Linus and his Apple Watch

[soldier_ph]

14 minutes ago, Commodus said:

Not counting on it. You might see Apple offer device-independent setup, although you'd probably need a cellular plan (since you'd lose all internet access the moment you step away from WiFi). The tricky bit is that your app notifications, calls, and messages would be tied to that watch; clearly general app notifications would appear on both the watch and other devices, but you couldn't have calls and texts routed from your Android phone.

 

There hasn't been much news on Snapdragon Wear 4100 watches. Mobvoi has one, but the next big hope is a likely Fossil Gen 6. Mind you, the issue isn't so much the chip as it is Wear OS. As I like to put it: Google doesn't know how to support Android on anything that isn't a phone. Wear OS is decent and ideal if you want Google Assistant on your wrist, but it feels like Apple is running further and further ahead in smartwatches.

 

If your Android phone is old enough and you're open to it, you could always go all-in and get an iPhone you'd be happy with (presumably one of the upcoming iPhone 12 models). I'm sure there would be some quirks you wouldn't be thrilled with, but iOS 14 opens the door to home screen widgets and might feel more welcoming than you think. It depends on how important the smartwatch is to you -- I consider the Apple Watch one of the important reasons why I choose an iPhone, but I know that isn't true for everyone.

Well in order for me to consider switching to an iPhone as my primary phone they would have to get rid of the Lighting port and move to USB Type C or make it all Wireless for all I care and get rid of the stupidly big Notch. Maybe put all of the Camera and front facing Sensor Tech under the OLED Display like Xiaomi, Oppo and ZTE did with their new "Concept" like phones. Can you now set any other Browser and search engine as the default or are you still stuck with freaking Safari ? Ah and I just sometimes hate the App Design especially on WhatsApp with it just still being all grey, is there even a Dark Mode option available like on Android ? Also do you have to use the Swiping gestures in order to navigate between apps and the Home screen or do they allow you to use "physical software Buttons" on the Bottom like it is the case on Android ? I know I could probably get used to it. At least I'm not upset anymore about them killing of the Headphone jack, I've since moved to Wireless Headphones anyways. 

[Commodus]

Just now, soldier_ph said:

Well in order for me to consider switching to an iPhone as my primary phone they would have to get rid of the Lighting port and move to USB Type C or make it all Wireless for all I care and get rid of the stupidly big Notch. Maybe put all of the Camera and front facing Sensor Tech under the OLED Display like Xiaomi, Oppo and ZTE did with their new "Concept" like phones. Can you now set any other Browser and search engine as the default or are you still stuck with freaking Safari ? Ah and I just sometimes hate the App Design especially on WhatsApp with it just still being all grey, is there even a Dark Mode option available like on Android ? Also do you have to use the Swiping gestures in order to navigate between apps and the Home screen or do they allow you to use "physical software Buttons" on the Bottom like it is the case on Android ? I know I could probably get used to it. At least I'm not upset anymore about them killing of the Headphone jack, I've since moved to Wireless Headphones anyways. 

Well, there is wireless charging, and you can sync with iTunes (or macOS) using WiFi. These days, I only plug in if I want to ensure a fast wired link. USB-C doesn't matter as much in that regard.

 

There is talk that the notches might get smaller, but even then... honestly, after a certain point you don't think about them much. It would be nice to have hole-punch or under-the-display sensors; I'm just not in a rush.

 

And to answer your "can you" questions:

 

- Yes, you can change the default browser as of iOS 14 (the search engine has been changeable for a while).

- Dark Mode has been available since iOS 13.

- There are no physical software buttons, but Apple's gestures also work better than Android's in my experience.

[zeusthemoose]

20 minutes ago, soldier_ph said:

Also do you have to use the Swiping gestures in order to navigate between apps and the Home screen or do they allow you to use "physical software Buttons" on the Bottom like it is the case on Android ?

 

13 minutes ago, Commodus said:

- There are no physical software buttons, but Apple's gestures also work better than Android's in my experience.

 

If you enable AssitiveTouch in settings, you can customize it so single tap brings you home, double-tap brings you to that screen where you can switch apps, and long press to open the menu (or any combination of those and many more).

[Commodus]

48 minutes ago, zeusthemoose said:

 

 

If you enable AssitiveTouch in settings, you can customize it so single tap brings you home, double-tap brings you to that screen where you can switch apps, and long press to open the menu (or any combination of those and many more).

Ah, I'd forgotten about the accessibility options. I'd argue that you shouldn't count on them unless you do need the help (just as you didn't want to buy the iPad when mouse support was only an accessibility feature).