Hello.
In my opinion, the Apple iPhone Camera Application is the worst camera application with the lowest value that a flagship has.
But there are also very great advantages of the camera-app, that i'm also going to mention here.
Advantages:
Very quick Startup
Zero shutter lag and delay. ﴾Even if you press the shutter buttons five or six times in a second (with HDR-Mode OFF), the Applephone will always react and take a photo﴿
Infinity Burstshot (until Battery runs out or Memory is full)
Slow-Motion-Videos are being Recorded in the correct way. Read more about this here: http://forums.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2998500
Automatical HDR
HDR-Panorama (Only iPhone 6 and higher)
Very easy to Use - Neat and clearly overseeable Graphical User Interface - GUI
Video Recording Time: HH:MM:SS instead of MM:SS (HH:MM:SS looks more professional)
You're able to use the zoom and change exposure and focus settings during a burstshot.
You're able to lock AF/AE while recording a Video (like M9)
Disadvantages:
Almost no features and setting possibilities
The shutter button is so tiny that it is even smaller than the S5 Shutter Button‼ (it will be harder to strike the button in a fleeting moment. You will possibly miss the button with your finger. If Apple won't change the UI, they'll have to put a physical shutter key on their phones.)
You have to switch between photo mode and the video mode. (You can't access both at the same time)
Shutter Button looks pretty boring. (Good Shutter Buttons: S3,S4, Note 2+3, Xperia S, V, Z, Z1, Z2, Z3)
The User Interface sucks and has almost no value
Screen Blackout if you press the photo shutter button (this will make it harder to take photos sthealthy and sneaky)
Burstshot counter stops at 999 (but it's good, that there is an unlimited burstshot at least. The Note 5 is limited to 30 Shots in Row.)
Square Mode is completely superflous, because it will just cut off the edges. 2448² Pixels instead of 3264 times 2448.
Since XDA does not support the iPhone or iOS, for that matter, perhaps this thread is better suited to a site that DOES support them.
http://forum.iphone-developers.com/
Thread closed
If you want TLDR skip to edits in the end and camera TLDR.
Not going to repeat what is written in tons of review + specs you can find anywhere. Bought mine for 358EUR (incl. 6EUR prepaid card to be eligible for this price at O2).
For this price you receive heavy package with 4/64 version, but there is nothing in package besides fast charger and type C cable, no earphones, no case and the heaviest item it's guidebook in dozens of languages. My version it's COL-L29 8.1.0.100(C432) out of box with April security patch, no update available. With 64GB version you have available 50GB of space, though I guess already some of my stuff taking space.
Phone it's no problem to hold on the sides/edges in hand, but back it's really slippery on any surface and will have to buy case not to protect it but to make it less slippery. Even if there is less slope on sofa it will slide down. Length of phone it's same as (wife's) Redmi Note 3, phone is just much narrower and display longer (because of big bezels in RN3, RN5 was only slight improvement in this aspect).
I've had two options between Blue and Grey color. I checked blue in the shop and personally find it childish, it's nice if you are woman or teenager I guess, but I decided to go with boring grey to be surprised it's actually light blue (can post photos later), so quite nice.
Rear lens it's protruding a lot, not understand why they don't make it flush and rather won't put bigger battery inside.
Bezels around display are THICK, I was using years old TCL S950 Alcatel Idol X), one of the smallest and very thin 5" phones and even this budget phone from years ago has thinner side bezels.
Fingeprint sensor in front can be used as navigation which I switched on since I don't like wasting screen space and sadly Huawei haven't yet implemented Edge gestures I was using through Xposed on this temporary TCL S950. If you long press it acts as Home button and you will get haptic feedback, but if you just tap it it acts as Back button without any feedback which is kinda annoying. Swiping through from either side it acts as Recents button, but that's not very convenient and honestly I practically never use Recents button, but heavily use Last app switch which I haven't found here yet.
Default launcher it's agressively switching back to default instead of Lawnchair when changing some settings, but I guess after finishing setting up the phone it should stop trying to force itself on you.
Pretty much all third party apps can be removed, but there is ton of Huawei and Google bloatware. I mean I understand Huawei not letting you to disable or uninstall some of their apps, but why they don't allow uninstallation of Google apps it's mystery to me. You can just disable some of the Google crap (I am using only Play Store and Photos, nothing else), not uninstall it and some things I never heard (on LOS/NOS with pico opengapps) of like Carrier services you can't even disable.
