# Help with new smartwatch!



## Zipdog (Dec 3, 2012)

I currently have a Panerai 217 and Omega Seamaster, I am interested in a smartwatch that is always on and accepts watch faces like member "Ivt" with Huawei GT2. From what I can tell You can't do this in the US.
I am willing to spend several hundred dollars, I have a iPhone 6splus, I would like size to be around 45, I really don't care about the rest of the features or functions. Sapphire would be nice but not mandatory. Would like a good crisp display. Thanks Danny


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## Rocket1991 (Mar 15, 2018)

Apple Watch has always on function, Samsung Galaxy 3 is also nice....
You may try Garmin Fenix 6 it also can be always on.
They not really benefit from always on but you can pass a day or two with always on watch.
Goolge based watches in always on will dies rather fast.
If you OK with monochrome Garmin Instinct is always on and in solar version almost perpetual but watch face options are limited.
My suggestion is to visit something like BestBuy and see them in person.
My money on Samsung 








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There is pretty much sweet sale going on now.


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## Motik (May 17, 2015)

My Android smart watches have always been "always on" and lasted through the day. That was a loooong time before Apple found out how to do the same.

And plenty of watch faces with the Watchmaker app.


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## Zipdog (Dec 3, 2012)

Thanks for the info, I will check out Best Buy, I guess I'm not the usual smart watch buyer, just like the idea of playing around with faces.
Danny


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## kramer5150 (Nov 15, 2007)

You should be aware that the always -on display is usually a dimmed down, feature-less display on most smart watches. Apple watch is your best bet, or if you want something more traditional go with Samsung and a 3rd party app like Facer or watchmaker. I paid for the latter and love it on my fossil smart watch.


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## Zipdog (Dec 3, 2012)

Thank You!


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## lvt (Sep 15, 2009)

Zipdog said:


> I currently have a Panerai 217 and Omega Seamaster, I am interested in a smartwatch that is always on and accepts watch faces like member "Ivt" with Huawei GT2. From what I can tell You can't do this in the US.
> I am willing to spend several hundred dollars, I have a iPhone 6splus, I would like size to be around 45, I really don't care about the rest of the features or functions. Sapphire would be nice but not mandatory. Would like a good crisp display. Thanks Danny


The Huawei GT2 Pro could be an interesting option, technically it's a GT2 with sapphire crystal and Titanium case. It's a luxury smartwatch that goes well with your current watches collection.


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## Zipdog (Dec 3, 2012)

Do you know if I could download faces in the US, there seems to be some kind of ban from what I've read


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## Rocket1991 (Mar 15, 2018)

Zipdog said:


> Do you know if I could download faces in the US, there seems to be some kind of ban from what I've read


Facer is available along with huge selection directly in the store..Chinese should be same.
Smartwatches come with Gorilla Glass so it's not sapphire but not your regular glass either.
I have not landed any scratch on mine in 1.5 years of daily wear and some serious banging (i have Samsung).
My suggestion is go with known brand. Like Samsung, Apple, Garmin. It's a safe choice. 100-200$ saved it's not a big deal especially if you get things on sale.
Both Apple and Samsung are on sale now.
There are plenty of things to toy around in smartwatches
Though i admit faces and changing straps is one of them
Samsung has straight 20mm so you can fit anything. Not once i changed face to something more "dress" when going to meeting along with black leather strap to look more formal and fun if i felt so for a day.
It's really gives some freedom of expression especially Samsung with it's free face creation tool.
You can make your own design in 15 minutes.


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## Zipdog (Dec 3, 2012)

I like the look of the Samsung watches. I've seen some Apple watches with Third party watches, but haven't figured out how they do it, as Apple says it isn't possible. I haven't given up, just want to make the right choice. Samsung faces look more high quality than Garmin from pictures on the internet. I haven't seen them in person. Member Ivt's look amazing!


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## kramer5150 (Nov 15, 2007)

Theres a few north american amazon reviews for the GT2 Pro, they state only 11 watch faces are available. That being said, I paid for watchmaker premium on my fossil. I have 1000s of watch faces I can pick from... but I honestly only really use a few of them. So 11 may not sound like much, but if 1-2 of those are what you want, that really may be all you need.

i am not sure if the open source apps like facer or watchmaker are able to work on a north american GT2 Pro. Hopefully others can chime in on this.

