Smartwatch research: Samsung users needed! - Samsung Gear S2

Hi everybody!
First off, thank you to Mike Channon for approving this post.
My name is Sam Penny and I'm conducting research with the University of Manchester. I'm looking at the attributes of smartwatches that users consider to be most important. We're hoping the research will help smartwatch companies to refine their products!
If you own a smartwatch and you could give 5 - 10 minutes of your time to do this questionnaire, I would be very grateful! You access the survey here: https://goo.gl/NMMsze
Most of our respondents are currently Apple Watch users. So anybody with a Samsung Gear that's willing to contribute would be making a big impact!
I'm also giving away some Amazon giftcards as a thank you, if anybody likes giftcards
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to send me a message.
Thanks in advanced, and have a great day!
Sam

Just finished the survey. I currently own a Huawei watch and should have a refurbished gear s2 classic in the next day or two.

Hi Vicvon!
Thanks a lot for going through my survey.
I really should add an option for if people own more than one smartwatch! Thanks for the heads up!

SamPenny said:
Hi Vicvon!
Thanks a lot for going through my survey.
I really should add an option for if people own more than one smartwatch! Thanks for the heads up!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I have several but responded using my gear s3

Samsung Gear s2 Classic uses a proprietary cradle to program with, so unfortunately it's impossible to get inside the watch save for screen and buttons (that I am aware of).

Completed...

Drunkula said:
Completed...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks everybody! The survey will be open for a few weeks so if you know anybody that you think would like to contribute towards the research then feel free to share the link.
Like I said, if anybody has any questions send me a message any time.

Done.
Now that I think about it, if like to have seen some questions on why users have a smart watch.
Mine is the s2 3g. I bought it not for the fun of a smart watch, but for the safety and convenience of having a phone on me at all times. Instead of buying a phone for our kids so we can keep in touch, I've thought how much better and cheaper a watch is.
Anyway. Sorry for the digression.

merlin66676 said:
Done.
Now that I think about it, if like to have seen some questions on why users have a smart watch.
Mine is the s2 3g. I bought it not for the fun of a smart watch, but for the safety and convenience of having a phone on me at all times. Instead of buying a phone for our kids so we can keep in touch, I've thought how much better and cheaper a watch is.
Anyway. Sorry for the digression.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey Merlin!
Digressions are great because they feed thinking! Especially from somebody that clearly has experience with smartwatches.
I'm testing a sort of older theory in a new context – which may mean some of the questions are not 100% spot on for smartwatches, which is a limitation of my research.
Safety is an interesting issue, and definitely something I'll look into.
Thanks again to everybody that completed the survey. The response from everyone has been awesome.

Just finished the survey.

Done
Currently i use the Gear S2, dont like very much tizen but i like the idea of using a smartwatch as a shadow of my phone, or even replace my phone in event of an emergency

Finished and thanks for the interest. I would suggest questions about reasons for and benefits of usage - check email, health device, etc. For example I first bought a smart watch because I am hard of hearing and was missing work emails. Now Im retired and its more of an emotional thing as I like the technology and I use it to track my workout. Also a question about what more is wanted, say longer battery life or better waterproofing. Just a suggestion.

Finished survey. Was expecting questions about most used functions, what are actual perceived benefits, etc, Found the survey pretty generic and wonder what the objectives related to survey are.

Hi guys! Sorry for the delay... it seems the XDA emails have been going to my spam folder
rogerperk said:
Finished and thanks for the interest. I would suggest questions about reasons for and benefits of usage - check email, health device, etc. For example I first bought a smart watch because I am hard of hearing and was missing work emails. Now Im retired and its more of an emotional thing as I like the technology and I use it to track my workout. Also a question about what more is wanted, say longer battery life or better waterproofing. Just a suggestion.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for feedback Roger. A few people have suggested looking into benefits such as health apps. This is a really interesting area and might make up my next paper!
OnnoJ said:
Finished survey. Was expecting questions about most used functions, what are actual perceived benefits, etc, Found the survey pretty generic and wonder what the objectives related to survey are.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey OnnoJ. I'm testing a specific 'technology acceptance' model called UTAUT2. It's the universal theory for the acceptance and use of technology, 2!
You can find the paper here: http://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.ed...e=Unified_theory_of_acceptance_and_use_of.pdf
I've mentioned before, it doesn't get into the specifics of smartwatches. It is a very general overview. However, it's never been done in a smartwatch context before – which is why I wanted to test it.

