Gear S2

[musicsg_com]

I've been reviewing and wearing the S2 for a week and I rarely touch the watch, other than receiving notification. I also use it to review my activity steps, but again I don't need to check it regularly.

What other purposes do you actually use it frequently? Is the additional premium (nice watch faces that you can customise in-watch, rotating bezel) worth the price compared to other Android Wear of even Pebble Time? Priced above S$400, is it more worth it to upgrade your smartphone for the same price?

I'm not saying the S2 is no good, but just want an open discussion about the value it brings to the consumers. And maybe it helps me understand how others appreciate this gadget. Thanks.

 

[year2013]

I've been reviewing and wearing the S2 for a week and I rarely touch the watch, other than receiving notification. I also use it to review my activity steps, but again I don't need to check it regularly.

What other purposes do you actually use it frequently? Is the additional premium (nice watch faces that you can customise in-watch, rotating bezel) worth the price compared to other Android Wear of even Pebble Time? Priced above S$400, is it more worth it to upgrade your smartphone for the same price?

I'm not saying the S2 is no good, but just want an open discussion about the value it brings to the consumers. And maybe it helps me understand how others appreciate this gadget. Thanks.

Frankly speaking wearables are just fashion statement - nothing much !!
M using Huawei watch

 

[Omnia1]

I've been reviewing and wearing the S2 for a week and I rarely touch the watch, other than receiving notification. I also use it to review my activity steps, but again I don't need to check it regularly.

What other purposes do you actually use it frequently? Is the additional premium (nice watch faces that you can customise in-watch, rotating bezel) worth the price compared to other Android Wear of even Pebble Time? Priced above S$400, is it more worth it to upgrade your smartphone for the same price?

I'm not saying the S2 is no good, but just want an open discussion about the value it brings to the consumers. And maybe it helps me understand how others appreciate this gadget. Thanks.

If I had to choose between upgrading my smartphone and buying a wearable, I'll choose to upgrade without a second thought. Right now, a smartwatch is a good to have but definitely not an essential piece of tech.

Notifications are probably what I use my Gear S2 most often for other than telling the time. Because the S2 allows for widgets (right scroll of the bezel), I also find the agenda and weather widgets quite useful. Can see my upcoming events and expected weather forecast without unlocking my smartphone.

I'm also on the lookout to see what else I can use my smartwatch for but I doubt getting an Android Wear watch or an Apple watch would be any better. Even if you had access to your full range of Android/iOS apps on the smartwatch, it would be a pain surfing the Web or reading RSS news feeds on the watch. I'd rather use my phone for that.

Sent from Sony SGP621 using GAGT

 

[Omnia1]

Is any one using the Textra SMS app with the Gear S2? Many commentaries say that the app works well and you can reply to SMSes.

On my S2 however, Textra notifies me of incoming SMSes but I can't seem to read the message. All it says is 1 unread message, even after I tap on it. I can reply however by tapping the reply icon. Anyone knows how I can read SMS messages from Textra?

Sent from Sony SGP621 using GAGT

 

[SINple]

Is any one using the Textra SMS app with the Gear S2? Many commentaries say that the app works well and you can reply to SMSes.

On my S2 however, Textra notifies me of incoming SMSes but I can't seem to read the message. All it says is 1 unread message, even after I tap on it. I can reply however by tapping the reply icon. Anyone knows how I can read SMS messages from Textra?

Sent from Sony SGP621 using GAGT

install android wear from playstore to your phone and the reply will appear

 

[Alexz_Hong]

Mini review for those who don't want to read my full review. lol.

Smartwatches still aren't a necessity at this point in time with its existing capabilities. Getting notifications on your wrist is convenient in some cases, like when your phone is charging in another room, phone in pocket, etc.

For e.g, if someone calls you, and you're busy, lift up your hand, see who's calling, then decide whether it's worth the interruption or not. If not, just reject and reply with message template. Or for messaging, you can see what the message is without having to take out your phone. So if the message is just spam, or things you don't have to reply to, this will save you time too.

Quick reply is possible for some applications, but i wouldn't recommend it for long replies since the keyboard is so small, and S Voice is still not that great. For people who use hangouts like myself, as mentioned by SINple earlier, just install Android wear app on your phone, and you can reply to Hangouts messages.

The Gear S2 becomes a bit more powerful when you combine it with other bluetooth devices though. Like if you have a bluetooth speaker at home connected to your phone, you can lift up your hand, use voice to activate S voice, and say "Play music". If you have a bluetooth headset paired to your watch, you can use it to answer calls, or store music inside the watch to listen to when running.

Fitness tracking is.... kinda pointless now. I don't use Nike+, so i still bring my phone out for a jog. now using note 5 already have pedometer and HRM, so not much point of wearing the watch out.

To me it's a bummer that the most useful aspect of a smartwatch is hindered by Samsung's own software. S Voice. When using Android Wear or Gear S2, I use voice dictation/commands more often than not. Even if the rotating bezel feels a lot easier to use compared to Android wear, navigating on a small screen is annoying.

