Let me start off by saying this is not my first Rodeo with the TicWatch. I had the original TicWatch Pro and have now purchased this Tic Watch Pro 3 Ultra.I like the build quality of the watch. I watched a few reviews and there were a few complaints of the body cheap plastic. It feels good and sturdy, so i am not sure what the issue is. The body is actually made of stainless steel, so..... i don't know. The band is the standard 22 mm watch band so if you don't like the rubber band you can easily find other options. The included band feels hearty and should be great for an active life style. I ordered a leather band for "nights on the town."It has the, pretty much standard at this point, IP68 water resistance so it should be fine for a swim etc. Haven't tested that out yet. But i had no problems with my old one.The Watch features a bunch of new health features like PPG heart rate sensor, SpO2 sensor, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Ambient light sensor, Barometer, and Low latency off-body sensor but I pretty much only use the step counter and heartrate monitor.Things I like:Feels more responsive than my older TicWatch. This thing is down right blazing fast! That is not to say the other one was a slouch, but this one with it's Snapdragon 4100+ processor and 1 GB of RAM is plenty fast to handle Wear OS 2. In fact, Mobvoi has promised an update to Wear OS 3 early next year. Nice! Even if it isn't necessary.I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the FSTN (Film compensated Super Twisted Nematic) LCD. It is the dual display that has a LCD screen sit on top of the AMOLED panel and is used for Always-on Display. Think of it like an e-paper display. It saves battery and looks a lot like an old school LCD watch face.Once you connect to the Play Store you can download the Messages app. This allows you to receive and reply to text messages right from your watch. The 1.4 inch AMOLED screen is very nice (sharp) but it is difficult to type on to reply. But luckly the voice reply works great. Basically the watch is to quickly look at and see read the message. From there you can decide whether or not you need to pull your phone out and reply (to the wife) or you can simply ignore (the friend that blows up your phone on the regular basis).The Battery life is amazing. the TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra's battery is rated at577mAh battery which is unchanged from the TicWatch Pro 3. Mobvoi promises up to 72 hours of battery life in Smart Mode and 45 days in Essential Mode. So far I have been charging it every other day (still had over 50%!!) and it is working fine.Things I don't like as much:The charging cable is cheap. I am not a huge fan of the way it connects to the phone. It seems that if slightly bumped it comes loose. I prefer the magnetic connector.Not a huge fan of the giant buttons on the side of the watch.. They are the size of hot wheel wheels! ok, not really, but they seem big. Furthermore, Like Hotwheel wheels, they don't actually do anything when you spin them. I thought maybe they would be used to scroll when spun, but no. they are just there. That said, they do push in nicely and have a solid (read non-cheap) feel to them. And they give the watch a classic watch look.I ALMOST came on here and went up and down over the step counter not being accurate. See, I wore a borrowed Samsung watch for a few days on one arm and this watch on the other arm. (i know, i know, but in my defense, i wore a long sleeve shirt). Anyway, the point was to track steps on both devices. For 2 days the TicWatch was off by over 1,000 steps!!!! I had used the Samsung before and trust it. Then, on day 3, i realized that i had been wearing the watches on the same arm both times. So on Day 3 I wore the TicWatch on my left hand....I'm left handed...... and lo and behold, the two devices were off in the neighborhood of 1000 in the other direction. Apparently which ever watch is on my "strong" arm gets more "steps" in. The good news, for this watch, was that taking that out of the equation, both watches are pretty much tracking the same steps.To finish, i really can't say enough how much i love the 2 layer screen. It is my favorite feature. The battery life is an added bonus. Incredible, really, that a smart watch can last so long on a single charge.

