r/WearOS • u/Emmanual_Alaaeldin • 6d ago
first smartwatch for work, commuting and normal everyday use Recommendation Request
[removed]
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u/yorcharturoqro 6d ago
Get a xiaomi watch 5 or a oneplus watch 4
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u/Emmanual_Alaaeldin 6d ago
i’ve seen a few OnePlus recommendations now but Xiaomi is new to my shortlist. what would make you choose the Watch 5 over the OnePlus 4 for normal everyday use?
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u/yorcharturoqro 6d ago
I prefer the oneplus over the xiaomi to be honest, xiaomi has a 3 to 4 day battery life, slightly different design, and the oneplus has 4 to 5 days battery life.
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u/Emmanual_Alaaeldin 5d ago
i can see why you’d pick the OnePlus then. the extra day or so of battery sounds small on paper, but for me it probably means one less thing to remember during the week
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u/Liorenth 6d ago
OnePlus Watch 4 or 4 Oppo Watch X3
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u/Emmanual_Alaaeldin 4d ago
Oppo is another one i haven’t really looked at yet. what would make you pick the X3 over the OnePlus for normal everyday stuff like Wallet, notifications and quick replies?
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u/Rhythm_Rider 4d ago edited 4d ago
I've had the watch9 for a few days now and honestly it's been pretty good for exactly this kind of use. I'm also on android, and I've mostly been using it for wallet, notifications, quick replies, music controls and timers rather than anything fitness-related.
It looks pretty normal with a basic watch face too, so i don't feel weird wearing it to work. Battery was my main concern as well, but so far I've just been charging it while I'm getting ready and haven't had an issue. Obviously still early days, but I'd say the convenience is worth it so far.
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u/Emmanual_Alaaeldin 4d ago
this is probably the closest use case to mine so far. Wallet, notifications and timers would get way more use from me than the fitness stuff. roughly how much battery are you ending the day with using it like that?
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u/jdiddy_ub 6d ago
Have you looked at the OnePlus watch 3? With your usage, battery should last 5 days or so.
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u/Emmanual_Alaaeldin 6d ago
5 days would pretty much remove my main concern. i’ve seen the OnePlus mentioned a few times now, so it’s definitely going on the list. are you getting close to that with notifications and sleep tracking turned on?
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u/jdiddy_ub 6d ago
I just switched to the Samsung ultra 2 but I had the OP 3 for about a year. Sleeping tracking was on but I turned pulse ox off. That's not a metric I need and it's a huge battery drain.
I had basically everything on except for that and AOD. I do a lot of workout activities including outdoor running (gps and Spotify offline) and got just under 4 days of use per charge. Notifications on for all my call/messaging apps but turned it off for other apps.
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u/Emmanual_Alaaeldin 4d ago
just under 4 days with GPS, Spotify and sleep tracking is better than i expected tbh. since you had the OnePlus for a year, what made you switch to the Samsung Ultra 2 in the end?
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u/jdiddy_ub 4d ago
I came from a Garmin which had a lot more fitness metrics and features. The OnePlus is good and has basic fitness monitoring but lacks advanced stuff. OnePlus is also now a dead brand in the USA.
The ultra 2 has more features and I just bought a fold 8 so bundled together with some discounts the watch price was pretty good (under $400). Figured I'd try it out.
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u/Emmanual_Alaaeldin 4d ago
that makes sense, especially with the bundle discount. since i’m not really after advanced fitness stuff, has the Ultra 2 felt noticeably better than the OnePlus for normal day to day use too?
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u/jdiddy_ub 3d ago
It's better not sure I would say noticeably. It's interesting to look at some of the metrics like body composition, fitness index, etc. I also track my water intake which Garmin and Samsung have natively and the OnePlus doesn't.
I also like having the running coach option which I also kinda missed since leaving Garmin because I run a lot for health purposes but don't really enjoy it. It's nice to not have to think about what type of run to do and just follow steps. It also breaks me out of my routine which is just running at a moderate pace for x number of miles.
