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Just wanted to start a list of the best apps that we think are available for the S2
Calculator Plus+ is a good one, it's what you'd think, a calculator, and it works. It is optimized for a round screen. So crazy that Sammy never added a calculator as a stock app.
Sent from my SM-N920P using XDA Free mobile app
That's a problem... The list is quite empty. I am returning this thing because of that and also because of:
I owned first Gear as well as Gear S in the past and quite frankly Samsung is going backwards with their watches.
There is one Pro in this one - it is good looking, I like the design.
Well - 1/2 point for the rotating bezel. It is kind of cool but I am so used to the touch controls that barely used it.
The rest of review is pretty much all Cons:
1. Lack of speaker - ok, some say it looks silly to talk to the wrist but sometimes it was useful. Why removed if all previous watches hat one?
2. Lack of apps - seriously, there is NO useful app available for this watch. I had plenty of apps on Gear S and none of them is re-written for the round watch.
3. Vibrations are barely sensed - I had it set to strong and long and miss half of the notifications
4. Screen decides on its own if it wants to light up when the notification comes. Not reliable at all
5. Previous models had option to come back to the last used app after the screen turns off, very useful for timer, stopwatch, music control. This cames back to the watch screen always. Try to skip the tracks from the watch when you have to turn the dial to the music app every time.....
6. No auto brightness. Seriously? Go out - make the screen brighter by hand. Come back, dim it by hand...
7. Straps.... out of 4 halves I found in the box (2 to make a long strap and 2 to make a short one) I was able to attach 3 of them, the 4th would not fit. And I guarantee you that after couple replacements the mount will break....
8. No sleep patterns tracking on the watch
9. Battery - that's another screw up. Samsung advertises 2-3 days... Right...I liek to have the watch set to always on. Gear S had about 40% left at the end of the day. This garbage had 18% at 11pm last night....
10. No integration with Google Now - no cards, no reminders to be set... I thought Samsung finally understood that S-Voice cannot compete with any assistant available... I guess they are too stupid to get that
11. No integration with Google Maps - Here maps are great but on the watch it is a disaster, completely useless, slow, chews through the battery.
12. No way to choose if one wears it on the left or right wrist hence when you wear it on the right the buttons are above the watch and you cover the face of it while pressing.
13. no night clock mode while charging - all you see while being charged is a blackscreen.
There is probably more flaws but I either did not discover them or do not remember. Generally the watch is going back to Best Buy and I will wait for Moto 360 Sport or LG Urbane 2
And with Samsung phones going backwards as well (S6, Note 5) Samsung lost a customer (I own Note 4 now and I had Note 1, 2 and 3 in the past)
Wow, so that last post was mostly off-topic lol. Interesting points...just not relevant for this specific thread. Better to post that in a gear s vs gear s2 thread or something like that
sefrcoko said:
Wow, so that last post was mostly off-topic lol. Interesting points...just not relevant for this specific thread. Better to post that in a gear s vs gear s2 thread or something like that
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Haha. I've seen his post there also. I guess he REALLY wants people to know how he feels!
Wow..clearly he felt his review thread wasn't enough but now he has to post his review everywhere. Move along... .
Well back on topic... A fun little app to play with is Xenozu. It's a YouTube app that let's you search and watch videos. You do have to have a Bluetooth headset attached but it works when linked to wifi. It's more novelty then anything but fun nonetheless.
Wow can we boot that guy for hating so much, it may not be the best compared to a phone, but that's because it's a watch....plus my gear s2 does have a daylight mode, I walk out side and it will adjust itself. Also, am able to use my watch with the face always on and have about 45% by end of day, I have to constantly play with it for it to die.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using XDA Free mobile app
kufel said:
1. Lack of speaker - ok, some say it looks silly to talk to the wrist...
So, what's that little hole on the side between the buttons? The one you talk into for SVoice.
2. Lack of apps
It's brand spanking new... give it time
3. Vibrations are barely sensed
Subjective... I can feel it just fine on soft/weak/low, whatever
4. Screen decides on its own if it wants to light up when the notification comes.
o_0
5. Previous models had option to come back to the last used app after the screen turns off...
I'll skip this one because I have no clue what you're talking about
6. No auto brightness. Seriously?
Outdoor mode is automatic, you don't have to touch anything and it goes into auto brightness. Seriously
7. Straps
Mine come off and snap on just fine and are very solid. Perhaps you're doing it wrong?
