Me too, I have small wrists and the 360 is as far as I could go without looking like Dick Tracy.
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LG Watch Urbane
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Me too, I have small wrists and the 360 is as far as I could go without looking like Dick Tracy.
It has the worst name of any smart device, but it probably is the best looking smart watch on the market.
Battery update and comparisons:
First full and busy day of use today. Off the charger at 7am, watch face always on, brightness at 5 or 6 (Max).
Used throughout with plenty of sms/twitter/WhatsApp/email/agenda notifications, using it to reply via voice to text messages and email, a bit of navigation, fitness/pulse checking, as well as check train times and messing around changing watch faces with Facer and WatchMaker more than I would on a daily basis. I also Glanced at the time often too and would usually do the twist gesture to scroll through notifications without needing to use my other hand.
Essentially, I wasn't holding back on anything and used what I needed when I needed it. At 11.30pm it was down to 54%.
I'd say this is very good; at least in view of current smart watch longevity. The extra 100mAh (110mAh?) over the 360 makes a big difference as well as the Wear software update. The twist to scroll action works really well and feels pretty natural.
I'll continue tomorrow on the same charge and see where it ends up.
Now for subjective comparisons... Since I've only owned the 360 and had an AW try on, those are where I can compare with smart watches.
Looks-wise I prefer the Urbane over both - it's styled like the kind of traditional watch I usually like and go for. That's just me.
I think a 360 v2 with lugs and no flat tyre (deal breaker) would be good, too. I've mentioned how IMO the tyre undermines all the 360 clean styling and looks positively ugly with a white face.
As I've skinny wrists and most watches look big on me (including AW 42mm), I wouldn't mind a slightly smaller version in all watches. I expect progress here as the category develops.
Performance was mostly very good on the Urbane. It isn't totally stutter-free (scrolling the app list or loading an app can result in a delay) but it's more responsive in general than the 360 and I use less wasted taps than I do on the AW with that home screen. Again, all things that'll be optimised over time as SW and HW improve.
Overall as someone who wasn't sure about smart watches as a whole, and uses a fitness band (vivosmart) all the time, I'm being won over. That's for some simple reasons: styling; always-on time; battery life; and ease of use.
For those who prefer the 360, I can see v2 bringing some great updates (SoC, strap connection, etc). V1 is a decent price now but I just couldn't justify £150-160 on something that would annoy me daily (I tried!) versus £259 on something that I very much like.
First full and busy day of use today. Off the charger at 7am, watch face always on, brightness at 5 or 6 (Max).
Used throughout with plenty of sms/twitter/WhatsApp/email/agenda notifications, using it to reply via voice to text messages and email, a bit of navigation, fitness/pulse checking, as well as check train times and messing around changing watch faces with Facer and WatchMaker more than I would on a daily basis. I also Glanced at the time often too and would usually do the twist gesture to scroll through notifications without needing to use my other hand.
Essentially, I wasn't holding back on anything and used what I needed when I needed it. At 11.30pm it was down to 54%.
I'd say this is very good; at least in view of current smart watch longevity. The extra 100mAh (110mAh?) over the 360 makes a big difference as well as the Wear software update. The twist to scroll action works really well and feels pretty natural.
I'll continue tomorrow on the same charge and see where it ends up.
Now for subjective comparisons... Since I've only owned the 360 and had an AW try on, those are where I can compare with smart watches.
Looks-wise I prefer the Urbane over both - it's styled like the kind of traditional watch I usually like and go for. That's just me.
I think a 360 v2 with lugs and no flat tyre (deal breaker) would be good, too. I've mentioned how IMO the tyre undermines all the 360 clean styling and looks positively ugly with a white face.
As I've skinny wrists and most watches look big on me (including AW 42mm), I wouldn't mind a slightly smaller version in all watches. I expect progress here as the category develops.
Performance was mostly very good on the Urbane. It isn't totally stutter-free (scrolling the app list or loading an app can result in a delay) but it's more responsive in general than the 360 and I use less wasted taps than I do on the AW with that home screen. Again, all things that'll be optimised over time as SW and HW improve.
Overall as someone who wasn't sure about smart watches as a whole, and uses a fitness band (vivosmart) all the time, I'm being won over. That's for some simple reasons: styling; always-on time; battery life; and ease of use.
