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it would be awesome to start a thread with all the information in one place someone would need to maximize the phones potential without rooting it or wrecking the warrenty. i know i will end up rooting my phone but not right away. so im looking to maximize it without doing anything too crazy. so what should i know and what free programs should i get to do this.
thanks so much
Droiddog and places like that have recommended apps and such if you want to stay stock. XDA is a place for modding. Its great that you're learning and on your way.
Remember, that you can always go back to stock for warranty issues with oden. Once you flash, you never go back.
From a phone
Note: Droiddog only has 1 post in the samsung captivate/epic/fascinate/vibrant forum http://www.droiddog.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=87
When searching for captivate stuff, I found most information (even not related to rooting) on this forum.
For my stock captivate I got:
Advanced Task Killer - the free ad based one. I have not tried the auto kill levels since I am scared that my phone will turn off randomly when I want to receive a call.
Launcher Pro - the free one (so i can customize the 4 buttons at the bottom of the home screen)
Home Switcher - so i can switch to touch wiz launcher if I want to use the Kies mini app
Google Map - I heard the one that came on the phone wasn't as good as the one in the app store.
I removed all the AT&T Apps from the home screens.
For music I got double twist to sync music with my iTunes.
I tried the AT&T video/music players and PowerAMP and DoubleTwist and something else but none are really that good - They seem to forget which podcasts I already watched/listened to and are not really good at resuming. This is probably because they think podcasts are songs.
I got Pod Manager to download podcasts - worst UI in the world but gets the job done. I am still almost thinking of using itunes and just syncing with double twist every morning.
The battery isn't the greatest on this thing. Not sure what techniques I can use to make it better. I set my background to black but not really sure if that will help. Also I used the "Power widget" to dim my screen a bit. I really wish I could use the "auto" setting on the light but still tell it to be darker in general. To offset the power even more I bought a couple micro usb cables. 1 for computer, 1 for car, 1 for work computer, and power adapter from box for next to bed. However I had to cut down some of the plastic off the ends of the cable to make it fit. I do generally make it all day with just the nightly charge even when I watch a podcast on the way to work and home from work (about 1 hour each way) on the bus but I like having the cables just in case.
The Kies app and mini app seems to suck - I can't get either of them to work on win 7 x64 even with .net 4.0. On windows 7 x86 the mini version used (without .net 4.0) to work but not anymore since the latest kies mini update.
Other than that I just got a bunch of games and apps. Although it probably based on personal preference.
Hope that starts you off in your quest.
NinjaCoder said:
Note: Droiddog only has 1 post in the samsung captivate
When searching for captivate stuff, I found most information (even not related to rooting) on this forum.
For my stock captivate I got:
Advanced Task Killer - the free ad based one. I have not tried the auto kill levels since I am scared that my phone will turn off randomly when I want to receive a call.
Launcher Pro - the free one (so i can customize the 4 buttons at the bottom of the home screen)
Home Switcher - so i can switch to touch wiz launcher if I want to use the Kies mini app
Google Map - I heard the one that came on the phone wasn't as good as the one in the app store.
I removed all the AT&T Apps from the home screens.
For music I got double twist to sync music with my iTunes.
I tried the AT&T video/music players and PowerAMP and DoubleTwist and something else but none are really that good - They seem to forget which podcasts I already watched/listened to and are not really good at resuming. This is probably because they think podcasts are songs.
I got Pod Manager to download podcasts - worst UI in the world but gets the job done. I am still almost thinking of using itunes and just syncing with double twist every morning.
The battery isn't the greatest on this thing. Not sure what techniques I can use to make it better. I set my background to black but not really sure if that will help. Also I used the "Power widget" to dim my screen a bit. I really wish I could use the "auto" setting on the light but still tell it to be darker in general. To offset the power even more I bought a couple micro usb cables. 1 for computer, 1 for car, 1 for work computer, and power adapter from box for next to bed. However I had to cut down some of the plastic off the ends of the cable to make it fit. I do generally make it all day with just the nightly charge even when I watch a podcast on the way to work and home from work (about 1 hour each way) on the bus but I like having the cables just in case.
The Kies app and mini app seems to suck - I can't get either of them to work on win 7 x64 even with .net 4.0. On windows 7 x86 the mini version used (without .net 4.0) to work but not anymore since the latest kies mini update.
Other than that I just got a bunch of games and apps. Although it probably based on personal preference.
Hope that starts you off in your quest.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you want awesome battery life un-install all that crud( launcher Pro, ATK, fancy music player) use any wallpaper you want and toggle your background data and wifi notifications my cappy gets 12 hours easy.
tylerdurdin said:
If you want awesome battery life un-install all that crud( launcher Pro, ATK, fancy music player) use any wallpaper you want and toggle your background data and wifi notifications my cappy gets 12 hours easy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh sorry I was considering 12 hours (10 hours of sitting in pocket use + some phone calls + 2 hours of video playing) poor battery life.
I picked the black background because I heard the "Live Backgrounds" were a battery drain and I like the black color (its my PC's background color as well).
Auto Task Killer is not needed...does more harm than good IMO.
Also your black background is the best for Super AMOLED (all OLED-based) displays because when a pixel is black it is essentially using no energy.
-Battery life gets better with about 2 weeks of use
-I uninstalled all task killers. This thing multitasks on its own fine
-I figure a full day without plugging into a charger is excellent on any smartphone device.
-However, I bought the samsung external charger and battery on amazon, so I now seldom plug my phone in. I just swap batteries in the evening and charge the battery thats been in the phone all day
My captivate is 1 week old. The battery the first few days was not very good but now it seems to last longer.
This is what I have done:
1- Brightness set the lowest (Phone + Browser) I can see the screen just fine.
2- Black background, but with style so it doesn't look plain
3- All apps. sync manually and background data off. I turn it on when I need it but I am most of the time on wifi.
4- GPS off, I don't need it or use it
As of right now, with moderate use, I am on my 2nd day without charging and I'm pretty sure I will get a 3rd day without charging.
Apps that I can recommend:Fancy Widget,SamServmode, Barcode Scanner, 3G Watchdog
My post about droiddog was about the app reviews and such they do. Basically all unrooted android phones are the same, just different hardware. That's why general android sites are best for unrooted phones. Samsung support forums would be a good place. General public troubleshooting each other. Get where I'm going with this?
From a phone
NinjaCoder said:
Oh sorry I was considering 12 hours (10 hours of sitting in pocket use + some phone calls + 2 hours of video playing) poor battery life.
I picked the black background because I heard the "Live Backgrounds" were a battery drain and I like the black color (its my PC's background color as well).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh why didnt you say that If I were you I would buy an ipod touch for video playing and your battery in your phone will last for 20 hours.
I resisted rooting for the longest time, thinking I'd wait till Froyo.
I finally got tired of waiting and did the one click root + lagfix. Didn't try anything else yet but let me tell you, just doing that small amount has made my Captivate experience so much happier
Do you have the link to the oclf you used? I'm just afraid of bricking it. I need to root first then I can use the oclf? Our does the oclf do it all?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I896 using XDA App
with my usage, my phone lasts me 8 hours, if im lucky. sometimes i go to class at 12 get home by 3 and im at about 60% lol..
messxxxedge said:
Do you have the link to the oclf you used? I'm just afraid of bricking it. I need to root first then I can use the oclf? Our does the oclf do it all?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't use OCLF. Use z4root, it works with 2.2
I'm placing this in the One S forum as there are not a lot of Sense 4.0 devices out there and the One S is what I have tried this on.
HTC Sense 3.6 had both dock mode and car mode (though there was no native car mode app). Among my disappointments with HTC Sense 4.0 on the One S is no dock mode. Not just no native dock app, but no triggreable dock mode (that I have found, anyway). I've tried installing the dock mode apk from an earlier Sense, but it does not work. It does have car mode, though and a pretty (but not customizable) car mode app.
The workaround I came up with is three-part:
1. A horizontal desktop charging cradle, At bedside I use a Philips Bluetooth Speaker "Dock" (which, they basically took their iPhone dock and put a micro USB on it, but not a _dock_ micro USB - grrrr!) and I've also ordered a $7 Neewer cradle for my office.