Everything you need comes in the package, including the SD card, batteries, cables, and a fabric case. You do have to download the manual. Nothing but a quick start card comes with it.The controls can be a bit difficult to get used to. I did find myself hitting the wrong buttons a lot. Once you learn to use it, that should not be as much of a problem. I did accidentally start videos when I wasn't trying to a couple times, but finally learned not to. There are only four buttons, so they have multiple functions. It's just a matter of learning those functions, preferably not on your first try using it in the dark! Practice in the light to learn the functions before you take it out in the dark and try to use them.The image quality is about what you'd expect from a device that is not designed to be used as a camera. It takes adequate photos and videos. The more you zoom in, the more grainy the images become. I think it is a digital zoom that causes that. The images I uploaded show a fence with normal view, then zoomed in at two different levels. The grainy ones were the furthest zoomed in. You do need to focus. It is not an autofocus device. So, that can be a challenge when viewing things in complete darkness. Closer objects are easier to focus on, especially if they have clean lines that you can see through the viewer. It becomes more difficult to get good focus on objects further away with softer outlines. I tried it with and without my glasses and felt like I got better results wearing my glasses to focus. The focus ring is at the very end of the device and your fingers can break the beam of the IR illumination if you are not careful when focusing. It's not a big problem, but it does temporarily cut off your light when you are trying to focus. I ended up gripping the focus ring from the top and got the best results that way.My biggest gripe is how narrow the field of view is. It is not a wide angle field of view. It's really narrow. So, it can be tough to find what you want to focus on. You can zoom in and out, but there is a limit to how far you can zoom out. Zooming is quiet since it is digital and nothing moves when you zoom to create noise. That's a plus if you plan to use it for looking at wildlife at night. No noise to scare them off. I used it in the forest and found that leaves on closer trees were really bright and tended to obscure my view of things that were further past them. I am not sure how to overcome that other than to use the zoom to try to zoom past the bright leaves. Their reflection of the IR light made it too dark to see beyond them well. You can't change the level of IR illumination, at least as far as I could find. It would be nice to bump it up to see past things that are in the foreground since the device tended to illuminate based on those foreground things (like the leaves). When there is nothing obstructing the view, it does just fine. Admittedly, I am in a very dense redwood forest environment for these tests I am doing.I like the view screen. It's really bright and very easy to see. The menu functions are shown on the various screens as you cycle through them. I think the screen brightness can be adjusted. Right out of the box, it's really bright and that affects your night vision in the eye you are using to view the screen. It is an odd sensation to have one eye looking at something bright while the other is looking at darkness. Takes some getting used to. For that reason, and the narrow field of view, I would not recommend that you try to navigate around while using this device. It's not meant for that, in my opinion. It's meant to be used while sitting still, spotting wildlife in the distance.You can use it in the daylight, but have to leave the cover over the lens. The cover has a small window covered in red tinted coating, which allows you to use this during the day. See daylight photo of tree leaves for what it looks like. Night photos are B&W.There is a hole on the bottom to use to mount this on a tripod. I think that would be the best way to use it since you can set it up in a place with a good view and just swing it side to side to see wildlife. It works fine handheld though. I was surprised that night photos are not more blurry due to taking them with the device handheld. However, the IR illumination means that the photos have some light and don't come out blurred, as you might expect with a point-and-shoot camera.The device quality is good. It works great to check out things in the dark. I love it. My only issue is with the field of view, which I wish was wider. Other than that, this is a fantastic device!

INITIAL STARTUP : Out of the box, these were really easy to connect to my iphone and the Bose Music app. However updating the firmware on the headphones took 5 hours, you can still use them throughout that time but come on! Not even my PC takes that long.CONTROLS : Just as usual, Bose products lack instructions. I consider myself fairly competent when it comes to electronics, and these were kind of hard to use at first. There is no manual that tells you how to use the headphones, or what the buttons do. Just a big booklet with terms and conditions and a picture that basically says "Download the Bose App". As other reviewers have stated, you need the app if you want the full features.BOSE APP : So the Bose music app can be hit or miss. Sometimes it wont recognize that the headphones are connected and you cant change the settings. When you manage to connect it and try to change something you will be greeted with a stuck white screen. After owning several Bose products, this happens to their speakers as well which is ridiculous considering this is BOSE and not some startup company. How can they make such an atrocious app when it comes to it actually working. Here are the things you can do in the app.