At first I thought also because of phone I can't install Kii 2 keyboard, but aparently it disappeared from Play store for everyone, so will have to install APK or Swype, since preinstalled Swiftkey it's annoying.
Developer options are normally accessible, you can disable animations and change more settings than on LOS15.1 including switching Bluetooth codec to aptX and aptx HD.
I immediately disabled Notch and prefer black bar hiding it, but truth it's there is zero space for notifications because of crappy EMUI, on the left side of notch I have useless VolTE icon, two signal icons, wifi icon and network speed and nothing else, on the right side I have battery with percentage in indicator and miniature clock, not sure where are supposed to be displayed notification icons they mention in settings. Notifications are also displayed as annoying heads up which seem to be impossible globally switch off without 3rd party app.
I still haven't set up any security features, so I can switch on display directly with power button and what is more annoying also by holding fingerprint sensor which seem to be impossible to disable.
Battery doesn't seem to be anything to write about home, 3400mAh should be decent but we will see with longer testing and optimization. Out of the box I've had 70% capacity, now I am on 14% pretty much just setting up phone with lots of downloading through Wifi, no BT, no mobile data, no NFC, no GPS and taking maybe 50-100 photos. Screen according settings consumed 58% of all battery (including software) with 4hrs screen on time. Oh yeah I disabled Vivid display color mode to Normal, which immediately changes colors to much warmer, though color temperature it's on default. Apps not customized for 18/19:9 you can use in full screen and stretch them, it seem to work fine. There is also smart screen resolution to save battery by automatic switching from 2280x1080 to 1520x720, but not gonna use 720P on such big display.
There is no dedicated setting for custom LED color notifications, you can set them within apps, but no system setting as in NOS/LOS, so will need 3rd party app. LED notification it's very small, brightness it's fine but quite small.
The most interesting in the end - the camera. Focus it's nice fast, tested on baby, out of 11 photos of baby moving on bed 9-10 were sharp so focus speed it's right (that was my main reason to upgrading from Xiaomi Mi4c). But post processing oh my... Huawei it's using extreme post processing to make everything extremely sharp with high contrast losing colors/details adding noise, skin smoothened even with Beautify set to zero.
And don't get me started on AI - it seem like some cheap filter which is just raising saturation by 20-30% so the grass or leaves on trees are extremely green, yellow building turn into orange, if you actually compare reality with photos the photo without AI has natural colors, AI photo is oversaturated.
When it detects people then it's one track mind - bokeh bokeh bokeh everywhere, results are quite funny with small children which are always moving, with still grown up people it's OK but it has problem with children (maybe pets too, dunno). It seem to work fine only with clothes/body, but when child held some toy motorbike in hand part of the wheel was blurred too, also a bit fingers holding it.
Basically only benefit of AI it's brightening the darker spots of picture, but otherwise colors are oversaturated and it's using too much bokeh, by my experience with those 50-100 photos in afternoon in 90% cases you need to disable AI afterwards, so maybe it's not really even worth keeping it on at all and defnitely this AI gimmick would not hold me from leaving EMUI for AOSP/LOS/RR. Pro mode works only with rear camera, not with front camera.
At selfies it's heavy postprocessing as always, if you don't shave few days your hair will be blurred and not sharp as it should be (though no AF on front camera so maybe too much expectation, but I've seen better front cameras for sure even at budget phones) because their postprocessing it's trying to give you baby skin. This is even more annoying considering my children have sometimes skin problems, so I know their skin is not perfect already at first sight at any photo. Hey Huawei, I am not 20yo Asian girl using whitening cream and umbrella, but adult caucasian man who doesn't give AF about creams!
Camera TLDR - silk/baby skin, bokeh/portrait scene for any photo of people, oversharpening, but focus it's fast. AI TLDR - oversaturating everything, but brightening dark parts it's OK.
