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How do you feel about Android OEMs developing new OSs?

I know it shouldn't bother me, but it does. Samsung developing Tizen, Amazon forking the hell out of Android (I don't even really mind Amazon forking the hell out of Android, I just wish they had done a better job.), LG purchasing WebOS etc.
I support these companies with my dollars because they support Android. I also understand that that everyone needs to diversify their portfolios and to maximize their profits. I have a degree in economics and am an anarcho capitalist by nature. So why does this bother me at all (it definitely shouldn't)?
I have purchased a handful of Samsung devices and have invested heavily in the Google Play Store and I have this suspicion that one day, Samsung will release the newest Galaxy phone and at the top layer it'll look EXACTLY like Android, but at it's core it'll be a Tizen device with its own app market.
Perhaps that is a little far fetched, but in that scenario; they are still able to sell millions of devices because the average consumer doesn't know the difference between Android and Galaxy and, although they will lose customers, they could potentially grow their Tizen consumer-base overnight and everyone in the Android community loses.
Now, that isn't to say that I believe new OSs are a loss for Android. I think that any OS that brings something different to the table is great for everyone. But making an Android copycat OS, and creating a large rift within the community benefits no one but Samsung(as far as I can see).
But perhaps they all need an Ace of up their sleeves against Google to ensure fair treatment?
What do you guys think? I, for one, have vowed to only purchase Google devices for the foreseeable future because buying a Samsung or HTC device and feeling an overwhelming need to install CM 10.1 makes me feel as though I should be investing in a company that is giving me the software closest to CM 10.1.
That's my rant. Opinions?

Samsung Gear S2. No thank you!

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.
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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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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
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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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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.
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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.
Sent from my LG-H631 using XDA Free mobile app
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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.

What happened with the apps in the Samsung Gear App Challenge?

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.

I think I'm gonna jump ship.

So I came across my best buy receipt for my gear s2 classic. It was $380 something bucks. I began to ask myself what value I got from it I hoped for.
1) My first use case i was really looking forward to was samsung pay. But it was delayed and there is no word from samsung about its release. Im beginning to wonder if the gear s2 community will ever use it. This is a HUGE shame on samsung currently IMO.
2) I am a previous user of the gear s. I was certain the galaxy store was to offer a substantial increase in useful apps with the gear s2. There was no way to check since theres no website to browse (only in-app with gear onboarded, scumbaggish samsung). Anyways I browse the appstore every week and nothing ever happens. Its pitiful everybody is so excited for uber. One app I was certain would be available is for the Nest thermostat. Its the perfect user interface! Nope. I best thing ive seen so far is the hue app. Cheers to the dev. The gear s2 dev community needs clones of him. But overall our app selection is outrageously pathetic. I don't see it getting much better soon.
3) Why do I have to use s voice? C'mon. Samsung cant be this pretentious. Let me use google. I also thought there'd be a more seamless integration with google now. Nope. Oh yeah, ever wonder why you cant use voice to text on 3rd party apps? Because samsung locked out that ability.
I have a very good feeling that developing for the tizen smartwatch platform is an upsettingly dreadful experience. I say this because i spent four hours on a Saturday trying to get the development environment setup on OSX. I couldn't even get any sample projects to load. This trickles through. For example I really wanted to have xClock -Agent as my daily watchface but I couldn't condone it. Its affiliated android app caused alarming battery drain - and the app developer does not care one bit to correct the malbehavior. But then i ask myself why doesn't the core gear services provide an api for location so this problem wouldn't even occur? Why not for everything else? Why no S voice or be able to use any sort for speech to text for an app? I need an add on app mostly for the dumbest things. This sucks a lot.
As a product owner myself of two development teams I have been on a desperate search for the product owners of the gear s2 platform and express my concerns on that level. All leads Ive found on linkedin did not reply to my attempts at reaching out. Maybe no product owners exist, because things should not be this bad.
Anyways I would love to love this watch. The industrial design encompasses a wonderful human interface. But I don't love it because it has no soul (useable software). I hope things change. But I'm probably going back to the pebble time.

Okay.

K!

2. Google now won't happen. It is not Samsung's fault. Google does not open the access and I believe they won't. Why would they open it for competitors?
I agree with you on the app development part though. Setting up the development environment is not a trouble for me but dealing with the lack of documents, bugs in the IDE, Samsung review team and their servers are really nightmare.
Occasionally, I came across this reviewer who does not read my instruction for testing app and she rejects my apps very often. I just re-submitted one of my app for review hours ago. Another app got rejected a month ago for the third times and the problems were also their fault. I don't even bother submit it back.
Samsung servers or their Gear app store is very very unstable. Way back in the days of the Gear 2, I already saw the cannot install WO WO issue. It still exists and occur very often for customers. I receive at least 3 emails about downloading problems a day and sometimes I get 1 star rating for problems that I cannot solve.
These are just some notable issues.
So yeah, new devs won't develop apps anymore if they face similar problems. These days, I only see new watch faces submitted using the designer tool. Hardly anyone writes apps

Yeah, I agree with everything -- and just dropped dime to get a Verizon classic 3G to replace my current sport 3G.
Why? I need the 3G.
As soon as cell capabilities are offered on AW, and nothing improves on the Gear side with the issues listed (I'm a developer that walked away from development on the Gear because of the hassle), I'm gone too.

So sad, this is the second time Samsung has lured me into their watch with bad apps. Kept watch too long to take back but would if I could. I have bought numerous Samsung products and they always just move on to the "next big thing" without looking back..