2. A dock app - I've found Desk Clock Plus (with the added $1 customizing extension) to be the best option.
3. And here is the trick: an automation app like Automateit Pro.You can create a dual trigger to include horizontal state and phone on a charger. The triggered actions would include, of course, opening the dock app, plus you can throw in turning on WiFi and/or Bluetooth. For the horizontal state I use the accelerometer sensor and I use the "record state" option.
If you also use a car dock as I do, you'd want to add a third trigger of "dock mode = not docked." That way, your macro won't run in the car and you'll get instead the HTC car mode app. And BTW, you can also program Automateit Pro to use the car mode trigger to turn on Bluetooth (I rarely listen to local radio anymore on my car stereo), open Spotify, turn on speakerphone if a call comes in (I do not like to talk through my car stereo), etc.
12 of the best new features in Android Lollipop
Google’s approach for rolling out the latest version of Android, Lollipop, is a little different. There are the usual things we see every year — a new Nexus phone and a new Nexus tablet — but instead of a big event, the company is posting details in blog posts and on the main Android site. So if you’re tracking the rollout closely, you probably have a sense of what’s new and what’s cool in the OS. If you’re not, though, getting a sense of what Lollipop is actually like and what it actually does isn’t easy.
Luckily, we got a chance to sit down with some Google execs last week to get a walkthrough of the coolest features. We won’t know everything until we actually have a chance to use the final version, but there are some clever additions we saw last week. Here are some of our favorites.
Tap and Go: Android has never been particularly good at transferring your settings and apps from an old phone to a new one. It’s always been a crap shoot as to whether all your apps would actually be downloaded from the Play store, to say nothing of your home screen and wallpaper. That’s partially Google’s fault, but it’s also a difficult problem to solve because of the diversity of hardware and software in the Android ecosystem. "Tap and Go" is a small step towards resolving that. You can pair them with NFC and your old Android phone will then use Bluetooth to send over all the details of what your phone should have installed over to the new phone.
Ok Google: Several of the enhancements on Lollipop were inspired by Motorola. The first is the ability to say "Ok Google" even if your phone is in standby mode. Your phone will wake and then you can use voice to search, send texts, and more. It requires compatible hardware, though, and so far we only know for sure that the Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 support it.
Double tap to wake: Speaking of waking up your Android device, you can just double tap the screen of the Nexus 9 tablet to wake it up. Like the advanced "Ok Google" command, it requires compatible hardware. We also hear it works on the Nexus 6.
NEXUS GETS SOME OF THE BEST FEATURES FROM THE MOTO X
Ambient Display: Another feature that’s made it over from the Moto X is the idea of displaying bits of information on your screen as it comes in without turning the whole thing on. On the Nexus 6, it’s much more advanced — basically you get black and white versions of what would normally be on the lock screen anyway. It requires an OLED screen to work, so for now it seems like this is going to be a Nexus 6-specific feature.
Face unlock: Android’s face unlock feature has never really worked all that well. It’s kind of magical that it can recognize your face, but it’s often slow and usually needs really good lighting conditions to work. In Lollipop, Google has tweaked it so that it starts running silently as soon as you turn on your screen. Since you can interact with notifications on the lock screen now (see below), the idea is that you’d power it on, mess with a few notifications, and by the time you’re done Face Unlock has already kicked in and unlocked the phone.
Lock screen notifications: As with the iPhone, Android Lollipop will put notifications right on your lock screen. But on Android, the notifications on your screen are basically the same as those that appear in the drop-down notification shade. Why does that matter? Because on Android, you get a lot of control built-in to those notifications. You can archive email, tap reply, expand notifications to see more information, and so on. Now, you can do it directly on your lock screen. As a small bonus, if you have apps with sensitive information that you want to see notifications from but don’t want to display their contents, you can set them to be "redacted" when they show up on the lock screen.
Priority Mode: But the best notification enhancement in Lollipop is something Google calls "Priority Mode." It’s a little bit like "Do Not Disturb" on iOS but it seems much smarter here. You can easily choose which apps can still disturb you when in Priority Mode (the rest won’t bug you). Even better, when you set it, Android gives you the option to set a duration before it goes back into normal notifications. That way, you won’t forget to switch it off. There’s also a total silence mode that will turn everything off — including alarms.
Guest Mode: Android has allowed multiple user accounts on tablets for awhile, but in Lollipop there’s a new option called Guest Mode that works on both phones and tablets. The idea is that it creates a clean, safe, and disposable workspace that anybody can use. Your guest can even quickly log in to their account to check email. You or your guest can get rid of the data inside the guest account at any time.
THE NEXUS 9 IS EASY TO HAND TO YOUR KIDS
Pin Apps: Sometimes Guest Mode is too much work, and all you really want to do is launch a game and hand your phone to your kid — but not let them leave that game to mess with your email. Lollipop has a new feature (enabled in settings) that adds a pin to each card in the mulititasking view. When you tap it, that app won’t let you leave without entering a passcode. It’s similar to the "Guided Access" feature in iOS, but a little easier to use.
Improved Quick Settings: Quick Settings have been reorganized again, and they’re a bit easier to figure out now. Plus, the brightness slider you’ll find there is a little bit smarter: by default it responds correctly to ambient light at any brightness level. Speaking of sliders, the volume slider that pops up when you hit the volume key is also smarter: it has the buttons for the various Priority Notification modes right there.
Overview: The multitasking view now has a new name, Overview, and a new Material Design look. Each app is a big card, stacked up, and you can scroll through many more recent apps than you used to be able to. But the best feature is that any app can create multiple "cards." So, for example, when you compose a new email your inbox is still in the overview, so you can switch back and forth between tasks in a single app.
Material Design: The best and most obvious feature in Lollipop comes last. It’s a complete redesign that we already got a good look at this past summer, but there are new designs pretty much everywhere. One example: the contact card. Android adds a dynamically-created color overlay to each photo based on an accent color from the photo itself. Red lipstick, red overlay. Orange sweater, orange overlay. It’s a nice touch.
Source: http://www.theverge.com/2014/10/28/7082875/12-best-new-features-android-lollipop-nexus
On my Flip 3 the outer display orange dot does not show when I have a new phone call or text message notifications (when I open the phone badges show missed calls or messages). I do get the orange dot for missed Gmail mail and some other things.
Do I need to set some setting in order to enable the orange dot for missed calls or messages?
Thanks,
Barry.
Hi,
I did a test and everything working fine for me. Try checking the notification settings for you message and phone app. I guess the orange dot is only showing if notifications are turned on
david.siebauer said:
Hi,
I did a test and everything working fine for me. Try checking the notification settings for you message and phone app. I guess the orange dot is only showing if notifications are turned on
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. That's good to know.
On my phone notifications are turned on for both the default phone app and default messaging app.
For the default phone app, notifications appear to be turned on, but the slide switches are grayed out. I am not able to control those notifications by turning them off or on – the switch is to the right so they appear to be on, but the switch is gray not green.
For the default messaging app, the switch is to the right, it's green, and I can switch notifications off and on – they are currently on.
I have a feeling I might know why I'm not receiving that notification dot. I have that phone number forwarded to Google Voice. If I don't answer, Google Voice picks up and takes a message. Google Voice says something about also handling messages, although I don't know how that works. I receive messages on my phone. Once Google Voice told me I had a new message, but other times no. I don't remember seeing that orange dot when I receive a new message. I will have to test it some more.
Barry.
Phone app showing the same for me. I think these are the default settings.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
I tried to reproduce the behavior for the messages. Only way it does not show the orange dot is by turning off notifications at all or activating DND (without setting exception to show notification while DND mode).
Unfortunately Google voice is not available here, so I can't test it.
David
david.siebauer said:
Phone app showing the same for me. I think these are the default settings.
View attachment 5450869
I tried to reproduce the behavior for the messages. Only way it does not show the orange dot is by turning off notifications at all or activating DND (without setting exception to show notification while DND mode).
Unfortunately Google voice is not available here, so I can't test it.
David
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. That's how my phone app notifications look – buttons grayed out.
I will have to play with this some more.
Barry.