Later can report on GPS speed, jack output quality, speaker loudness, signal, call quality, battery life etc. but for now I was just setting up phone and testing camera. As for heating haven't really noticed it except maybe one ocassion.
edit: grey color according Huawei
https://i.imgur.com/NKqgu73.jpg
full crop original vs "smart" AI - whole hand blurry, not only outer edge
edit 2: the battery life it's bad, only 6 hours SOT only on Wi-Fi without mobile data, BT, GPS, NFC, calls, gaming, with 2 active SIM, mostly at home with lower brightness, mostly Reddit and surfing, some Spotify and YouTube (both testing maximum volume of speaker and earphones but no longer than 20 minutes at max) in browser, shooting maybe 40-70 photos and about 1.5min H265 video, some with maximum brightness outside. I've had similar battery life with Mi4c running SD808 (!) though heavily optimized Nitrogen OS and smaller 5" display with basically no photos and one active SIM, I hope it's the relatively heavy use of camera although it's not shown in stats
edit 3: fingerprint unlock it's fast as any other Huawei device (didn't experience issues as in some YouTube reviews), face unlock it's even faster, when enrolling face they need only one photo which seem odd for accuracy
edit 4: OK battery life seem reasonable 6-8 hours SoT on Wi-Fi only with small use of camera. Wi-Fi reception is atrocious though, where i had average signal with Mi4c i am getting disconnected with H10, that's pertinent worst thing about this phone together with very small LED notification light almost useless. AI blur it's really stupid leaving always some areas not blurred or blurring shoes of person for example which should be in same focus
Hello @PeterMarkoff,
Thank you for the detailed and well structured review of the Honor 10. I really appreciate the effort you put in to write this and now I'm following you to get any updates you might have related to the device.
As we have received Nokia 8 PRO Cam update globally, some of us not happy with the final application.
There are lots of bug with this new pro app and it is so clear that it had been rushed out to silence us.
Firstly, in landscape mode in order to launch Nokia 8 PRO features you have to go trough settings, swipe up does not work which is ridiculous and it shows they have released the PRO app without real user feedback, only dump software engineers can not notice such bugs.
Secondly, in default settings shutter control is on which makes a lot of noise in dark situations, try to turn it off and you will see much much better result with less noise. It is not a miracle, does not reach the level gcam has achieved but at least , with PRO cam we see less noise.
Considering it's price, I do not except a miracle from Nokia 8, but this little details kills Nokia legacy. I believe, they should listen feedback from users first before they launch any update.
..please? You have no clue how cameras work? You can't beat the physics. It's all about the amount of light being captured by the sensor. Dark situations will always be hard for small cameras, and vice versa crap cameras, can perform well in bright situations if the lens is sharp.
With a faster shutter will have few options to make to even out the exposure:
Open up the lens aperture more. (These small lenses are usually fully open always if not used in bright sunlight, so there is nothing to gain).
Raise the ISO. This is basically amplifying the sensor data, resulting in a brighter image but with increased noise and loss of details. This is what you are complaing about.
Revert back to a lower the shutter speed so more light can be collected. The disadvantage is that you need to hold you camera more still and moving objects will still not be frozen.
Give up and lower the exposure resulting in a darker image. (Exposure compensation)
A fift option is also cheating, adding post process noise reduction, think a bit like anti-aliasing resulting in even more detail loss. Personally I'll take a slightly noisy image any day in favor of a software drawn oil painting without details.
I can't comment the bug, I haven't hit it. I'd rather the Camera app to remember the settings from last session and also some user programmable "presets" would be nice. Or a full Live Bokeh from a short-cut would also work as an work-around just to make an example.
Usually your subject is gone before your camera settings are in place.
Anyway, t best solution for you would be to get a larger sensor and a larger lens so more light can be collected. Seriously, for example a Sony RX1R II would easily beat any cell phone camera out there in lower light.
So,
This is what I have observed so far after using the device (Oreo 8.1 July security patch) for the last two days.
Pros:
1. The device is pretty fast and smooth.
2. Battery life is quite amazing.
3. The camera is pretty decent.
4. Screen resolution is mind blowing even though it doesn't have AMOLED screen.
5. The device looks fantastic and the build quality is rock solid as always.
6. I kinda like the round screen.
7. Fingerprint sensor is very responsive.
8. Nokia support app comes pretty handy.
9. Network is very stable and doesn't fluctuate at all.
10. Call quality is very clear and loud.
Cons:
1. Loudspeaker volume is quite low.
2. A lot of system apps always run in the background (I don't know why. I never noticed such thing on my last device; Xiaomi Mi A1)
3. Device stutters mainly while swiping up or down to app drawer.
4. Few games lag (e.g. Dream League Soccer)
5. Device becomes very fast after reducing animation scales to 0.5, but the overall interface becomes very unstable.
6. It takes quite a few seconds to uninstall an app (On my last devices; S6 edge and Mi A1, apps used to get uninstalled as soon as I click on Uninstall).
