this post was submitted on 02 Jun 2024
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There are still issues with WearOS, but I think some of that is hardware. Last I heard, Qualcomm's wearable SoCs were trash, but Samsung is in a good position since they have both the SoC fab and make the watch itself.
Many industries are shifting to a model where Android is the de facto OS for consumer-facing interactions. It's not well optimized outside of phones yet, but it is rapidly improving. Many cars run Android now, for example.
I'm moderately optimistic about the next generation of WearOS devices.
It's not a now thing. It's already here. My thermostat, sprinkler controller, and rice cooker all run Android
WearOS, at least the Samsung variant of it, is goddamned awful. It seems to want to be a full standalone device when I want it to just be an extension of my phone, and it's an extension of my phone when I want it to stand alone. Worst of both worlds.
I miss my Pebble. Week-long battery, truly always-on-screen, and knew what it was trying to be (just show me notifications)
I used to have a Pebble too but I've long since given up on any hope of the market building something similar that looks as cool as the Pebble was. What exactly do you think is awful about Samsung's Wear OS? I tried both the Pixel Watch and the Galaxy Watch and I greatly prefer Samsung's.
I rocked an OG Pebble as well as a Pebble Time for a while. The best replacement I could find was the Garmin Fenix watches, which use a similar display and offer comparable battery life (or better, for the bigger ones) but unlike the old Pebbles they cost major bucks. They're considerably more featureful, though. All of them also have round displays, not the rectangular like the Pebbles.
I'm quite happy with my Fenix 6 Solar and have no desire to ditch it, nor trade it in for any of the newer models.
I'm still rocking a Galaxy Watch 4: one of the first Samsung watches with WearOS. It has a true always-on screen, and most should. The always-on was essential to me. I generally notice within 60 minutes if an update or some "feature" tries to turn it off. Unfortunately, that's the only thing off about your comment.
It's a pretty rough experience. The battery is hit or miss. At good times, I could get 3 days. Keeping it locked, (like after charging) used to kill it within 60 minute (thankfully, fixed after a year). Bad updates can kill the battery life, even when new: from 3 days life to 10 hours, then to 3 days again. Now, after almost 3 years, it's probably about 30 hours, rather than 3 days.
In general, the battery life with always-on display should last more than 24 hours. That'd be pretty acceptable for a smartwatch, but is it a smartwatch?
It can't play music on its own without overheating. It can't hold a phone call on its own without overheating. App support is limited, but the processor seems to struggle most of the time. Actually smart features seem rare, especially for something that needs consistent charging.
Most would be better off with a Pebble or less "smart" watch: better water resistance, better battery, longer support, 90% of the usable features, and other features to help make up for any differences.