The other thing to keep in mind is the current volatility of the US government and the political environment. A lot of this could change for Huawei in the near future... for the better or worse. It's up in the air for now.

I absolutely love the GT2 Pro design... Titanium case, sapphire glass screen, hooded strap lug areas, 22mm strap, big open looking dial face. I think they have a stunning looking product.


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## Zipdog (Dec 3, 2012)

I looks like a lot of features for the price.


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## Rocket1991 (Mar 15, 2018)

Zipdog said:


> I like the look of the Samsung watches. I've seen some Apple watches with Third party watches, but haven't figured out how they do it, as Apple says it isn't possible. I haven't given up, just want to make the right choice. Samsung faces look more high quality than Garmin from pictures on the internet. I haven't seen them in person. Member Ivt's look amazing!


Samsung uses high resolution OLED. It's crisp by itself yet some of faces use sensor data to run shadow or other effect to mimic what you see if you tilt material watch face under light and it really cool.


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## Zipdog (Dec 3, 2012)

I think the Samsung might be a good choice, not sure which one yet! Thanks for the help.


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## kramer5150 (Nov 15, 2007)

Couple things to keep in mind regarding Samsung,
Not everything on them fully works with iPhones. There are a couple functions that apple iOS blocks from use. I can't recall what those are specifically though.
The new galaxy watch 3 gets significantly worse battery life than any of its predecessors. Each charge will last about 1.5 days, even with "minimal" use.

Good luck with your choice though... I know if I were an iphone user I would go with the apple watch, but thats just me.

I too am in the market for a new watch to replace my amazfit Stratos for fitness tracking. I am thinking Garmin, Polar or suunto.


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## Zipdog (Dec 3, 2012)

Thank You, I will look into these, Not familiar with Polar.


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## Zipdog (Dec 3, 2012)

Thought Polar sounds familiar, I have the strap on heart monitors.


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## kramer5150 (Nov 15, 2007)

Yep... I am really in no hurry though. Holiday season www discounts are right around he corner. Honestly though, I am kind of enjoying the simplicity of life without a smart watch. I only wear my fossil during the work week hours, and switch to a traditional dumb watch at ~5:30 when I log off work. Its kind of nice not being data-connected to that extent.


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## Zipdog (Dec 3, 2012)

That is one thing that attracted me to my Panerai, I am retired, it's easy to read and doesn't have a date! I just want to play around with watch faces.


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## lvt (Sep 15, 2009)

Zipdog said:


> Do you know if I could download faces in the US, there seems to be some kind of ban from what I've read


Watch faces for Huawei watches are available worldwide for free, there are thousands of faces to use.

The only known issue is that you can't change watch faces while using an iPhone as it only works on Android phones.


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## kramer5150 (Nov 15, 2007)

lvt said:


> Watch faces for Huawei watches are available worldwide for free, there are thousands of faces to use.
> 
> The only known issue is that you can't change watch faces while using an iPhone as it only works on Android phones.


Thats good to know, they did such a nice job on its overall design... I am tempted to get one anyways.


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## Zipdog (Dec 3, 2012)

I went with Fossil gen 5 black with black silicone band, should be here soon. I like the quick battery modes. With time only, it should last several weeks between charges. I appreciate all the help and suggestions!


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## lvt (Sep 15, 2009)

Zipdog said:


> I went with Fossil gen 5 black with black silicone band, should be here soon. I like the quick battery modes. With time only, it should last several weeks between charges. I appreciate all the help and suggestions!


From what I've read, it should last about a week in time-only mode.


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## Zipdog (Dec 3, 2012)

That sounds good, It will give me a start into the smart watch world!


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## lvt (Sep 15, 2009)

kramer5150 said:


> Thats good to know, they did such a nice job on its overall design... I am tempted to get one anyways.


I've spent two months with the GT2, it's really worth every penny given the overall build quality and functionality. The possibility of using third-party made watch faces and making /receiving phone calls directly from the watch will give you a lot of funs.


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## lvt (Sep 15, 2009)

For whoever wanting to buy the GT2, as the screen is a single piece of glass without bezel, I recommend the protection kit (bezel, strap, tempered glass). For less than $15 you can transform your GT2 to a G-shock watch, literally.