- Change the name of the headphones.- View what devices are connected to the headphones.- Pick between google and alexa as voice assistant.- There is a "shortcut button on the headphones that can be programmed to hear the battery level or to basically turn on and off the voice assistant.- An option to see how much of your voice you can hear while on a call.- There is an ANC button that can be programmed to 3 different presets, ranging from 0-10.- How long before the headphones power off when not in use.There is no EQ.COMFORT : While these have a moderate clamping force, its not so much to the point where it just hurts. I would say these have a medium clamping force with something like the QC35s and Sony XM3s having a "soft" clamping force. I can wear these for 2-3 hours at a time. But I will always feel like "they're there". Unlike some headphones that are so comfortable that you forget you're wearing them.CABIN PRESSURE : Some ANC headphones give me and some people a feeling of pressure....as if your head is being squeezed. This definitely have some pressure feeling, but nowhere near as much as the QC 35s. I would rank them as having more cabin pressure than the Sony XM3s. However the pressure is relieved when you have ANC off. With ANC off the headphones thankfully sound the same as with it on.NOISE CANCELLING : Not much to say here, with just ANC turned out 90% of the outside world turns off, start playing your music and you basically cant hear the outside world at all.SOUND : Now to the important part. These headphones make music sound the way its intended to sound. When you listen to a song, you never feel like something is missing. You never feel like the vocals are high pitched, or like it has too much base. There is no "tiny" soundstage, or too spread out. Its hard to explain but these just have a perfect balance where you will listen to a song, and it won't make you think "I wish these had more base, mids, louder, etc". They have a very clear sound as well, they don't sound muffled at high volumes. Instrument separation is also excellent. While using these headphones I started hearing things in songs that I have never heard before. Songs don't just clutter like in other headphones where it just sounds like noise. With the 700s it feels like music is being played.MOVIES : On a last note, I tried these headphones with different movies, one that caught my attention is are the Dark Knight chase scenes since they have alot of bass, let me tell you these headphones are definitely not made for movies. It sounded so flat that you will feel absolutely nothing when watching movies, no “excitement”. I actually thought the headphones were not connected properly at first, but they were. Something to keep in mind.In case you are looking for an ANC/Non-ANC audio device, I will rank a few of the ones I own from best to worst taking into account sound quality and ANC.1) Bose 700s2) Sony XM3 : Vey close second, Im a huge fan of these, they are better than the 700s in every single way except sound quality. The sound of the Sonys just sounds muffled compared to Bose due to too much bass. But they're still good and the Sony's are definitely much, much better for movies.3) Airpods Pro: The sound on these is actually in between the SONY XM3s and the Bose. They sound very clear and balanced.4) Powerbeats Pro: Surprisingly these sound very good. I would say they sound about the same as airpods pro.5) Bose QC35 : These sound the "worst" but they still sound good. To be honest these aren't worth it anymore.If you’re an ANC nerd, I bet it comes down to the SONY XM3s or the Bose 700s. The best I can say is that the Sonys are more “fun” to listen too. They have a much more exiting sound that makes you want to dance. Its more “in your face” type of feeling. However it is not as clear as the bose. The 700s sound crystal clear, its very hard to find any part of a song that sounds overdone.Can’t go wrong with either one, ANC is basically the same, it all comes down to wanting audiophile headphones (700s) or fun headphones (Sony xm3).

In my never ending quest to find the ultimate wireless on/over-ear headphones/earbuds, I was excited to see these BOSE SPORT EARBUDS come up.First impressions - excellent packaging and documentation. The earbuds are enclosed in a rechargeable/charging case with a button latch securing the case from accidental bumps and spills. There are lights on the front of the case indicating the power available by the case which is handy. The earbuds come with 3 sizes of ear inserts - hopefully one will fit your ears! Seems I am a medium..Once charged-up, pairing was a snap. I did download the BOSE companion app (BOSE MUSIC) which helps the pairing process, allows you to name your earbuds, and other functions. When the earbuds are active and in your ears, there is no active noise canceling BUT when properly inserted and sized, they do block a considerable amount of ambient noise.Sound quality - Music: Nothing shy of amazing! Magnificent! Spectacular! All of that... Exactly what I've come to expect from BOSE (I have 2 sets of their Quiet Comfort Headphones and they are stellar). Music is faithfully played with a huge range of dynamic sound. Outstanding bass and mids as well as crisp and not-tinny highs. I've listed to most all genres of music and these just deliver the music in top form! VERY impressed.Note: Not related to sound but needs to be mentioned here in this [so