Samsung to Add iOS Support to Gear S2 Smart Watch Later This Year

[kdarling]

I don't disagree that a round Apple Watch would sell, but I still think that the square design is better for its intended purpose.

It's interesting, then, that some of the core Apple Watch apps are so "round".

Jony Ive is a watch guy. He has plenty of round watches in his stable. I'm sure he considered round designs. I think he wants the Apple Watch to pay homage to the watch without slavishly copying it.

I think Jony Ive is a one-trick pony in many ways. He often falls back on a rounded rectangle, and the Apple Watch is no different.

Fortunately Apple also hired Marc Newson, who brought in his case back, lug and watch band designs (especially the sport band), and probably insisted on the digital crown as well.

Speedometers, tachometers, and pressure gauges, like watches, have been round because the only implementation available of the underlying mechanism was based on necessarily circular components.

Hardly. Linear displays have also been used for the same gauges.

More to the point, they have nothing to do with watch mechanisms, which do not have to be in a round case at all. The gears are not that big, you know. Heck, many or most stationary clocks were in square cases for years.

Pocket watches were rounded because that made the most sense for a case that you'd be pulling out of a pocket. (Same reason nobody makes sharp-edged smartphones.)

 

[srikanth69]

Its almost similar to Android wear but what is samsung try to make ? the look of those watches is not any good, with out good looks who is going to buy a watch for only features.

 

[justinhu8]

Please feel free to provide citation.

And the verge is still a joke.

"In short, it's genius" - Wareable

"The Gear S2's bezel is the best smartwatch interaction method I've ever used. Full stop" - Engadget

"Other times, it feels like a revelation, hearkening back to the genius clickwheel on the original iPods." - CNET

"It's not an exaggeration when I say this bezel is one of the best things that has happened to smartwatch user experience. It's better than Apple's Digital Crown, for a start." - TechRadar

Enough?
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It's interesting, then, that some of the core Apple Watch apps are so "round".

Yup. There were renders that came out after the announcement that showed what a round Apple Watch would look like.
It's beautiful.

 

[appledefenceforce]

"In short, it's genius" - Wareable

"The Gear S2's bezel is the best smartwatch interaction method I've ever used. Full stop" - Engadget

"Other times, it feels like a revelation, hearkening back to the genius clickwheel on the original iPods." - CNET

"It's not an exaggeration when I say this bezel is one of the best things that has happened to smartwatch user experience. It's better than Apple's Digital Crown, for a start." - TechRadar

Enough?
[doublepost=1452166520][/doublepost]
Yup. There were renders that came out after the announcement that showed what a round Apple Watch would look like.
It's beautiful.

Hm your quotation are only focusing on one particular thing of the watch, ignoring everything else. When you say you are providing quotes I assume that they will prove to me that this product is actually better than the Apple watch both in design and software features. But in fact your quotes just prove to me that the S2 is just another failed iteration in a line of products that fail to take off.

 

[kdarling]

Yup. There were renders that came out after the announcement that showed what a round Apple Watch would look like. It's beautiful.

Yes, renders of a round Apple Watch using the current UI looked nice.

Heck, many of the most popular fans' pre-debut concept images were round, too:

After all the times that Apple has made fools of anyone claiming that Apple wouldn't change phone/tablet sizes or add certain features, you'd think that everyone would eventually learn not to claim that the current rectangular AWatch version was "the right choice" and that no other shape could possibly do.

Especially with Cook as CEO. If he ever thinks Apple is losing out on sales, he'll bring out a round AWatch. Heck, they could even call it the "Apple Watch Classic" and charge extra for it.

However, with the way Apple has kept some APIs to themselves (shades of the way Microsoft used to operate), perhaps he'll never feel threatened from other iOS compatible watches.

 

[theluggage]

I never said it was the same size

Your words: "A square will always show more area then a circle with in the same size."

 

[gaximus]

Your words: "A square will always show more area then a circle with in the same size."

I said 'With in' the same size, as in a circle fitting inside the square, or having the same 'x' and diameter.

 

[WLS]

It makes the difference in the above argument when you are talking different references. Squaring the circle is not the same as circling the square. A circle that fits inside a square will always cover less area. A circle that fits over a square will always cover more area.