Notifications on this phone are garbage. At least from the standpoint of knowing when you have one without manually turning the exterior screen on.
When you get a notification the exterior screen turns on for like a second and that's it.
They need options..like edge lighting or a simple blinking dot because unless you saw it turn on for that spit second then tough luck. If Someone sent you an important text or email and you didn't see the screen flash on then off you're out of luck.
It's ridiculous. It's lazy and I expect better from a company like Samsung...
I deeply regret buying this phone for just that reason alone..
d0x360 said:
Notifications on this phone are garbage. At least from the standpoint of knowing when you have one without manually turning the exterior screen on.
When you get a notification the exterior screen turns on for like a second and that's it.
They need options..like edge lighting or a simple blinking dot because unless you saw it turn on for that spit second then tough luck. If Someone sent you an important text or email and you didn't see the screen flash on then off you're out of luck.
It's ridiculous. It's lazy and I expect better from a company like Samsung...
I deeply regret buying this phone for just that reason alone..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I partially solved with vibration when i take the phone, if there is a notification not read the phone does a little vibration
mirkol78 said:
I partially solved with vibration when i take the phone, if there is a notification not read the phone does a little vibration
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True but that's fundamentally the same as tapping the exterior screen twice to see if there's a notification dot.
Im hoping the developer of aodnotify @Jawomo can use the code in another thread (located here https://bit.ly/3n0VG5d) that allows you to do things with the exterior display like edge lighting or a blinking dot and plenty more but the first 2 would be helpful for notifications received when you weren't looking at the phone.
I just don't understand why Samsung limited the exterior screen options so much. It seems like such an obvious idea to be able to tweak notification settings for the exterior screen...but Samsung seems to always go half way on their software... Except for their extreme and broken battery saving methods. Like say you don't open your clock app for 3 days... Even if you have an alarm set for day 4 their over aggressive battery software will put the app to sleep and not allot it to run in the background..and your alarm won't go off on day 4. Even if you allow an app to run in the background and disable battery optimization for that app this still happens.
You can sort of disable it so it's less aggressive but looking at the settings you might not know 100% what it's actually doing and your average user probably won't change any of those settings.
I miss the good old time swhen you just had a simple LED Notification light Maybe to simple
david.siebauer said:
I miss the good old time swhen you just had a simple LED Notification light Maybe to simple
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Me too...me too.
It can't be that hard to implement lol. Even if you use the screen as a fake LED I'd be happy.
Agree notification light is something extremely useful. Last time i 've had it on Mi 9 or Note 9 phone. Rest in piece! Only Xperia offers it nowadays.
Also think Z Flip notifications are great and bad at the same time. You have widgets, you can swipe notifications away, you can read long messages and people can see themselves on that screen. Now with AOD off, you have permanent charging notification which is wonderful. That exactly emulates a white (pulsing) notification light. But with AOD on, situation changes. Charging status is suddenly impossible to read. Oh, the microscopic battery icon, not again. Notifications pop up for a quick period of time. Orange dot sometimes disappears. There should be app icons instead like on normal AOD!
doggydog2 said:
Agree notification light is something extremely useful. Last time i 've had it on Mi 9 or Note 9 phone. Rest in piece! Only Xperia offers it nowadays.
Also think Z Flip notifications are great and bad at the same time. You have widgets, you can swipe notifications away, you can read long messages and people can see themselves on that screen. Now with AOD off, you have permanent charging notification which is wonderful. That exactly emulates a white (pulsing) notification light. But with AOD on, situation changes. Charging status is suddenly impossible to read. Oh, the microscopic battery icon, not again. Notifications pop up for a quick period of time. Orange dot sometimes disappears. There should be app icons instead like on normal AOD!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only widget I find useful is the timer. Swiping notifications away is fine but doesn't really help let me know I have some unless I actively go looking.
Having the charge screen on all the time doesn't appeal to me either, if I want to see it I'll just tap the screen. Ive never liked things staying on all the time, not even the clock but I know plenty of people do so I understand why it's an option.
The orange dot is pretty useless. It disappears if you turn the exterior screen on even if it's just to see the time and you don't touch anything else.
That's why I wish someone would make edge lighting for the exterior screen. The code needed to make it work has been posted but who knows if someone will do it.
Like I said I use aodnotify to basically keep the exterior screen turned on for 2 min when I get any kind of notification. That way I can look over and know. I always have my phone on vibrate and vibration on Samsung phones is so weak. On ever phone I've owned that wasn't Samsung I could hear the vibration from across the room but with the note 9, 10+ and this I can't hear it vibrate when it's a couple feet away.
Samsung... Always going half way when it comes to their software. No idea how they became number 1.
d0x360 said:
Samsung... Always going half way when it comes to their software. No idea how they became number 1.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
to be fair, no other brand is close to Samsung software like I moaned here. Several times i returned the phone like Sony, Alcatel because of dead blank OS. Quit OnePlus because of that too. Xiaomi has just a overmodified bloatware and spyware. There's no brand that can compete with Samsung regarding software.
Also it's Samsung that can notify you in a brutal way -- do the edge effect, blink with flash, repeat notifications until you notice.. This creates an explosive cocktail of effects you can't miss. I'd just prolong the notification time, it's really short. But it's the same with other brands!
Avoided 3rd party notif light apps, as they burn battery quick. But i tried aodnotify as it promises something different. It's highly configurable but can't modify the small screen. I have the phone closed 99% of time so it's useless for me But thanks for the tip, i will use in next time, if i ever will have a classic phone.
doggydog2 said:
to be fair, no other brand is close to Samsung software like I moaned here. Several times i returned the phone like Sony, Alcatel because of dead blank OS. Quit OnePlus because of that too. Xiaomi has just a overmodified bloatware and spyware. There's no brand that can compete with Samsung regarding software.
Also it's Samsung that can notify you in a brutal way -- do the edge effect, blink with flash, repeat notifications until you notice.. This creates an explosive cocktail of effects you can't miss. I'd just prolong the notification time, it's really short. But it's the same with other brands!
Avoided 3rd party notif light apps, as they burn battery quick. But i tried aodnotify as it promises something different. It's highly configurable but can't modify the small screen. I have the phone closed 99% of time so it's useless for me But thanks for the tip, i will use in next time, if i ever will have a classic phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wait... First off there is no edge lighting on this phone. It's irrelevant if there is on other Samsung phones especially since you can get better edge lighting via aodnotify and it doesn't use much battery at all. Ive used it for years and it's very efficient. In fact I've used plenty of notification apps like one on the original Pixel to give me a blinking LED style notification light that changed color based on app and it barely used any battery either. Plus you can get edge lighting on any phone by using an app. Samsung's own edge lighting is horrible. It lacks granularity in it's settings and features. aodnotify fixes all of that as do tons of other notification apps but aod is the best for edge lighting and the z Flip3.
aodnotify does work with the z Flip3. First if the phone is open (screen on or off) it will provide edge lighting or other effects like fake LED, camera hole light etc. If the phone is closed aodnotify will let you make it so the exterior screen can be set to stay on as long as you want when you get a notification. So it is useful for the z Flip3. I don't know how you missed the settings for always on display but mines set to always off unless a notification is received. Then it's enabled, screen set to stay on for 2 min unless the notification is cleared. Very helpful, especially since Samsung basically has no notification options.
As for Samsung software being good... I completely disagree. Also other companies default software is irrelevant, Samsung makes massive profits every year on phones. They should be able to make decent apps. The majority of them are rated 3 stars or less on the Galaxy store.
It's buggy, it lacks options and features and not only is there a massive amount of bloat, some of it is basically spyware sending everything you do to Samsung. Thankfully I can block that with Adguard.
Googles apps are superior in every way despite the fact that GAPPS is just supposed to be the basic frame work for what these kinda of apps should be. Samsung SHOULD have far superior apps with way more options and better UI's than GAPPS but they don't. Their dialer is super basic, so is contacts. Their messaging app doesn't support RCS and it's ugly. The calendar, calculator...all of it worse then GAPPS.
Then there's their ridiculous changes to battery management. Instead of using what's built into Android they made a custom solution that's beyond overly aggressive.