7. System UI crashes sometimes. The device also freezes occasionally.
8. Most of the system apps (e.g. AOSP keyboards, Google Drive etc.) can't be disabled.
9. The most complained con; No bootloader unlocking!!
10. Lack of good hard case (e.g. Spigen doesn't offer case for Nokia 7 plus) available in the market.
N.B. The review is completely based on my experience. Your experience may vary based on your usage.
If anyone knows any workaround for the cons I have mentioned above, you are welcome to share it here.
Wait for Android p, it will reduce dramatically reduce lags and stutters. I feel same about cases, but no can-do.
Rowdyy Ronnie said:
So,
This is what I have observed so far after using the device (Oreo 8.1 July security patch) for the last two days.
Pros:
1. The device is pretty fast and smooth.
2. Battery life is quite amazing.
3. The camera is pretty decent.
4. Screen resolution is mind blowing even though it doesn't have AMOLED screen.
5. The device looks fantastic and the build quality is rock solid as always.
6. I kinda like the round screen.
7. Fingerprint sensor is very responsive.
8. Nokia support app comes pretty handy.
9. Network is very stable and doesn't fluctuate at all.
10. Call quality is very clear and loud.
Cons:
1. Loudspeaker volume is quite low.
2. A lot of system apps always run in the background (I don't know why. I never noticed such thing on my last device; Xiaomi Mi A1)
3. Device stutters mainly while swiping up or down to app drawer.
4. Few games lag (e.g. Dream League Soccer)
5. Device becomes very fast after reducing animation scales to 0.5, but device becomes very unstable.
6. It takes quite a few seconds to uninstall an app (On my last devices; S6 edge and Mi A1, apps used to get uninstalled as soon as I click on Uninstall).
7. System UI crashes sometimes. The device also freezes occasionally.
8. Most of the system apps (e.g. AOSP keyboards, Google Drive etc.) can't be disabled.
9. The most complained con; No bootloader unlocking!!
10. Lack of good hard case (e.g. Spigen doesn't offer case for Nokia 7 plus) available in the market.
N.B. The review is completely based on my experience. Your experience may vary based on your usage.
If anyone knows any workaround for the cons I have mentioned above, you are welcome to share it here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do not find the cons you mention apart from "Bootloader" unlock. I run with .5 animation and have not had any problems. Spigen might not have a case but there are other cases available. BTW I am in UK and model is TA-1055.
Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk
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A little historyI was very excited to get the newest TicWatch Pro 5 watch from Mobvoi because I had only had good experiences with TicWatches. Over the years, I had the opportunity to try and use many Android Wear / Wear OS watches:
Moto 360Starting with the Moto 360 in 2014, I immediately embraced the idea of having a streamlined, yet powerful version of Android on our wrists. The original Moto 360 is still considered one of the best-looking smartwatches, despite its "flat tire" design, which was necessary to achieve thin bezels at the time. What I couldn’t live with was the atrocious, 12-14 hours “full work-day” battery life due to the undersized battery and backlit LCD screen technology that lacked battery optimization. The battery life became even shorter when all features, such as raise to wake and always-on display, were enabled. Nevertheless, it was a remarkable start, with features like the Google Now feed, the peek card system, and the Google Now assistant making it very appealing.
HuaweiMy next two watches were from Huawei, which were still running Google's operating system at the time. The Huawei Watch 1 was the first watch to receive the second iteration of the Android Wear operating system. Unfortunately, this update took a step in the wrong direction: Google abandoned the Google Now feed (interestingly, Apple is adding something similar to their watch in 2023, which makes me wonder if Google will revisit the idea of assistant feeds now that Apple validates it). Even worse, with Android Wear 2, Google gave up on peek cards and replaced Google Now with the less capable Google Assistant. Google Now could converse in over 60 languages, while the new Assistant was much more limited. On the positive side, Huawei succeeded in providing beautiful hardware with OLED screens and better-sized batteries, resulting in 40-48 hours of battery life even with all features enabled. The Huawei Watch 2 improved on this, but it came with a smaller screen and a more controversial aesthetic. Nevertheless, Huawei watches running Wear OS have always been feature complete, offering microphones, speakers, reliable heart rate sensors, light sensors, Wi-Fi antennas, and even standalone phone options that were lacking in many other brands.
