Sony SmartWatch 2 Review
This post prompted me to write the obscurity of these wonderful watches from Sony on Habré. I collected it from my standalone blog, with the processing and updating of information for July 2014.
The clock I received for my birthday (October 2013) as a gift.
You get the first impression of the thing from the box - it is made very high quality and beautiful, the watch is already there with a strap fastened in the manner of an expensive watch. In general, the box and the watch themselves immediately made an impression of an expensive item - at least $ 1,000, and this is very nice.
')
There is a version with a rubber strap and a metal bracelet on sale, and the store’s shop (watches were bought there) doesn’t give a choice what to bring. I got a version with a strap, but it is better to try to get it with a metal bracelet. Low quality rubber, similar to silicone, is being wiped off. In the first watch rubber straps were much better. Yes, and the rubber strap does not look good.
After 3 months my strap has torn:
Very, very bad strap! I still had something like a mild allergy to him. So I advise you to take with a metal bracelet immediately.
Finding a replacement turned out to be not so simple: much narrower straps are usually sold in stores, but in one there was only a couple of wide ones to choose from. The price was small, so I decided to buy for a while, but as you know, there is nothing more permanent than temporary - I liked the strap, got accustomed and did not want to change it.
Leather, was bought for 400 rubles:
By the way, it looks very similar to the "original" Sony, which they sell for 1000r!
The watches are bigger but thinner. Finally, the epic with useless adapters and clasps is over - now the strap is attached directly to the watch, without any adapters, and this is exactly what made them thinner. Honestly, after LiveView (this is the very first version, still under the brand SonyEricsson), I have long been waiting for this change in design, did not understand why anyone would need to attach them to a belt through a clip.
The device is made of metal, the faces are somewhat reminiscent of the iPhone 5. Apparently the metal is aluminum, painted in black. So you need to be careful - there will be scratches, although the paint is much stronger than on the iPhone 5, you can not remove it with your fingernail. I touched the metal part of the door lock and got a small scratch.
Upd 2014: Now the watch is made of unpainted aluminum (like the iPhone 5S Gray), so their scratch resistance is much higher. Accordingly, now they are not black, but rather gray. Obviously, scratches are less noticeable on a gray background.
The watches are most likely suitable only for men, because, nevertheless, they are quite large, they do not look on the female hand. The first version - it looks better on the female hand, but for 2014 they are already so good.
Here is a significant step forward. And now the points:
We put a normal TFT screen (the first screen was OLED, similar to the first color STN displays), that is, it became normally visible in the sun, the resolution grew (220 x 176 versus 128 x 128), contrast and color reproduction (it feels like honest 16 bits gives out). The screen is no longer a weak point, it is pleasant to look at it, you can see everything on it under any lighting conditions. And most importantly - now time is displayed constantly! Now add to this the fact that the screen is an honest TFT with a good reflective layer and get the opportunity to see the time at any time (except for absolute darkness). This is a very big step forward and a huge increase in the main functionality - the display of time. For the screen safely put SW2 6 points out of 5.
Upd 2014: The main screen is now fully customized by built-in and third-party widgets. You can choose any style of time display, dial and additional information from the plug-ins (of course, if the developer implemented it). The management interface looks like this:
The clock is based on the STM32 F4 microcontroller, it is based on the ARM Cortex-M4F core, the maximum frequency is 180 Megahertz (it is unknown at what frequency it really works). The first SmartWatch (MN2) used STM32 F2 , on the ARM Cortex-M3 core , the maximum frequency is 120 Megahertz. What is funny - for communications via Bluetooth, chips are used from Ericsson - a former partner of Sony, in combination - the inventor of Bluetooth.
Up to 3 simultaneous touches are available in the API.
Compared to the MN2, new sensors have been added: a magnetometer and a luxometer (light sensor), as well as two buttons that are fully accessible in the API: back and menu. Sensors can use only one active application and only if the clock is not sleeping, so pedometers will not (may be implemented in the future).
Upd 2014: the magnetometer was programmatically removed, even old plug-ins no longer “see”. The official reason: poor quality. And he worked, and the truth is terrible. Luxometer was used only recently in the new firmware, using for automatic brightness control.
The firmware is updated automatically via Bluetooth.
Understand the myth: all watches from Sony work on their own OS, not on Android, although SW2 in terms of interface is very similar to it.
There is activation by tapping, you can adjust the sensitivity. But unlocking without pressing the main button is still impossible.
One of the main and long-awaited innovations: in the latest firmware versions, the watch can work independently without connecting to the phone. Time, date can be set manually, there are also built-in applications: advanced alarm clock, stopwatch, timer, calculator, snake counterpart and flashlight (just turns on the screen for maximum brightness). What is missing is the calendar.
From the settings from the clock, you can hide the plug-in icons and control the notification style separately for each plug-in.
In the absence of communication with the phone in applications that use the API v.2, you can read the saved notifications / messages. Naturally, applications that require interactivity (the so-called Control API) even if they use API v.2 do not work without communication with the phone (their icons are gray).