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## Rocket1991 (Mar 15, 2018)

Zipdog said:


> That sounds good, It will give me a start into the smart watch world!


Garmin is now half price on Fenix 5 models. You can look into it.


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## kramer5150 (Nov 15, 2007)

Zipdog said:


> I went with Fossil gen 5 black with black silicone band, should be here soon. I like the quick battery modes. With time only, it should last several weeks between charges. I appreciate all the help and suggestions!


Good luck with your gen5 Fossil. I hope your experience with it is better than my mine with a gen4.


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## Rocket1991 (Mar 15, 2018)

Zipdog said:


> I went with Fossil gen 5 black with black silicone band, should be here soon. I like the quick battery modes. With time only, it should last several weeks between charges. I appreciate all the help and suggestions!


Post you impressions! Have fun!


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## lvt (Sep 15, 2009)

kramer5150 said:


> Good luck with your gen5 Fossil. I hope your experience with it is better than my mine with a gen4.


I see a lot of posts on the Gen 4's caseback falling out on Reddit, how could it happen


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## kramer5150 (Nov 15, 2007)

I'm not sure about that. Mine never had a case-back problem. Hardware has been GREAT for 2 years. My main complaint has been with WearOS... too buggy for my taste.


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## Snyde (Mar 5, 2016)

I bought this thing for the GPS/ battery life. Built like a Gshock and can use the GPS all day without battery dying.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## slamwatch (Jan 3, 2020)

Zipdog said:


> I currently have a Panerai 217 and Omega Seamaster, I am interested in a smartwatch that is always on and accepts watch faces like member "Ivt" with Huawei GT2. From what I can tell You can't do this in the US.
> I am willing to spend several hundred dollars, I have a iPhone 6splus, I would like size to be around 45, I really don't care about the rest of the features or functions. Sapphire would be nice but not mandatory. Would like a good crisp display. Thanks Danny


Yeah I have an Apple Watch as well. with the always on display. Its pretty good. I get a full day out of it easily. Probably about one and a half days.


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## myltz400 (Feb 7, 2008)

Zipdog said:


> I currently have a Panerai 217 and Omega Seamaster, I am interested in a smartwatch that is always on and accepts watch faces like member "Ivt" with Huawei GT2. From what I can tell You can't do this in the US.
> I am willing to spend several hundred dollars, I have a iPhone 6splus, I would like size to be around 45, I really don't care about the rest of the features or functions. Sapphire would be nice but not mandatory. Would like a good crisp display. Thanks Danny


What did you decide?

I am a mechanical watch guy too and would like the same thing but have not found it yet. Honestly I have been unhappy with all of the oled or light up display type watches I have tried. IMO they are difficult to see in sunlight and annoying in low light. I hate the "arm salute" to view anything, the information goes away too fast, charging, can't see the time at a glance, etc. I currently use an old Pebble Time because I can always see it and the battery goes about five days, it barely gets the job done but I find it superior to the Galaxy watch and Apple for the aforementioned reasons.

The Garmin instinct above will probably be my next purchase in this pursuit. It will not however run uninstalled watch faces that I know of. My interest in the custom faces was very short anyway, back in the Zenwatch days.


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## Zipdog (Dec 3, 2012)

myltz400 said:


> What did you decide?
> 
> I am a mechanical watch guy too and would like the same thing but have not found it yet. Honestly I have been unhappy with all of the oled or light up display type watches I have tried. IMO they are difficult to see in sunlight and annoying in low light. I hate the "arm salute" to view anything, the information goes away too fast, charging, can't see the time at a glance, etc. I currently use an old Pebble Time because I can always see it and the battery goes about five days, it barely gets the job done but I find it superior to the Galaxy watch and Apple for the aforementioned reasons.
> 
> The Garmin instinct above will probably be my next purchase in this pursuit. It will not however run uninstalled watch faces that I know of. My interest in the custom faces was very short anyway, back in the Zenwatch days.


I bought the Samsung Galaxy 3 45, Having a lot of fun with the faces !


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## myltz400 (Feb 7, 2008)

Nice, I hope you enjoy it!


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