On the bright side, under same usage, the Gear S2 can last me around 2.5 days. I use when i'm out for work around for about 11 hours a day, then turn off when i reach home. The moto 360 could only get 1 day at most.

While Tizen is great because it enables the rotating bezel, there is almost no useful apps for the watch now. The developer support isn't great too. S Voice still needs more improvements. If you buy it, you have to buy it for what it can do now, not what it can become. For most people this is going be a "nice to have" thing, rather than a "must have".

 

[asdsker90]

is it possible to make a watch face with various data shown such as battery, date, dual time etc, in digital format? and can anyone upload the app list in gear store? cant seem to find it at all

 

[Alexz_Hong]

is it possible to make a watch face with various data shown such as battery, date, dual time etc, in digital format? and can anyone upload the app list in gear store? cant seem to find it at all

it's either dual time or battery. This is one of the default watch faces. Anyway you can just swipe down from the top to see battery life.

 

[pustefix]

I don't have a S2 but wanted to comment on how I use my smart watch : Moto 360 (old gen). I believe a smart watch is in a similar situation as a tablet, it can't replace your phone but just do some things better. Besides the obvious usage of notifications and short reply to messages, I also:

- Set a disconnection alert on my watch if my phone is out of range. This is good for people who forget to bring their phone once in a while.
- Set watch as trusted device in phone so that I don't need to key in pin/pattern to unlock phone when watch is near (needs Android 5.0 and above). It is almost as good as a fingerprint sensor.
- Use apps such as grocery list/todo/shazam etc.
- Use voice to set reminder, start navigation, get conversion, start timer, etc. I can do all this on the phone but the watch is much faster, just lift up my wrist and talk.

 

[cutebeng]

Frankly speaking wearables are just fashion statement - nothing much !!
M using Huawei watch

Huawei Watch very ex leh

 

[Alexz_Hong]

I don't have a S2 but wanted to comment on how I use my smart watch : Moto 360 (old gen). I believe a smart watch is in a similar situation as a tablet, it can't replace your phone but just do some things better. Besides the obvious usage of notifications and short reply to messages, I also:

- Set a disconnection alert on my watch if my phone is out of range. This is good for people who forget to bring their phone once in a while.
- Set watch as trusted device in phone so that I don't need to key in pin/pattern to unlock phone when watch is near (needs Android 5.0 and above). It is almost as good as a fingerprint sensor.
- Use apps such as grocery list/todo/shazam etc.
- Use voice to set reminder, start navigation, get conversion, start timer, etc. I can do all this on the phone but the watch is much faster, just lift up my wrist and talk.

This, and another useful thing is to send a quick message. Like if you're driving and running late, just say, "Ok Google", "Send a message to Alex saying I'll be a little late". Sibeh convenient. But the thing is, this feature is highly dependent on how good the voice recognition, and how fast it is. Also if you're in public, a bit hard to use voice features.

 

[toyomi]

Any1 face problems with high battery drainage when using yr gear s2? Gosh it drain so much, both my gears s2 and my xiaomi note hp lost abt 50 % in half a day with mini use...

 

[renfred89]

Any1 face problems with high battery drainage when using yr gear s2? Gosh it drain so much, both my gears s2 and my xiaomi note hp lost abt 50 % in half a day with mini use...

No leh.. I nv had an issue with battery drain.. erm did u update your gear s2 firmware and update the gear apps?

 

[toyomi]

No leh.. I nv had an issue with battery drain.. erm did u update your gear s2 firmware and update the gear apps?

just reinstall the samsung gear software, n gear s2 is the lastest software liao..

 

[tingtb]

Any1 face problems with high battery drainage when using yr gear s2? Gosh it drain so much, both my gears s2 and my xiaomi note hp lost abt 50 % in half a day with mini use...

No. About 1.5 days of frequent usage. I sleep wearing my watch for dismissing my phone alarm in the morning.

Sent from Samsung SM-N920I using GAGT

 

[toyomi]

No. About 1.5 days of frequent usage. I sleep wearing my watch for dismissing my phone alarm in the morning.

Sent from Samsung SM-N920I using GAGT

Haiz...... My s2 unplug frm charger within 5min drop 1% .

 

[SINple]

so hard to decide.
Gear S2 classic or Huawei watch.

 

[toyomi]

Any1 wana do a exchange of the strap? i using S white strap, interested to swop with a black S strap with my white L strap. . interested PM me ya, thanks.

 

[savage]

so hard to decide.
Gear S2 classic or Huawei watch.

huawei watch is too expensive liao.

 

[carlover76]

Just happen to try the Gear S2 at Challenger Funan just now and notice that the watch has been put on the dock for charging and it is hot.

The touch screen is not responsive when the base of the watch is hot, never encounter such issue with other smartwatches though when they are put on charging for whole day for demo purpose.