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LG G8 comes to Verizon April 11

AndroidGuys
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Verizon on Thursday announced it would begin offering the LG G8 starting on April 11. The phone will run $840 outright or $35 per month for two years. Those interested in getting their hands on the LG G8 can pre-order the phone as soon as April 1.

Verizon will dangle a number of deals to help attract consumers, including freebies and discounts. Customers who trade in a smart phone and add a new line of service can receive up to $450 off of the LG G8. Existing subscribers can get up to $200 for trading in a phone toward the G8.

Anyone who switches to Verizon and purchases the phone on a device payment plan with an eligible unlimited plan will receive a $200 prepaid Mastercard.

Last, but not least, you’ll get $350 off the LG G8 just for purchasing on a device plan and activating a new line.

If you think it sounds like there’s an opportunity to lump together deals, you’d be right. Verizon will let you combine all three of the offers with a full potential savings of up to $1,000.

As if that were not enticing enough, you can get a $100 Verizon e-gift card if you purchase the G8 with a $100 or $150 accessory bundle.

 

Opinion: In-screen fingerprint scanners are an unnecessary step back

Andrew Allen
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A new trend is hitting smartphones and I’m not sure I care for it. Much like the elimination of the 3.5mm jack a few years ago, smartphone makers are starting to adopt in-screen fingerprint scanners and do away with the physical capacitive scanners found on most phones. I’m all for innovation, but the subtraction of something shouldn’t be removed bothers me.

It’s an unnecessary step back for tech that doesn’t offer any functionality past aesthetics. In-screen options do offer OEMs the opportunity to have the function there without a physical button on the outside of the device, but don’t seem to be ready for prime time. Hell, the new ones for the Samsung S10 models require specific screen protectors or it doesn’t work.

And this is where the new sensors start breaking down in function. What if it’s not a screen protector? What happens if something much worse happens? What if I’ve just dropped my phone?

Many administrators, like the one at my day job, won’t allow for less secure locking options like facial recognition. They require a fingerprint or PIN to have a corporate device issued. If I’ve broken the screen I’ve most likely lost both options of input to unlock the device with in-screen scanners.

At least with the capacitive button, I could have unlocked the phone and possibly been able to save data or even wiped the phone via Bluetooth peripherals or external options. However, moving the fingerprint scanner to below the glass increases the likelihood of me completely losing access. While I might have measures in place to ensure most of my data is recoverable many consumers are often less prepared.

Security isn’t my only concern. What about the flexibility and functionality that has become common with physical button readers? Phones have gotten to the level of small tablet sizes recently and OEMs have come up with creative ways to interact. Like swipe-to-see notifications, for example. It’s a great way to implement a secondary input for the older capacitive buttons in a way that users will actually use on a daily basis.

Phones aren’t getting smaller. I hate to see real world functions like this swipe die with simply removing a button. The system isn’t exactly broken.

Does it look more seamless without the “hole” on the back of the device? Maybe, but I’d argue it’s no more jarring than the holes in the displays for cameras these days.

It’s the one thing you are looking at all the time and we’ve put black holes in the middle of the content. I’d also argue that they could be more creative and hide them in things like the power button.

Call me the grumpy old man, but I just had some heat on my chest about this move. It’s similar to why we are still saying things like “it’s missing the headphone jack” in reviews.

I love a good standard. However, I want them to be one for one. You should never do away with a standard without one of equal or better value. I just don’t see in-screen fingerprint options being to this level at the moment.

How About You?

Do you feel the same way about the new trend in fingerprint readers? Is the “old” way wrong or in need of change? I’d love to hear from you in the comment section below.

How to remove pre-installed apps and bloatware from Android without root

AndroidGuys
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Most Android smartphone manufacturers load their smartphones with some of their exclusive apps while releasing them and many of this pre-installed Android apps are often locked by the device manufacturer to prevent the users from uninstalling them from their device.

While some pre-installed apps like file managers or Gallery apps are actually useful, not everyone wants a random app on their phone which they never use and just sitting there and running in the background potentially slowing down the performance of their phone or even reducing its battery life.