Survey was completed

Done.

Did the survey. Glad you mentioned the model you are testing. I have the S2 Classic and for me it's a useful tool not particularly fun or entertaining. I can keep my phone on silent, track health and...tell time! Now that I'm using android pay I don't use it for loyalty cards like I used to.
Sent from my SM-T820 using Tapatalk

Related

XDA/Samsung

Hello Guys,
My name is John, I recently became the social media analyst at Samsung mobile. I wanted to start opening the lines of communication between XDA and Samsung. First I wanted to say I have noticed your work on our devices on the XDA forums. I think you guys do an outstanding job, I myself am a developer for mobile devices. So let’s get down to business, we’re going to be in Austin from March 10-15 for the SXSW(south by southwest http://sxsw.com/convention). I was wondering if any of you guys are going so that we could meet up and share a couple of ideas I have. I am looking forward to meeting some of you GREAT developers!
Thanks in advance,
John
Social Media Analyst
Samsung Mobile USA
Twitter: @SamsungJohn
Is this for real? Please provide some proof you work for samsung.
Sooooo...what's the hold up with Froyo, John?
wonner said:
Sooooo...what's the hold up with Froyo, John?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
I honestly hope you are authentic. It is about time that the people who make the phones embrace the superior developmental process.
Pikabob said:
I honestly hope you are authentic. It is about time that the people who make the phones embrace the superior developmental process.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Or at least attempt to embrace some kind of something. That'd be a start for Samsung.
Sounds like BS advertising to get people in seats at this event.
Interesting...go through his previous posts once, not exactly his first time posting on the forums...
So let’s get down to business, we’re going to be in Austin from March 10-15 for the SXSW(south by southwest http://sxsw.com/convention).
The link doesn't work....
Troll.....
Yeah, sounds troll to me, but it will be nice for them to show here...and learn a bit of how things are done
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA App
Real
Yes I am the real deal, I am a developer/social media analyst. I don't mind taking a picture of my badge or something to prove my credibility.
SamsungJohn said:
Yes I am the real deal, I am a developer/social media analyst. I don't mind taking a picture of my badge or something to prove my credibility.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think he's legit, folks.
If you are indeed an analyst for Samsung, welcome to XDA. I'm sure you've already noticed by now that there is a lot of cynicism both for Samsung and your claim of being an employee. Simple reason for this is that most everyone here feels that Samsung has ignored their pleas for help, didn’t deliver promised upgrades, and left millions of Galaxy S owners with buggy software/hardware, etc.
If your goal is to reach out to Samsung users at the grassroots level, you're in the right place. However, you also have a tough job ahead of you. The disenfranchisement runs deep and it will take a lot of effort to fix.
Here are some suggestions for you to escalate internally within Samsung:
1. Support the development efforts of the XDA developers. There are many talented people working quite hard to customize, fix and generally improve Samsung firmware. Samsung should make some effort to provide these developers with source code, tools, and help.
2. Take an honest and upfront approach to product defects that find their way onto store shelves (e.g. GPS, battery, etc). I guarantee the cost of addressing the problem will be fully offset by the shift in customer loyalty. An unreliable product is perceived many times worse if the OEM denies or ignores the issues.
3. Set a release schedule with carrier partners and stick to it. Apple has set the benchmark for frequent over the wire software updates. Android applications are updated with fixes and improvements on a regular basis. In stark contrast, our firmware lags far behind Google’s releases and FOTA is failing more than it’s working. This has to change. Samsung needs to push out regular firmware updates that are applied seamlessly without loss of data. Forget FOTA and do it like Apple does OTW (over the wire).
4. Allow users the option of switching to AOSP. Some people like TouchWiz and some don’t. Give them the choice.
BTW, in addition to being an informed consumer, I work in the mobile industry. I know a fair amount about how it should work. The Samsung Galaxy product suite is performing very well but the real question is how long will it last. Loyalty takes effort to maintain and is easy to lose.
P.S. I may very well be at SXSW but I won’t know for sure until a week or so beforehand.
I understand I have a lot of work ahead of me. As I said before, Im here to establish a partnership with XDA developers. Inbox me to let me know if your going to be there so i can arrange somewhere to meet.
If he was legit, one of the Admins would be announcing that SamsungJohn is a rep from Samsung; he wouldn't be doing it himself as a post in the forum.
paulbh said:
If he was legit, one of the Admins would be announcing that SamsungJohn is a rep from Samsung; he wouldn't be doing it himself as a post in the forum.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
^^^^^^ that's a good point!
SamsungJohn said:
I understand I have a lot of work ahead of me. As I said before, Im here to establish a partnership with XDA developers. Inbox me to let me know if your going to be there so i can arrange somewhere to meet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are in fact telling the truth, I warmly welcome you to the true birthplace of the galaxy s.
paulbh said:
If he was legit, one of the Admins would be announcing that SamsungJohn is a rep from Samsung; he wouldn't be doing it himself as a post in the forum.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why? There's quite a bit of speculation in your claim--why would he have to go through admins to post here?
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Kubernetes said:
Why? There's quite a bit of speculation in your claim--why would he have to go through admins to post here?
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You would think that someone who is in the position he claims to be in, would come in a little more professional than just a random post.
He said he has been lurking the forums and likes what he sees. So he has also seen all the dissapointment that is running through these forums as well.
If you were in his position would you not want to come in here, with support and proof of who you are? (there is multiple threads of the same post in other categories, all have been asking for proof for hours)
I'm not saying hes not who he says he is, just think he could have introduced himself a little better.
Guys, do a little research. Pretty easy to figure out that he is either very thorough or he's actually legit.
Maybe we should tell him that it is a welcome first step to see him here.
He is an analyst so he's going to have to escalate pretty far up the food chain to be effective. Hope you're a good communicator John.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

