Smartwatch for voice calls without requiring phone?

mrcheez

mrcheez wrote: »

Yep. The one linked earlier, plus the Bluetooth headphones and threw in an extra charging cable for office

how did you get on with this?

I imagine that battery life with the 4G cell connectivity on is fairly short?

still usable?

mrcheez

glasso wrote: »

how did you get on with this?

I imagine that battery life with the 4G cell connectivity on is fairly short?

still usable?

I've been playing around with this for a few days now.

At first it wasn't working out at all. Constantly rebooting, or NFC not working, and other issues, but then I did a factory reset and installed the latest Wear OS on it (version 2.2) and it has dramatically improved.

If I'm playing around a lot with the watch I get around 9 hours, but if just using the watch normally I get a full day.

The SIM card functionality is really good and speech detection is sharp and clear without needing to use a hands-free and I can have my hands hanging down by my waist (no need to go all Dick Tracy with wrist up to my face)

The NFC is working really well too, though there's a finicky issue where it disables randomly. I downloaded an app that got around that issue though.

I was out last night on the Christmas party and the watch really came into its own:

- Was able to pay for drinks / food using the watch

- Didn't have a huge phone in my pocket... literally just had my watch and house keys (and a bit of cash just in case NFC didn't work)

- Was able to make calls and even added a chick's number via the watch... smooth


So yeah, it's working out great.

mrcheez

mrcheez wrote: »

I've been playing around with this for a few days now.

At first it wasn't working out at all. Constantly rebooting, or NFC not working, and other issues, but then I did a factory reset and installed the latest Wear OS on it (version 2.2) and it has dramatically improved.

If I'm playing around a lot with the watch I get around 9 hours, but if just using the watch normally I get a full day.

The SIM card functionality is really good and speech detection is sharp and clear without needing to use a hands-free and I can have my hands hanging down by my waist (no need to go all Dick Tracy with wrist up to my face)

The NFC is working really well too, though there's a finicky issue where it disables randomly. I downloaded an app that got around that issue though.

I was out last night on the Christmas party and the watch really came into its own:

- Was able to pay for drinks / food using the watch

- Didn't have a huge phone in my pocket... literally just had my watch and house keys (and a bit of cash just in case NFC didn't work)

- Was able to make calls and even added a chick's number via the watch... smooth


So yeah, it's working out great.

cool. did you try to put whatsapp on it?

mrcheez

glasso wrote: »

cool. did you try to put whatsapp on it?

Not yet. I haven't done any sideloading yet, just happy to stick with the official stuff for now.

I may need to sideload Whatsapp plus a navigation app as, for some reason, there are no Wear OS apps that use the watch for navigation without relying on a phone (this is despite the watch having GPS and the sim card).

mrcheez

mrcheez wrote: »

Not yet. I haven't done any sideloading yet, just happy to stick with the official stuff for now.

I may need to sideload Whatsapp plus a navigation app as, for some reason, there are no Wear OS apps that use the watch for navigation without relying on a phone (this is despite the watch having GPS and the sim card).

yeah can be hard to solve the navigation issue - for any good solution may need to use phone (e.g. to send over google maps directions)

would be interested to see if you can get whatsapp working.

the dictation working without looking like a tool is a bonus!

mrcheez

glasso wrote: »

the dictation working without looking like a tool is a bonus!

Tbh it wouldn't bother me how it looks, as long as I'm relieved of the burden of having to carry/worry about a phone being carried/crushed/lost.

I've never liked carrying phones regardless of how small, one more thing to worry about :pac:

mrcheez

Just found the killer app for daily use at home: Alexa on the watch.

Can control my lights/heating/TV at the press of a button and I don't need to be in earshot of my Echo Dots.

Very handy, especially for changing TV channels when volume is too loud for my Echo to hear me.

Can also set heating via the watch while I'm away from the house, and no need for phone. Handy when cycling home on a cold night!

The high horse brigade

mrcheez wrote: »

Just found the killer app for daily use at home: Alexa on the watch.

Can control my lights/heating/TV at the press of a button and I don't need to be in earshot of my Echo Dots.

Very handy, especially for changing TV channels when volume is too loud for my Echo to hear me.

Can also set heating via the watch while I'm away from the house, and no need for phone. Handy when cycling home on a cold night!