Let's say you work mon-fri every week but you take Friday off so on Wednesday or Thursday you open the clock app and shut off the alarm for Friday. When Monday comes your alarm won't go off because their battery software has put it to deep sleep even though you set it up so it can run in the background AND you disabled battery optimization for the app. It's ridiculous and actually breaks some apps. It can also cause delays in getting text messages and emails. It can even cause wifi calling to break mid call.
I could go on with tons of in depth issues but I think that's enough for now. I expect better from the #1 mobile phone company. Much better. I've given them 5 chances if you count the galaxy nexus which felt cheaply made but thankfully didn't run Samsung software...
So once a year goes by and the next pixel comes out there's a 99% chance I'll buy it and sell this z Flip3. The only way I wouldn't get a pixel is if Microsoft makes a duo 3 and actually tries or another company makes a really good phone that can also be rooted. Regardless of what I buy there's one thing I know for sure...it won't be made by Samsung
d0x360 said:
Regardless of what I buy there's one thing I know for sure...it won't be made by Samsung
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm back in the Samsung camp because of the software. Been there since SPlus phone (as the era of HTC was ending) with some interruption. I've listed dozens of reasons in the linked post. You want more from this company while you're getting nothing from the others. Samsung is not in the business of Gapps, so it's not fair to mention it, and you shouldn't use such spyware anyway (then why you care about adguard?). I've used Google "phone apps" (caller, calendar, photos) and it was too simple. Who still gives you rich LOCAL music player, who still gives you LOCAL video player (other brands cancelled both). Gallery with post edit, map, s-pen zoom and gestures (Note) is good, no need google Photos. Who gives you best calendar app with nice UI, weather, home timezone, spen preview? I've seen anything comparable to that other than ver geeky apps on the market. Caller which plays recorded calls directly from UI? Lovely. Love the call popup settings that others don't gives you. Who gives you OneUI, 10x richer than other layouts while fast. Onehand mode, or even scroll the screen down basic function of OneUI. The one and only legendary Edge panel that can't be replicated (tried ALL clones). The best AOD, best edge lightning + flash + screen effects (for large screen). Best accessibility options in market period. Best functional camera. You can still say cheeeese to shoot and no other brands can do. You can recognize objects, scan documents or get assistance in shooting situations. And so much more. I'd rate Samsung software ******** while OnePlus ** Sony ** Xiaomi ** LG ** etc. Don't know about Google but i assume it's the same mediocrity (again i don't count their non-phone apps). And i'm heavily debloated, work without Samsung account and still profit from this ecosystem heavily.
Yes they kill apps https://dontkillmyapp.com/ but is perfectly manageable. All you do is choose few core apps and prioritize them, while the most garbage gets killed. This approach is very helpful for battery and OnePlus invented it (that's why they always had nice scores on gsmarena). I moaned first, but now i agree.
Pixel 6 is a horrid phone based on people, and now heavy (that's why i chose ZFlip), let's see next year.
Samsung just pushed AOD app update for ZFlips. I tested the orange dot and it works for all messages and calls. It even blinks. Again, no other firmwares i know incl AOSP offers longer notifications than this. It's always displayed shortly or not at all. Samsung of course has the most configurable AOD and notifications with color highlighting, color match app, bubbles, smart popups. Split app from task manager or Edge panel. It's insane. You can even prolong the AOD notification timeout in the settings or even the toast messages! Here we found the glitch. This setting simply needs to apply on cover screen too and problem solved. Let's wait for another update, i'm sure it will come. It's not like in other brands where phone software stays the same for years.
There's no edge effect on the cover screen (yet!), but that flash makes me jump out of bed. Expecting a major company to produce geeky nice apps like aodnotify is very unrealistic. It won't happen. BTW I still can't make aodnotify work with cover screen. I went through all the settings and it has zero impact there.
I just played with Bixby settings.. you can set action when folded, half folded, unfolded. Stay unlocked when driving. Hundreds of settings. Talking about Samsung not having enough functionality or settings.. oh no, that's so wrong. ZFlip 4 is in my preorder basket.
doggydog2 said:
I'm back in the Samsung camp because of the software. Been there since SPlus phone (as the era of HTC was ending) with some interruption. I've listed dozens of reasons in the linked post. You want more from this company while you're getting nothing from the others. Samsung is not in the business of Gapps, so it's not fair to mention it, and you shouldn't use such spyware anyway (then why you care about adguard?). I've used Google "phone apps" (caller, calendar, photos) and it was too simple. Who still gives you rich LOCAL music player, who still gives you LOCAL video player (other brands cancelled both). Gallery with post edit, map, s-pen zoom and gestures (Note) is good, no need google Photos. Who gives you best calendar app with nice UI, weather, home timezone, spen preview? I've seen anything comparable to that other than ver geeky apps on the market. Caller which plays recorded calls directly from UI? Lovely. Love the call popup settings that others don't gives you. Who gives you OneUI, 10x richer than other layouts while fast. Onehand mode, or even scroll the screen down basic function of OneUI. The one and only legendary Edge panel that can't be replicated (tried ALL clones). The best AOD, best edge lightning + flash + screen effects (for large screen). Best accessibility options in market period. Best functional camera. You can still say cheeeese to shoot and no other brands can do. You can recognize objects, scan documents or get assistance in shooting situations. And so much more. I'd rate Samsung software ******** while OnePlus ** Sony ** Xiaomi ** LG ** etc. Don't know about Google but i assume it's the same mediocrity (again i don't count their non-phone apps). And i'm heavily debloated, work without Samsung account and still profit from this ecosystem heavily.
Yes they kill apps https://dontkillmyapp.com/ but is perfectly manageable. All you do is choose few core apps and prioritize them, while the most garbage gets killed. This approach is very helpful for battery and OnePlus invented it (that's why they always had nice scores on gsmarena). I moaned first, but now i agree.
Pixel 6 is a horrid phone based on people, and now heavy (that's why i chose ZFlip), let's see next year.
Samsung just pushed AOD app update for ZFlips. I tested the orange dot and it works for all messages and calls. It even blinks. Again, no other firmwares i know incl AOSP offers longer notifications than this. It's always displayed shortly or not at all. Samsung of course has the most configurable AOD and notifications with color highlighting, color match app, bubbles, smart popups. Split app from task manager or Edge panel. It's insane. You can even prolong the AOD notification timeout in the settings or even the toast messages! Here we found the glitch. This setting simply needs to apply on cover screen too and problem solved. Let's wait for another update, i'm sure it will come. It's not like in other brands where phone software stays the same for years.
There's no edge effect on the cover screen (yet!), but that flash makes me jump out of bed. Expecting a major company to produce geeky nice apps like aodnotify is very unrealistic. It won't happen. BTW I still can't make aodnotify work with cover screen. I went through all the settings and it has zero impact there.
I just played with Bixby settings.. you can set action when folded, half folded, unfolded. Stay unlocked when driving. Hundreds of settings. Talking about Samsung not having enough functionality or settings.. oh no, that's so wrong. ZFlip 4 is in my preorder basket.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's perfectly fair to compare Samsung's version of GAPPS to Google's.. messaging app vs messaging app. Calendar vs Calendar.
The spyware is a HIDDEN service always running in the background and I care about Adguard because it blocks ads, trackers and analytics in ALL apps and it works as a firewall. Go to adguard.com and look. The play store version is NOT Adguard, it's an extension for 2 browsers.
I got the latest update and no...the exterior screen does not have a blinking dot. When you get a notification the exterior screen turns on for a couple seconds and then shuts off. You can see the dot if you double tap the screen but that's not helpful. I want something to blink when I get a notification without me needing to touch the phone.
I'm glad you like Samsung's apps but I can get better versions of everything they offer. I can use Google apps for my dialer, contacts, messages, calendar, calculator and clock. I use Nova as my launcher because OneUI is too basic. I use Google now via Nova and Google assistant instead of Bixby. Bixby is god awful and once again google does it better.
Yeah you can change some settings for battery management but then you have NO battery management. Also the average person isn't going to know any of this so they will fall victim to apps not working and alarms not going off. That's poor design.
So I can say I think Samsung's software is terrible and you can like it.