far] love fest for these units. These lack the ability to tap/press/something to skip, reverse, etc. your music library. To do these activities, you'll need your phone or perhaps Apple Watch to skip/jump in your library. I would think that this would have been a MUST HAVE by the good folks at BOSE? OK - back to the main review..Sound quality - Phone: I do have several conference calls per day and the sound on the calls is exceptionally clear (all things considered - some CC lines are a little loud or full of static). That said, the listening portion is great. On the speaking end, I have heard from various people I have spoken with (I asked about this - they did not complain or otherwise bring to my attention) that the sound was 'good' and sounded a tiny bit hollow or echo-ish/tinny. I have found that pretty much ALL wireless headphones/earbuds have this same sort of sound. I'm prepared to think this is NOT the earbuds rather the handoff to/from Bluetooth or something? I digress... Overall, I would say that the phone usage is very good. What's better, if you're listening to music or a podcast and you get a call, you are only a tap away from answering the call. Once the call is complete, the previous activity will start up again.Battery Life: This is where the honeymoon, for me, came to an early end. On a full charge, I believe that I am getting around 3.5 hours of battery time for music (no calls/talk). Maybe I'm not looking at this realistically, but I would think that there would be a bit more life there? I had some Apple AirPods (yuck) and they were good for ~6 hours (maybe more - I forget) and of course with their larger form-factor, my BOSE Quiet Comforts get 8-10 hours if not more. I was hoping for something to get me from BOS to LAX where these might get me from DFW-LAX.. I live in Dallas but you get the idea - would love a pair that get me coast-to-coast. While this may not be a deal killer, I found it somewhat lacking.Comfort: The units are comfortable.. mostly comfortable I should say. There seems to be a little torque or something on them that feels like they are somewhat cantilevered in my ear. I mean it's not that extreme, but there's this little bit of pressure there. I've tried other size ear pieces and that doesn't seem to remedy it. Yes, I have checked the alignment of them in my ear as well as the ear piece mounted to the device itself. Most earbuds I have had seem to 'support' themselves and not cause and downward pressure or weight. Again, not a deal killer but is something that I experience on each wearing.Final thoughts: Overall I really do like these. I LOVE the design and the sleekness of them, even if they are somewhat larger than other brands. I like the charging case and the aesthetic of that. I LOVE the sound quality and the richness of the music they deliver. While there are many positives, there are the detractors such as battery life and inability to move forward/back in your music library. I am rating 4 STARS for the overall review of these earbuds.

Initial impressions:The watch appears abnormally large upon first glance. With a 45mm bezel, the Ticwatch Pro 3 GPS is about 2mm wider in diameter compared to the Ticwatch C2 classic. However, after wearing it for a while, the size difference is not noticeable. You only remember when trying to put on a long sleeve sweatshirt.The extra screen space is well utilized for notifications. I found the default text to be too large for this big a of a watch face. Changing the default font size to small allows you to clearly read whole notifications on the screen without scrolling. Wear OS could do a better job of adjusting the size of text/icons automatically for a bigger screen, but that is on Google.I have owned previous Wear OS watches and while I never considered the experience unacceptably slow, the updated chipset in the Pro 3 GPS realize how much quicker launching apps could be. Responsiveness is now almost instantaneous. I’ve also never had problems connecting/reconnecting to my phone in times when I’ve walked too far away from my phone or restarted one of the devices.The band is awesome. It looks like a premium dark leather with its stitching from a distance but feels to be a waterproof silicone. There is a tab in the excess flap loop that sticks into a band notch to prevent the excess flap from coming loose, which works great. I do not see myself changing the band.Battery life:Forget about it. Like literally. You will never have to worry about your watch dying again. With every feature turned on including the 24/7 heart rate and O2 sensors, plus going for a couple runs (each under 30 min), my battery life is still over 50% after 1.5 days. Just doing one quick charge a day is enough for me to top it off to about 90% from about 65% from my last charge the previous day (including sleep tracking and exercises). The charger is a magnetic pin type. I have had electronics fried from those wireless chargers, so I really do not care that it does not have a wireless charging option.From previous experience with Wear OS, having your screen always on is what usually kills battery life. However, this watch gives you the best of both worlds. The watch always has a basic display present to give you important details like time, date, battery life, and some fitness info.Health and Fitness:Google’s fitness apps are a joke. Mobvoi’s are really good. Like Google, you can only see your stats on either the watch or Mobvoi phone app. But you can have data sync with your Mobvoi account to keep data between phones and watches.The Health Center in the phone app will show all fitness data in a single place. The