Smartwatches..... Houston!

Hi all!

My birthday is coming up in about a month and when asked what I wanted, I think I spoke too soon and said “a smartwatch!”…

The one who asked said " fine! But you give me a brand and model"……

Here’s when the trouble began!

First of all… I’m a wheelchair user and due to the wrist motion, most if not all watches I’ve worn don’t last long… So the strap would have to be user replaceable…

But after that point, here’s where the real trouble begins!

WHICH watch should I ask for?

I own a Samsung Galaxy Tab S phone.

I’m not really into Apple, so their watch is out of the question.

I’m left with Samsung’s line up, Android Wear and Pebble…

Obviously if I ask for your help here is because I want to integrate ST into the watch, hopefully with voice activation?

I’m truly open for ideas!!!

Thanks to all of you in advance!!

Based on the advanced features presented at the Google I/O 2015 conference I just attended, I think Android Wear is worth serious consideration (if you use an Android phone).

While other options have individually compelling features (ummm… Pebble battery life!), the widest and growing de-facto standard (i.e., most popular for Apps and Google’s own support) is likely to be Android Wear.

To maximize battery life, pick a model that uses an AMOLED or OLED screen (i.e., screen type that only uses power on visible pixels). One AW enhancement is “always on” display, which uses a grey on black to give useful information with minimal display power, while keeping the CPU in sleep mode.

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I don’t have a solution, but it’s a nice problem to have! :smiley:

I’m really happy with my Apple Watch, so even though I know you don’t want that one, I have been surprised at how much I use it.

I especially like the DO button from IFTTT, so I’d look at compatability with that as a real plus, although not required.

As far as ST goes, the Samsung Gear S and the Apple Watch are the only official integrations right now. The Gear S is a really nice watch and does more standalone than the Apple Watch. I’d expect it to always be first for official integrations. (that’s Tizen, though, not android wear. Should work well with your phone though.)

There are also a couple of community member created Pebble watch apps, but I don’t know much about those except that they exist.

And a community created app for Android wear called CleverObjects. Again, I don’t know any more about it than that it exists.

More discussion of pebble and android watch apps here:

And a blog article on using IFTTT on an Android watch. @tgauchat this could connect to the ST IFTTT channel, right? (this is where we once again give SmartThings props for having an IFTTT channel. It opens up so many integrations. :blush:)

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This is absolutely possible with Android Wear and a little tinkering. I haven’t personally done it with my Moto 360 yet, but Armando Ferreira said he has it working with his setup using SharpTools + AutoWear via Tasker.

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Great news! Thanks guys! That was all very useful! Think I’ll go down the Android Wear road…

Now the real question remains… WHICH AW device? Moto 360, LG, any other?

Thanks everyone!

I think the 360,while popular, is not OLED, so check reviews on battery life.

Round vs. Rectangular? Or does it matter?

Luckily, I’ve always preferred rectangular watches, and figure they are best for screen real estate.

Apple came so close to hitting it out of the park for me. I’m in the pool all summer long and would really like to not loose track of time in my / friend’s / resort’s pools. So until the Apple Watch is properly water tight, it’s my Swatch orrrr maybe the Pebble Time if apple fails at Gen 2 to make it waterproof.

I enjoy my Moto 360 (gift from GF, for an anniversary). As a Gen 1 no complaints. But i definitely see the desire for an always-on watch face, OLED, etc. My battery life right now is about 36 hours. I do love the Round face, and I will say I get a lot of compliments and “wows”. Unfortunately, two separate people asked me if it was an Apple Watch. That kills me inside…

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The Pebble Time smartwatch doesn’t have all the ‘high-end’ features some other wearables offer but I would give it some consideration. Where Pebble Time does shine is its always-on display, long battery life (up to 7 days) and compatibility with both Android and iOS.

I have had the original Pebble for >2 years now (worn 24/7/365) and am very happy with it. I have used both of the Pebble SmartThing apps and they work flawlessly (One is oriented to see current home/away/etc. status, and change modes. The other is more oriented to see things and individually change them. Mind you apps would be different on new Pebble Time, not sure what those are like).

I know voice activation via watch was something you are looking for, although Pebble Time has a microphone it currently does not work with Google Now (only supports response to texts, etc.). The microphone is open to developers to use and expect much more functionality in the future. Also Google is apparently in the process of updating Google Now to let other apps integrate with it. So once that’s complete I’d be shocked if Pebble doesn’t release an updated SDK that takes advantage of that.

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The thing about voice recognition is it uses a lot of battery. So I won’t be surprised if pebble is the last to get it, since they’ve made long battery life a top feature.

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@JDRoberts What actions do you use Do for IFTTT for on your Apple Watch?

The most important one is to unlock my door. I am quadriparetic, in a wheelchair with limited hand function.

So I can do the following:

Tilt wrist
Say “Hey, Siri, open Do Button”

And then the whole watch face becomes one big button that I have set to unlock my door. So I can do it with a knuckle tap.

It’s not totally hands-free, but it’s doable. (And, yes, I admit sometimes I tap it with my nose. Welcome to wheeler world. :wink:)

The official SmartThings watch app has a similar function but displays smaller icons for the buttons. Fine for most people, difficult for me.

http://diamonds4royalty.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/st-apple-watch-2.jpg

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I love my Moto360. It looks sharp, the battery life is more than adequate (on a full charge, i can get 2 full days of usage out of it) and it can take advantage of the newly unlocked features Google turned on in the latest Android Wear update (wifi etc). The LG round watch is also nice, with slightly better battery life, and an OLED screen, and it also runs Android Wear. I dont think that one has the wifi antenna though, but that is not a must have feature for most people.

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Hey all!

Thanks for the insights!

I’ve got the Moto 360 on one side of the scale and the NEW unreleased yet Pebble…

Votes for each?

A new model of 360 is very likely pending… I’m concerned about battery life.

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As far as battery life goes…if you don’t need the watch for sleep monitoring, charging it while you sleep is no big deal. My Apple Watch typically has about 30% battery life left at the end of the day, and that’s fine for me. Of course if you go rock climbing every weekend, battery life might be a big deal.

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I’ve got a jawbone up24 on me 24/7 so no need for an extra sleep tracker… Lol!

But the heartbeat tracking is interesting…

Wonder when Moto will unveil that one…