Another of the additions: all the icons are stored in the clock, there is no such thing as in MN2, when the clock still loaded the icons when activated for a couple of moments, it was all at once, without delays.
All this is convenient to use, the interface does not slow down (praise Sony), although kinetic scrolling saves little energy with a strong "push" (as on iOS compared to Android). It also became possible to protect the watch by entering a PIN in the absence of movement for 5 minutes, and globally disable vibration.
You can turn on the vibration when you touch the control buttons.
Icons can be sorted alphabetically or by frequency of use. The most convenient way is to sort by frequency of use. You can change the background image, but the choice is only from the preset.
Notification style can be changed:
To summarize the UI - SW2 received a huge innovation, now in the absence of communication, the clock remains operable. Responsiveness of the interface was improved to the ideal: now there are no brakes and delays anywhere. So once again, we safely put 6 out of 5. I really admire Sony, in 2013 such a thorough approach can only be seen in rare Apple products.
The clock works on Bluetooth 3.0, equipped with an NFC chip (which is needed except for the first pairing). At the first pairing, problems arose: the SmartWatch 2 application itself fell on the phone. I have a Motorola RAZR MAXX HD, and I installed the firmware without the Russian language, for the work of the Russian language I used a program to change the locale. As it turned out later, the SmartWatch 2 application is not friendly with such programs, except one - Locale & Language. After installing it and removing all the others, everything worked right away.
If you are afraid that Bluetooth 3.0 will drain the battery of your phone, then you should not worry: there is simply no difference (my consumption has not changed). Judge for yourself: in hours the battery capacity is about 50-100 mAh, they have enough for 4 days of work. In the phone, the battery capacity is at least 2000 mAh, so if you accept the fact that the power consumption is equal, then the communication phone's battery will discharge at least 80 days. I think that Sony is not a fool, and since they didn’t install BT v.4, that means there was no need.
Communication is held just fine, caught through the walls. No surprises, everything is fine here, no spontaneous dumps. Here are 5 of 5.
Honest 4 days, as stated. MN2 honestly worked for 1-2 days, with the stated 4x, and here there is no deception. And the time of work is quite stable and personally I almost did not depend on how often notifications come. Also the charge indicator was repaired, now it shows not the weather, but the charge with an accuracy of one percent. Speaking of charging, again microUSB, covered with a plug, which is also very good - a proprietary cable is no longer needed.
After receiving a low charge notification (15 and 10%) you have at least half a day, so you should not worry too much.
Some for some reason expect a miracle and work time for a month. Well, there won't be a miracle until they reinvent the screen with a built-in solar battery or something like that. It may work the same principle as with a self-winding mechanical clock - a handwheel that generates energy from hand movements. Although, for me personally, charging the watch once every 4 days is the same as charging it once a month. The main thing is that more than a day they are guaranteed to live, and the rest is not particularly important.
Upd 2014: Autonomy, after the upgrade, increased significantly, with occasional use - this is WEEK (7 days), with an active, I managed an average of 4 days. I consider that this is a great success, now the clock has to be charged very rarely.
Should I buy? - Definitely yes. There are no significant flaws in the device.
You must clearly understand why you need this accessory. This accessory is an assistant to the phone, a kind of additional wireless little screen. It allows not to miss a single event, while having the opportunity to keep the phone always in silent mode.
If you make a lot of calls and take calls using the headset, this watch is indispensable: number, name and photo of the caller, the ability to reset the call. With SW2, you can even dial a number in several ways (direct input, recent, search by first letter and selected contacts). Obviously, there is no useless feature like a speakerphone through the clock, like in the Galaxy Gear - this is not a toy, but a useful tool.
Of course, I may not be very careful with them, but I still have noticeable scratches on the glass. There is nothing to say about the bezel - it is the same as on the black 5m iPhone, he received the first injuries at the very beginning of operation.
I really hope that in the next version, Sony will finally understand that it is necessary to release the female and male versions, plus, probably, some titanium with sapphire glass and other exclusive materials that do not wear out for years. The question of the price will not stand, I would buy this. In general, we must look at the market for ordinary watches and copy his ideas.
I really like the watch, there is no this unpleasant feeling that “not bad, but it would be better, we are waiting for the next version”. Their function is performed, work is reinforced stable, the battery life is more than sufficient.
My expectations were met - 146%.
Goodbye - photo next to great-grandfather - SonyEricsson LiveView:
The clock I received for my birthday (October 2013) as a gift.
You get the first impression of the thing from the box - it is made very high quality and beautiful, the watch is already there with a strap fastened in the manner of an expensive watch. In general, the box and the watch themselves immediately made an impression of an expensive item - at least $ 1,000, and this is very nice.
')
There is a version with a rubber strap and a metal bracelet on sale, and the store’s shop (watches were bought there) doesn’t give a choice what to bring. I got a version with a strap, but it is better to try to get it with a metal bracelet. Low quality rubber, similar to silicone, is being wiped off. In the first watch rubber straps were much better. Yes, and the rubber strap does not look good.