Even the smartphones from Google which are released with the stock version of Android which is essentially the purest version of Android comes with bloatware or unnecessary apps like Google Play Movies or Google Play Books which most users may not use.

So, if you are looking for a way to permanently uninstall or remove pre-installed apps and bloatware from your Android device in an attempt to increase its performance or battery life, here are a few ways to remove pre-installed apps and bloatware from Android.

Disable apps

While this method is the easiest one in the list and it does not require root access, it essentially just disables the app you want instead of uninstalling it and completely removing it from your phone.

This means that the app won’t run in the background or won’t be present in the list of installed apps on your device or appear on the Play Store updates list. However, it will still be present on your device and you can revert the action and enable the app to use it, in case you change your mind in the future.

To disable a pre-installed app or bloatware on your Android phone, first, open the settings app on your device and then click on the Apps option from the menu.

Now, click on the app which you want to remove from your phone from the list of installed apps on your device. Proceed with caution as disabling or removing any essential system app from your device might cause any issues with the normal functioning of your Android phone.

Once you are in the app page of the app you want to remove from your phone, just click on the disable option and allow the app to remove all associated data from your device and rollback to the version it was when you first got your phone.

The app is now disabled from your phone, which basically means that it can no longer be used and will not run in the background. However, it is still stored on your device’s memory and you can enable it and start using it whenever you want to by updating it to the latest available version.

pre-installed appsAlternatively, you can also long press an app and select the disable option to disable or remove app directly from your home screen or app drawer. However, this method is not recommended as some apps may not have a disable option in the long press menu.

ADB

If you want to completely uninstall an app from your Android phone instead of just disabling it, then follow the below steps.

Note: This method does not require root access, however, you need access to a laptop or a PC to follow this method.

Make sure you have the relevant USB drivers for your Android device installed on your PC or laptop. If not, you can head over to your device manufacturers website and download and install the latest official drivers on your device. After you’ve acquired your drivers, download the official ADB tools from here and then extract them to an easily accessible location on your PC.

pre-installed appsOpen the settings app and navigate to the developer options on your device.

If you haven’t enabled the developer options already, head over to the software information section under the About phone option on your settings app. Now tap on the build number details seven times until you get the option to unlock the developer options.

You can now access the developer options at the end of your settings app. From there, navigate to the USB debugging option and then enable it.

Now connect your Android device to your PC using your USB cable and make sure that the file transfer mode is selected.

pre-installed appsOpen the folder where you had extracted the ADB tools file and then open a command prompt or a Windows PowerShell window at that location by holding the shift key and then right clicking on an empty space and selecting the ‘Open the PowerShell window here’ option.

pre-installed appsMake sure your Android device is connected to your PC via USB and then type the command ‘adb devices’ on the command prompt. Now you will get a popup on your Android device asking you to Allow USB debugging on your PC. Just click on OK to proceed.

pre-installed appsDownload and install the App inspector app on your Android device. Open the app and then select the pre-installed app or the bloatware you want to uninstall from the list of installed apps on your device and then note down the package name of the app.

pre-installed appsType the below commands one by one on the command prompt window.

adb devices

adb shell

pm uninstall –k —user 0 “name of the package”

For example to uninstall the Microsoft Word app from your Android device just type

pm uninstall –k —user 0 com.microsoft.office.word

pre-installed appsNote: Be careful not to uninstall any essential apps as it might affect the functionality of your device. If you are not sure what an app does, it is better not to uninstall the app.

Once you have followed the steps in the above method, the app you have selected will be uninstalled and removed from your Android device. While it will not be available for use on your device you can always install the app from the Google Play Store or by installing an APK on your device if you change your mind. The app will also be restored if you ever perform a factory reset on your device.

Mobvoi TicWatch S2: The best budget Wear OS watch

Matt Adams
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Apple iPhone owners have it easy. Do you want a smartwatch to pair with your smartphone? You buy an Apple Watch and go about your way. The Apple Watch is shockingly good and it stands as the only reason I carry the iPhone as my secondary device.

If you’re on team Android, the field is a lot more muddled.

You have plenty of options, but there are few distinguishing details aside from price tag. Most of the watches currently on the market are made by one company, Fossil, or one of its daughter companies like Misfit or Skagen.