8. No sleep patterns tracking on the watch
S-Health, oh and 24 hour activity tracking
9. Battery - that's another screw up. Samsung advertises 2-3 days...
Are you analyzing "day one" usage, straight OTB during fiddle and "hey look what I just got" time?
10. No integration with Google Now
It's Tizen, this has been known for quite some time now
11. No integration with Google Maps
Read comment for #10
12. No way to choose if one wears it on the left or right wrist...
WUT???
13. no night clock mode while charging
Big f*ing deal... you're wanting it to track your sleep patterns anyway right?
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Click to collapse
Jus' sayin
Jus' clarifyin'
1. That's a mic not a speaker. Speaker is on 3G version
5. Previous app should be an option when reactivating watch. Viable point imo
8. As it stands, there is no auto sleep log. Should be addressed by Samsung. S-health even tells you to add a wearable for the function to work??
10 & 11. Google needs to be adopted for the watch to succeed under android I feel
12. See the point, but analogs never adjusted to which arm the watch was worn on. The user needs to adapt
Sorry to be short, it's late ;b
I assumed he meant mic and not speaker since he describes "talking to the wrist"
bkai said:
I assumed he meant mic and not speaker since he describes "talking to the wrist"
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My reply would be "Talk to the hand"
Back on topic: Parkmobile just appeared in the app store for the GS2, at least in the Netherlands. Great app for Parkmobile users.
Notifications for Gear s1 & 2
The app "notifications for gear s" is a must have. I am able to reply to facebook messenger and see my Google now cards. It's awesome.
I ony had my watch for less than a day, so obviously I'm still discovering new stuff, but so far I found:
- Calculator (free! and does the job) - this is a samsung app
- News Republic: I was pleasantly surprised to see they have a (free) companion app for the S2, this has been my main news app on my phone for ages (very customisable and looks nice, I love it)
- Gear Pong: just because why not
The Samsung Gear store is terrible by the way... Why with the stupid ugly watch faces flooding every category??? Do some clean up Samsung!
Protagoras said:
- Gear Pong: just because why not
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Wow, have You actually won even once? I couldn't, haha. Better games imo are FireFly or Colora
OK. Whining aside is there a program that will allow me to get reminders? I use Touchdown as my regular calendar and I think I can use my Samsung calendar but can't get S Voice to work off the GS2.
rogerperk said:
OK. Whining aside is there a program that will allow me to get reminders? I use Touchdown as my regular calendar and I think I can use my Samsung calendar but can't get S Voice to work off the GS2.
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Never mind! Reminders work you just have to set them on the phone. That works for me!
"I am Alive" by Kittikhun Yodrak is very useful. It's basically a toggle for screen always on. No idea why the app is so big though (7.5 MB)...
Cryps said:
Jus' clarifyin'
5. Previous app should be an option when reactivating watch. Viable point imo
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Well, at least you can configure the menu button double-click to launch last opened app.
Metronome and Guitar Tuner pls
Anyone, please... Make Metronome app / Guitar Tuner app for Gear S2. Please.........
Hey everyone. I do more than just walk, run, hike etcetera and want to know if anyone has figured out a way to add other Fitness tracking options on your gear S2 classic? It's really annoying that you can only track walks and runs. There should be an option where you can track other cardio type workouts like hiit workouts or even weightlifting. If anyone has figured out a fix or has any other information about this please let me know. I appreciate it very much
Sent from my SM-G928V using Tapatalk
I was actually hoping for this in the next update since the Android version of S-Health just added that kind of stuff... Short answer, no, it does not track movements or anything beyond walking/running/cycling.
The S Health update lets you track just about every conceivable exercise (or I just figured out how to access the list) but on the Gear, you are stuck with just the six or seven preinstalled options. When you initiate a workout from S health, the GS2 doesnt seem to recognize that you are working out. There must be a way to get the GS2 to mirror the list in S health, no?