MobvoiWhen Mobvoi announced the TicWatch Pro 3, it immediately caught my attention. I ordered it on day one. I found this watch to be a worthy successor to the long-lasting battery and feature-complete Huawei Watch 2, but it surpassed it in many ways. I was amazed by the true 3-day battery life with all features enabled, achieved through their double display technology. The FSTN screen had additional advantages such as higher visibility in direct sunlight and an incredibly long 45-day "Essential mode" on a single charge. The TicWatch Pro 3 had a larger screen, more powerful processing, and more sensors than any of my previous watches.
SamsungWhen Samsung re-joined Google's watch OS, I had to try their offering, the Galaxy Watch 4. Even though I opted for the larger variant with a slightly bigger battery, it still fell short of the true 72 hours of battery life that my TicWatch Pro 3 was capable of. So, despite the Galaxy Watch 4 having more accurate sensors, the convenience of wireless charging, and exclusive software like Samsung Health and the newest version of Wear OS (3), I often found myself wearing the TicWatch Pro 3 simply because I trusted it to last through a busy weekend more than the Samsung watch.
LTEI may have considered whether the TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra had enough improvements over the previous year's non-Ultra model that I owned, but when its LTE variant was released, I couldn't resist. Gaining independence from my phone made all the difference. You will find my post on how I set up LTE on the Ultra (mirror) even in a country that is "officially" not supported. Being able to leave my phone at home and still make calls, payments, access notifications, use the assistant, and look up information is tremendously liberating. In my opinion, the TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra is the only Wear OS watch (or any smartwatch, for that matter!) capable of doing all this with a practical battery life. To achieve LTE capabilities and still maintain a full 24-hour day of independence with room to spare, you need a 600mAh battery and extremely power-efficient screen technology in a watch.
TicWatch Pro 5With this we arrive to the TicWatch Pro 5. Why did I upgrade, and will I keep it?
I decided to upgrade to this watch because it brings significant improvements over the TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra:
HardwareBatteryThe battery life is even longer than before, which is hard to believe! Mobvoi not only improved battery efficiency with Qualcomm's new 4nm SoC, but they also increased the battery capacity, solidifying their position as the Wear OS battery champion. Having a large enough battery provides a tremendous advantage for worry-free use and maintaining good battery health. These devices can be expected to last for many years because we no longer need to completely drain and charge the battery. Battery science tells us that fully draining and fully charging a Li-ion battery wears it out the most. With my TicWatch Pro 3 watches I got into the habit of only charging the watch to 80% (this app feature helps me with that). Even starting from 80%, the watch wouldn't drain much below 40% by the next day. This gives me peace of mind without wearing out the battery.
If charged in this manner, even my TicWatch Pro 3 only took 20-30 minutes to reach 80% charge. However, the TicWatch Pro 5 surpasses even this. With its larger battery, I often start charging from 45-50%, and it charges much quicker. I found that a 10-15 minute daily top-up is enough. I had to speed up my shower routine! I also appreciate the new charging screen that displays fractional percentage values while charging. I was a little disappointed that they kept the magnetic charging puck, which requires a 3D-printed accessory to make it usable (you don't need the whole stand, just TicCharger.stl). Mobvoi's only attempt to improve the charging connection was by adding charging sounds, although I already had those thanks to a third-party app (see charger sounds option in Bubble Cloud). At least they didn't change the shape of the connector, so the same 3D print can be used as the TicWatch Pro 3 and Ultra required.
BodyI already liked the direction Mobvoi was taking with the style and design of the watch with the Ultra variant. Switching to a metal case and removing the dial marks from the bezel makes the TicWatch Pro 5 even more attractive. It's a little unfortunate that they also changed the band size, but to be honest, the wider 24mm bands look more proportional on this watch than the narrower bands of the previous models. Being a sporty person, I've always used silicone bands, and I'm quite happy with the band that comes with the watch.
CrownSpeaking of hardware, I was particularly excited about the addition of the rotating crown. This was long overdue. Although I must say, it's not as good as it could be. Mobvoi did their part perfectly, but as always, the problem lies with Google's implementation. While scrolling is possible in the OS via the crown, Google hasn't provided any way to make a selection other than tapping the touch screen. Pressing the crown will either exit back to the watch face or go from the watch face to the list of apps. Again, Mobvoi's hardware is perfect, but Google's software is a bit underwhelming.