You can do all that with Google Assistant also which is already built into wear os

mrcheez

The high horse brigade wrote: »

You can do all that with Google Assistant also which is already built into wear os

Don't think Google Assistant works with Alexa (which is what my house is networked up with) and I find Google assistant seems a bit slow or doesnt understand unless I repeat twice.

It also doesn't respond via voice, just outputs text on screen. The Alexa app can read out what the weather is, or latest scores, etc while my eyes don't need to look at the screen (driving or cycling for example)

Google assistant on my phone talks back but Wear OS version doesn't.

The high horse brigade

mrcheez wrote: »

Don't think Google Assistant works with Alexa (which is what my house is networked up with) and I find Google assistant seems a bit slow or doesnt understand unless I repeat twice.

It also doesn't respond via voice, just outputs text on screen. The Alexa app can read out what the weather is, or latest scores, etc while my eyes don't need to look at the screen (driving or cycling for example)

Google assistant on my phone talks back but Wear OS version doesn't.

That's actually something that annoys me about Google assistant on my phone and Google Homes. When I tell it to turn on the lights/heating etc I would prefer if it would just do it without verbally telling me it's done it. A notification on my phone/watch that it's done is all I want.

mrcheez

glasso wrote: »

i.e. you can't load up whatsapp on the watch directly

somebody has managed to do it here in spanish!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAwP6HmNlmU

would be pretty hard to type accurately on that tho I would say.

I finally had a chance to play around with sideloading this week and gave Whatsapp sideloading a shot.

Needless to say it wasn't terribly straightforward as you first need to identify why architecture version of the apk to upload (x86, arm-v7, etc)... and then which build.

I tried a build from an Android 2+ version first and got a "Date is inaccurate" warning which it wouldn't let me past. This is apparently a common issue with older Whatsapp apks when used in latest Android OS on phones/tablets too.

I then installed the very latest build. This actually worked fine on the watch, although it wouldn't let me past the "Enter profile" screen as there was no scrolling permitted.

Today I had one final stab at it and looked through the comments on the YouTube video you linked above to see if there was any indication as to which version the guy used. Hidden away in one comment reply in Spanish is a link to the apk he used.

I sideloaded it and ... "Date is inaccurate" error


So it's very possible that hidden away in all the builds there's a version that is newer than the "inaccurate date" versions, but also allows scrolling before they implemented the "no scroll" on the profile screen.

It could potentially take hours, so I'm not going to bother any more as I've already spent enough time getting this far!
So SMS-only for the watch I'm afraid.

mrcheez

Just sideloaded Chrome on my watch. It works PHENOMENALLY well (given the tiny screen)!

I can see this being among the killer apps for the watch as literally any website I tried worked, so any web app would work where there isn't an available native app for the watch.


e.g. I was able to get onto Paddy Power and follow live football scores, or get onto Boards.ie... even got onto YouTube, though most videos were buffering. Possibly some lower res ones might work.


So it would be great for finding out bus times etc.

There don't seem to be any good browsers officially released for Wear OS on the Play Store which seems odd.

drunkmonkey

Can you use whatsapp on it?

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mrcheez

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Can you use whatsapp on it?

Nope... see just 2 posts back (https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=109036544&postcount=42)

I tried Skype as well and it kept crashing too.

So it's just SMS, which is fine as I get free SMS with my Three data sub.



There is a plus side to not being able to use Whatsapp though. You can only have Whatsapp registered on one device at a time, so if it did work on the watch there's no way I'd be able to view the images/videos submitted over Whatsapp from friends/family and so I'd be missing that aspect.

drunkmonkey

Mine arrived today from Germany, loving it, connected it to Bluetooth in the car and left the phone at home. I'm liking the new found me time.

The what's app is killing me though most people text me through it and I'm in a few work rated groups as well I need to keep and eye on. Not worried about the pics or video as there mainly junk. Just need the text information though.

I've had a few smart watches and this is the first to feel like a watch and look like one.

I think this watch will improve my life it's a bold statement but the freedom of not having a phone but still having a phone can't be underestimated.

Have finally found a use for my star trek communicator it was a bit pointless pairing it to my phone but it's perfect for the watch if I want a phone for my phone that's not a phone so I can leave my phone at home.

mrcheez

Haha fantastic!

Yeah I'm loving this more and more. Pay for everything with my watch, while listening to Spotify using the Bluetooth headphones, then read some boards.ie on Chrome while eating lunch in the park.

Literally just have watch and clothes on my back and no need for money or phone.