Then there’s Mobvoi who is one of the last companies outside of Fossil to make Wear OS watches. You may not have heard of the TicWatch S2, but I’ve been testing it out for the last month. One thing has become pretty obvious in that time: this is a decent watch running a bad OS.

The Ticwatch S2 and the cheaper E2 are the most recent releases from Mobvoi and probably its most compelling yet. Not because they’re excellent watches or beating the competition at their own game, but because of just how inexpensive they are. You can grab the TicWatch S2 for $179 and the E2 for just $159, respectively. These are some of the cheapest options in the Wear OS ecosystem.

If you want to jump into the Wear OS ecosystem, this is about the cheapest way to do it. And cheap really is the way to go. With more expensive devices, you get slimmer designs and higher-end materials, but the experience is going to be the same because of the software.

I initially liked Google’s strategy of not allowing companies to customize Wear OS, just the hardware it runs on. But now we’re left in the void of a lackluster system on anywhere from decent-to-great hardware and no real reason to pick up a watch running the OS. A swipe here, a tap there and that’s pretty much the extent of the OS. It’s not satisfying at all.

Read more: TicWatch Pro Review: Easily the best option for Wear OS

But, at least Mobvoi is trying here. It has included several health-focused apps to go along with the heart rate and GPS sensors inside the device. I like that the TicWatch gives you plenty of warnings before collecting your data so you know exactly what you’re getting into.

If you’re not a fan of a company you’ve probably never heard of collecting your data, you can still go with the more-trusted Google Fit application. In turn, you lose out on some of the functionality in the included watch faces. Again, this is an area where Mobvoi did pretty well, as it includes some really nice watch faces. If they’re not for you, you can always head over to the Play Store for a smattering of other faces to choose from.

Battery life was wildly inconsistent on my review unit. Some days I barely got to lunch while others I got until the next morning. This isn’t a two day, or more (as I’d really like) watch, but you should routinely get through a day. I have a feeling my watch is pre-release hardware which may account for some of the variances.

Performance throughout the system is also inconsistent. The watch uses the very old Qualcomm Snapdragon 2100 Wear chip which is really on its last legs. The chip is roughly four years old now and that’s ancient in terms of tech. It’s noticeable even when trying to scroll through menus; it drops frames when trying to view notifications. Most of the time it’s totally fine. But when it’s not, it’s bad bad bad.

The TicWatch S2 isn’t a bad device. Far from it, in fact. I think if you’re looking to get into the Wear OS world, you should spend as little as possible to do so. At $179, the TicWatch S2 fits that bill, even if it does miss out some features like NFC for mobile payments.

Until Google can get its act together in the wearable space, entry-level devices like the TicWatch S2 are the way to go. If you’d like to pick one up, head over to Amazon and grab yours today.

Rymek mechanical Bluetooth keyboard review

AndroidGuys
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Mechanical keyboards are all the rage right now. Just about everywhere we turn we find someone sharing their new mechanical keyboard; so popular are they that there’s an active Reddit community of some 362,000 subscribers.

We’re an Android site, and we talk about mobile tech. Why do we care about mechanical keyboards all of a sudden? Well, as it turns it, you can have a little bit of both worlds.

Last summer we learned about the Rymek retro-style mechanical keyboard with Bluetooth capabilities. Designed to resemble old school, vintage typewriters, it supports both wired and wireless (Bluetooth) connectivity. Naturally, we asked to check one out.

Upon opening the box we immediately fell in love with it. See, sometimes you find tech that looks great in photos and on paper only to learn in person that it’s not all that awesome. That’s not the case here. In the real world this thing looks, and feels, incredible.

With a black base and rose gold color for the keys, the Rymek looks like something you’d find in your great-grandmother’s attic. Yet, somehow it would also not surprise us to see it in a Blade Runner or Black Mirror setting, too.

You know that flat, quiet experience you often get with Bluetooth keyboards? Usually thin, minimalist, and otherwise boring? This isn’t it. No, this is a keyboard that’s not only clicky and a little noisy, but it’s a conversation starter, too.

