 is the weak vibration. The sound is louder when on a call, charging is much easier, you can change the bands although I can't find any locally or even in the US for that matter. I think Samsung should have given previous gear owners something 20 app store credit something to that effect.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You just have to find a band that fits its not a special band . Take ot to the watch store and ask the sales person.
DEMON GALAXY NO SOULS NOTED !!!!!
sniickers said:
Well if everyone thought like you, nothing would ever get better and more people will get screwed over. If you are cool excepting just anything continue on till you personally get screwed. Don't worry I will be sympathetic to your situation. Next time I suggest you fully read before commenting. This comment was for diamantirecos.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do not agree with you. If the device IS faulty, samsung should be responsible.
Perfectly happy here. None of these problems I've read.. Except for battery life. But I use the exercise part at least an hour a day so that probably drains it a bit.
Sent from my SM-G900T using XDA Free mobile app
bubblebuddyi said:
Perfectly happy here. None of these problems I've read.. Except for battery life. But I use the exercise part at least an hour a day so that probably drains it a bit.
Sent from my SM-G900T using XDA Free mobile app
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Click to collapse
Simple way to improve battery life. 1. Turn off wake up motion. Theres no need to have your wach wake everytime you raise your hand. 2. Put the screen off time to 5 sec. 3. Lower brightness to 2.. thats should give you about 3 days . But honestly you could charge yor watch every night its not a big deal I mean who sleeps with a watch anyway. With these setting I dont im not a power user lol. But you know what these watch is alot more useful than a $8900 plus rolex that only tells time.
DEMON GALAXY NO SOULS NOTED !!!!!
Without even commenting on your issues, here's what you can expect. The LG G2x had major problems related to its battery circuitry which were proven by a third-party engineer. It affected almost all the phones T-Mobile sold. I had one, I know. Legal action was threatened starting in early 2011 and a class action suit was filed mid year. The case settled in December 2013. Everyone got $19 but I'm sure the lawyers got amply compensated.
So carry on Norma Rae. Keep in mind Samsung's lawyers are probably tougher and more plentiful than LG's. And in the G2x's case there were real demonstrated issues.
wow.... LG settled out for a whopping $19 per each affected user and the "issues" still didn't get fixed.
you gotta love how some people's first reaction is to SUE when something doesn't quite work the way they think.... everyone has an itch i guess
good luck with this half baked idea.... im sure there's a bunch of clauses within the EULA that protect companies from these types of people.
you know that little part of new software that states "check here if you agree to the terms and conditions within" and you do without actually spending 6 days reading it? well there you go.
Some of you and your posts are kind of sad of your general overall lack of concern for what is an legitimate problem. A prime example of how the larger group crushes the smaller and supported by few in the pockets. I would not be surprised if you have a vested interest in Samsung or the watch itself. I personally don't wish to spend my time addressing the flawed thinking you show with your comments and how it directly relates to how we have simple violation of consumer producer relationship. If you have had a good experience, I am glad for you. Go start your own thread ayn share. We all got our own opinions, but save them for an appropriate thread that reflects it. I would rather keep this thread clean and not garbled up with useless statements of why you disagree with clearly a legitimate concern of a faulty product that has affected many people.
Might I also mention what I forgot to mention in my previous post, ever since I downloaded some application, don't know which one. Because I have reset both my phone and watch several times and flashed all 3 firmwares for the gear 2. But when my watch is on and connected to my phone anytime I get a call my phone automatically answers. Only when the gear is connected. I thoroughly checked and troubled shooted ever gesture based and auto answer feature on the gear 2 and my phone and even turned them all off. This is a very serious liability concern for me being I work in a multi billion dollar business in which very sensitive information could be leaked and place myself as well as my company in a serious litigation suit. Needless to say I cannot use the watch in my work environment anymore at least connected to my phone, which for now makes in my work environment my watch a over glorified digital watch which cannot function as it was sold and bought to do. Being myself a day one adopter and purchaser of the gear, returning it is not an option nor am I willing to reset it and sell it on eBay to be an issue for someone else as previously suggested. The overall lack of consideration of this matter and suggesting I should dump it on someone else is a prime example of how things like this continue to happen. I feel sorry for any of you who may happen to get taken advantage of and not find any assistance. But I assume you'll just dump it off on someone else instead of making the 'causer' accountable. Smh.