ScreenHowever, Mobvoi takes advantage of the rotating crown in their own special ways. It is also enabled in the FSTN screen mode! I love how I can have tilt-to-wake enabled and still stay on the LCD screen. By spinning the crown, I can activate the backlight and choose what information is displayed in place of the time, such as heart rate, calories, SPO2, or skin temperature measurements. Whatever I choose will remain visible on the always-on screen during exercise, while the time shrinks to smaller digits in the date area. If tilt-to-wake is disabled, tilting the watch activates the backlight behind the FSTN screen, with its color indicating the heart zone I am in. What a cool idea!
The updated FSTN/LCD display showing health data is great, but are the sensors any good? They have improved. The sensor array on the bottom of the watch looks different from previous TicWatch models. To be honest, I was quite disappointed with the original TicWatch Pro 3. At the time, my Galaxy Watch was the only one I used for exercise and sleep tracking. With the TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra, things improved, although the Galaxy Watch still had some accuracy advantages. I haven't had the chance to make a detailed comparison between my Galaxy Watch and the TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra and TicWatch Pro 5, but I feel the TicWatch Pro 5 is now on par with the Galaxy Watch in terms of accuracy. It's a shame that Mobvoi now tries to charge us for advanced sleep tracking. I wonder how many subscribers they have and if it's worth maintaining the paywall at all. If I want advanced sleep tracking, I can still wear my Galaxy Watch.
PerformanceI never experienced performance issues with either variant of the TicWatch Pro 3. They have always been snappy, with no waiting time for apps to load or install. However, the improvement in the TicWatch Pro 5 is noticeable. There is literally no lag or delay in anything. Even side-loaded Android apps like Assistant Go load instantly. The increased RAM allows for quick switching between open apps, and scrolling lists and animations are buttery smooth. Tilt-to-wake is instantaneous.
Booting up takes half as long as with the earlier models. This is important because I like the new automatic "Smart Essential Mode." Yes, we already had Scheduled Essential Mode in the TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra, but the TicWatch Pro 5 improves on this in multiple ways. If you enable this "smart mode," the watch will not enter Essential Mode until you take it off your wrist or fall asleep while wearing it. Returning to Wear OS mode in the morning is quicker thanks to the faster processor, and another necessary step has become much smoother and quicker: pattern unlock. If we keep the watch on our wrist constantly, we only need to use pattern unlock once when the watch comes out of Essential Mode. On all my previous watches, entering the pattern has always been a struggle for me. It has always been a laggy experience on Wear OS, requiring a few seconds after waking up the screen for it to detect my swipes. I had to draw the lines deliberately and somewhat slowly for all corners to register. Is this a Wear OS 2 vs. 3 thing? I don't think so, since my Wear OS 3.5 Galaxy Watch still has the annoying lag on the pattern screen. I love how I can now immediately and quickly draw my pattern on the TicWatch Pro 5. It saves me a few seconds every day, which not only adds up but also removes a recurring annoyance.
FSTNI already mentioned the FSTN screen improvements, but there's more. I appreciate the updated layout and additional fields, such as the day of the week, NFC, Bluetooth status, and a more detailed battery level. It took me a few years to embrace the FSTN screen because I wasn't a fan of the dated look of the LCD digits. I still like to enable the Always On Mode of my Wear OS watch face, but for battery efficiency and visibility, I find myself using the FSTN screen more and more, especially as its appearance improves with each model.
Wear OS 3.5, yeah! No?Is it a significant positive for this watch? I have mixed feelings about it.
We have been eagerly awaiting the OS update for the TicWatch Pro 3 and Ultra for years. It was promised and anticipated since the release of the Ultra. So, even though the previous models have to wait longer, at least the new watch comes with it. But is it worth the excitement? Is not having it on the earlier models a deal breaker?
AppsOn the one hand, we do get some of Google's new and updated apps that they refuse to release for Wear OS 2, such as the Google Home app and improved versions of Google Maps and Google Keep. The new version of Google Maps is particularly good news since unlike previous versions this one actually works and even utilizes the TicWatch Pro 5's compass! These are welcome benefits of the Wear OS 3 upgrade, although it's not clear why Google wouldn't update the same apps for Wear OS 2.