Multiple OS support

They keyboard supports Windows and Mac OS as well as your mobile platforms of Android and iOS. In fact, although it’s not a portable unit that stows away in a bag, it works great with your tablets. This is partly due to the stent that snaps into the back of it. Where you might have previously feed a sheet of typing paper, now you can put your Galaxy Tab S3 in portrait or landscape mode.

After having spent so much time with a simple Bluetooth keyboard at our desks, we have really come to like the Rymek. The saddle-shape to the keys gentle hug the finger and provide excellent response. The keyboard features Blue and Brown Switches, which is important to mechanical keyboard enthusiasts.

Retro-style and Futuristic

Let’s talk about the lighting effects. It wasn’t enough just to make this keyboard look like something out of the past. No, the dynamic lighting is where the futuristic aspect comes into play. The keys themselves are backlit, something you don’t often see in a wireless keyboard.

The Rymek offers five brightness levels and seven light effects; four speeds let you fine-tune things to your liking. Some might be a little distracting at first, but they’re just so cool you can’t not have something going on.

The keyboard pairs with up to three devices via Bluetooth and there are shortcut buttons to hop from one to the next. Moreover, the return handle that sits at the top left of the Rymek lets you toggle between Bluetooth and USB mode.

Not Just Pretty, but Practical

Speaking of functional aesthetics, the scroll knob on the right is how you adjust your media volume. It’s not just for looks or to remind you of how things used to be in a paper world; it’s practical.

The internal battery on the keyboard is 2,000mAh, or way more than you’d normally expect from a simple Bluetooth unit. But, when you factor in various light effects and usage, it will have an impact. With that said, it’s estimated that you’ll get about 50 hours out of a single charge.

Where to Buy

We’re huge fans of the Rymek. Prior to receiving our review unit we didn’t know half of what do about mechanical keyboards. We also learned it’s not the only one of its kind. But, looking through its Indiegogo crowdfunding page, and comparing to others, there’s an amazing amount of value packed into this kit.

Given how much a physical keyboard increases productivity on a tablet, we’ve found that the Rymek has breathed new life into our Nexus 9. The pair have found a place in our home where it’s perfect for managing emails and other tasks in the evening.

In addition to the black and gold version, you can also purchase it in a caramel and white option. The black has a gorgeous “piano” lacquer that really does mimic the finish of piano keys. If the caramel looks like we think it would, we’d have a hard time not wanting to eat them.

The Rymek will normally retail for $199, which puts it right in the thick of things as compared to similar units. But, if you get in on it now and you’ll nab it for only $179.

Samsung adds Galaxy A70 to its budget-friendly flagship alternatives

Andrew Allen
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For the last few years Samsung has attacked the premium smartphone market with the Galaxy line, but that’s not the only phones it has available. The company has a more budget-friendly A-series for those who don’t want to drop $1,000 on a smartphone.

The Galaxy A line is where you look when you don’t want to dole out a chunk of money. The rub? You don’t get all the fancy bells and whistles in the Galaxy S family. However, that doesn’t mean that the A lineup can’t have a high-end model and now it has one in the Samsung A70. Samsung has announced the latest phone for its 2019 mid-range with many of the same options available from its Galaxy siblings.

Infinity-U Display

The A70 has 6.7″ Infinity-U display Super AMOLED FHD+ (1080×2400) with 20:9 aspect ratio. This brings a much taller and thinner display to the A70 that of its brethren but should make the large screen easier to hold. The tradeoff may be that it will also make it hard to reach the full length of the display.

The display also houses an in-screen fingerprint scanner similar to that of the Galaxy S10. This should allow for Samsung Knox security measure and additional options for apps like Samsung Pay and Samsung Pass.

Cameras

The Samsung A70 has a 32MP shooter on the back and the front of the device. The front camera is housed inside a tear-shaped notch much like on the Essential PH-1 and has an aperture of F2.0 Around the rear you’ll find another 32MP camera with F1.7 aperture, but it’s not alone. You also get an 8MP wide angle and a 5MP depth sensor.

Internals

Rounding out the spec sheet is a pretty compelling combination of 6 or 8GB of RAM, 128GB of storage with microSD expansion, and a 4500mAh battery. The powerhouse can also be charged with Samsung’s 25W fast charging when you need to top off the tanks while in a hurry.

