Yeah if you are a regular consumer the software in their watches is a bit disappointing, but you get used to it. For example, they JUST added pictures to notifications, and you still can’t type a response to texts, just a few premade responses.
If you’re a programmer, it’s even more frustrating. I struggled to write a weight lifting app on Samsung’s Tizen, but I was eventually successful. Not so much with Garmin. Garmin does not allow for SQL databases (just key value pair), and worse, they give such a small amount of space to save data it’s almost worthless. I think with mine, one of their top end watches, they give like enough space for me to save a few hundred sets. Sounds like a lot but it’s basically like ten visits to the gym and then it would have to delete stuff. They do have another method, but I was unable to figure out how to work with their fit files.
So yeah they make great watches but I wish they would put some time in to make the user and programmer experience a bit better.
I’m confused, and I suspect it’s from limited understanding here, but smartwatches are typically paired with a phone, so wouldn’t it make more sense to offload dataset handling like you’re describing to the smartphone than any onboard storage/memory in the watch?
Or is that part of the odd jank of some smartwatch systems atm that they don’t interoperate like that?
Yes it’s true I could probably do it that way, but what I want in a fitness watch is a phone replacement while working out. For example, I don’t carry my phone on a run. For weight lifting, with my old Samsung, I just left my phone in my locker and used my app to record the weight lifting I was doing. I could switch back to a workout I hadn’t done in a year and see what I was lifting then. I never even thought about my phone, accidentally leaving it at the bench, or worrying about damaging it. It’s really freeing to just get away from the phone for a while.
My point was just agreeing with the previous comment that, while Garmin makes a great watch, their software could be improved. The limitations they put in are also somewhat arbitrary. I have plenty of storage for songs and podcasts, so a couple MB of data storage should totally be fine.
Ooh, I see now. It wasn’t clear from the previous comments that you were wanting to use it apart from your phone, which is why I asked. I’ve helped someone with a Garmin watch before and I definitely agree that their software could be improved from the little I experienced of it.
Yeah if you are a regular consumer the software in their watches is a bit disappointing, but you get used to it. For example, they JUST added pictures to notifications, and you still can’t type a response to texts, just a few premade responses.
If you’re a programmer, it’s even more frustrating. I struggled to write a weight lifting app on Samsung’s Tizen, but I was eventually successful. Not so much with Garmin. Garmin does not allow for SQL databases (just key value pair), and worse, they give such a small amount of space to save data it’s almost worthless. I think with mine, one of their top end watches, they give like enough space for me to save a few hundred sets. Sounds like a lot but it’s basically like ten visits to the gym and then it would have to delete stuff. They do have another method, but I was unable to figure out how to work with their fit files.
So yeah they make great watches but I wish they would put some time in to make the user and programmer experience a bit better.
I’m confused, and I suspect it’s from limited understanding here, but smartwatches are typically paired with a phone, so wouldn’t it make more sense to offload dataset handling like you’re describing to the smartphone than any onboard storage/memory in the watch?
Or is that part of the odd jank of some smartwatch systems atm that they don’t interoperate like that?
Yes it’s true I could probably do it that way, but what I want in a fitness watch is a phone replacement while working out. For example, I don’t carry my phone on a run. For weight lifting, with my old Samsung, I just left my phone in my locker and used my app to record the weight lifting I was doing. I could switch back to a workout I hadn’t done in a year and see what I was lifting then. I never even thought about my phone, accidentally leaving it at the bench, or worrying about damaging it. It’s really freeing to just get away from the phone for a while.
My point was just agreeing with the previous comment that, while Garmin makes a great watch, their software could be improved. The limitations they put in are also somewhat arbitrary. I have plenty of storage for songs and podcasts, so a couple MB of data storage should totally be fine.
Ooh, I see now. It wasn’t clear from the previous comments that you were wanting to use it apart from your phone, which is why I asked. I’ve helped someone with a Garmin watch before and I definitely agree that their software could be improved from the little I experienced of it.