Snickers, what phone are u using and is it stock os? Most of the folks who are NOT using custom roms are working exactly as designed. Mine has worked flawless on my Note 3 rooted stock. No real mods to the phone. If you are not stock and you are not on compatible phone, no lawyer would even consider your case. Using outside of design parameters is instant dismissal from any court in a case like this. Now for the other person wanting to hit Samsung because of aftermarket software companies NOT delivering, you have to take action against them, unless any of those companies are wholly-owned by Samsung themselves. Either case, you would be hard pressed to find a litigation team willing to attempt this.
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk
http://androidcommunity.com/samsung-releases-full-teaser-for-upcoming-gear-s2-smartwatch-20150820/
If this is the best new thing in your Smartwatch lineup, i think I'll pass and stick with my Biktor_gj Gear S. Stop copying apple. Stop forcing Tizen on your users. And please stop tying us down to Samsung phones with your watches. I use to be a HUGE Samsung supporter and loyal customer, but I'm really starting to look at other options. I'm really not liking their strategy/ agenda/ motives/ business model this year.
Sent from my LG-H631 using XDA Free mobile app
Why complain on xda forums. Posting here Samsung won't get a whiff of this post. They clearly are not copying Apple, I see way more differences than similarities. See what Samsung's been good at doing is looking at competitors (Apple) and designing something better at a better price point. I don't like the Apple watch design but Samsung's UI in that video is rather sexy . I like the build design to. Tizen is now really well smoothed out, so if you're having issues with a smoothed out UI, then either its the old phone or maybe the person holding the phone haha xD Seriously though, I see you sent from LG, but they really aren't competitor worthy to Samsung. Apple is Samsung's only real competition. If you can only look at the bad in things then it's not that thing it might be your negative outlook. I mean all this in good humor, no disrespect but don't slam a company you can't even do better then. Also it is possible to use Samsung smartwatches on non Samsung devices.
tonys.94 said:
Why complain on xda forums. Posting here Samsung won't get a whiff of this post. They clearly are not copying Apple, I see way more differences than similarities. See what Samsung's been good at doing is looking at competitors (Apple) and designing something better at a better price point. I don't like the Apple watch design but Samsung's UI in that video is rather sexy . I like the build design to. Tizen is now really well smoothed out, so if you're having issues with a smoothed out UI, then either its the old phone or maybe the person holding the phone haha xD Seriously though, I see you sent from LG, but they really aren't competitor worthy to Samsung. Apple is Samsung's only real competition. If you can only look at the bad in things then it's not that thing it might be your negative outlook. I mean all this in good humor, no disrespect but don't slam a company you can't even do better then. Also it is possible to use Samsung smartwatches on non Samsung devices.