Bought gear s2 same problem
8 sports on the gear and 90 on my phone, theres gotta be a way to sync the sports from the phone to the watch..
I don't think it matters. When I look at the exercises on SHealth all they do is time it. Not count reps or sets.
hi everyone, I am using gear S2. I know it's a bit outdated but this is a gift... Anyway, since gear s2 forum is quite empty, I am posing my question here. Basically, for all faces I download using watchmaker, none of them show the day of the week. The window for that is always blank.
However, when I am toggling the faces within watchmaker ("preview mode"), I can see the day of the week displays perfectly fine.
To better explain my question, I have a post at google+.
/plus.google dot com/u/1/109254645069502349151/posts/NeLYEoWcmSW
Any cludes? Thanks a lot.
I am coming from the Galaxy Watch S3 Classic to the Watch 4 Classic. I have spent many hours now searching for a decent dual analog/digital face- one with large enough digital to read, classy looking, ambient support, etc. No luck so far.
On my old watch I used a face called "OceanWatchII", although I don't remember where it came from (it was not WatchMaker or Facer, just stand-alone). Got compliments all the time. I even found a screenshot of someone else who uses it (attached). Has anyone seen something similar to this? Thanks
I think i found it for you because i saw this and loved it!
Ocean Watch II - Apps on Google Play
Digital watch Face for Wear OS by AZ Design.
play.google.com
Enjoy
Says not compatible with watch 4.
MKchrias said:
Says not compatible with watch 4.
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For some reason a lot of watch faces say that on your phone - look it up in Google Play on your PC.
MKchrias said:
Says not compatible with watch 4.
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I don't see that on the description. In fact, it does say WearOS 3, and all the photos are of the GW4 classic running it. He must of just posted it since it wasn't there when I was looking for it previously.
PSGM said:
I think i found it for you because i saw this and loved it!
Ocean Watch II - Apps on Google Play
Digital watch Face for Wear OS by AZ Design.
play.google.com
Enjoy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, good find. I looks like he posted it about 5 days after I gave up looking for it. Yes, it is a really nice face, simple but functional, stylish and effective. It used to be free. Since then, I was able to come close with a WatchMaker face.
its $1 and it's compatible, just not very customizable apart from changing the colour.
crxssi said:
Thanks, good find. I looks like he posted it about 5 days after I gave up looking for it. Yes, it is a really nice face, simple but functional, stylish and effective. It used to be free. Since then, I was able to come close with a WatchMaker face.
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Click to collapse
What's your experience with WatchMaker crxssi? I don't want to touch Facer, as it smacks of being quasi-malware to me (battery and processor hog, ads galore). I have seen some very nice watch faces in WatchMaker premium add-ons, but I don't want any battery-draining or questionable junk on my watch - any concerns?
jtOttawa said:
What's your experience with WatchMaker crxssi? I don't want to touch Facer, as it smacks of being quasi-malware to me (battery and processor hog, ads galore). I have seen some very nice watch faces in WatchMaker premium add-ons, but I don't want any battery-draining or questionable junk on my watch - any concerns?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WatchMaker is both fantastic and yet frustrating. I bought Premium a long time ago, back when I was using the Moto 360's, so I am "set". Few people want to make watch faces from scratch (me included), but want to find something nice to use or at least start with. That is where it gets a bit difficult. There are lots of WatchMaker faces, but it is hard to search to find what you want based on certain criteria and also that are not extra cost. Takes some practice and patience.
I found a free face called "Pulsar Neo" which does most everything I want (will attach screenshot). Then I edited it and added application launching on several touch areas (clicking on temp brings up weather, clicking on time brings up stopwatch, clicking on date brings up calendar), changed the time to be 12 hour (not 24 hour), removed some elements I didn't want, changed the second hand to be red, changed ticking from continuous sweep to stepping, etc. It is an extremely powerful program. If you like to tinker, it is da bomb.