[Q] hardware and software reviews

Hello everyone, not sure if this is the correct place to ask this, so please correct me if it's not.
With all the informational videos you can watch on here, as well as youtube, of reviews on different hardware and software I'm wondering...
How do you get connected with these companies to review the products yourself? Do you need to be certified to do this, or do you directly contact companies like samsung, motorola, asus, etc.?
I'm very interested in this because I'm currently in the process of earning a degree in IT and I find it very useful to be able to provide information to people who are looking for this. Like I said, not sure if I'm asking in the right area, but if anyone has insight, please educate me.
Thank You
I think a lot of it comes from having cultivated a large audience - to be able for the companies to see your audience as large enough to offset the material cost. It's product placement for them, getting their name out there - but for that to be effective for them, they need to know you have a large audience and a good reputation.
I'd start working on your social media presence if you're serious about it - but that can be a lot of work and those guys who are at the top (the ones that get all the latest stuff) really had to work to get there.
Even then, I've seen manufacturers not want to work with reviewers.
I'd guess a good number are either simply reviewing as a hobby - buying what they want for themselves and reviewing it (I'm guessing this is the case for a lot of videos I've seen on YouTube) buying it out of pocket and hoping the money from ads recovers that cost.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
Thank you, pennycake, appreciate the quick response. I always wondered how they get to that point. Seems like a cool gig, I may research it a bit more!
That would be pretty cool to test all the new stuff first!
UnholyDecade said:
That would be pretty cool to test all the new stuff first!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
^^

A big thank you to you all!