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Click to collapse
Thanks. I posted on a General Discussion sub. Lol. Im sorry for voicing my opinion and hurting your feelings. Thanks for preaching your Samsung gospel and your personal love for Tizen. I have now changed my current view and feelings toward Samsung thanks to your heavily informational reply. Let's get some things straight for you, you know, since you know me so well apparently. I've never once owned an Apple product nor do i care to, so don't think for one second I'm just an Apple Fanboy taking up for Apple. I've been a long time Samsung supporter and have always looked forward to getting their "New Best Thing". I, for the first time in 5 years had decided to switch me and my wife to T-Mobile from Sprint. Had to trade in my Galaxy S5 i might add to take advantage of their offer. Before that, i have owned every Galaxy S series down to the Samsung Fascinate. I have owned the Gear and Gear 2, and now the Gear S. As someone who appreciates for one a removable battery and expandable storage that Android (and Samsung has always offered), i decided i would test the waters and get a lil change of scenery and opt for the G4 instead of the way overpriced Galaxy S6 that clearly has its own issues (unless of course we can just blame the " user behind the phone " as you would rather do). You are blind (or just that much of a Samsung fanboy) if you don't see the obvious similarities in the Galaxy S6 and the iPhone 6 and now the Gear S2 and the Apple Watch UI. You love Tizen eh? Well good for you buddy. Most, including me would rather not have it anywhere near our watch. It's the devil! Thanks to a great dev @biktor_gj ,who has been able to work miracles getting rid of it, we don't have to have that junk on our watch anymore. When his current work is done and he releases a build, you're telling me you're not gonna flash it and go with Android instead of that extremely boring and flat and limited OS Tizen? Doubt it. My "old phone" btw, is a new Lg G4. For you you sit there and say it doesn't compare to Samsung, i would highly recommend you go do some research. When you have other reputable Android sites and news sources calling out Samsung for the very same thing i was venting about, then that's saying something. Need proof? Or you think you can handle the research yourself? Lmk. Also, i and many other loyal Samsung users have more than earned the right to complain. They're losing loyal customers. It's a fact. And wth are you talking about " i can't do better than "??? Lol. I love how you so smoothly throw it out there that you can connect this watch to another phone besides Samsung like it's just as simple and quick as connecting to a Samsung phone. Lol. My guess is you've never had to do it because you own a Samsung phone. But since you like to talk and assume things and accuse someone of not knowing how to operate their phone before doing your research maybe I'll help you out. Connecting our non Samsung phones to our Gear S is nothing short of a pain in the ... well you know where I'm going with that. Once you finally do find the many correct apks to install and hope it works, not to mention editing your build.prop and get it connected via bluetooth, guess what? We're limited to receiving notifications and making and receiving calls only. That's right. No apps. No Appstore. Not even weather data. (Most of those Tizen apps in the App Store are garbage anyway). So yeah. It's a little frustrating if you don't mind that is.....Since I'm not privileged enough to own the late great and best Samsung Galaxy S or Note series. It's clearly my fault. Run a poll and see if I'm alone in my feelings. Find out how many on this Gear S forum own a different phone other than Samsung. While you're at it, find out how many can't wait to flash CM 12.1 onto their watch (thanks to Biktor btw) vs keeping the oh so awesome Tizen.
farewell_goodbye2u said:
http://androidcommunity.com/samsung-releases-full-teaser-for-upcoming-gear-s2-smartwatch-20150820/
If this is the best new thing in your Smartwatch lineup, i think I'll pass and stick with my Biktor_gj Gear S. Stop copying apple. Stop forcing Tizen on your users. And please stop tying us down to Samsung phones with your watches. I use to be a HUGE Samsung supporter and loyal customer, but I'm really starting to look at other options. I'm really not liking their strategy/ agenda/ motives/ business model this year.
Sent from my LG-H631 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How exactly is this a copy of Apple? The round icons? Tizen has had them for some time, well before the iWatch. The original Gear S had them.
I'll have to wait and see, but the design looks 1000x better than either the iWatch or the original Gear S.
My main concern is how it looks and how it works. The Gear S is slow, the pedometer is a joke, the heart rate monitor is useless if you're moving even a little bit. It's got all the right ideas, but really poor execution.