I'm too tired to read the rest so I'll do it tomorrow.
d0x360 said:
It's perfectly fair to compare Samsung's version of GAPPS to Google's.. messaging app vs messaging app. Calendar vs Calendar.
The spyware is a HIDDEN service always running in the background and I care about Adguard because it blocks ads, trackers and analytics in ALL apps and it works as a firewall. Go to adguard.com and look. The play store version is NOT Adguard, it's an extension for 2 browsers.
I got the latest update and no...the exterior screen does not have a blinking dot. When you get a notification the exterior screen turns on for a couple seconds and then shuts off. You can see the dot if you double tap the screen but that's not helpful. I want something to blink when I get a notification without me needing to touch the phone.
I'm glad you like Samsung's apps but I can get better versions of everything they offer. I can use Google apps for my dialer, contacts, messages, calendar, calculator and clock. I use Nova as my launcher because OneUI is too basic. I use Google now via Nova and Google assistant instead of Bixby. Bixby is god awful and once again google does it better.
Yeah you can change some settings for battery management but then you have NO battery management. Also the average person isn't going to know any of this so they will fall victim to apps not working and alarms not going off. That's poor design.
So I can say I think Samsung's software is terrible and you can like it.
I'm too tired to read the rest so I'll do it tomorrow.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
perhaps i imagine Gapps as Maps etc or the office apps. But let's say it's all Google apps. I've had Pixel ROMs which were based on Google apps you mentioned and didn't notice anything special. Just pure basic. Or forcing to online services. Samsung wins for privacy, i don't like to be tracked so i run those local media players w/o access to internet. I like DLNA, screen mirror stuff. There are no players on other mobiles nowadays and often with DLNA turned off (to force you social networks). Clock - better too, with repetitions until you wake the f*** up. With weather time zones. Calculator - better because it's in Edge panel, super productive. Who else has it? Debloated Bixby - BixbyVision suits me better and I removed Google spyware app completely. Most of it can work offline. Bixby Voice - i don't use such technology until it will be OFFLINE. Bixby routines - fantastic. SmartThings + Audio + Devices on notifpanel - didn't see anything like that before. I can control home devices or cameras from lockscreen! File manager - better, and it connects to web folders and samba (oh my god, thanks). I'm sure Google will give you a chance to connect... to GDrive $$ LOL. Camera better than Gcam as noted. GCam ports = placebo. Camera "AR" very rich and more private than a typical ad-infested apps on market. Samsung Kids - what? Absolutely incredible. And with home screen lock for parents. There's even a general "Pin lock" i again didn't see on the other brands. Samsung Keyboard - very strong even vs GBoard and other brands which provide... nothing. Screen recorder, audio recorder, animation, capture scrolling screen, capture rectangle then extract text - wow. Where are these functions on other brands? I have 5 flagships yearly and I don't recall none of it, maybe i have a short memory And Note series add even more. Smart Stay - great (other brands? hello? Sony has one - kudos!). Edge compass, ruler, torch - so useful. Quick measure - thanks, another adware from appstore spared. Dual messenger - multiple accounts of one chat app? OK! Finder app? don't get my started. There's no competition, forget Sezame. I've spend years searching for an alternative. Is it available from task manager? Yes. Can you drag a window from task manager to a popup or split screen? Yes, and you don't need a stupid tap like on Sony. From Edge panel too. Emergency app on 4 power clicks - thanks (3 clicks = always a mistake). Samsung flow - display Android screen on PC + notifications? Great, no need to pay. Samsung Notes - lengedary. Samsung Pass. Secure folder. Samsung Swich. Samsung Health. Smart View. Tons of notification panel's actionable icons. It just keeps giving. It's insane how much MORE you get with Samsung.
And launcher? Of course I use Nova or similar. But does it mean anyone else got a better one than OneUI? Who? I know: absolutely noone, so why mention it? I don't get the hate. That's the industry standard for vendor launchers - be basic, not to scare the public with overwhelming functionality.
-> Overall, I rate Samsung firmware as 5-10x better than closest competitor. It's a knock out win. This is why I left Xiaomi, OnePlus, Sony, LG and Google, and returned back to the best brand. I was tired of vanilla OS and hated the low investments they make to it. It actually make Samsung cheap.
Re dot - it's there nonstop until you review notifications and it's blinking after an event like missed call. Perhaps you don't have AOD on. Phones w/o notif.light won't provide permanent notification with AOD off it seems. So far the only perma message text displayed on screen i saw was on Garmin watches. 10 letters of most recent notification. Yeah i keep them because of this. I wish it came to mobile phones too. For aesthetic reasons, i don't think it will. Imagine stuffing clock, date, battery, app icon, sender name, text into one small screen. At this point, i just want to prolong the timeout. It's too short.
Re alarms - they're triggered every day. Maybe you're using Naptime to kill it. Kudos to OnePlus to be a rare brand which can turn on the phone to raise alarm. I thought this died with HTC or simple phone era.
Samsung is worse than Google for privacy. They send more data to themselves than Google does.
Thankfully Adguard blocks all that crap.
As for GAPPS v Samsung... They are just as simple ok the Samsung side by with worse UI's. Plus I prefer simple.
If I want something good I'll just get it from the store.
This is definitely my last Samsung phone. I'll probably go with a pixel next but as long as it's hardware is good and it can be rooted then brand isnt as important.
Then I can use whatever rom I want. Back to battery...if you disable Samsung battery functions then you basically cut battery life in half. They seem to have disabled the built in battery saving functions from AOSP so when you shut that insanely aggressive management off...you get nothing.
I would prefer if it worked like my older note used to work. I had ability to just have orange dot notification. Also I was able to set a different color for notifications that came from the "secure folder" apps.
Hi, a few days ago I changed my watch to a TicWatch Pro 5, I have been testing it. I share some tricks I know to get the most out of the watch.
1. Default functionality of the physical buttons:
Crown button:
If you press once, it opens the application drawer.
If you press 2 times, it opens Google Wallet.
If you press and hold it, it opens the digital assistant you have installed or the app you have configured.
Auxiliary button:
If you press once, it opens the list of recently opened apps.
If you press 2 times, it opens the last open app.
If you hold it down for about 5", it opens the menu for shutdown or reboot.
f you hold it down for about 15", the watch reboot.
If you press both buttons simultaneously, it takes a screenshot.
If you press both buttons simultaneously (+ 8 seconds), it restarts the watch in bootloader mode.
2. How to reassign physical button functions?
With the help of Button Launcher, you can make the functionality of the watch buttons increase, and you could program them to activate the apps or functions you want depending on the combinations of short presses and long presses you make, you are allowed to program up to eight actions however in TicWatch Pro 5 you can program only 2 combinations, for example, I have programmed:
Long press on crown button: Google Assistant Go
2 long presses on crown button: Google Maps
There are other apps that also allow you to customize the buttons, such as JSyntax Button Remap and SPayRemap, but I find Button Launcher more flexible and it doesn't override the original functions.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
3. How to access the most frequently used apps?
To avoid searching for an app in the endless app drawer of the watch, install Wear Favorite Apps Launcher, and select 9 apps that you want to have quick access to and set the app to a Watchface complication or run with a combination of buttons with Button Launcher app.
4. How to make certain apps more accessible in the app drawer?
Press and hold an app and it will scroll to the top of the list for quick access in the app drawer.
5. How to uninstall/Disable Bloatware applications from the watch?
If there are preinstalled apps that you don't use you can uninstall or disable them on the watch, I recommend disabling because it doesn't take up space in RAM or in the app drawer, and it's not as aggressive as uninstalling. In my case I have disabled Mobvoi Treadmill (since I don't use Treadmill treadmills) and TimeShow (I don't need paid watchfaces).There are several ways to disable a system app, go to "Settings > Apps & Notifications > Apps info". Drag to the bottom of the list, tap on System apps, select the app you don't want and finally tap on "disable" (if it had updates you have to uninstall them first). You can re-enable whenever you want by going back to the same place.Another method, from a PC download Wear OS Tools, run the tool, link to the watch and select option 1.4. The packages mentioned above are com.mobvoi.ticwear.treadmill and com.mobvoi.mwf.magicfaces.