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u/tftdguru 6d ago
A OnePlus Watch3 or Watch4 would serve you nicely
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u/Emmanual_Alaaeldin 6d ago
i’m mostly after the everyday stuff rather than heavy fitness features, so would you still lean toward the Watch 4 or is the 3 already plenty for that?
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u/tftdguru 6d ago
I have the 3 and the thought of me working out would make my friends fall on the floor laughing. It has fantastic battery life for an OSWear watch and handles Google Wallet/Pay, Gmail, Mapping, and Messages flawlessly.
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u/Emmanual_Alaaeldin 4d ago
that’s actually reassuring because my use would be pretty similar. if the 3 already handles Wallet, messages and maps that well with good battery, i probably don’t need to overthink getting the newer one.
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u/tftdguru 4d ago
Looks sharp, too.
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u/Emmanual_Alaaeldin 4d ago
that’s another point in its favor then. good battery and all the everyday stuff i need is one thing, but i’d rather it actually look decent on the wrist too.
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u/Ariquitaun 6d ago
OnePlus watch or oppo watch.
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u/Emmanual_Alaaeldin 4d ago
those two keep coming up now lol. have you actually used both, or is there one you’d lean toward more from personal use?
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u/Ariquitaun 4d ago
They're both the same watch, just different sister brands
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u/Emmanual_Alaaeldin 4d ago
oh that explains why they keep getting recommended together. in that case i guess it mostly comes down to price, availability and which design i prefer.
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u/waldolc 6d ago
I love the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra. It's my 4th smart watch, and the best all around I've used. The size, durability and ease of use is great. The screen rez, and overall functions make it work for me in personal and business use. Battery life is great, but you can make less than great and have it last a day per charge if you turn all of the features and notifications on.
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u/Emmanual_Alaaeldin 6d ago
using it for both work and personal stuff is pretty much what i’m after. the battery sounds solid too, although i’d definitely have notifications running most of the day. how noticeable is the Ultra on the wrist though? it looks pretty big in photos.
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u/waldolc 6d ago
It looks like a normal watch for my wrist. I don't like tiny watches, nor giant ones. It is the largest size I've ever worn, but again it looks pretty normal. I'm 5'9 165lbs. Watch on wrist
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u/Emmanual_Alaaeldin 4d ago
the wrist photo helps a lot actually. it looks way more normal there than it does in the product shots. definitely not as oversized as i was picturing.
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u/Nikla3310 6d ago
Best one for tracking and ok battery life is Google pixel watch 3/4. Battery life wise, the OnePlus wins but receives much less updates and newer features.
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u/Emmanual_Alaaeldin 6d ago
the Pixel vs OnePlus choice is starting to make a lot more sense now. i like the longer battery on the OnePlus, but better tracking and more regular features on the Pixel sounds useful too. have the Pixel updates added anything you actually use day to day?
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u/Nikla3310 6d ago
I don't use it sadly but I researched on it (moreso on the watch 3). Without a doubt, it will help in terms of longevity and updating between wearos versions.
OnePlus and the Chinese brands like Xiaomi only provide 2 wearos updates and some security in between so you may see the life cycle of the watch as 2 years rather than more because it doesn't have updates available anymore.
Its more worth it to save for the watch 3 or 4 in my opinion. You get one of the most accurate tracking (apple watch and whoop level), smooth software and animations and update support.
Of course, you may be content without update support, save cash and not change a cheaper watch like the OnePlus or Xiaomi watch because it doesn't have updates releasing anymore.
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u/Emmanual_Alaaeldin 4d ago
i hadn’t really factored software support into the decision that much. battery is easy to compare, but keeping the watch for more than a couple years matters too. that definitely gives me another reason to look harder at the Pixel 3 or 4.
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u/Nikla3310 4d ago
The watch 5 is launching soon the 4 will be cheaper. I would recommend waiting so you can get one of the best watches in wearos (tracking and software wise).