One UI

The A70 will launch with the latest version of Samsung’s version of Android Pie, One UI. Along with the base OS, the device will have Bixby, Samsung Pay, and Samsung Health all onboard. The company has done an admirable job of keeping the base software fairly close to the premium alternatives.

Availability

Samsung has not released full pricing or availability just yet on the A70. However, the company has saved the date for an “A Galaxy event” for early next month on April 10th. Stay tuned for more information as it comes available for the A70.

Digital Wellbeing: Get your face out of the phone [PODCAST]

AndroidGuys
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As much as we love our phones and mobile tech, maybe we’re using them the wrong way. Well, at a minimum we might be using them too much. Google recognizes this and has a tool to help. It’s called Digital Wellbeing and it will change the way you look at your phone usage.

Our most recent podcast sees us discussing Digital Wellbeing, its features, and benefits. While it’s available for select phones at this time, we definitely recommend it for all users. And, for those who don’t have access, we think you’ll like Action Dash.

What is Digital Wellbeing?

There are three primary categories which make up Digital Wellbeing:

  • App Timer
  • Do Not Disturb
  • Wind Down

Holding all of this information is the Dashboard, which shows a breakdown of exactly how you use your device. This information includes a nice little pie chart, showing the apps that you have used the most.

Below the chart, Dashboard shares how many times you have unlocked your device, along with the number of notifications. Further down the list, there are various sections to help find “Ways to disconnect”.

App Timer

App Timer Digital Wellbeing Android Pie

The first option we are looking at is the App Timer found in the Digital Wellbeing section. This will allow you to set limits to how long an application can be used.

As you approach the end of the timer, a notification will appear revealing how much time is left. Once the timer is up, the app icon will be greyed out, hopefully curbing your desire to open the app.

Of course, you can just bypass this timer, and continue using the app regardless. However, Google is hoping that App Timers will help keep you on your p’s and q’s and out of time-wasting apps.

Do Not Disturb

Do Not Disturb Digital Wellbeing Android Pie

Obviously, DND has been around on Android for quite some time. But, Google has brought a few new enhancements with the help of Digital Wellbeing.

In previous iterations of Android, Do Not Disturb mode would only silence sounds and vibrations of notifications. With Digital Wellbeing in Android Pie, any visuals attached to those notifications will also cease.

This means that your screen won’t light up at an inopportune time to distract you from your current task. But once DND is turned off, everything will go back to normal, opening the floodgate of notifications.

Wind Down

Wind Down Digital Wellbeing Android Pie

The final addition to Digital Wellbeing is Wind Down mode and is pretty self-explanatory. It’s no secret that quite a large number of folks use their phones while in bed.

However, this has been found to not be very helpful and can interrupt your sleep cycles due to the blue light from the display. Wind Down aims to change this by automatically enabling Night Light, Do Not Disturb, and switching the screen to grayscale.

After Wind Down has been set up for the first time, the change in the display will remind you to step away and get some sleep.

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Bixbi Button Remapper – bxActions review: The best thing to happen to your Bixby button

Jason England
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You know that button below the volume rocker on your Samsung Galaxy S or Note phone? You know the one I’m talking about, the one that you never press because all it does is open Bixby.

What if I told you it was capable of so much more? What if it allowed for multiple shortcuts using single press, long press, and double pressing? What if it could open any app you wanted, including Google Assistant, and more?

Developer: Jawomo

Price: Free/$2.99

Set up

It might sound too good to be true, but it’s not. Thankfully, there is a talented developer out there who gave us Bixbi Button Remapper – bxActions which transforms the worthless Bixby button into the most useful button on your phone.

In order to take back control of your Bixby button, you’re going to have to hand over certain permissions to bxActions. It might look a little complicated, but don’t worry. The app holds your hand and walks you through every step with animated tutorials. It even ensures you that your data will not be collected and stays on your phone.

One of the best parts of bxActions is that it is 100 percent free to remap your Bixby button to Google Assistant. By default, it is set up to open Google Assistant with a single press. In fact, if that’s all you wanted to do, you could install the app and never pay a dime.