 

[MasterRyu2011]

Great designs from Samsung. I love the fact that Samsung fully embraces the less-bezel is good philosopy (especially for their phones and tablets).

 

[WLS]

Great designs from Samsung. I love the fact that Samsung fully embraces the less-bezel is good philosopy (especially for their phones and tablets).

Love the Classic design Samsung gear S2. What really makes it a must have for me is the ability to design watch faces. I can make a face that is unique to me and reflects my idea of the perfect combination of style and features. The Apple watch has a choice of so-so faces that don't intrigue me at all. The IOS gear app is supposed to be available this January, I'm going to get it and start designing my unique and personal watch before I even buy one . I suspect there will be a new gen gear watch about the same time as the next Apple watch is due. Competition is a wonderful thing.

 

[mi7chy]

Gear S2 is great hardware with stand-alone cellular capability untethered from phone but until it gets a Hangouts/Dialer app it breaks my work flow for free Google Voice calling and SMS within North America over unlimited data.

 

[KPOM]

It's interesting, then, that some of the core Apple Watch apps are so "round".

View attachment 609196

Hardly. Linear displays have also been used for the same gauges.

More to the point, they have nothing to do with watch mechanisms, which do not have to be in a round case at all. The gears are not that big, you know. Heck, many or most stationary clocks were in square cases for years.

Pocket watches were rounded because that made the most sense for a case that you'd be pulling out of a pocket. (Same reason nobody makes sharp-edged smartphones.)

It's easier for a square screen to accommodate a circular user interface element than the other way around.

 

[theluggage]

its not like someone sat down and said, "what's the best way to display this information", they were going with what technology was available.

Hang on - yes they did. Not originally, maybe, but by 1980, when everybody still thought that digital watches were a really neat idea*, shop windows were full of watches with rectangular, digital displays. Guess what, though? As soon as the technology got small enough, back came the clock faces and the digital displays were delegated to providing the complications. Look in a shop window today and fully-digital watches are a minority. The market has spoken and people, on the whole, prefer to read the time from a clock face. A clock face lets you visualise time in useful ways. A digital display forces you to do sums.

Concentric circular dials are also perfect for the sort of fitness/medical displays that seem to be a major selling point

So you're essentially arguing "this is the best way because it's the way we've always done it."

No - there's plenty of credible argument as to why an analog dial is the best way to display the time. You're essentially arguing "this must be a better way because its different to the way we've always done it" which is the silly fallacy that gets progress a bad name.

True, a round face isn't the best way to display large amounts of text - but a flat box strapped to your wrist isn't the best way to display large amounts of text, either. Smartwatches are best for info-bites and notification. On a smartwatch, anything longer than a tweet will be TLNR.

Anyway, if you prefer a rectangular display, the market will provide a choice. Whether Apple will provide a choice, or insist that a square is the One True Shape, remains to be seen.

When flexible OLED displays come of age, maybe manufacturers can stop designing watches and start designing wearable data terminals with screens that wrap around your wrist. Then, the rules may change.

(*apologies to Douglas Adams, writing in 1978)

 

[kdarling]

It's easier for a square screen to accommodate a circular user interface element than the other way around.

They both have to display the opposite shape either as a whole, or clipped. As I've already pointed out, in real life watches we see the same amount of text, albeit larger and easier to read on some:

Most importantly of all, any argument that "Oh, well for the same (fill in a carefully selected dimension), a circular display shows less, is already proven to be moot in the market.

What most people forget (or never knew) is that Apple Watch buyers already LOSE PART OF THE SCREEN WHEN THEY BUY THE 38MM MODEL:

D'oh! And yet that hasn't stopped millions of people from choosing the smaller screened device.

In other words, dissing smaller text displays on any device, is like dissing all those who chose the smaller Apple watch.

In this case, absolute values are usually trumped by fashion and comfort.

Concentric circular dials are also perfect for the sort of fitness/medical displays that seem to be a major selling point

Square watches are also unable to add handy circular bezels such as a diver's time ring or a pilot's E-6B slide rule.