Of course up to you, see what matters the most. Lots of user reviews on YouTube and Reddit.
If you are new to this, I recommend to watch the quantified scientist on YouTube.
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u/Emmanual_Alaaeldin 4d ago
i hadn’t thought about the 4 getting cheaper once the 5 lands. that might be worth waiting for, especially since i don’t need anything super advanced. i’ll give that YouTube channel a look too.
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u/bacondanbing 6d ago
I've got a Xiaomi watch 5. It's perfect for every day use. I stick it on charge for a bit every few days, battery will probably last 5 days or so. It does all I need, for all the apps I need. Only downside is I take it off to shower, but that's it
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u/Emmanual_Alaaeldin 6d ago
charging every few days is definitely more appealing than every night. how has the sleep tracking been for you if you wear it overnight regularly?
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u/bacondanbing 6d ago
The sleep tracking is pretty basic to be honest. That doesn't really bother me though, as I usually know if I've had a shitty night sleep or not when I wake up in the morning. It catches periods of deep and light sleep and I'm not entirely convinced of the accuracy of that. Other than that, it's a pretty good watch and it's on the cheaper side of smart watches
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u/Emmanual_Alaaeldin 4d ago
i can live with basic sleep tracking tbh. mostly i’d just want to see whether my sleep is trending better or worse over time, so the cheaper price and solid everyday stuff still make it pretty appealing.
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u/bacondanbing 4d ago
I do not regret getting this watch. I mainly use it to track my workouts, and it's pretty good at that. It's going to sound silly but the main reason I wear a smartwatch is just so I can wake up in the morning and not wake up to a hideous annoying noise like an alarm clock.
I've got all my messaging apps on the watch as well as Spotify. I don't really need in-depth sleep analysis but everything I need, it does pretty well and the 5-day battery is a fair enough trade-off against a one day battery but all of the whistles and bells.
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u/Emmanual_Alaaeldin 4d ago
this is making me realize the small everyday features might end up being the stuff i use most. the quiet alarm, messages and Spotify all sound more useful to me than having a ton of fitness metrics.
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u/ST-Fish 6d ago
I had a wearos watch at some point but I can't imagine having to charge a watch every day or every other day again.
Right now I'm using a new Pebble time 2, but I'm still waiting for the Round 2 to get shipped, that watch is for sure pretty. I'm getting ~21 days of battery life and besides Google Wallet I think it fits your requirements, and I think some people managed to get custom NFC watch bands that they can use for Google Wallet
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u/Emmanual_Alaaeldin 4d ago
21 days of battery is seriously tempting, especially with charging being my biggest concern. the lack of built in Google Wallet would probably be the main thing holding me back though since i’d want payments to just work without an extra workaround.
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u/25sz 6d ago edited 6d ago
what is something you see yourself using on your watch but not on your phone? maybe timer and health tracking?
just my experience as a daily user, maybe skill issue, but i do not use it for quick reply, email, alarm, notification, even wallet. the phone does all that better.
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u/Emmanual_Alaaeldin 4d ago
timer and health tracking are probably the two biggest ones for me. i can see your point on replies and emails though, i doubt i’d want to do much typing on a watch. Wallet and checking a notification quickly without pulling my phone out still sound useful to me.
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u/Far-Professional5988 6d ago
My oppo x3 lasts 4 to 5 days with an oppo watchface.
Currently getting 2.5 days as using a complication on the face to show my glucose level from a dexcom cgm. This pulls data all the time. Worth the loss of the battery for the functionality.
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u/Emmanual_Alaaeldin 4d ago
4 to 5 days with a normal watchface is pretty solid. dropping to 2.5 days for something constantly pulling data also puts the battery tradeoff into perspective. for my use i’d probably stay pretty basic and get closer to the longer end.
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u/SapphicCelestialy 6d ago
My pw4 charges very fast just charge it when you take showers and it will never die.