farewell_goodbye2u said:
Thanks. I posted on a General Discussion sub. Lol. Im sorry for voicing my opinion and hurting your feelings. Thanks for preaching your Samsung gospel and your personal love for Tizen. I have now changed my current view and feelings toward Samsung thanks to your heavily informational reply. Let's get some things straight for you, you know, since you know me so well apparently. I've never once owned an Apple product nor do i care to, so don't think for one second I'm just an Apple Fanboy taking up for Apple. I've been a long time Samsung supporter and have always looked forward to getting their "New Best Thing". I, for the first time in 5 years had decided to switch me and my wife to T-Mobile from Sprint. Had to trade in my Galaxy S5 i might add to take advantage of their offer. Before that, i have owned every Galaxy S series down to the Samsung Fascinate. I have owned the Gear and Gear 2, and now the Gear S. As someone who appreciates for one a removable battery and expandable storage that Android (and Samsung has always offered), i decided i would test the waters and get a lil change of scenery and opt for the G4 instead of the way overpriced Galaxy S6 that clearly has its own issues (unless of course we can just blame the " user behind the phone " as you would rather do). You are blind (or just that much of a Samsung fanboy) if you don't see the obvious similarities in the Galaxy S6 and the iPhone 6 and now the Gear S2 and the Apple Watch UI. You love Tizen eh? Well good for you buddy. Most, including me would rather not have it anywhere near our watch. It's the devil! Thanks to a great dev @biktor_gj ,who has been able to work miracles getting rid of it, we don't have to have that junk on our watch anymore. When his current work is done and he releases a build, you're telling me you're not gonna flash it and go with Android instead of that extremely boring and flat and limited OS Tizen? Doubt it. My "old phone" btw, is a new Lg G4. For you you sit there and say it doesn't compare to Samsung, i would highly recommend you go do some research. When you have other reputable Android sites and news sources calling out Samsung for the very same thing i was venting about, then that's saying something. Need proof? Or you think you can handle the research yourself? Lmk. Also, i and many other loyal Samsung users have more than earned the right to complain. They're losing loyal customers. It's a fact. And wth are you talking about " i can't do better than "??? Lol. I love how you so smoothly throw it out there that you can connect this watch to another phone besides Samsung like it's just as simple and quick as connecting to a Samsung phone. Lol. My guess is you've never had to do it because you own a Samsung phone. But since you like to talk and assume things and accuse someone of not knowing how to operate their phone before doing your research maybe I'll help you out. Connecting our non Samsung phones to our Gear S is nothing short of a pain in the ... well you know where I'm going with that. Once you finally do find the many correct apks to install and hope it works, not to mention editing your build.prop and get it connected via bluetooth, guess what? We're limited to receiving notifications and making and receiving calls only. That's right. No apps. No Appstore. Not even weather data. (Most of those Tizen apps in the App Store are garbage anyway). So yeah. It's a little frustrating if you don't mind that is.....Since I'm not privileged enough to own the late great and best Samsung Galaxy S or Note series. It's clearly my fault. Run a poll and see if I'm alone in my feelings. Find out how many on this Gear S forum own a different phone other than Samsung. While you're at it, find out how many can't wait to flash CM 12.1 onto their watch (thanks to Biktor btw) vs keeping the oh so awesome Tizen.
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Click to collapse
I'll admit you bring some valid points to the table but Tizen has come a long way since its inception. I do plenty of modding and rather savy with computers so I know how to do some things. You had stated that the Gear S can't connect to other phones, I was simply pointing out you can. Believe me Samsung has other things to work out, but like I said, what they've been good at is looking at competitors and making their own versions better, that's what competitors do, and I gotta say Samsung continues to beat Apple. Idk if you actually have seen videos or used the Apple watch but the UI is definitely different than Apple's. It looks cleaned up, redesigned, better Tizen if that's what they're using. Tizen is one of Samsung's trademarks, just because you and less than majority, (or band wagon haters) think it's bad, apparently can't appreciate progress. There are things about Samsung I do not like and things I like about other companies. You see, if there were no negatives and positives about these separate companies, oligopolies arise. CM does do a great job, hence why I like One Plus. Now that I think of it, probably are a better upcoming competitor then Apple if they continue what their doing, (minus the invite system). The biggest thing for me is that AT&T and Verizon locked the bootloaders on the Note 4 which is terrible. The Gear S is a good watch but going from that to the Gear S 2 hella looks worth it considering the huge changes I'm seeing here. I love modding, rooting and exploring other mobile OS's but all in all Samsung does a great job. Their is beauty in their programming. Can it be improved, well everything can be improved. Nothing is in its final stages.
tedkord said:
How exactly is this a copy of Apple? The round icons? Tizen has had them for some time, well before the iWatch. The original Gear S had them.