only health feature missing is weight tracking. You can enter your current weight in your profile along with height and age, but you cannot track your weight over time. Given how awesome other Mobvoi products have been I would not be surprised if they were to come up with a digital scale that syncs with your watch or phone to have this all in one place.For outdoor exercises, GPS was quick to connect and very accurate. Mobvoi’s outdoor running app is comparable to other running apps. You can view your run on the phone app or sync to Runkeeper, Strava, or Google Fit in your profile settings. Looking at a run on Mobvoi’s app just as good as Strava, but having an online web portal to view activity plus import runs from other apps/devices is important to me, as I have over 15 years a running data that I like to look back and reminisce occasionally.For indoor treadmill runs I was not able to adjust the distance after stopping the exercise like on the Strava app. It is nice to record your treadmill run with your watch to get heart rate and cadence data, but the watch was off by .3 miles on a 3.1 mile run so not being able to update it afterwards is sad.For other fitness data, pulse and O2 seem accurate, but I did not verify. I never know what to make of stress tracking. Same with noise detection. You probably know if you were stressed that day or were around loud noises. Although maybe the data will be helpful in hindsight if you start to develop other health problems in the future. Sleep tracking is insanely accurate. I do not typically wear my watch to sleep, but I did just to check it out. Looking at the clock right before I fell asleep, the watch said I was sleeping within 5 minutes of that time and wake up time was correct.Overall,This is officially my favorite watch. I’ve owned the original global Ticwatch 2, the Ticwatch C2, plus other watches such as the Asus Zenwatch 2, Garmin Vivoactive 3, and the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active. While each watch had its own advantages and disadvantages, this is the first watch that does not compromise. It has Wear OS so full integration with my Pixel 2 phone. It has an always on display that does not drain the battery, plus it has unheard of battery life anyway. It has all the sensors most flagship watches have, except ECG.

UPDATE (10/19/2021): It took several calls back and forth, but eventually Amazon came through for me and replaced my product. So what do I think of it? Honestly, I really like this watch coming from a FitBit Charge 3. Google's Wear OS makes so much sense and Google Fit is leaps and bounds better than any FitBit program with the way it integrates into my "Lose It!" app. That being said, the battery might be a deal-breaker for some. I typically have to charge my watch at least once a day, which is why I have a beside charging stand, a charger at work, a travel charger, and will probably be buying another soon to keep in my car just in case. The charger's aren't necessarily super easy to find, but they are inexpensive at least. a WARNING though: Fossil's Customer Service is an absolute nightmare to deal with and will only replace your product, god forbid it's defective, if you purchase directly from them as opposed to Amazon. I've upgraded my review from a 1 to 4-star. I think you'll like this watch a lot, especially if the new Gen 6 model is pricier. Just keep what I've said here in mind and remember that if your product is buggy your only saving grace is the mercy and pity of an Amazon customer service rep thousands of miles away.I'm typically not one to leave bad reviews, or even pay much attention to them on Amazon, but I feel a need to warn buyers of this product and possibly any other expensive electronic purchases from Amazon. I was so excited when I purchased my Fossil Watch on Prime Day this year! It was normally a $250 watch, but I scored it for $145. On paper, it was exactly what was looking for: multiple faces, interchangeable bands, a sporty or fashionable look, Google ios, and built for exercise. When my watch arrived on June 27, 2021 and for several weeks I was so happy about this purchase, often calling it one of my better shopping decisions. My only complaint was that the battery could drain very fast and it needed to be charged about every day, although it charged quickly. I tried my best to take care of it as well, carefully using a damp cloth to clean it after exercise and giving it time to dry. Overall it was so much more useful, accurate, and easier to care for than my fitbit. This all changed 31 days later on July 28, 2021. That evening after a night out and running low on batter I decided to charge the watch overnight instead of wearing it to track my sleep like usual. After I plugged it into its Fossil charger though I was startled by a constant vibrating sound from the watch. I turned to see the following message (see attached) "Corrupt device. May not work properly." My watch was stuck in a boot-up loop and couldn't charge or escape form this error message. After searching Redditt the following day for reports of similar problems I concluded there was no fix and engaged my Fossil warranty, hoping that my watch would either be fixed or replaced. I mailed my watch to Dallas and hoped for the best. Unfortunately, a week later informed via an email from Fossil Repair Services that not only was my unit not repairable (No diagnosis or reasoning was provided), but I would not be provided with a replacement product. Instead, Fossil's solution was to provide me a voucher valued at the Prime Day sale price of the watch for $145. Keep in mind while the