 

[justinhu8]

Hm your quotation are only focusing on one particular thing of the watch, ignoring everything else. When you say you are providing quotes I assume that they will prove to me that this product is actually better than the Apple watch both in design and software features. But in fact your quotes just prove to me that the S2 is just another failed iteration in a line of products that fail to take off.

Nope. I was just responding to YOUR position that The Verge was wrong about the rotating bezel. The rotating bezel is a much better and thought out design than the little knob that is on the Apple Watch, I think that's a fact now.

May I mention that my personal experience with WatchOS hasn't been the best. Apps are still slow even after native support was introduced, there are weird quirks around the whole OS and it just hasn't given me the ease of use that I usually expect from Apple. Most of the time, it was faster to just to do the thing I wanted to do, on my phone instead. Right now, it's sitting in a drawer.

 

[Tinmania]

Speedometers, tachometers, and pressure gauges, like watches, have been round because the only implementation available of the underlying mechanism was based on necessarily circular components. its not like someone sat down and said, "what's the best way to display this information", they were going with what technology was available. So you're essentially arguing "this is the best way because it's the way we've always done it."

Do you not drive a car?? Digital speedometers were tried, decades ago. They were rejected decades ago. Even in my car, with an LCD display, the speedometer and tachometer gauges are round.



Mike

 

[KPOM]

They both have to display the opposite shape either as a whole, or clipped. As I've already pointed out, in real life watches we see the same amount of text, albeit larger and easier to read on some:

View attachment 609326

Most importantly of all, any argument that "Oh, well for the same (fill in a carefully selected dimension), a circular display shows less, is already proven to be moot in the market.

What most people forget (or never knew) is that Apple Watch buyers already LOSE PART OF THE SCREEN WHEN THEY BUY THE 38MM MODEL:

View attachment 609329

D'oh! And yet that hasn't stopped millions of people from choosing the smaller screened device.

In other words, dissing smaller text displays on any device, is like dissing all those who chose the smaller Apple watch.

In this case, absolute values are usually trumped by fashion and comfort.



Square watches are also unable to add handy circular bezels such as a diver's time ring or a pilot's E-6B slide rule.

View attachment 609327

Your Moto vs Apple Watch example is misleading. First of all, Motorola chose a design with a thinner bezel and the flat tire. In reality the Gen 1 360 is much larger than the Apple Watch.

Also, the fact that Apple's UI looks like it could translate to round leads me to believe they considered it, and perhaps actually tested it but actively rejected it. We don't know whether they considered a rotating bezel but Ive was certainly aware of their existence on mechanical watches.

 

[justinhu8]

Also, the fact that Apple's UI looks like it could translate to round leads me to believe they considered it, and perhaps actually tested it but actively rejected it.

So are you saying the Apple's UI design team were lazy?

 

[fishmd]

Reading some of these comment is just comical. Lol. I have both and Apple watch for my iphone (which has been collecting dust), and a Gear S2 connected to ATT and my Note 5. I love my Gear S2. It allows me to literally leave my phone at home or on my office desk, and still get all of my text messages and phone calls, emails and notifications. It is another phone. It is what the Apple watch should have been. Making this watch work with the iphone would be just icing on the cake. I would be able to use it with both my Android devices and iphone.

To those who are saying it is ugly, I have worn my Apple watch out and about and not really had anyone comment on it, except when it first came out. My Gear S2 however gets comments quite often. People like the look of it. They often tell me they like its looks better than the Apple watch because it looks more like a "real watch." Just my experience.

And I really have no dog in the fight here guys. Like I said, I get to use both Android and Apple so I get to experience what both OS's have to offer. Apple fans should be happy for the continued competition of Samsung as it will continue to drive Apple to offer more/better products.

Oh and by the way, the Gear S2 currently works with many Android devices, NOT just Samsung as the article here states. (Not sure if anyone mentioned this already in he comments).

 

[Max(IT)]

Don't know about functionality, but in person the Samsung 's look like a cheap $20 Casio... As usual.

I'm still not convinced I'm going to use any smart watch at all, but the Apple Watch imho is still much better

 

[KPOM]

So are you saying the Apple's UI design team were lazy?