However, bxActions is capable of so much more. Even without paying to unlock the full app it provides you with several shortcuts to assign to the Bixby button. You can assign it to the home button, back button, phone dialer, notification tray, open any app, use it to toggle the flashlight or do not disturb, and much more. The amount of options is staggering. It even offers you the ability to assign shortcuts to your volume keys.

If you want to unlock the true power of bxActions then you’re going to need to do two things though. First, you’ll need to give it extra permissions through the use of ADB commands or a handy bxActions.exe file stored on your phone.

Typically, you have to use ADB commands to give these sort of permissions, but the developer went the extra mile and included the bxActions.exe in the folder on your phone. This made enabling full control of the Bixby button so much easier, and if you change your mind later the same bxActions.exe can be used to reverse the process as well. Honestly, I can’t commend the developer enough for making this process as simple as possible for all users.

The second thing you’ll have to do to get the full power of bxActions is to buy the pro version. While bxActions offers a lot of functionality for free, once you unlock pro it takes it to the next level. It adds features such as long press and double press, plus it allows shortcuts for launching Tasker tasks, enabling one-handed mode, taking screenshots, toggling split screen, and more.

Final Thoughts

For such a well-designed app and all the capabilities it adds to your phone that will be used several times a day, $2.99 is a perfectly reasonable price. I gladly forked over my $2.99 to support the developer for all the hard work he put into making this app.

It’s a shame Samsung would rather use this button to force Bixby upon us than give its users something useful. While Samsung recently added the ability to assign a shortcut to the Bixby button, bxActions goes far beyond and truly sets your Bixby button free.

Bixbi Button Remapper – bxActions

Check out these hilarious Galaxy S10 and S10 Plus camera cutout wallpapers

Jason England
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Are you ready to embrace the cut-out display on the new Samsung Galaxy S10 and S10 Plus? If so, then we’ve got some wallpapers to help you do just that.

Samsung’s cut-out display is an alternative approach to offering an edge to edge display without using a notch. Instead of shying away and trying to hide the cut-out, a clever community has arisen to embrace it with these ingenious wallpapers. Below you’ll find some of the best wallpapers out for the Galaxy S10 and S10 Plus to show off the cut-out on your new phone.

Samsung Galaxy S10 Wallpapers

Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus Wallpapers

We found these hilarious wallpapers over on the Galaxy S10 Wallpapers subreddit on Reddit. Be sure to head over there to find the latest wallpapers and share them with us on our Twitter account. We’ll retweet the best ones!

If you’re looking for some more wallpapers, we have a ton of options here at AndroidGuys. If you’d like to download the Google Pixel 3 live wallpapers, check them out here. If you’d prefer the Galaxy Note 9’s wallpapers, you can find those here as well. We’re also going to shout out the D O M A and Area39-X Google Photos communities which have a ton of great options.

Samsung Galaxy Watch: the best option for Android users?

Andrew Allen
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I’ve grown to really like a smartwatch over the years. They are a great way to triage your notifications and online persona without fully using a phone. Samsung has had a nice lineup with the Galaxy Gear watches over the last few years. It since dropped the Gear moniker for just Galaxy Watch and it’s my latest option to try for a companion wrist device.

Samsung has long been a champion of the secondary devices we call smartwatches. They launched with Android Wear but quickly moved on to its in-house Tizen OS for the Gear line of watches. While these devices are definitely tuned to be paired with another Galaxy unit, they are often seen as the best option for Android users. The Galaxy Watch renews this tradition with a different name, but let’s find out if this has any bearing on the results from Samsung’s Watch.

Hardware

It’s just good. There’s really no other way to describe the Galaxy Watch. It looks and feels very much like a traditional watch. There are a noticeable weight and heft to the chassis that makes you feel like this thing will last and stand the tests of daily wear.

The hardware also allows you for a few ways to interact with the software menus on the Galaxy Watch. The main component is the bezel. It rotates like a traditional depth ring on a standard watch, but on Tizen, you use it to scroll through the UI. It’s a small, but awesome way to navigate while not having to touch the screen and adding smudges.