value of watch is constantly shifting on Amazon's website, it's suggested retail value is $249, a $100 difference from the offered voucher. The voucher wouldn't even help me if the watch went on sale again on Amazon's website, because it was only usable for purchases directly from Fossil. When I later followed up with Amazon customer service to see what my options were I was told that because I had passed the 30-day return window my only solution was to activate my fossil warranty. Once again, keep in mind that my unit stopped working 31 days after delivery and that if you buy a refurbished electronic product from Amazon you will receive a 90-day return window. I have since had two more conversations with Fossil and Amazon and have additionally learned that Fossil will only supply a replacement product if you purchase directly from them. I can't express how disappointed I am by this episode. While I'll continue to purchase small cheap orders or possibly electronics accessories, I can't advise ordering consumer electronics from Amazon ever again. Also note, I purchased a $7.00 Progressive electronics policy with this watch, but it too will only cover my watch up to the sale price of $145, roughly $100 short of what it would cost to replace the watch.

For a couple of years, my wife and daughter have been telling me I need a smartwatch. They're iPhone people (I still love them, though), so their smartwatches are fairly expensive, which was one reason I hadn't looked into them very much. However, when I saw this one on Amazon that was 1) at an affordable price and 2) compatible with an Android phone like us normal people use; I thought I'd give it a try. I'm really glad I did.The watch itself is fairly large. I and my arms are of above-average size, so it doesn't look huge on me. However, if you're small, keep that in mind. The large face gives you more screen to see, so if you're like me and getting a little more blind all the time, that's a plus. One place they cut costs is on the band. It's nothing fancy, but it's entirely functional. The band is sturdy, stretchy, and has a lot of notches close together, so you can really tailor it to fit your wrist. But the band appears to be a standard one, so if you want to upgrade it, you can do so.The watch paired right up with my Samsung Galaxy S10 smartphone and stays connected to it with no problems. It seamlessly transmits data to and from the Gloryfit app (you have to download and install it on your phone first, of course). On battery life, the manufacturer claims a 15-day battery life. To test this, I fully charged it and wore it constantly (with the exception of an hour or so of once-daily shower time). Battery life decreased slowly, but consistently, each day. It died at 13 days and about 20 hours. During most of the time I was wearing it, I had it set to come on when I moved my arm, and it came on a lot. So at about day 12, I turned that off. Now, it only comes on when I press the button. And like any new device, I played with it a lot. That will diminish over time. With that said, I can believe the 15 day battery life claim and look forward to testing that with the new setting and with less idle fiddling with it. I'll report back if battery life takes a dive.All of the functions on the watch work as they should. It's easy to navigate between screens on the watch to modify settings and get into its different functions. It does all of the standard smart watch stuff - monitors your heart rate, blood oxygen, sleep, steps; plays music from your phone; gives you a weather overview; previews incoming text messages and calls; and has a built-in stopwatch and timer. It will tell you if you've been sitting too long based on whatever interval you tell it to. I laugh when that goes off as I use a wheelchair and have been sitting for 32 years. "No kidding, watch!" However, this feature has even been useful to me. I set the interval to 30 minutes. When it goes off, it gives me a reminder to take a break, shift around in my chair, and lift my butt up for a little while.I've played a lot with the heart rate, sleep, and blood oxygen monitors because those things interest me. They appear to be accurate. The graphs in the Gloryfit app are useful for seeing how they change day-to-day. The app and phone also have a comprehensive sports monitoring section. So if you go biking, swimming, etc., it will help you keep tabs on your workouts. See my note above about being in a wheelchair. I'm still working on how to adapt the sports features to my circumstances.The app is actually pretty good. You can change tons of settings on the watch through it. I've been adjusting settings through the app as time goes on, and am very satisfied with how well it lets me customize it to my preferences. The watch comes with several built-in dials that are cool-looking. My wife pointed out that they're all manly, so take that for whatever it's worth. However, some of the numbers on all of them were tiny, and see my note above about having a hard time seeing small numbers. The app lets you customize the dial, so I played with that. I put my own background picture on the dial and have large numbers on it in a color that stands out from the background. This is a really cool feature.I don't really have any complaints, but with this being my first smartwatch, I don't know what I don't know. As in, more-expensive smartwatches might do a dozen things that this one does not. But for me, this one does everything I need and more.So in summary, my wife and daughter were right: I needed a smartwatch. I'm very satisfied with this one, and think you will be too.