I'll have to wait and see, but the design looks 1000x better than either the iWatch or the original Gear S.
My main concern is how it looks and how it works. The Gear S is slow, the pedometer is a joke, the heart rate monitor is useless if you're moving even a little bit. It's got all the right ideas, but really poor execution.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah. At first glance, it's hard to deny the icons are pretty similar. They're even in a circled order format like the iWatch. Now, as for the rest... Yeah. I'm really digging the design as well. Looks pretty sharp other than what looks to be another rubber wrist band. Not sure how i feel about that one when the main part looks so elegant and classy. The specs seem to be the same as our current Gear S if I'm not mistaken. I was hoping they'd bring back the IR blaster. Loved that feature. I guess my main gripe is how they continue to keep you tied down to a Samsung phone to reap all the benefits just like Apple did. Wouldn't they sell more of these watches if you didn't have to be tethered to a Samsung device? Or no? Just asking your honest opinion that matter. I feel like they would but maybe not.
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tonys.94 said:
I'll admit you bring some valid points to the table but Tizen has come a long way since its inception. I do plenty of modding and rather savy with computers so I know how to do some things. You had stated that the Gear S can't connect to other phones, I was simply pointing out you can. Believe me Samsung has other things to work out, but like I said, what they've been good at is looking at competitors and making their own versions better, that's what competitors do, and I gotta say Samsung continues to beat Apple. Idk if you actually have seen videos or used the Apple watch but the UI is definitely different than Apple's. It looks cleaned up, redesigned, better Tizen if that's what they're using. Tizen is one of Samsung's trademarks, just because you and less than majority, (or band wagon haters) think it's bad, apparently can't appreciate progress. There are things about Samsung I do not like and things I like about other companies. You see, if there were no negatives and positives about these separate companies, oligopolies arise. CM does do a great job, hence why I like One Plus. Now that I think of it, probably are a better upcoming competitor then Apple if they continue what their doing, (minus the invite system). The biggest thing for me is that AT&T and Verizon locked the bootloaders on the Note 4 which is terrible. The Gear S is a good watch but going from that to the Gear S 2 hella looks worth it considering the huge changes I'm seeing here. I love modding, rooting and exploring other mobile OS's but all in all Samsung does a great job. Their is beauty in their programming. Can it be improved, well everything can be improved. Nothing is in its final stages.
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Very good points. I would have to agree. I have played around with the iWatch and was not impressed in the slightest. The main reference i guess i was making is how similar the icons looked to Apples. Not necessarily the entire UI. Like you, i also love rooting, flashing, installing new mods, etc which is why i will probably never leave Android. Lol. And im not saying by any means that Samsung isn't innovative in their own nor do they make crappy products. They have continued to impress for years with each new Galaxy device until the S5. (Which i really loved but i think that alot weren't very impressed when it came out). Then the S6 comes along completely redesigned and truly the slickest and sexiest smartphone I've ever held or seen. But like Apple, for some reason they decided to throw out the options for a removable battery and expanded storage. That ruins it for a lot of people i think. Samsung is still ahead of Apple in sales and i make damn sure to let my Apple loyal friends know about it. Lol. I don't hate Samsung at all. Just s bit disappointed i guess. I love their products which is why i keep buying them until now (speaking of my temporary G4 until i can find a good deal on a T-Mobile Note 4). I do understand Tizen is still young and there's plenty of potential to improve it. I just hope they're not trying to eventually use Tizen permanently in the near future and do away with Android. I'm not a big fan of Tizen, although i do like this new Tizen UI they have improved on. I guess my main issue is the fact the general population of people who want a Samsung Gear S or Gear S2 now will be forced to also own a Samsung phone to be able to take full advantage of the $350 watch, because most of them don't wanna be bothered or even afraid to root or mod their phones to work with a non Sammy device. I dunno. Just my opinion. It just feels to me they are going the direction and taking the same approach as Apple. I hope I'm wrong though.