To the right side of the Galaxy Watch, you’ll find two buttons. The top one is for going back in a menu. It will take you to the previous screen while you are in apps. If you long-press the top key, it will launch Samsung Pay. These shortcuts can be customized as well.

The bottom button is the dedicated Home button. As you’d expect, it takes you directly back to the clock. It can also be used to double-press and launch Samsung’s AI assistant Bixby. Both buttons feel solid and have really good tactile feedback when pressed.

On the bottom of the watch is an infrared heart rate reader. This is a pretty standard affair for most smartwatches these days.

Software

This is the other side of most smartwatches. Honestly, this is where most fail. Even Google has struggled to really have a good experience on Wear OS. I am happy to report that the overall results of the Samsung Galaxy Watch are surprisingly positive.

The scrolling with the combination of physical buttons and the scrolling of the bezel is a great way to use a watch. You can navigate 90% of the interface without having to actually touch the screen. Everyone else please take notes. This is how it should be. These screens are tiny and cumbersome to navigate and select icons. Make is a moot point.

I’d challenge Samsung to take it a step further even. I’m going to sound like an old fart, but the Pebble is still my standard of smartwatch operating systems and though it faded into oblivion, it’s still the only company to get it right. If Samsung would add another button in the middle of the right side of the Galaxy Watch they would nail it!

This could be used to select UI options and you’d never have to touch the screen at all. With no touchscreen, you could maybe even save on battery life due to not always having to be looking for input as well. It’s probably a pipe dream, but someone has to do it eventually, right?

Tizen OS is pretty good overall. Samsung has done a great job making it just work. While third-party apps are lacking, the experience as a secondary device to funnel your phone content to works very well. Text, emails, and all your other notifications come through as you’d expect and even offer some nice previews on some.

The basic layout is set up from left to right. You have your notifications on the far left screen followed by the clock. After those, you can customize the layout with default widgets like weather, music, and Samsung Health. You can also hit the Samsung Store and add some more independent developed options.

Speaking of Health. I don’t understand why interacting with the Galaxy Watch, widgets, themes, and Health features are all separate apps. This is very jarring for new users who are used to other options like Fitbit, Garmin, and Wear OS having all these under one UI roof. The Wear app should consolidation all these apps and have most of them live under the setting while the main interface should be for Samsung Health.

Otherwise, Samsung Health features were very good. The Galaxy Watch successfully picked up activities when I went for long walks, runs, or hit the gym. It then logged them accordingly via the Health app. The same can be said for sleep and heart rate tracking. I had no issues from any of these while wearing the Galaxy Watch.

You also get some Samsung specific app integrations as mentioned in the hardware overview. The side buttons act as shortcuts to get to Samsung Pay and Bixby by default. Let’s start with the positive. Once set up, Samsung Pay works perfectly. You walk up to a cashier. Long-press the button. Enter your PIN and buy your items. It’s really seamless and nice to have the option to use your watch. One mentionable is that the Galaxy Watch only supports NFC payments and not the traditional MST strips of older Wear units.

Bixby is just not as good as other options. It’s definitely not as good as the industry leader Google Assistant. It can handle basic commands like “what’s the weather” or “set a timer” but more advanced requests often failed. It also sounds very harsh. After you get used to the very human responses from Google Assistant, Bixby is a noticeable step back.

Battery Life

This is where most smartwatches break down for me. I don’t want another device to constantly have to charge overnight. The good thing is that the  Galaxy Watch lasts more than a day. The bad thing is that it’s not the 4 days that the company claims. I got a consistent 2 days per charge. While this is admirable over most Android Wear watches, but still disappointing. I want a watch to last at least 3-4 days and preferably 5 days between charges.

Conclusion

I think the Samsung Galaxy Watch may be the best smartwatch for most Android users. It offers a solid notification system and UI navigation to manage your phone via your wrist. If you’re a Samsung user already, it’s a no brainer if shopping for a watch. The non-Samsung user will be forced into a few apps and services they may not normally choose, but the over experience is still overly positive.

Our Verizon model even has full LTE for connectivity and phone calls on the go. This model starts at $379 for the 42mm size and $399 for the 46mm. Both are solid LTE connected devices with Samsung powering your daily activities via Tizen.

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