6. How to change the backlight color of secondary display?
There are 18 colors available. Go to "Settings > Display > Always-on Screen > Backlight color". From here you can also activate to change the color of the backlit display according to the heart rate.
7. How to activate customized wrist gestures?
Install Bubble Cloud Wear OS Launcher.
8. How to install an alternative to Google Assistant?
Until Google Assistant is officially launched you can download from APKMirror, Google Assistant Go and install APK file by sideload (Wear Installer 2, Bugjaeger or Wear OS Tools). Also select the default assistant in "Settings > Apps & Notifications > Default apps".It is almost fully functional, and you can ask for directions, make phone calls, play music in the same way as the full Google Assistant. To activate it I recommend that you configure it in Button Launcher to open with a combination of buttons, as its voice activation (ok Google) with this version is not available.Another alternative is to install the Amazon assistant, Amazon Alexa. You must also install the app on the phone, and once configured on both sides set up a tile or a combination of buttons with the Button Launcher app to easily open this assistant. Also select the default assistant in "Settings > Apps & Notifications > Default apps".
9. How to recover strength training from Google Fit?
Older users will remember this function that Google Fit had, in which it detected repetitions very precisely and automatically recognized the exercise you were performing according to the repetitive movement you were making. In addition, you could time the rest times between sets. Google removed this functionality in May 2021 without knowing the reason. To recover it download from here and install by sideload a version of Google Fit prior to that date and Fit Strength Training also by sideload to have direct access to strength training as weight machines or dumbbell exercises. You should also disable automatic updates to prevent Google Fit from updating to the latest version. More info about this here.
10. Alternative to Mobvoi Voice Memos:
Mobvoi included preinstalled in its previous models an app to record voice notes, in this watch has not included nor I could extract it from my TWP3, there is an alternative by installing Google Keep and activating the tile of the app you will have a very quick access to take voice notes.
11. How to install Google Translate?
I don't know the reason, but Google translate was removed from the Play Store years ago, it is not available neither for Wear OS 2 nor Wear OS 3, however, I had it preinstalled on TicWatch Pro 3 and the APK file works on TicWatch Pro 5. Here where to download it and install by sideload (Wear Installer 2, Bugjaeger or Wear OS Tools).The app supports more than 40 languages and allows you to translate phrases into different languages by voice. Once translated into text, turn your wrist slightly to enlarge the translation for your contact to see it.
12. How to use the Google camera app remotely?
If you have a Google Pixel phone or any of the latest Samsung phones you can control the camera from the watch using Google's app, Google Camera (v6.1 or higher). The moment you open Google Camera on the phone, the watch will show a new card called "Remote". If you touch it, the screen of your watch will become a viewfinder of what you see through the phone's camera, from the watch you can also set a timer (self-timer) so that, for example, you have time to position yourself since you press the shutter release on the watch, it also allows you to switch from the front camera to the rear, or vice versa.
13. How to link a pectoral heart rate strap?
The watch measures heart rate from the wrist quite accurately, but if you still want more accuracy, you can use chest bands, the Mobvoi app, TicExercise does not support pairing with chest bands, but Google Fit does. Install the app, and go to "Settings > Bluetooth sensors".
14. Application Recommendation
By Play Store
Google HomeGoogle Keep NotesGoogle Camera (*)Amazon Alexa: (*)Spotify Wear Casts: (*) Podcast playerShazam: Identify musicPeek News: (*) RSS feed reader.Seven: (*) Sports training appWear Favorite apps Launcher: Select favorite apps and access them as quickly as possible.Wear GPS Fix: Forces to get the GPS location of the watch.Wear Notification Helper: Another app to improve notification vibrations and more customizations.Bubble Cloud Wear OS LauncherLeftly: left-handed mode
By Sideload:
Install Wear Installer 2 and follow the steps in this video, basically it is to enable "developer options" and "debugging over Wi-Fi", pair the watch to Wear Installer 2, download the APk file of the app you want to install on the watch and install it with Wear Installer 2. Other methods are also available (Bugjaeger or Wear OS Tools).
Google TranslateGoogle Assistant GoButton Launcher: Customize physical buttonsJSyntax Button Remap: Customize physical buttonsSPayRemap: Customize physical buttonsFit Strength Training: restores strength training functionality that was removed from Google FitMusic Center for Wear: (*) Improve music controls of the watch You must install the version for both the phone and the watch.Vibration Center for Wear (*) Application for managing notification vibrations.WhatsApp: (*) For now, it is only functional Beta version on phone and watch.Note: (*) Also requires phone version.
15. How to change the ringtone to a custom ringtone?
Place an MP3 or OGG sound file in the "Ringtones" folder in the internal memory of the watch, and finally select that sound in the watch settings. You can make it easier with Wear OS Tools.As for the notification and alarm sounds, I have not found a way to change them, I guess it is blocked by Google, I hope that in future updates they will unlock the limitation.
16. How can it be configured so that only certain apps send notifications to the watch?
In the Mobvoi Health app on your phone, click on the "device" tab, then select "Settings" > "Apps and Notifications" and finally disable the apps that you do not want to receive notifications on the watch.
17. How to customize vibration patterns of notifications arriving on the watch?
Most notifications only vibrate for a short period of time so it is difficult to notice them. Install Wear Notification Helper or Vibration Center for Wear. Apps provide different vibration patterns to make the arrival of a notification noticeable
18. How to drain water from the speaker?
After swimming or showering, water may enter the speaker (this is the hole on the right side of the watch), and may change the sound quality. Select the water drop icon from the quick settings curtain (from the dial by dragging up and down). It will play a kind of audio trill that will expel the water that has accumulated in the speaker.
19. The hidden easter egg in the flashlight app does not work:
Not that it's a trick, but a curiosity, Google has eliminated in Wear OS 3 (in Wear OS 2 it still works) the easter egg of the Wear OS drum machine that appeared when pressing several times in the center of the screen with the flashlight app open.
20. How to use the watch's own GPS?
Disable GPS or Bluetooth on your phone. The watch by default first acquires GPS positioning via the phone, and if it does not detect it (e.g., because it is not connected via Bluetooth) it will activate its own GPS module.Another method is through the Wear GPS Fix app that forces the GPS location using the GPS module of the watch.In addition, to improve the location when you are training, activate the "High Performance Mode" option in TicExercises, this way it will update the GPS location more frequently.
21. How to adapt the watch to left-handers, i.e., to put it on the right wrist?
With the help of the Leftly app, the app inverts the interface 180 degrees so that the watch can be worn on the right wrist, ideal if you are left-handed and usually wear your watch on your right wrist. With this app you avoid the buttons facing your body, when they should be facing outwards.Once you open the app for the first time, enable the permissions for "Show on other apps" and "Modify system settings", and then enable accessibility for "Lefty". Finally, tapping the purple "Rotate" button in the app will invert the entire watch interface 180°. This will affect the apps, the watchface, the settings, basically everything on the watch, however, it is not reversed in essential mode.
22. How to automatically unlock the phone with the help of the watch and Smart Lock?
To avoid entering the PIN on the phone every time the (phone) screen turns off when you are near it, go (on the phone) to Settings > security > smart Lock, and add the watch as a trusted device.
23. What information is displayed on the secondary display?
The LCD screen provides a very important battery saving. It is intended for more basic use, however from the main screen of the LCD layer (showing date, time, steps taken and heart rate in the last minute) if you turn the digital crown you will scroll through 4 more tiles that provide real-time information.Note: You must turn one more turn to avoid accidentally activating these modes.
Real-time heart rate
Calories consumed
Blood oxygen saturation level
Compasst
24. How do the TicExercise heart rate training zones work?
During a sports training or when it detects that a sports activity is in progress, the backlight on the LCD display lights up in different colors to show at a glance which training zone you are in according to your heart rate, very useful to avoid looking at the display to see a particular metric. In total, there are 5 different colors to indicate different training zones.
Blue-green light indicates a light workout or warm-up (50%-60% of maximum heart rate).
Yellow light indicates that you are in the fat burning zone (60%-70% of HRmax).