A couple of quick notes before I get into the review:-I'm reviewing the 42mm version, which I've had for about 3 weeks now.-Apple vs. Samsung comparisons are overblown; both are good watches, but obviously you should match your watch to your phone-I don't think there's a better smartwatch available at the moment, but I'm only giving this watch 4 stars because I don't think smartwatch technology has fully matured at this stage; I'd say there are no 5 star smartwatches at the momentBottom line: The Galaxy Watch does almost everything I was hoping for, and does it pretty well-My settings: AoD on with a simple face, brightness 3, location off, HR every 10 min, voice activation off; I use the watch whenever I'm away from home – appx 11hrs/day-With those settings and that usage pattern, I get through 2 days on a charge with a bit to spare-Reading and responding to notifications is smooth-Overall, I'd say the exercise tracking is pretty good, not great-Step counting seems accurate for walking at a reasonable pace, but inaccurate for slow walking or a mix of walking/standing (such as when moving through a museum)-I mainly use S Health for HR tracking, which works well for steady state cardio but less well for weight training. I'm not sure if it’s thrown off by rapid fluctuations in my HR, moving around a bit on wrist during exercise, or what, but it often loses track of my HR, lags behind spikes and dips, and doesn’t seem to reach true peaks-For weight lifting, S health isn’t that useful; it can’t count reps on that many exercises and doesn't allow for custom workout design-I use an app (gymrun) that allows custom workout design; it doesn’t track HR or count reps, but you can manually enter reps and use S health (on ‘other workout’) to track HR-I was hoping that the Galaxy Watch would allow me to leave my phone in my locker at the gym, and that I'd be able to use the watch to (1) play music, (2) track my workout, and (3) connect to wifi so I can send/receive texts/emails-The good news is that the watch is capable of doing all of that with no lag – even when running music + wifi + S health continuous HR monitoring + gymrun-The bad news is that the watch can’t connect to captive portal wifi (networks that require you to visit a website and accept terms), and that the watch burns through appx 30% battery in an hour if you do all of that-The floors-climbed counter is mixed; it's sometimes quite accurate but sometimes misses floorsStyle, comfort, and build-I'm a male of above average height, and the 42mm watch face is right size for me; there are online watch face size calculators based on wrist size – you’d have to have quite large wrists for a larger watch to look ‘appropriate’-Of course style is subjective and some prefer a larger face, but for me, 42mm is as large as I was willing to go, and the availability of a 42mm version was a huge selling point-The watch looks good overall; it's not the world’s best looking watch but certainly something that’s well worth wearing anywhere from the gym to the office to a night out-The watch is thicker than I anticipated; from the side, it looks quite chunky-It's very comfortable; I don't notice it during the day, even when typing; it doesn’t get in the way while lifting weights-Build quality seems good so far – no dents or scratches, but it hasn’t seen hard knocksHardware-This is where the Galaxy Watch really shines, in 2 areas in particular: the SoC (chip that powers the watch) and the rotating bezel-I don’t think I’ll ever use a watch without a rotating bezel; it's the best way to interact with a smartwatch by far – it allows you to navigate without blocking/smudging the screen or maneuvering both hands to spin a tiny wheel on a side button-The SoC blows away everyone but apple; wear os watches are 2+ generations behind-As a result, battery life is excellent (by current smartwatch standards) and apps run smoothlySoftware-This is most people’s biggest complaint – not so much the OS but the limited app availability-Tizen OS is actually quite intuitive, fluid, and customizable-Lack of apps does not bother me – aside from the use cases I described up top, I’d rather use my phone for any other apps anyway-But google integration is not perfect and many apps are not available; if this is something you care about, do some research about what is/is not available on the watch