For those who prefer the 360, I can see v2 bringing some great updates (SoC, strap connection, etc). V1 is a decent price now but I just couldn't justify £150-160 on something that would annoy me daily (I tried!) versus £259 on something that I very much like.
Yes, LG's watch battery life is amazing. Last Sunday morning I took an LG Watch G off its charger, and laid it on a desk. I never paired it, but did leave the Bluetooth radios on. No notifications went to it, but I did check the time every hour or so. It finally dropped to 2% battery today, over six days later.
(With notifications, it'd probably last "only" two days. Interesting how much they affect battery life.)
Don't give up too early
I used to give up at 10% and put the watches on their charger. After a while I found that "only 10%" actually means it has another four to five hours to go.
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Thank you very much for the update on the Urbane (and especially comparing it with the 360, since I have one on the way.) I realize the 360 isn't quite at the same level as the Urbane, but I enjoy reading the comparisons none the less.
It would seem to me that Android Wear (newest release) has developed sufficiently that we should expect 2 days (minimum use) for any smartwatch running the OS and has at least a 300mAh battery.
P.S. Keep the updates coming. The good and the bad. i.e. The stuttering. Is it actual stutter or just delay of apps opening? Also, you have it on 'always on', so is the screen going from full color to black and white when you aren't using it?
Great info and seems like an awesome performer.
I think the 360 looks a ton better than this watch but that's just subjective and my opinion but this one seems to outperform it.
Gimmie looks over very close functionality at this point for a watch for me.
I think the 360 looks a ton better than this watch but that's just subjective and my opinion but this one seems to outperform it.
Gimmie looks over very close functionality at this point for a watch for me.
I always think well thought out reviews from genuine users like you are a lot better and more trustworthy than the ones on the likes on Engadget etc., so thank you.
This thread alone has got me tempted, but it does look a little too big and chunky. I might just take a punt - at £259, why not...?
The delay seems when I first scroll down the app list. I guess as it's populating the list and might also depend on how many apps are in there.
The other time is opening a train app I use. It has four journeys preset so it might be because it's pulling the latest departure times for those journeys.
The faces usually get simplified to a few colours without the second hand on analogue faces (I guess that continually changing is a battery drainer) and black and white for digital - I guess it depends on the face.
The simplified faces, at least the stock ones, are also slightly smaller and inset by a few pixels so they can shift across/up/down a few pixels every few minutes to prevent screen burn.
Nothing wrong liking what you like. The Android Wear update is well worth it - I'm more and more impressed how a couple of wrist-twist gestures have transformed usability allowing one-handed use. May help with battery life too on the 360 and others.
I come here for more informed reviews too.
It's definitely a bit chunky and I expect some slimming as the tech matures. If we're looking at a 6-month release cycle things should evolve nicely. Maybe wait for 360 v2 as it's supposed to be announced soon?
I think the Moto 360 2 will be the one to beat. With lugs and no flat tire it's going to be very nice, especially without a chunky bezel to make it look weird. I have faith in Motorola also, they don't seem content to rest on their laurels and will probably have some innovative features on their new watch. I really like my current Moto 360 with the metal band, other than the fairly poor battery life though so hopefully they improve that.
It does. Most go mostly B&W. A few switch to an alternate color.
Sometimes, though, you really want to have the full face (with seconds) showing for a longer time.
Not sure if it's useful or compatible with your watch with the latest Wear OS, but I have the Wear Mini Launcher installed on mine.
This brings up a list of apps with a swipe in from the left side.
More pertinent to this post, a second swipe brings in its quick settings panel, which I find very useful to quickly set the brightness level.
It also allows hitting a lock icon that keeps the watchface in full ON mode, instead of timing out back to the ambient mode. This lets me see the seconds when I need them to time something. And of course, it's great for showing off the watch!
The downside is that it took away 3% of my battery in just ten minutes. So you can't leave it in that mode for too long
That looks handy, I'll give it a try.
Final battery update: made it to 8.45pm on the Sunday before needing a charge. Considering it can last me two full days at the weekend when I'm using it more than during the week, I'm really happy with that.
On a typical work day, now I've settled on a face and stopped notifications from a couple of needles apps (games), I'm using about 35%-40% which is great. Charging once every two days makes a massive difference compared to daily.