Orange light indicates that you are in the endurance or cardiovascular zone (70%-80% of HRmax).
Purple light indicates that you are in the anaerobic zone (80%-90% of HRmax).
Red light, you are in the dangerous heart rate zone (90%-100% of HRmax).
25. How to activate developer mode in TicHealth and in TicExercises?
For now, I don't see any practical use for it other than to activate it and that's it.
In TicHealth, go to Settings and tap several times on "Version", and the option "TicFit Developer" will be activated underneath.
In TicExercises, go to settings, drag to the bottom and tap several on the app version number.
26. How to scroll through the tiles with the digital crown?
Go to "Settings > General", and enable "Horizontal scrolling between cards". If this feature is disabled you will scroll through the notification curtain and Quick settings.27. How to expand your training information?
From h.mobvoi.com you can access the platform where your workouts and other health data are recorded. It allows you to analyze your progress over the last 7 days showing metrics such as blood oxygen, heart rate and stress. It allows you to download reports in TCX format and is compatible with other services such as Strava and Garmin Connect.
28. How to 3D print a charging base for the watch?
There are downloadable templates on the Internet to print charging bases for the watch that in my opinion are even more attractive than the ones for sale, in my case I use the one I ordered with TWP3 some time ago, which works perfectly on TicWatch Pro 5.These 3D prints are housings just the right size to fit the watch's serial cable (TWP3 and TWP5 share the same cable). Basically, you would download the template file and go to a 3D printing store (if you don't have a printer, of course). I printed one and it cost me 10€, I was surprised by the finish, better than I expected. As a reference, I ordered the base in the first link with the following characteristics:
Material: PLA 3D850
Quality: Medium
Filling: 20%.
Here are links to some templates for the TicWatch Pro 3 (which I reiterate work on TWP5):https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4747297https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4618850https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4781821
29. Recommendation of 24mm Straps at Amazon & AliExpress
Replacing the strap is to give a complete facelift to the watch, a good combination can give an extra touch of style to your watch. Among the types of straps, by the material with which they have been manufactured you can find leather straps, imitation leather, stainless steel, titanium, platinum, silicone, resin, rubber, textile, nylon and ceramic.Note: Suunto straps are compatible with the watch, as they also use 24mm straps.The Asian market such as AliExpress is the one where you can find the widest variety of accessories with the best price, on Amazon you will also find accessories but as a general rule although you will receive the product before they are more expensive.To search for a particular accessory and narrow the search to the maximum, just type in the search box of AliExpress, Amazon or even Google accessory name + watch model. In the case of straps you only have to write the width of the strap, you can even include the type of strap material to narrow down much more what you are looking for.AmazonAliExpress
REVIEW TICWATCH PRO 5
I have owned the TicWatch Pro 3 since early 2021. It is a watch currently wearing Wear OS 2, the last system update it received was in August 2022.
When it was launched in summer 2021 Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 was considered the most powerful watch at the time, but I let it go, I didn't buy it. It was the first watch with Wear OS 3 (also exclusively) but it had and has too much dependence on the Samsung universe, with apps and functions on the watch that only worked if you have a Samsung phone paired, plus I personally preferred a purer Wear OS experience, without the One UI layer that Samsung put on top of Wear OS.
A year later the Galaxy Watch 5 was released, becoming the most powerful Wear OS watch, and for the same reason as Galaxy Watch 4 I didn't buy it.
Last October, Pixel Watch was launched, the truth is that I had high hopes for that watch, but I did not buy it either, finally it did not meet my expectations and there was very little of it that could leave me satisfied: The battery did not last more than 24 hours, screen much smaller than my old TWP3 and the design did not seem reliable for outdoor sports with the screen so exposed to shocks.
Since my TicWatch Pro 3 was still working fine, I was in no hurry to buy another Wear OS watch that wouldn't leave me at least as satisfied with my current one, until the TicWatch Pro 5 arrived, and this one really caught my attention.
Comparing the watch to the other Wear OS 3 watches currently on the market ...
... it outperforms them all in almost every important aspect:
Battery: Thanks to a 628 mAh battery (the largest of all Wear OS watches) and the cool trick of the dual screen that manages to reduce consumption to the maximum, there is no Wear OS watch on the market that lasts longer without charging it than TicWatch Pro 5 (3 days at least).
The screen: It has the largest screen (1.43"), The Pixel Watch has 1.2" and the closest is the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro with 1.4". For me this is important if you do outdoor sports and that you can see the information provided by the watch comfortably.
Size: It is the one with the largest size (48mm wide), if you come from the TicWatch Pro 3 (44 mm) you will hardly notice any difference, but if your previous watch was the Pixel Watch (41 mm) the difference is ostensible. If it's your first Wear OS watch and you have a small wrist it may feel awkward at first, but I reckon the larger screen certainly feels like a worthwhile benefit.
Power: It sports Qualcomm's Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1 processor which gives it the most power and battery life of any Wear OS watch out there.
Memory and Capacity: It is the watch with the largest storage capacity (32 GB) and RAM (2 GB). There is no other watch that even matches it in this right now.
Water resistance: It has MIL-STD-810H and 5 ATM certification, and supports swimming in open water, only Galaxy Watch 5 matches it in this aspect.
It is not the best, but it is among the best…
Sensors: TicWatch Pro 5 has a heart rate sensor (PPG) and blood oxygen saturation sensor (SpO2) like most Wear OS 3 watches. It also has a skin temperature sensor that for now is only being used in sleep metrics and also has Galaxy Watch 5. The latter watch has 2 sensors that the TicWatch Pro 5 does not have, however, these are more oriented to give health information than directed to sport, it is the ECG sensor to detect cardiac abnormalities and the bioelectrical impedance analysis sensor to measure the percentage of body fat, among other data.
Shock resistance: The Galaxy 5 Pro is probably more resistant thanks to the titanium body and sapphire glass covering the screen, as opposed to the aluminum body (and stainless steel bezel) and Gorilla Glass of TicWatch Pro 5, however, I must say that the hardness of TWP5 is not little by what I have checked for several years in my old TWP3 that has materials of lower hardness compared to TWP5 and has received countless blows without showing any blow to the body of the watch, plus it has obtained military certification MIL-STD-810H (only Galaxy Watch 5 has also achieved that certification).
They could improve on…
There is only one configuration available, with an obsidian black casing, as opposed to other Wear OS 3 watches such as Pixel Watch with several colors to choose from.
The charger is the same small connector with magnetic pins for charging that Mobvoi supplies from TicWatch Pro 3, I wish Mobvoi would just follow the industry trend and supply a "dock" style charger.
The buttons cannot be customized (officially) and there are no native wrist gestures. Interestingly, TicWatch Pro 3 does allow you to customize one of the watch buttons from the settings.
This watch has too many preinstalled apps. It includes Google's apps, obviously, and a huge suite of Mobvoi apps that work very well but that should be integrated several of them under a single app, especially the health and fitness apps (I count about 10 apps, TicHealth, One Tap Measurement, TicCare, TicOxygen, TicPulse, TicSleep, TicBreathe, TicZen, TicExercise and Mobvoi Treadmill), plus Mobvoi includes 2 navigation tools (TicCompass and TicBarometer) and 5 other apps with different themes (Timeshow Watchface, Calculator, Mobvoi Privacy, Media Control and Essential Mode Settings).
It does not allow you to change notification and alarm sound, only ringtone, however, I think it is a Google issue not Mobvoi's, as all Wear OS 3 watches have the same limitation.
Although it has a specific sensor to measure body temperature, you cannot make manual measurements, for now it is only used in the sleep metrics automatically, I guess in future updates will add some functionality that allows it.
It does not include an app to record audio and take voice notes as it did in TWP3.