Despite the tons of functionality, if you are careful with what options are enabled, I do not find it to be any more battery-draining than "native" faces are. Certainly no malware. Unlike "native" faces, WatchMaker gives you COMPLETE control over what the face does, how it acts, what features are available, etc. And you can do all that from your phone, complete with a fully-functioning, enlarged-version of the watchface, then send it to the watch.
crxssi said:
WatchMaker is both fantastic and yet frustrating. I bought Premium a long time ago, back when I was using the Moto 360's, so I am "set". Few people want to make watch faces from scratch (me included), but want to find something nice to use or at least start with. That is where it gets a bit difficult. There are lots of WatchMaker faces, but it is hard to search to find what you want based on certain criteria and also that are not extra cost. Takes some practice and patience.
I found a free face called "Pulsar Neo" which does most everything I want (will attach screenshot). Then I edited it and added application launching on several touch areas (clicking on temp brings up weather, clicking on time brings up stopwatch, clicking on date brings up calendar), changed the time to be 12 hour (not 24 hour), removed some elements I didn't want, changed the second hand to be red, changed ticking from continuous sweep to stepping, etc. It is an extremely powerful program. If you like to tinker, it is da bomb.
Despite the tons of functionality, if you are careful with what options are enabled, I do not find it to be any more battery-draining than "native" faces are. Certainly no malware. Unlike "native" faces, WatchMaker gives you COMPLETE control over what the face does, how it acts, what features are available, etc. And you can do all that from your phone, complete with a fully-functioning, enlarged-version of the watchface, then send it to the watch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome, thanks for that!
crxssi said:
WatchMaker is both fantastic and yet frustrating. I bought Premium a long time ago, back when I was using the Moto 360's, so I am "set". Few people want to make watch faces from scratch (me included), but want to find something nice to use or at least start with. That is where it gets a bit difficult. There are lots of WatchMaker faces, but it is hard to search to find what you want based on certain criteria and also that are not extra cost. Takes some practice and patience.
I found a free face called "Pulsar Neo" which does most everything I want (will attach screenshot). Then I edited it and added application launching on several touch areas (clicking on temp brings up weather, clicking on time brings up stopwatch, clicking on date brings up calendar), changed the time to be 12 hour (not 24 hour), removed some elements I didn't want, changed the second hand to be red, changed ticking from continuous sweep to stepping, etc. It is an extremely powerful program. If you like to tinker, it is da bomb.
Despite the tons of functionality, if you are careful with what options are enabled, I do not find it to be any more battery-draining than "native" faces are. Certainly no malware. Unlike "native" faces, WatchMaker gives you COMPLETE control over what the face does, how it acts, what features are available, etc. And you can do all that from your phone, complete with a fully-functioning, enlarged-version of the watchface, then send it to the watch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree. WM is far and away the most powerful watch design software. It definitely drained more battery on the Tizen watches, but on GW4, the stock faces seem to drain just as much.
ALooneyGuy said:
I agree. WM is far and away the most powerful watch design software. It definitely drained more battery on the Tizen watches, but on GW4, the stock faces seem to drain just as much.
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I never used WM on my Tizen S3 watch, I only used it on WearOS watches before it. I don't think it was available for Tizen at the time, and/or wasn't stable... in any case, I was happy with the native face I found.
So when I jumped onto the GW4, which is WearOS again, and couldn't find any native watch face I wanted, I remembered WatchMaker again (oh yeah, I already paid for that and "own" it, perhaps I can just find something there that I like and if I can get close, I can just edit it to suit).
So I can't comment about battery life of WatchMaker faces on Tizen vs WearOS. But I can comment that it seems no different under WearOS3 vs. the native faces I tried for the GW4.
crxssi said:
I found a free face called "Pulsar Neo" which does most everything I want (will attach screenshot). Then I edited it and added application launching on several touch areas (clicking on temp brings up weather, clicking on time brings up stopwatch, clicking on date brings up calendar), changed the time to be 12 hour (not 24 hour), removed some elements I didn't want, changed the second hand to be red, changed ticking from continuous sweep to stepping, etc. It is an extremely powerful program. If you like to tinker, it is da bomb.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ug. I haven't gone into the WatchMaker app on my phone in quite a while. For some reason, when I go into it now, all the faces I downloaded and modified, including the "Pulsar Neo" are GONE! The watch faces are still on the watch, but I can't see or edit them in the phone app.
