Episode summary
- Watches
- I don’t like watches, they’re touching me
- Ambient display is my preference
- But I get in trouble anyway when I walk away from my phone
- Samsung included coupon for another Samsung-product in the Note 10+ order in 2019
- Couldn’t use it on the Active 2; so stuck with this
- Physical Look and Feel
- Default band is a sporty rubber
- The weight is minimal
- It’s still too thick for my tastes
- Screen isn’t close to edge-to-edge, bezel all the way around
- No flat tire though
- Two buttons, home, and back
- Software
- Default screen is time + “widget spots” where you can add whatever widgets are available
- My choices were heart rate, date, steps and sunrise/set
- Fitness apps by Samsung are built in
- The cal/sleep/movement counters are available
- Exercise tracking
- “Stress monitoring” -- just breathe
- Heart rate sensor is actually nice
- A weather app, but not my DarkSky data
- Google calendar integration, but needed who knows what Samsung permission
- Shows notifications as they come in
- Messages app (via Samsung); you can use a bad build in keyboard, send an emoji or voice dictate
- Some can be interacted with
- For example, Telegram has no Tizen app, but you can use the “reply” function on the notification instead; but no initiation
- The true lack of apps makes this not so useful; if I can’t use Slack or Telegram on the device, it’s not enough
- Android or bust; but Wear is a bust too
- If you want a real watch with real apps and integrations, get an Apple Watch
- Default screen is time + “widget spots” where you can add whatever widgets are available