About the update policy, Mobvoi is clearly not the best at it. TicWatch Pro 3 has not received an update since August last year, and its owners have been waiting a long time for the promised update to Wear OS 3, considering also that other brands in similar conditions, such as Fossil, have updated their watch to Wear OS 3 many months ago. Although they have missed the deadline, and many of us like to have the latest features as soon as possible, I must say that the update to Wear OS 3 of TicWatch Pro 3 would not be critical, that is, the watch currently works on Wear OS 2 normally, I've been using it as a daily watch for years and continues to track my workouts and alerts notifications. The update to Wear OS 3 mostly involves aesthetic changes to the interface and being able to use some app that are only compatible with Wear OS 3. The fact that it hasn't been updated hasn't written off your watch, the apps still work, I know there is a lot of upset, but I would still call for restraint, which from what I read from time to time seems to be the worst thing since 9/11.
Who knows what will happen with TicWatch Pro 5 updates, interestingly the watch has already received a small update since launch. Google has already announced that Wear OS 4 will be released soon, nothing is known about that, however, I am hopeful that they will not delay times.
I love it…
The TicWatch Pro 5 has the same design as the TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra. That's not really surprising because all TicWatch Pro models have shared virtually the same design. Their distinctive design gives them a sporty look and makes them instantly recognizable.
Mobvoi's version of Wear OS 3 is clean and nearly identical to what you'll find on a Pixel Watch. The only real difference you'll find comes from Mobvoi's preloaded apps.
The screen is protected by a glass of Gorilla Glass, which apart from the logical thing, namely that it protects against bumps and scratches is also able to repel fingerprints and dust. I love that I don't see the print of my index finger marked on the watch's display.
The digital crown allows you to scroll through the app drawer or notifications, increase or decrease the volume of music, it integrates with some apps for additional controls such as Google Maps or Spotify which allows for example to zoom in and out of maps with ease. The crown, therefore, has a very versatile control, it can even be used with gloves and the touch is pleasant.
Fast Charging, Mobvoi says that the watch should get a 65% charge in the first 30 minutes and that it takes just over an hour to fully charge, I can confirm, it does, they have not exaggerated anything. When charging it shows the charge level in decimals which I find very illustrative of how the fast charge is performing.
The smart essential mode allows you to set a time to automatically turn the watch on or off, so it won't enter that mode until it detects that you are sleeping or have taken it off your wrist. This is a wonderful feature to use during the night, as it still monitors your sleep, but uses even less battery than simply putting the watch into bedtime mode.
The "TicExercise" app, you can scroll through different views that allow you to see different metrics in real time (distance, pace, speed, heart rate, cumulative ascent etc.). You can even track workouts from the secondary display. On TWP3 I didn't like the Mobvoi sports tracking app, and had it disabled. They've improved it a lot and now I find it very reliable, in fact, it's the one I use on a daily basis. Also, the data can be automatically synced to Google Fit and Strava.
The 5 tiles that provide additional information in the essential mode when you're doing a sports workout, much like what you get with the color display. If you turn the crown button you can scroll through the screens, providing heart rate, calories burned, blood oxygen percentage and even a compass. Although I see some use for it, I find it a bit cumbersome to move through them when you're training, maybe Mobvoi should give this a whirl.
Also, if the watch practically runs out of battery, it will no longer become completely useless, now it can still track my workouts and even measure heart rate from the essential display.
During a sports workout or when it detects that a sports exercise is being performed, the backlight in the essential mode lights up in different colors to show at a glance which training zone you are in according to your heart rate and to avoid looking at the display for a particular metric. In total, there are 5 different colors to indicate different training zones.
Blue-green light is for gentle training or warm-up (50%-60% of maximum heart rate).
Yellow light for fat burning (60%-70% of FCmax)
Orange light indicates that you are in endurance or cardiovascular zone (70%-80% of FCmax).
Purple light, indicates that you are in anaerobic zone (80%-90% of FCmax).
Red light, which is in dangerous heart rate zone (90%-100% of HRmax).
The "TicMotion" function to detect a workout: It identifies if you are walking, running or cycling automatically, for example, if for at least 5 minutes you walk fast the watch will vibrate, identify that it is a walk and start to track it in real time, in the same way if it detects that you have stopped at a certain time, it will end the tracking automatically and generate the exercise log. If you are running it will start tracking after 3 minutes.
The estimated time needed to recover from the activity: Provides an estimate of how long it will take you to fully recover and be ready for your next workout of the same intensity. Recovery time can range from 0 hours to 4 days. As you log more activities, it will learn more about your overall fitness level, giving you a more accurate recovery time.
The Sports & Health platform: Accessed from h.mobvoi.com, it shows all the activities that have been recorded from the mobile, statistics and you can make comparisons with other workouts.
The "One Tap Measurement" app provides in 90 seconds, 5 metrics at once (heart rate, blood oxygen, respiratory rate, stress and an overall heart health score).
The apps "TicBarometer" and "TicCompass": The first one measures the atmospheric pressure changes and the altitude where you are, and the second one is a very functional compass. Interestingly TWP3 has also barometric sensor and compass, but they didn't include official apps for these sensors, you had to use third party apps.
I don't know what they have done, but clearly, they have improved Google's Gboard keyboard, despite the size of the keyboard now you get without barely correct all the time, when I was typing in TWP3 it was agonic, you can clearly notice the difference.
The Bluetooth handsfree calls, works very well, you hear and are heard correctly. Very useful if you have your hands busy or you are doing sports. Also, the contact book of your phone is synchronized with the watch and you can make calls to any contact.
Other considerations:
With the strap they have changed from the 22mm size used on all previous TicWatch Pro models to a new 24mm size. The 24mm strap size somewhat limits the choice of third-party straps, though there is availability of course, plus it's not a proprietary design as the Pixel Watch strap system is. They can be perfectly interchangeable, as it uses a classic spring pin system and you can put on any strap with that width.
There is no LTE version of the watch, nor have they communicated anything regarding an upcoming release, however, it is possible that Mobvoi will release an LTE version of the watch in a couple of months in the same way they did with TicWatch Pro 3 in 2020 and TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra in 2021, where they released LTE version, 2-3 months after the GPS version.
TicWatch Pro 5 (and all other watches with Wear OS 3) no longer use the "Wear OS by Google" app on the phone as a companion app. Each watch manufacturer will now provide its own app. TWP5's is "Mobvoi Health" which in addition to helping pair the phone to the watch, manage health and fitness, you will find typical stats, such as steps, heart rate and sleep, as well as workouts.
All the functions and apps of the watch work completely with any Android 8 or higher watch, that is, practically all Android phones. In addition, I believe it can also be paired to an iPhone (I don't know how it does it), but from what I've read not all of its functions are available, for example, it misses out on the quick response, reserved for Android phones.
With Wear OS 3 you gain compatibility with apps that in Wear OS 2 you can't use, I highlight 3 apps: Google Home, Deezer and Strava.
For now, the Google Assistant is not included, it is possible that this lack is caused by a Google/Samsung exclusivity agreement as other models such as Fossil Gen 6 which is updated to Wear OS 3 since last October does not carry it either.
Using the watch for daily use and workouts I found that the heart rate and GPS tracking were on par with other watches such as Garmin. I went for a run with the TicWatch Pro 5 and Garmin's Forerunner 255, and although the Mobvoi watch took a little longer than the Garmin to latch onto my location, it positioned well once it did.
This is useful information . Thank you
I am waiting for my ticwatch 5 pro to be delivered at present i have Samsung Watch3,4 classic,5 pro. wanted more internal memory
which samsung arrogantly refuses to give.
I would like to know if you have tried sideloading the Google assistant apk from Samsung watch 4 or 5
Nice hints. I'll wait for LTE version and consinder upgrading from my TWP3U then.
By the way, recently I came to know that the updated version of our beloved FeelTheWear app has been released: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lavaray.feelthewear2&hl=en_US
It's still limited in features comparing the version for WearOS 2, but it's definitely worth to keep an eye on
kingwicked said:
This is useful information . Thank you
I am waiting for my ticwatch 5 pro to be delivered at present i have Samsung Watch3,4 classic,5 pro. wanted more internal memory
which samsung arrogantly refuses to give.
I would like to know if you have tried sideloading the Google assistant apk from Samsung watch 4 or 5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have Galaxy Watch 4/5, however I don't think it can be migrated, I'm sure someone has tried it with Fossil Gen 6 which has been on the market for a while and is in the same situation as Ticwatch Pro 5. If the migration would have been successful they would have reported it. on the forums.