I want to give a big thank you to everybody! From the amazing devs to the friendly and intelligent members of this Forum, you have all made my time here with my Gear 2 Neo exciting and fun! Especially since Android Wear became more than a hopeless concept idea, to being a damn near perfect and successful project. I still can't believe you were able to make this happen! (I'm looking at you @biktor_gj ) You're a genius and deserve everything that comes your way. I am more than grateful to you for putting your hard work and time into this and not only making it a possibility, but made it into a successful port. I'm truly amazed. Right as I found myself using my Gear 2 less and less, you brung it back to life and made it easily one of the best, if not, THE BEST, Smartwatch on the market currently. Someone mentioned recently that you are the Cyanonogen Mod of Tizen. I couldn't have said it any better. Your ability to make that happen tells me you have a promising future ahead of you in the growing Smartwatch industry. Keep on keeping on my friend!
Ok.... So speaking of how great a dev you are and your promising future.....
I made a decision today that I hope I won't regret. I sold my Gear 2 Neo on Craig's list. I was able to get $220 for it with it being a year old! Wanna know why? Because of your intelligence, dedication, and hard work you put in to putting a successful Android Wear to it! I had so many hits on it because of this reason alone! So thank you again. I've been spreading your name and directing people here to see for themselves.
So, no I'm not currently watchless. I would never do such a thing! I have been eyeing the Samsung Gear S for quite a while now but ever since I was able to install a stable build of your Android Wear on my Neo, I never pulled the trigger. Just couldn't bring myself to do it............ Until yesterday. I was able to score a deal of the century that I just couldn't refuse on the Gear S. I bit the bullet and purchased it in HIGH hopes that you may do this yourself in the near future and bring your genius dev abilities to the Gear S and can build a Android Wear for it as well! It's an amazing smartwatch all around with the exception of not having Android Wear (at least that I'm aware of) on it. So please please make this happen. Lol. If you're curious of the deal I got and might even wanna jump yourself ( he has quite a few left at this price btw), here it goes:
EBay listing:
Brand New Galaxy Gear S in White
GSM Unlocked
Limited time offer of $219.99
Buy it Now or Best Offer
Free Shipping with express fed ex shipping
I shot them an off of $200 with my fingers crossed and hitting f5 100 times and Bam! Offer accepted!
(I can post a screenie as proof.)
So I made $20 in the process of selling my Neo and getting the S.
If you or anyone else is interested, feel free to PM me and I'll send you the listing link.
So thank you all again. You're all awesome and i would have never been able to enjoy my Neo as much as i did without you! I'm not leaving this Sub so I won't say Farewell. I love to see the progress that goes on and love helping just as much as I can.
Sent from my 5.1.1 TMOB / RoOtEd LG sTyLO...
Enjoy your new device. :good:
Thread closed.
Darth
Forum Moderator

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.

Development [PIXEL7/PRO] DIOS Shadowdrop - Make Android Yours!

