Smartwatch Thread (news/apps/updates)

Associate
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I have had 2 samsung smartwatches and I still not many apps on the store.

Each to their own I suppose but tbh I would much rather run apps on my phone than a tiny screen on my watch lol.

The only real pain with Tyzen is not being able to start chats with messenger and what's app. apart from that I'm not really bothered it's a watch, not a phone lol.
 
Associate
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So I picked up the TicWatch Pro 2020 to use a golf app and to try and get me exercising more. Really happy with it! £148 off the bay. Can not go wrong!

Wear OS is defo a WIP but happy overall. The real test will be 18 holes once the courses are back open!

I download the WatchMaker app and put my Tudor North Flag face on it haha. Looks pretty cool!

Apps I have installed

- Golfpad and Hole 19 will test to see who wins.
- Wear Media - Music player (it seems there is no default music player unless I missed it)
- NavExploer (to FTP music to the watch, seems a bit OTT but couldn't see another easy way to do it for offline stuff)
- Run More - Very basic couch to 5k app, just tells you when to run/walk . Will use in combination with Google Fit - Run to track time and GPS etc.
- WatchMaker - Allows many custom faces to be download and sent to the watch. More for fun/gimmick - got an AP Royal Oak face haha.

That's it so far. Any others I am missing? Thought about Strava but then thought may as well just use Google Fit as I've got no history on Strava anyway.

Would totally recommend for a budget watch!

Thanks,
Sean
 
Soldato
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Can anyone recommend me an Amazfit T-Rex replacement please? It's been brilliant for a year, but now the battery won't hold its charge, drops from 100% to around 50% within an hour of charging. :(

Don't want to spend any more than £150, I'd like it to be rugged, have built in GPS, and good battery life. Cheers.
 
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Can anyone recommend me an Amazfit T-Rex replacement please? It's been brilliant for a year, but now the battery won't hold its charge, drops from 100% to around 50% within an hour of charging. :(

Don't want to spend any more than £150, I'd like it to be rugged, have built in GPS, and good battery life. Cheers.
Unless you have any additional unmentioned requirements, the Huawei GT2 is an excellent watch for ~£120.

The battery life and screen are brilliant. It's proprietary Huawei rather than Wear OS et al and there's no NFC (in the UK anyway), but I loved mine and only sent it back as the heart rate monitor was miles from reality and I wanted a semi-accurate fitness tracker.

Apps I have installed

- Golfpad and Hole 19 will test to see who wins.
- Wear Media - Music player (it seems there is no default music player unless I missed it)
- NavExploer (to FTP music to the watch, seems a bit OTT but couldn't see another easy way to do it for offline stuff)
- Run More - Very basic couch to 5k app, just tells you when to run/walk . Will use in combination with Google Fit - Run to track time and GPS etc.
- WatchMaker - Allows many custom faces to be download and sent to the watch. More for fun/gimmick - got an AP Royal Oak face haha.

That's it so far. Any others I am missing?

You might mainly be interested in Nav and golf apps looking at that list, but non-default apps I have on my TicWatch are:

- Google Keep Notes (great for syncing to do and shopping lists with Google account - you can add things to your shopping list using voice commands on the watch, which I find very handy)
- Stocard (digital loyalty cards, works with most self-pay checkouts)
- Google Maps
 
Last edited:
Soldato
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Hexham
Unless you have any additional unmentioned requirements, the Huawei GT2 is an excellent watch for ~£120.

The battery life and screen are brilliant. It's proprietary Huawei rather than Wear OS et al and there's no NFC (in the UK anyway), but I loved mine and only sent it back as the heart rate monitor was miles from reality and I wanted a semi-accurate fitness tracker

I use my T-Rex to record my mountain biking, so if the HRM is totally inaccurate, then it might not be what I'm looking for.

I don't mind a proprietary OS, more than happy for the apps to be on the phone rather than the watch.

I mainly use mine for counting steps and measuring sleep, but find the HRM handy too, thanks for the reply.
 
Soldato
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19 Jan 2010
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Can anyone recommend a smart watch that has a separate SIM?

I work on site and I'd like to leave my phone in the van and just message, answer/make calls, listen to music, track movement/steps and general application usage such as web searching and such.

It will have to be dust resistant, water resistant and shock proof. It will also have to be android
 
Soldato
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18 Oct 2002
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Ordered myself a Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 44mm in Silver for £104.

Wanted Black and it is an EU version (not interested in Samsung Pay) but for the price, I thought it would be worth a punt.
 
Soldato
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Love this Active 2.

OS is slick and smooth with virtually no lag. Was always a pain with the previous Wear OS and Tic Watch Pro I was using (I'm sure the Tic Watch Pro 3 rectifies this but shows that Wear OS needed the new Snapdragon 4100 platform).

Did recall people saying a criticism of the Galaxy watches is lack of apps. However, I found the stock apps serves my needs and I'm getting notifications for What's App, Gmail and Outlook coming through without issue. Can make and receive calls without a fuss.

Health tracking looks fine although bit of an overlook on my behalf as I thought the Active 2 had the ability to measure blood oxygen. Not a biggie as my Note 9 can do that.

Big plus for me is battery life though. Charged up on Saturday after it was delivered and I'm currently at 55%, so should easily get 3-4 days out of a charge.

Overall, very happy for the £100 spent.
 
Soldato
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Not here
Love this Active 2.

OS is slick and smooth with virtually no lag. Was always a pain with the previous Wear OS and Tic Watch Pro I was using (I'm sure the Tic Watch Pro 3 rectifies this but shows that Wear OS needed the new Snapdragon 4100 platform).

Did recall people saying a criticism of the Galaxy watches is lack of apps. However, I found the stock apps serves my needs and I'm getting notifications for What's App, Gmail and Outlook coming through without issue. Can make and receive calls without a fuss.

Health tracking looks fine although bit of an overlook on my behalf as I thought the Active 2 had the ability to measure blood oxygen. Not a biggie as my Note 9 can do that.

Big plus for me is battery life though. Charged up on Saturday after it was delivered and I'm currently at 55%, so should easily get 3-4 days out of a charge.

Overall, very happy for the £100 spent.

This was enabled last month. You need to update your watch to the latest firmware and actually enable it in the watch settings.
 
Soldato
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22 Nov 2010
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The one plus watch is looking nice. Would anyone know if it would play nicely with an iPhone? Presumably it’s just a Bluetooth connection and not some proprietary solution?

edit: should have dug a little deeper. It’s not compatible.
 
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