Typically, I am careful about having backups and such. And I do have a backup of a few that I no longer use. But in this case, I am stuck. I searched my computer and the phone and can find no trace of the file(s) I need. Even worse, I have no idea where I found the original (un-modified) Pulsar Neo watch file, and searching the web only finds a non ".watch" version. I don't have any notes or anything.
Is there some easy way I can suck the faces back off the watch and into WatchMaker on the phone so I can see/edit them again? Thanks for any ideas.
crxssi said:
Typically, I am careful about having backups and such. And I do have a backup of a few that I no longer use. But in this case, I am stuck. I searched my computer and the phone and can find no trace of the file(s) I need. Even worse, I have no idea where I found the original (un-modified) Pulsar Neo watch file, and searching the web only finds a non ".watch" version. I don't have any notes or anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Update: Still no way to find my modified version, but I finally found the original. It is called "Pulsar Neon" in WatchAware and when loaded in WatchMaker it is called "Pulsar Neo". I thought I would post it here, in case someone else wants it (or I lose it yet again). I don't know the original filename, since "sharing" it requires entry of a new name. I called it pulsar_neo.watch but had to zip it or this site wouldn't allow attachment.
I am still hoping I can find a way to suck the edited version back off the watch, since I spent several hours tweaking their version to make it perfect for my needs...
You can download the apk files for the watch faces. You can use ADB AppControl and link your watch via WiFi. It gives you the ability to see all the loaded apk files and select and download the ones you want. It does a lot more, but this may help you out.
- HR on 3rd party watch faces are not real-time making 3rd party face suck
- Calendar complication for next meeting info - is not available on 99.99% of watch faces
- Spotify is a battery guzzler and managing offline downloads is just plain terrible. Most times the downloaded stuff doesnt even load without an internet connection - the implementation is terrible
- YT Music is another disaster - cant find and download music on the watch. Cant select music on my phone to download on the watch in a simple way....clunky way of getting the watch to play the music you want
- The watch isn't as snappy, lag free as the world makes it seem - it struggles more times than not when trying to open music apps, many times they force close. It's good - not ultimate as we make it sound
- No google assistant - this is a joke!
- Power saving - not enough options to customize this
All things said, still the best watch for android yet!
I agree. I would call it the least bad as opposed to the best. Always compromises. I can't quite trust it for notifications etc. Terrible battery life if using LTE as stand alone while running and listening to music on BT earbuds.
Still an upgrade over Active 2...for WearOS alone...all my stuff just works between watch and phone now its googled. Maintenance effort is down 80%...
This is my first real smartwatch. I have a fitness tracker disguised as smart watch (Honor Magic Watch 2).
Anyway, besides what you have said already, i would add:
- original strap (HORRIBLE). Even the highest end model (46mm classic LTE) comes only with the rubber/silicone strap (and it's terrible). Come on Samsung... The classic model should come with a leather, metal something that is actually... CLASSIC looking!
- the space to fit the strap is not really 20mm, but rather 19.8mm. I have measured as others have also and it's true.Try and fit metal 20mm straps and you will most probably have issues and will have to Dremel it... Other materials should be ok, because they are soft and give away a bit.
- Deep sleeping on this watch is completely broken! I have slept with this and my fitness tracker, and (amazingly) they recorded the very same amount of sleep, down to the minutes. But while I had over an hour of deep sleep on the fitness tracker, i had close to none on my Samsung classic 4. And it's not just me, many many people reporting this.
- ECG and Blood pressure working only on Samsung phones (without the mod)
- Having to unlock the watch every time I take it off, instead of only when opening Google/Samsung Pay. There should be at least an option for this.
That said, I'm really really liking this watch and have 2. Can't wait for it to mature more both in terms of the OS and the apps availability and how they perform
- ECG and Blood pressure working only on Samsung phones (without the mod)
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Before I bought it, I didn't find any information about it. Not a nice play from Samsung Thank you dante63 for the mod
KreGgiants said:
- Having to unlock the watch every time I take it off, instead of only when opening Google/Samsung Pay. There should be at least an option for this.
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I think that it is OK. I do not want to spy anyone on my watch while I am away. I sometimes forgot to wear it when leaving to work.