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farewell_goodbye2u said:
Yeah. At first glance, it's hard to deny the icons are pretty similar. They're even in a circled order format like the iWatch. Now, as for the rest... Yeah. I'm really digging the design as well. Looks pretty sharp other than what looks to be another rubber wrist band. Not sure how i feel about that one when the main part looks so elegant and classy. The specs seem to be the same as our current Gear S if I'm not mistaken. I was hoping they'd bring back the IR blaster. Loved that feature. I guess my main gripe is how they continue to keep you tied down to a Samsung phone to reap all the benefits just like Apple did. Wouldn't they sell more of these watches if you didn't have to be tethered to a Samsung device? Or no? Just asking your honest opinion that matter. I feel like they would but maybe not.
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Again, where in the iWatch are the icons arranged in a circle? From what I've seen, they're arranged in a honeycomb pattern. It's a mess.
As for similarity of the icons, the iWatch icons are similar to the Tizen icons, not the other way around. Tizen (and the original Gear S) had circular icons well before Apple released their device.
tedkord said:
Again, where in the iWatch are the icons arranged in a circle? From what I've seen, they're arranged in a honeycomb pattern. It's a mess.
As for similarity of the icons, the iWatch icons are similar to the Tizen icons, not the other way around. Tizen (and the original Gear S) had circular icons well before Apple released their device.
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Do you really wanna argue these are not at all simlilar? Look at the Weather icon for christ sake. Honeycomb, hexagonal, rectangular, idc.
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farewell_goodbye2u said:
Do you really wanna argue these are not at all simlilar? Look at the Weather icon for christ sake. Honeycomb, hexagonal, rectangular, idc.
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There is no argument. Samsung had circular icons on smartwatches before the iWatch existed. It's a fact on the record.
farewell_goodbye2u said:
Do you really wanna argue these are not at all simlilar? Look at the Weather icon for christ sake. Honeycomb, hexagonal, rectangular, idc.
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Like others are saying circle icons like that have been on android before the iWatch. I'd have to say though, that is a pretty irrelevant point. The question is, will Samsung do it better once again. It appears to be cleaned up, versus Apple's honeycomb (what were you thinking Apple). It's simpler, easier on the eyes and considerate of customers who struggle with lots of things cluttered together, not to mention easier to press the right one, not 5 of them haha. Similar yes, but still not a new type of icon.
tonys.94 said:
Like others are saying circle icons like that have been on android before the iWatch. I'd have to say though, that is a pretty irrelevant point. The question is, will Samsung do it better once again. It appears to be cleaned up, versus Apple's honeycomb (what were you thinking Apple). It's simpler, easier on the eyes and considerate of customers who struggle with lots of things cluttered together, not to mention easier to press the right one, not 5 of them haha. Similar yes, but still not a new type of icon.
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On point. Let's drop the icon design. The iWatch is a complete mess. Navigating through it is like being lost in the Amazon forest without a compass or gps. They had to put a Smartwatch watch out as soon as they could as they were already late to the game. It's like they threw all that mess together in a day and tried to release it to the public as fast as possible. At least Samsung knows a clutter free and clean GUI will yield a much better user experience and ram management. Oh, and they didn't feel the need to make a version of it out of pure gold and sell it for $13-15k. You can't polish a turd no matter how hard you try.
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Let's face it. Other than the name, Gear S2 has no direct relationship to Gear S as it lacks the standalone phone function that makes Gear S stand out. It's more of a successor to Gear 1/2/Neo. I do hope the new UIs and features can trickle down to Gear S as our current UI is boring and basic.
I guess I read wrong, I thought it had a cell radio. That makes it a disappointment. The standalone feature has become very useful for me
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kieso said:
I guess I read wrong, I thought it had a cell radio. That makes it a disappointment. The standalone feature has become very useful for me
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Looks like it may have a sim card after all: http://www.phonearena.com/news/Samsung-Gear-S2-smartwatch-rumored-to-include-nano-SIM-card_id72984
It acts as a stand alone device but it have to be activated as a line to use without phone on you
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chucky80 said:
It acts as a stand alone device but it have to be activated as a line to use without phone on you
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Isn't that the same as with the Gear S?
sefrcoko said:
Isn't that the same as with the Gear S?