Hello everyone!
I want to keep it shortly since i am not that well right now...
My Name is Marius (29Yo), i am playing with Android since 2010 and i wanted to start a Android Company for many Years, which produces not only an Android Operating System and everything tied to it, but also Devices made for it. I came to the conclusion Germany seems to be pretty un-supportive with Start-Ups the past Years and it's pretty clear that they will not grant me any Support with it in any way. Being a Person with a Vision isn't something People want to see over here how it seems... I talked to many People around the World and came to the Point where i have to admit i am done. I got Diabetes Melitus in the age of 8 (Which punishes Me hard right now) and i got some other, bigger Problems with My Health the last Years. I am tired, sick and i don't have that much energy and Money left. Things get more and more frustrating, some People even started hating Me for Reasons... I am stuck!
But... What's the Point of telling You that?
I need Your Help!
I am opening My Repo for the Public now and i want to invite everyone who is interested in building Android (AOSP)!
What am i providing?
Well, call it Scripts, an Build A.I. or whatever You want. At the end it does just automate building Android for You. On a creative, simple and interactive Way. Understand how Android can be modified, do changes locally and on your own with ease. Include Apps, Configs, Mods and whatever You want...
Why?
I am lazy... No really. Why are we wasting time with setting up the same Things over and over again!? Safe some lifetime and automate what You can!
What?
Check out My Repo down below. It's made for Pixel 7 and 7 Pro right now but i managed to create Bootloops on My 7 Pro. That's where we should start off again...
Next?
I want a Team that shares My Vision of Android Devices! I am ready to put My Skills into any ambitious Project. But... I still want to do Smartphones, XR Headsets, Tablets, Speakers and Watches. How? The Time will tell...
DIOS - Dev Ice Operating System GitHub Page:
GitHub - DEV-ICE-SOFTWARE-TECHNOLOGIES/DIOS
Contribute to DEV-ICE-SOFTWARE-TECHNOLOGIES/DIOS development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com
I have pushed a lot of effort, sweat and blood in that. Please be kind if You think something is stupid!
I don't wanna leave the Earth without having shared the Project i worked on for so long. It could be My last Project and i always have that in my Mind these Days! Hope it will make some People happy as it made me developing it...
Reserved for future use
Thank you for working on this project and for sharing it with all of us! It is a shame that Germany isn't supportive for start-ups. I mean, I'm part German myself and only recently realized that most of the products that I purchase started in or were manufactured in Germany! Whether it's pens, computer mice or watches - they all started in Germany (rOtring, Zaunkoenig, Sinn, etc)! So, it certainly seems like being supportive of start-ups there would be good idea that would likely lead to even more great German creations!
Thank you again and I wish you the best of luck with your health! I too am in a similar boat and have had health issues that started ever since I had a severe traumatic brain injury and was unconscious for months.....only to be given the "risky due to my health status at the time" COVID-19 vaccinations immediately after returning back to a more conscious state...
Depression and a large sum of internal, personal hatred reigns sky-high for me nowadays possibly because of these things. But, I always try to keep my head high and to persuade myself to keep looking forward to what comes next. Although it is difficult, I always try my best. So, I seriously do wish you the best with your health. I think that you got what it takes and can move forward positively! I hope that it all works out =D. I believe in you.
Looks like a great idea mate, following along and wishing you the best of luck. I'll give it a try on the weekend.
All the best
NippleSauce said:
Thank you for working on this project and for sharing it with all of us! It is a shame that Germany isn't supportive for start-ups. I mean, I'm part German myself and only recently realized that most of the products that I purchase started in or were manufactured in Germany! Whether it's pens, computer mice or watches - they all started in Germany (rOtring, Zaunkoenig, Sinn, etc)! So, it certainly seems like being supportive of start-ups there would be good idea that would likely lead to even more great German creations!
Thank you again and I wish you the best of luck with your health! I too am in a similar boat and have had health issues that started ever since I had a severe traumatic brain injury and was unconscious for months.....only to be given the "risky due to my health status at the time" COVID-19 vaccinations immediately after returning back to a more conscious state...
Depression and a large sum of internal, personal hatred reigns sky-high for me nowadays possibly because of these things. But, I always try to keep my head high and to persuade myself to keep looking forward to what comes next. Although it is difficult, I always try my best. So, I seriously do wish you the best with your health. I think that you got what it takes and can move forward positively! I hope that it all works out =D. I believe in you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks again for Your honest Words! I'll keep giving My Best just like You do!
mccbrandon said:
Looks like a great idea mate, following along and wishing you the best of luck. I'll give it a try on the weekend.
All the best
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really looking forward to that! Feel free to ask Me anything at any Time!
Google just fixed a bug regarding eSIM not activating in some cases (June Update). Think that will fix it on DIOS too since i am using forked Pixel Firmwares. Glad that happend. Now i just have to find out what causes the Bootloops. I have reverted all of My Edits so far but still get Bootloops and even a non starting System. Think it's time for a fresh Setup...

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