Not 100% on keeping it but I'm being won over by some conveniently handy features (voice reply and initiating a voice call using LG's app) and usability (when driving) compared to my vivosmart which just does notifications.
Consider me (almost) converted.
Final battery update: made it to 8.45pm on the Sunday before needing a charge. Considering it can last me two full days at the weekend when I'm using it more than during the week, I'm really happy with that.
On a typical work day, now I've settled on a face and stopped notifications from a couple of needles apps (games), I'm using about 35%-40% which is great. Charging once every two days makes a massive difference compared to daily.
Not 100% on keeping it but I'm being won over by some conveniently handy features (voice reply and initiating a voice call using LG's app) and usability (when driving) compared to my vivosmart which just does notifications.
Consider me (almost) converted.
This is with screen off, right?
From your experience, what's the most efficient clock face for GWR that has a nice bright ambient mode that lasts the longest? (I'm waiting for mine to arrive any day now.)
Right. Just for fun, I also timed others to see how long they would last as just a watch, with ambient mode turned off. Most had BT turned on but not paired.
_91 hours - Samsung Gear Live
100 hours - Moto 360 (in airplane mode)
116 hours - Sony Smartwatch 3
149 hours - LG G
I'm now timing the LG R, also with BT on, but not paired. Since the Moto went 32 hours being used, and the LGWR went 48 hours being used, I'd expect the LGWR to do about 50% better than the Moto, just like the LG G did. EXCEPT, I'm leaving the LGWR display on, which is bound to kill it earlier.
The stock one called "Red" is my favorite as far as feeling like it lasts the longest. But I haven't really tested to find out.
I think some third party faces that get the weather chew up battery, but that's just a feeling.
Really should test them, shouldn't we?!
You guys are starting a trend!Well, my willpower succumbed yesterday---ordered a silver model from Amazon, should be here tomorrow. Yes, I'm going to be the dork with a smart watch on each wrist for a real time comparison--Apple Watch and LG Watch Urbane.
Yeah, I guess I could go 'Super Dork' and wear them on the same wrist.
Looking forward to your thoughts!
I do want to preface that it won't be an 100% even comparison as I will be pairing it to an Android phone but that phone will be on data only--not moving my sim over as I don't want to deal with any potential iMessage fiasco. And as Android Wear supports wifi connectivity, even to remote phones, this will allow me to use it simultaneously with the Apple Watch. I just won't be taking calls on the Android handset and limited messaging via Hangouts.
Appreciate your reviews and updates here - it is always interesting to get a first hand 'real user' perspective.
The battery capacity seems to be very impressive - and not only compared to the Apple Watch which ironically seems to be bested by all other smart watches ever released.
Battery life on my Apple Watch has been great. In fact, mine's been off the charger since 6 AM EST (17 hours now) and I'm presently at 54%. Lowest battery level I've seen was about 20% and that was after pretty heavy use one of the first days I owned it--was also at 2 AM so it had given me a good 20 hrs of use as well.
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Just tried urbane... Dont know if it is abit large for me and i think it didnt sit well on my wrist. Felt like a huge metallic plate. But definitely going to try it again on better time and also waiting to get to try huawei too. Otherwise it was nice, display was gorgeous and it felt like a real watch, not a toy.
It's pretty big but not an uncommon size for a watch--just a matter of preference. I have a couple of watches I used to wear that are just a big, if not bigger than the Urbane. I like the look as it's not dissimilar from what I might look for in a traditional watch but obviously, YMMV. What I don't like initially is the leather band. It looks nice enough but it's really stiff and doesn't allow the watch to rest comfortably on the wrist, though I'm sure that would obviously change with use and time. If I decide to keep the Urbane, I'll likely look for a new band or two.
yeah althought the leather band looks nice, the new band is quite "hard" but they always are at first. i definitely would get a steel band with the silver but the brown leather with the "gold" one looks better. i still dont know which colour i would pick up. the store has only the silver watch to try.
That is what I though regarding all leather bands too. I was suprised at how supple the 360 leather band was when I got it.
That said, metal bands (especially the Milanese Loop/chainmail style is extremely good looking.) There are a ton of them on Amazon for relatively cheap (standard 22mm connector) and in just about every color.