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That is the device I was referring to.
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farewell_goodbye2u said:
Thanks. I posted on a General Discussion sub. Lol...
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Ouch! My eyes, that's a big block of text!!
I do agree with a lot of what you are saying here (and in your original post). Samsung are not carbon copying Apple products as such. The hardware, especially the AMOLED screens and the cameras are far superior and they do innovate far more than any other OEM out there. But they are definitely following some of Apple's designs (which I am beginning to hate). The new S2 watch, rightly or wrongly, does immediately put you in mind of the Apple Watch.
I really don't like Apple products and I hate Apple as a company. I have a very loyal following of Samsung products for years and I like the fact they take on the mighty Apple inc. (Samsung are the biggest competitor to Apple and must be a thorn in their side!) But Samsung seem to be drifting away from being unique. They seem to think everyone wants an 'Apple-esque' product. I can see the Gear S2 is a far cry from the original Gear S watch, which is a shame. The beautiful curved immersive 2" screen is it's USP in my opinion. I believe they should be launching the S2 as a separate product and just given the original S a bit of a facelift.
apprentice said:
Ouch! My eyes, that's a big block of text!!
I do agree with a lot of what you are saying here (and in your original post). Samsung are not carbon copying Apple products as such. The hardware, especially the AMOLED screens and the cameras are far superior and they do innovate far more than any other OEM out there. But they are definitely following some of Apple's designs (which I am beginning to hate). The new S2 watch, rightly or wrongly, does immediately put you in mind of the Apple Watch.
I really don't like Apple products and I hate Apple as a company. I have a very loyal following of Samsung products for years and I like the fact they take on the mighty Apple inc. (Samsung are the biggest competitor to Apple and must be a thorn in their side!) But Samsung seem to be drifting away from being unique. They seem to think everyone wants an 'Apple-esque' product. I can see the Gear S2 is a far cry from the original Gear S watch, which is a shame. The beautiful curved immersive 2" screen is it's USP in my opinion. I believe they should be launching the S2 as a separate product and just given the original S a bit of a facelift.
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If what we've seen so far of the S2 puts you in mind if the iWatch, that says a lot more about you than the S2. It in no way resembles the iWatch. Circle icons were on Tizen (and the original Gear S) well before the iWatch. Apple followed Samsung's lead on that one.
There are 2 apps that I desperately want on my Gear S2, and before buying the watch I did a search for "Gear S2" and "Backcountry Navigator" and found their submission to the Gear App Challenge. So I bought the watch! The app isn't available. I contacted the developer who said that development has been "put on hold." I found another app - a knitting row counter - that was also submitted to the challenge and also isn't available. What is the deal here? I don't understand app being submitted to the app challenge, and then never released.
So I'm very persistent. Or stubborn. Whichever. I have spoken to the owner of Crittermap - who makes BCNav, and I've spoken to the developer of the row counter I wanted. If folks are wondering why there aren't more apps for Tizen, I'm getting some clues.
The row counter dev did have his app approved by Samsung and it's in the Gear S store, but since I have an S2 I won't see it in the app store so I can't even try and see it would work. Some quotes from him:
"It was an extremely complicated process to get an app onto their platform, and it kept getting rejected and taking two weeks then to get an answer back from them as to why."
"...they stopped supporting their Gear watches well..."
A quote from the BCNav dev:
"Our support for Samsung would be more timely if they didn't change development paths twice a year and if their communication path between the watch and phone weren't so unstable."
It seems like the general consensus is that Tizen is a better overall experience than Android Wear, but the lack of apps is holding it back. So I am really confused and frustrated that Samsung isn't exactly facilitating getting more apps out there. Here are 2 developers that actually did 95% of the legwork, then bailed out because Samsung was such a pain. I'm so disappointed, I'm wishing I'd got a Moto 360
This is interesting. Thanks for sharing it. I've often felt there's something unstable "in the communication path between watch and phone" and that it has to be hard working with Samsung's unpredictable and awkward systems. This stuff is all curable; the simple fact that some folks inside Samsung came up with such a great bit of hardware and interface says that great things can happen inside that company. But whether or not that moment of great work can be translated into great follow up, into more stability, better support for developers, etc. -- well that remains to be seen.
