I would have been impressed with anything functional, but to me this actually looks nicer than the vast majority of commercially produced smart watches. Awesome!
Anything software was shit (ie poorly done/buggy), and samsung used a lot of dark patterns (you have to install an app to get the watch paired, which is fair, but it keeps nagging you to install a second app).
My friend and I were one of the first batch of people to get it (preorder a few months before release), and had some issues initially that they quickly resolved (by sending us new watches)
all they seem to focus on is a finished LOOKING end product. i rejected a job at samsung dev based only on that knowledge - who wants to work for a company with an almost institutional disregard for software?
Withings were empathetic but took a long time to respond to my tickets and eventually I just gave up. I've still got it because I can't bring myself to get rid of it. I loved that it looked like an analogue watch, got lots of compliments on it and everyone was surprised when they found out it counted steps (etc) as well.
Are the recent ones better? I'd consider getting the new one that looks like the old Withings Activite if it holds up to the claims on the box.
> I had one of the original Withings watches (before Nokia bought them out) and it lasted about a year until it stopped reliably keeping time. It got to the point where I was doing hard resets and changing the battery every few weeks and I gave up in the end.
Worse is better. Changing batteries? Failure to keep time? Over 200 Euros for a watch that doesn't last a year? Largely unheard of in the realm of automatic watches.
People usually don't believe that it's a smart watch and more surprised when i say that it's Nokia. I usually get the reaction "They are still relevant"
Any watch apps you can recommend?
Personally the biggest boon for me is workout tracking and health data. It's transformed me over the last six months or so (girlfriend said it changed my life—though that is a bit extreme).
There's even a VO2 max estimate if you track a run or walk outdoors for more than 20 minutes.
Actually I just use it for many of the things I use my phone for except for writing long messages, email, or web browsing. Which is kind of nice. I put my phone in my bag and forget about it most of the time when I'm on the move. It's been good that way.
So I'll end there because I'm sounding like a sales pitch. I wouldn't push anyone hard to get one, but for me it's been fantastic.
Edit: For anyone else reading this comment, my biggest complaint would be battery life. I won't get more than 2 days out of it without charging because I use the battery-intensive heart rate and music functions regularly. Resolved of course by charging it nightly beside my phone.
- AutoSleep: https://itunes.apple.com/app/id1164801111 or Sleep++ - https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sleep/id1038440371
- HeartWatch: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/heartwatch.-heart-activity/i... I much prefer this complication to Apple's. It displays the most recently recorded heart rate measurement
- Dark Sky: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dark-sky-hyperlocal-weather/... I also prefer this weather complication and watch app
- Overcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/overcast/id888422857 Great watch app for controlling podcast playback, and includes the option to go phone-free (with AirPods).
- WorkOutDoors: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/workoutdoors/id1241909999 If you go hiking outdoors, even infrequently, this app is great. It allows you to store trail maps on your watch, and optionally record workout of your hiking (with GPS data, etc).
- Baby Monitor - https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/best-baby-monitor/id43279139... Drop an iPhone or iPad near your sleeping baby, check in on them from your watch (with notifications and optionally video). Not sure if you have kids, but this app is a bit of a marvel, especially when out and about or traveling.
- Fantastical - https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fantastical-2-for-iphone/id7... I prefer this app to the built in Calendar.app, both for iPhone and Apple Watch. The complication is great, especially in the larger sizes.
Of Apple's built-in apps, I frequently use: Messages, Now Playing, Walkie Talkie, Workouts, Maps, Activity, Wallet, Phone, and Music.
and a weird checkers program are the ones I use most. But I don't have the fancy new Apple watch. I have the original one, which is much more limited than current models.
In fact, even with the apps it's sorta gimmicky. Unless you use it for health purposes (e.g. heart monitoring), a smartwatch is not of the "my life change" category. At best the "I could do the same shit with my mobile phone, now I also have another device for them that I can do them in a worse screen/input method".
Actually, adding pockets to women's apparel might be a decent side-gig business....
I suspect it's something really subtle along these lines: Beautiful women can often get by being useless, so women in general acrew certain trappings of uselessness so as to associate themselves with beauty.
It's sort of like men and commuter pickup trucks (trucks are associated with hard-working men, so men buy trucks and drive them around town, even though they have no hard work to do).
And aesthetically, a pocket stuffed with things, especially in more form fitting clothing, doesn't look good.