No, just that they decided that the square was better.
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To those who are saying it is ugly, I have worn my Apple watch out and about and not really had anyone comment on it, except when it first came out. My Gear S2 however gets comments quite often. People like the look of it. They often tell me they like its looks better than the Apple watch because it looks more like a "real watch." Just my experience.

Interesting. I've had several random people compliment me on my Apple Watch Hermes, and they specifically recognized it as the Hermes.

 

[0000757]

I'm curious. The Verge can't stop gushing about the rotational dial. Why do you hate it?

Why? I quit wearing my Apple Watch after a month, and switched to Gear S2. It's much better overall than the Apple Watch.

Really? Can you expand on that? I messed around with one for a few minutes at a T-mo store so my experience is limited, but it seemed pretty good to me. I actually think the looks are pretty good and simply come down to personal preference. I really like the rotating bezel idea; hit it out of the park IMO. Advantages over the digital crown. Of course I didn't have enough time to form an opinion on any of the actual functionality/usability (granted the most important part). I'm in the "competition is good" crowd, so I'm hoping it is good. Why was your experience poor?

(This coming from a mostly satisfied apple watch user)

The only thing nice about it is the design and the rotating bezel. Here's the problems I had with it:

• The release mechanism on the bands is more difficult to take off than it should be.
• S-Voice is painfully slow. I mean PAINFULLY slow.
• The way third-party faces are set up, they have to be customized directly on the face. You can't use the "Stylize" option or the app to customize them.
• Speaking of third-party faces, many are either garbage, $3.99, or in most cases, BOTH.
• The app ecosystem is pretty poor. Outside of the CNN, Bloomberg, Flipboard, and Uber apps, there's almost nothing worth having.
• Messages and Email integration will ONLY work if you have a Samsung phone and you use Samsung Email and Samsung Messages.
• STILL No Samsung Pay, or anything that makes use of the NFC.
• There's no universal voice search unlike the Apple Watch and Android Wear. For example, on W or AW, from any screen you can say "Hey Siri/OK Google, give me directions to Starbucks", but on the Gear S2 you have to OPEN Maps, go to the menu, and choose the voice dictation option.
• For some lame reason, you can't see total calories burned in a day.
• No song recognition (compared to Android Wear apps or Shazam on the Apple Watch)
• No speaker on the Bluetooth model

The Apple Watch is a much better piece of hardware than the Gear S2. I ended up picking a Pebble as I didn't really care that much for Android Wear either, and the Pebble Time is amazing (On Android, since you can actually interact with notifications). Only thing it lacks is a speaker and a Shazam app for me, but everything else it excels in.

When I go back to the iPhone it's definitely an Apple Watch 2 for me, though.

 

[justinhu8]

No, just that they decided that the square was better
.

So are you saying that Apple's design team decided to put the announcement ahead of the design in terms of priority?

 

[KPOM]

So are you saying that Apple's design team decided to put the announcement ahead of the design in terms of priority?

Or perhaps Jony Ive likes square watches. He might own a Cape Cod Hermes or a Cartier Tank. It gives the Apple Watch a distinctive look. I don't see Apple changing it.

 

[Mac 128]

Your Moto vs Apple Watch example is misleading. First of all, Motorola chose a design with a thinner bezel and the flat tire. In reality the Gen 1 360 is much larger than the Apple Watch.

Well here's the Huawei, which is the exact same height as Watch. Apple chose to limit the size of the display and go with a thick bezel, which from what I've read is purely a design decision -- form over function. Though there are certainly some power advantages over limiting the area of the display like that. Also, Apple chose to go with a rectangle, which no matter how much of the surface area the display encompasses at the same size, the display will never be significantly larger than the round. And as long as Apple keeps such a thick bezel, the round will always have a larger display.

No, just that they decided that the square was better.
[doublepost=1452268249][/doublepost]

Interesting. I've had several random people compliment me on my Apple Watch Hermes, and they specifically recognized it as the Hermes.

Every designers dream, to be mistaken for another brand. ;-)

I personally think Apple made the right decision to go square. It has strong brand identity with Apple and their other rectangular products. It's easier for developers to embrace, and design for until Apple gets all the kinks worked out. However, that does not in any way suggest that Apple won't ever offer a round variant.