This is what annoys me about Samsung. I personally have only owned Samsung phones starting with the S4 after switching from iphone 4S and now I have the note 4. Have gonna on alright with them and think they're brilliant phones but Samsung just seem to let themselves down quite a lot. Why they removed micro SD card slot from the S6 and note 5 is stupid for one example. But in the case of the S2 it's one of the best watch designs going especially with the bezel but for some stupid reason they seem to have no intention to make it dev friendly and getting devs involved in it.
I haven't looked into the iphone support (not sure if it's available yet) but I sure hope iphone users get the full S2 experience and don't get restricted apps or function because it has the potential to out do the apple watch if Samsung just make it 100% cross platform/device so that android phones and Iphones get the full experience without not being able to pay for apps for example or get limited functionality like no point in them adding iphone support if Iphone users can't send sms from the watch for example. Then they need to put better development documentation (have heard it's poor) and then get more big name devs involved plus make all apps available in all countries fgs.
Basically just wondering if anyone out there is still trying to develop apps for this device. I currently have both the Gear S2 Classic and the Huawei watch, and as far as the hardware goes the Gear is miles ahead. The Huawei actually feels cheap, despite costing £100 more.
Problem is, Tizen currently doesnt work properly with certain notifications (whatsapp being a main example), and the only app that allows for initiating a conversation from the watch (It's called "Notifications Wear Style") hasn't been updated since January, and it a bit on the buggy side.
So I'm pretty much living in hope that there are people out there who are working to support the Gear S2 with more than just watch faces.
I'd love to know this as well. I'd do whatever I could to support active development on this watch. I love it but I might return it in the next few days if development seems dead.
My experience is that the Gear S2 apps keep coming, but it's more a trickle than a flood, and many of the most useful apps are coming from individual developers working on their own. You can often communicate directly with the developers, and they often respond to user requests in updates. But the big companies are mostly ignoring Tizen, and rumors suggest Samsung is not helping with its mediocre support for developers. So, app development is not at all dead, but if you want apps for the Gear S2, you have to be prepared to be patient and not set your expectations too high.
tstreete said:
My experience is that the Gear S2 apps keep coming, but it's more a trickle than a flood, and many of the most useful apps are coming from individual developers working on their own. You can often communicate directly with the developers, and they often respond to user requests in updates. But the big companies are mostly ignoring Tizen, and rumors suggest Samsung is not helping with its mediocre support for developers. So, app development is not at all dead, but if you want apps for the Gear S2, you have to be prepared to be patient and not set your expectations too high.
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The additional problem is that there are one or two apps that are actually half decent, made by independant developers... but they dont appear in my app store, either because I'm in the UK or because I don't have a samsung phone. Either way, if the few good apps are being restricted that doesn't bode well for patience. It's already a 6 month old product, another 6-9 months and it will have been replaced, and Samsung don't tend to support old devices for long.
I wish the Gear store was more transparent and better curated, that app developers on Tizen were provided a more robust and coherent development environment and that more companies created more and better apps for the Gear S2 series. That said, the whole question of apps on smartwatches is still in flux. Even Apple watch owners complain about the problems with apps on that platform: the apps are on average mediocre, some people say, and Apple has hobbled use of some of the hardware features of the watch, etc. If Samsung has been too quick to release new models (and abandon old ones), Apple fans complain that their company is too slow on that front: today you still have to pay a premium price for an Apple watch that has been out now a full year and is quickly falling behind other watches hardware-wise (especially the Gear S2). I get frustrated with the software limitations of my S2, but in my calmer moments I tell myself that this whole scene still has to play itself out.
[Edit: yet another set of complaints about the Apple Watch: http://www.cnet.com/how-to/7-reasons-people-arent-wearing-their-apple-watch/