Meanwhile my phone is gathering dust back at the office.

mrcheez

btw it's very possible there is a version of Whatsapp out there that works. I only tried 2 versions: the latest and the one posted in the YouTube video.

The one posted in the YouTube video didn't seem to work with latest Wear OS, and the latest one did work but just wasn't scrollable in order to get past the profile screen.

So perhaps there is a version of Whatsapp a few revisions down from the latest that has a scrollable profile screen.

mrcheez

Just an update. Seems WhatsApp does work after all.

You can only reply to WhatsApp messages rather than initiate a conversation, but it's damned handy when out and about.

It must work via Google's messaging service as long as both phone and watch are connected to the internet.

Emails also work too. Can reply via watch without needing phone nearby.

Tom Dunne

Intrigued with this.

How do you manage phonecalls?

mrcheez

Another update. I can initiate WhatsApp conversations using Google Assistant!

"Send WhatsApp message to Bob"


How do you manage phone calls? Just talk into watch or handsfree.

mrcheez

mrcheez wrote: »

Another update. I can initiate WhatsApp conversations using Google Assistant!

"Send WhatsApp message to Bob"


How do you manage phone calls? Just talk into watch or handsfree.

can you do that with just the watch without connection to phone?

so you could send a message but not receive one then (if not connected to the phone)?

do you use podcasts - is there a podcast app that works on the watch alone?

drunkmonkey

There's plenty of podcast apps for it, just google wear os apps, has Spotify etc.

Going to have to check out the what's app more, I think mr cheeze is saying as long as there both connected to the internet but not necessarily near each other the what's app will work, so in theory level the phone at home connected to WiFi and have your sim in the watch and you'll be able to send and receive WhatsApp if I'm understanding him correctly.

Call are simple just talk near the watch or connect to something bluetooth, like the car or a headset. Call quality is good nobody could tell I was on my watch.

The watch is basically a smartphone that takes a sim and runs android. No mobile phone required, it's a stand alone device.

drunkmonkey

drunkmonkey wrote: »

There's plenty of podcast apps for it, just google wear os apps, has Spotify etc.

Going to have to check out the what's app more, I think mr cheeze is saying as long as there both connected to the internet but not necessarily near each other the what's app will work, so in theory level the phone at home connected to WiFi and have your sim in the watch and you'll be able to send and receive WhatsApp if I'm understanding him correctly.

Call are simple just talk near the watch or connect to something bluetooth, like the car or a headset. Call quality is good nobody could tell I was on my watch.

The watch is basically a smartphone that takes a sim and runs android. No mobile phone required, it's a stand alone device.

yes I'm aware that it takes a sim

how is the battery life for you with mobile connection on?

mrcheez

yeah so here is setup...

- Mobile phone: at home, connected to wifi, no SIM

- Watch: 10 km away from phone, connected to data via SIM

Whatsapp message comes to my phone, and then is sent to my watch. I click "Reply" on the watch and can reply by typing or (my preference) dictating the sentence. I click send on the Watch, and it updates my phone which then updates Whatsapp.

If I want to SEND a new Whatsapp message rather than just reply to one, I go to Google Assistant and say "Send Whatsapp message to..."



I was out last night, using the watch for Whatsapp and paying for my drinks. Battery lasted around 6 hours with my constant fiddling.

On a normal day I would get a full 24 hours.

When using it sparingly I get 2 days.

drunkmonkey

Cheers that's exactly what I wanted to hear, not even bothered about replying to what's app just need to get the message in case it's important..

mrcheez

I might have started a revolution here

Also would be great to see less mobile phones blocking your view at gigs if everyone just had watches instead!

brightkane

Found this from BA cheez.

Would https://web.whatsapp.com/ work on it on the browser?

Maybe not as you need to scan in a q code on the phone to activate it but might be something to try.

mrcheez

brightkane wrote: »

Found this from BA cheez.

Would https://web.whatsapp.com/ work on it on the browser?

Maybe not as you need to scan in a q code on the phone to activate it but might be something to try.

WhatsApp works fine with the watch in that it works with the built-in messaging service on the watch, which then communicates with your phone Whatsapp via the cloud.

e.g.
- Me out in park / My phone at home
- Swipe left to open up WearOS voice commands
- "Send Whatsapp message to John"
- "Hi there"
... watch sends message to phone via cloud
... phone submits message to John via Whatsapp


No need for Whatsapp to be installed on the watch (with SIM-card) as long as the phone (without SIM-card) is active and connected to Wifi.