However, even with Wear OS 3, “Google giveth and Google taketh away”. We have to bid farewell to Google Translate and, most notably, Google Assistant. The TicWatch Pro 5 doesn't come with a voice assistant out of the box. You can install Amazon Alexa (which I haven't tried) or sideload Google Assistant Go, intended for low-end phones but can be squeezed onto the watch's tiny screen. These are potential workarounds, but it goes without saying that neither provides the native Google Assistant experience..
Quick settingsSome of the core functionality of Wear OS has changed for the better, like the improved quick setting panel, which now features 14 icons (including 7 new ones: Wi-Fi, water draining, touch lock, Google Pay, screen brightness, night mode, and battery/essential mode). Additionally, there's now an "Edit" button for customization!
On the PhoneFor users who have a single Wear OS watch, having the brand-specific control app on the phone simplifies things. They only need to install the new Mobvoi Health app and don't require Google's Wear OS app. However, for those of us with multiple Wear OS watches, this adds to the confusion. Now, I have to keep the old "Mobvoi" app and Google's Wear OS app installed for my TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra, and also have an almost identical (but different enough) "Mobvoi Health" app for the TicWatch Pro 5. Not to mention the additional apps like "Galaxy Wearable," "Galaxy Watch," "Samsung Health," and "Samsung Health monitor" needed for my other Wear OS watch. This can quickly become a nightmare. Thank you, Google and friends!
More settings
On the bright side, we finally get the long-awaited screen timeout settings with options for 5, 10, 15, and 30 seconds. However, we are losing wrist-gesture scrolling and the Notification Preview long-text complication for watch faces. To regain some level of wrist gesture control, I am happy to use the Bubble Cloud watch face. I also have the Notification Icons Plugin installed, which can display the contents of notifications on the watch face. It was much nicer when these features were available at the OS level without the need for third-party workarounds!
Speaking of third-party workarounds, we are no longer able to customize any of the button presses without apps like Bubble Cloud. The top button is hardcoded to "recents," which is pretty useless for those of us accustomed to the Bubble Cloud launcher's "Sticky open" option (which still works well, by the way). Long-pressing the crown does nothing out of the box, and there is no way to assign it to any app. Once again, a thoughtful move by Google and Mobvoi... Double-pressing the top button opens Google Pay (or Wallet now? More on it later), and single-pressing the crown switches between the watch face and Wear OS's limited usability built-in "launcher," which is essentially just an extremely long list of apps in alphabetical order.
The TicWatch Pro 5 is effectively unusable without Bubble Cloud. You need to install this launcher if you want to introduce any level of organization to your apps and watch face complications. It's unfortunate that Google doesn't provide an official way to replace the stock launcher, which barely offers the minimum functionality. With Bubble Cloud, I was also able to customize the secondary button and assign the long press of the main button to Google Assistant Go.
Google PaySetting up Google Pay (or Wallet) went smoothly on the TicWatch Pro 5. Unlike my experience with other Wear OS watches, it wasn't a confusing procedure that required downgrading the app on my phone or navigating through my mobile banking software. The TicWatch Pro 5 was the first watch where setup went without a hitch—just select the card and you're done. However, when it came to actually making payments, I encountered some issues.
I never encountered any issues with NFC/Google Pay on any of my previous watches. If a terminal couldn't read my watch on the first attempt, it always worked on the second try. However, I'm facing trouble with payments using my TicWatch Pro 5. While it functions with some terminals, I've noticed that I need to hold it much closer. Unfortunately, it fails to work with other terminals even after multiple attempts. Luckily, I had my older TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra on my other wrist (yes, like Inspector Gadget, they already know me at the local store...) and managed to complete the payment after the TicWatch Pro 5 failed three times. This issue could be related to either the NFC antenna strength, something specific to Wear OS 3, or the watch being new. It's a bit disappointing after the initially smooth setup experience.
Of course I hope the NFC issue can be sorted out with software updates, because the refreshed look of Wear OS is otherwise very appealing. New animations
Is it a keeper?It should be. There is enough good to balance out the bad. Google’s omissions can be worked around, and the improved Mobvoi features are really attractive. For me, personally LTE on my TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra has spoiled me. I will surely switch to the TicWatch Pro 5 LTE, if and when it comes out. Until then, LTE autonomy of my TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra might outweigh the benefits this slightly faster watch on newer but more limited version of Wear OS can offer.
If someone is transitioning from a non-LTE TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra or any other less capable Wear OS watch, and LTE is not an essential requirement, the TicWatch Pro 5 is certainly worth the upgrade.