Rsmin said:
So sad, this is the second time Samsung has lured me into their watch with bad apps. Kept watch too long to take back but would if I could. I have bought numerous Samsung products and they always just move on to the "next big thing" without looking back..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here.. I've had s2 classic few days and is been a pain in "A"
When it disconnects I have to reboot phone and watch ... so few apps to use app store is barren
such a shame as its a lovely looking device
I'll give it to the weekend then off it goes back to Amazon if it doesn't settle down

I'm not doing too bad but my requirements aren't huge and there are things the phone is better for. I'd love to use Google - but its not an android watch and i knew that going in. I get my emails, texts, my alarm works well enough, I can answer texts with voice, my appointments and Google Reminders work. I'm pretty happy! Wish it was waterproof. Wish the alarm was stronger. But still, I'm satisfied. At least until the next big thing... I AM a gadget whore.

Ｉsend an E-mail to Samsung: Why no Uber on non-Samsung phones?

That's not technique problem or whatever. Samsung want people to buy Samsung phone. On the website,it says functions may be limited bla bla... but, that does not mean you can limit the function on function to make people buy your phone. To all consumers who buy gear s2, it's unfair. It's discrimination.
As far as I knew, Uber in America and Wechat in China are limited for Samsung phone only.
Hope your company consider this problem seriously
And I wonder is there a way to install apps without Samsung's official store?

This is there attitude
Dear XXXX,
Thank you for taking the time to contact us at Samsung Technical Support. We always appreciate hearing from our customers.
After reviewing your Email, I understand that you are having concerns in regard of applications on Non Samsung devices. I will assist you with all the available information from our end.
I would like to inform you that we in email support only have the information in regard of Samsung phones. We do not have much information on Non Samsung devices.
I hope you understand our limitations. If there had any alternate options, I would have surely offered you.
Should you desire additional assistance, we invite you to access the web-link http://www.samsung.com/us/support/contact to speak to a Chat Specialist. Our technicians are more than happy to assist you further. Chat Support is available 24X7.
For additional support and updates regarding your product, please follow us at @SamsungSupport on Twitter or like our page at https://www.facebook.com/samsungsupport.
Thank you for choosing Samsung products.
If you have a minute, please fill out a brief survey to help us serve you better. To begin the survey, click on the “Start Survey Here” link at the bottom of this email. Please note that you can access the survey page only when the pop-up blocker is disabled in the browser.
Sincerely,
Pooja

So basically they are shameless...
They do not care their consumers, I mean, buy discrimination.
Think about this, they treat their gear s2 consumers unfair. They specific don't offer the service that all the consumers should get, because the pay the same money.

So basically you are mad at their support staff for not having information, made at Samsung (the whole company) because of a corporate decision to limit some apps to Samsung phones.
What they did isn't discrimination, it's not anything but a business decision. Is Apple discriminating by only allowing apple watches to be used on iPhones? How about Google not allowing android wear to be used on windows devices, how about on iPhone, are all apps from the play store available on the app store?
Does it suck that you can't use the apps you want? Certainly does. But is it an issue of discrimination or Samsung doing anything other companies are not doing? No its not.
It's unfair of you to expect Samsung to cater to you. Don't want their product? Don't buy it. Don't like their policies? Don't buy their products.
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It's a poor business decision that carries through customer support. As a business Samsung maintains the right to exert such decisions, as a consumer, it's our right to complain about them, and dissuade potential users who would not wish to purchase a device with stunted functionality.
It was not expected prior to purchase that Samsung would stunt and limit their products functionality to their own phones, when the watch is advertised for use with other android phones. It's not discrimination, but there's an element of deception.
As opposed to not allowing android wear to be used on windows devices (additional effort where the wear OS is property of Google), Samsung took an active stance to limit a third party developer's app to use with their own phones, when that app could easily be used with others.
_Dennis_ said:
So basically you are mad at their support staff for not having information, made at Samsung (the whole company) because of a corporate decision to limit some apps to Samsung phones.
What they did isn't discrimination, it's not anything but a business decision. Is Apple discriminating by only allowing apple watches to be used on iPhones? How about Google not allowing android wear to be used on windows devices, how about on iPhone, are all apps from the play store available on the app store?
Does it suck that you can't use the apps you want? Certainly does. But is it an issue of discrimination or Samsung doing anything other companies are not doing? No its not.
It's unfair of you to expect Samsung to cater to you. Don't want their product? Don't buy it. Don't like their policies? Don't buy their products.
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse

talalalal said:
It's a poor business decision that carries through customer support. As a business Samsung maintains the right to exert such decisions, as a consumer, it's our right to complain about them, and dissuade potential users who would not wish to purchase a device with stunted functionality.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True, you can complain. True it may have been a bad decision to limit certain functionality, or a good one, depending on your view. It may push people who do not have a Samsung phone to buy one.
talalalal said:
It was not expected prior to purchase that Samsung would stunt and limit their products functionality to their own phones, when the watch is advertised for use with other android phones. It's not discrimination, but there's an element of deception.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why not? I believe it says not all functionality will work with non-Samsung phones. If not I apologize because I seem to remember it saying that, but could be wrong.
talalalal said:
As opposed to not allowing android wear to be used on windows devices (additional effort where the wear OS is property of Google), Samsung took an active stance to limit a third party developer's app to use with their own phones, when that app could easily be used with others.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You assume it is Samsung limiting the availability of the apps, and not the app developer. Do you have evidence of this or is it wild speculation?
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