Best smartwatch?

[stephen_rockefeller]

So I'm in the market for a smartwatch, I've narrowed it down to either the Moto 360 or the Galaxy Gear S. Anybody have any input? I've been researching for over a month now but would like to hear what the tech heads here have to say. Thanks in advance!

[anolian]

I have heard much about the moto watch so don't have much input on that one. I have read and heard the galaxy gear is best smart watch you can get all the tech gurus love it so I would sway more in that direction.

[Migration]

Just out of curiosity why do you want one? I've looked at them casually, but haven't been able to justify buying one.

[Neosphinx]

Samsung indeed has some amazing material. My collegue bought one. I was making conversation stating it was just a gadget, but he geniounly believes it's a nice add and that it works properly.

Also depends on your phone I assume. If I have a samsung phone, I would go for optimized compatibility so samsung gear. If apple, motorola.

[stephen_rockefeller]

Just out of curiosity why do you want one? I've looked at them casually, but haven't been able to justify buying one.

I don't know really just kinda caught my attention. I'm a pretty big fan of tech so just decided to see what the buzz was all about. The reason why I narrowed it down to those two specifically is because those are the two running the android wear OS. The other galaxy gear smartwatches run Samsungs own OS called tizen and I'm not a fan. I have a Samsung note 4 now so either the moto360 or the gear S will run good with it. I might get the nexus 6 phone when it comes out, it is made by Motorola so that should pair nicely with the 360. Hopefully someone here has one and can share their experience.

[stephen_rockefeller]

Also my apologies but it meant to say the galaxy gear live instead of the gear S which isn't out yet and will not need to be paired with a phone because it will have its own internal 3G connectivity.

[lodibricks]

Also my apologies but it meant to say the galaxy gear live instead of the gear S which isn't out yet and will not need to be paired with a phone because it will have its own internal 3G connectivity.

Yeah, that makes quite a diff w/ & w/o it's own 3G.

 

I got the LG *** Watch as soon as it was out. When I first took it out of the box, I said, "Oh man, I don't know if I can handle something so bulky on my wrist." However, I haven't worn a watch since I had a calculator watch in elementary school, so the feeling would already be awkward with any watch. Based on pictures and video at the time, I feared the 360 would be even bigger, but it's definitely a nicer looking design. The initial reviews of the 360 were poor on battery life, but an update has since improved that. I do like some of Samsung's devices. What I fear most with them is that they pump out so many models, that they can easily move on and leave yours in the dust. I'd trust Moto, at this point, to provide updates a bit further along. It's too early at this point for me to assume watches will get replaced & forgotten as frequently as phones.

 

Generally speaking of smartwatches -

I still feel it's a completely optional piece of tech gear, but I do love the convenience of it. I personally hate ringtones and all the notifications going on throughout the day, either too loud or missing something from being too quiet. It's harder to miss a notification buzzing on my wrist, and it's easy to swipe away something that you would've been crashing your car trying to dig out of your jeans. I've actually had some meals where I didn't pull my phone out like everyone else at the table because I knew I wasn't missing anything.

 

Need more justifications? I almost bought a fitbit as everyone at work seems to have one. Consider that $99 toward the watch.

PLUS, you can check the time on your wrist! It's a novel concept, I know. When I got a phone, I said, "Why have a watch when I can just check my phone?" Now I say, "Why pull out my phone when I can just check my wrist?" I guess the watch just needed all other notifications to win me over.

 

If I weren't such a guinea pig for new tech, I'd wait for them to be slimmer and more refined. I know they all vary to a certain extent, but mine lasts 1.5-2 days with the screen always on, or maybe 3 days if the screen's off when not viewing. I just charge it nightly w/ the phone. Sorry for the novel, only to have no experience with either watch you're looking at. I do know the OS itself is unaltered between the 3 though, so the general info applies. I think with these for now, it's almost all based on preference of looks and comfort as the specs are very similar.

[stephen_rockefeller]

Outstanding! Thanks for the input. I never considered the LG watch because I've never been a fan of LG but I might give it a look. I have a fitbit now that never leaves my wrist save for charging. My worry is the same as yours in that smartwatches are in the their infancy stage and as more major companies hop on the bandwagon we are bound to get more (and better) options than we have now. Samsung is already following smart phone patterns and releasing new versions every 8-12 months.