After 3 months my strap has torn:
Very, very bad strap! I still had something like a mild allergy to him. So I advise you to take with a metal bracelet immediately.
Finding a replacement turned out to be not so simple: much narrower straps are usually sold in stores, but in one there was only a couple of wide ones to choose from. The price was small, so I decided to buy for a while, but as you know, there is nothing more permanent than temporary - I liked the strap, got accustomed and did not want to change it.
Leather, was bought for 400 rubles:
By the way, it looks very similar to the "original" Sony, which they sell for 1000r!
Design
The watches are bigger but thinner. Finally, the epic with useless adapters and clasps is over - now the strap is attached directly to the watch, without any adapters, and this is exactly what made them thinner. Honestly, after LiveView (this is the very first version, still under the brand SonyEricsson), I have long been waiting for this change in design, did not understand why anyone would need to attach them to a belt through a clip.
The device is made of metal, the faces are somewhat reminiscent of the iPhone 5. Apparently the metal is aluminum, painted in black. So you need to be careful - there will be scratches, although the paint is much stronger than on the iPhone 5, you can not remove it with your fingernail. I touched the metal part of the door lock and got a small scratch.
Upd 2014: Now the watch is made of unpainted aluminum (like the iPhone 5S Gray), so their scratch resistance is much higher. Accordingly, now they are not black, but rather gray. Obviously, scratches are less noticeable on a gray background.
Perception
The watches are most likely suitable only for men, because, nevertheless, they are quite large, they do not look on the female hand. The first version - it looks better on the female hand, but for 2014 they are already so good.
Screen
Here is a significant step forward. And now the points:
We put a normal TFT screen (the first screen was OLED, similar to the first color STN displays), that is, it became normally visible in the sun, the resolution grew (220 x 176 versus 128 x 128), contrast and color reproduction (it feels like honest 16 bits gives out). The screen is no longer a weak point, it is pleasant to look at it, you can see everything on it under any lighting conditions. And most importantly - now time is displayed constantly! Now add to this the fact that the screen is an honest TFT with a good reflective layer and get the opportunity to see the time at any time (except for absolute darkness). This is a very big step forward and a huge increase in the main functionality - the display of time. For the screen safely put SW2 6 points out of 5.
Upd 2014: The main screen is now fully customized by built-in and third-party widgets. You can choose any style of time display, dial and additional information from the plug-ins (of course, if the developer implemented it). The management interface looks like this:
Specifications
The clock is based on the STM32 F4 microcontroller, it is based on the ARM Cortex-M4F core, the maximum frequency is 180 Megahertz (it is unknown at what frequency it really works). The first SmartWatch (MN2) used STM32 F2 , on the ARM Cortex-M3 core , the maximum frequency is 120 Megahertz. What is funny - for communications via Bluetooth, chips are used from Ericsson - a former partner of Sony, in combination - the inventor of Bluetooth.
Up to 3 simultaneous touches are available in the API.
Compared to the MN2, new sensors have been added: a magnetometer and a luxometer (light sensor), as well as two buttons that are fully accessible in the API: back and menu. Sensors can use only one active application and only if the clock is not sleeping, so pedometers will not (may be implemented in the future).
Upd 2014: the magnetometer was programmatically removed, even old plug-ins no longer “see”. The official reason: poor quality. And he worked, and the truth is terrible. Luxometer was used only recently in the new firmware, using for automatic brightness control.
The firmware is updated automatically via Bluetooth.
Understand the myth: all watches from Sony work on their own OS, not on Android, although SW2 in terms of interface is very similar to it.
There is activation by tapping, you can adjust the sensitivity. But unlocking without pressing the main button is still impossible.
User interface
One of the main and long-awaited innovations: in the latest firmware versions, the watch can work independently without connecting to the phone. Time, date can be set manually, there are also built-in applications: advanced alarm clock, stopwatch, timer, calculator, snake counterpart and flashlight (just turns on the screen for maximum brightness). What is missing is the calendar.
From the settings from the clock, you can hide the plug-in icons and control the notification style separately for each plug-in.
In the absence of communication with the phone in applications that use the API v.2, you can read the saved notifications / messages. Naturally, applications that require interactivity (the so-called Control API) even if they use API v.2 do not work without communication with the phone (their icons are gray).
Another of the additions: all the icons are stored in the clock, there is no such thing as in MN2, when the clock still loaded the icons when activated for a couple of moments, it was all at once, without delays.
All this is convenient to use, the interface does not slow down (praise Sony), although kinetic scrolling saves little energy with a strong "push" (as on iOS compared to Android). It also became possible to protect the watch by entering a PIN in the absence of movement for 5 minutes, and globally disable vibration.
You can turn on the vibration when you touch the control buttons.
Icons can be sorted alphabetically or by frequency of use. The most convenient way is to sort by frequency of use. You can change the background image, but the choice is only from the preset.
Notification style can be changed:
To summarize the UI - SW2 received a huge innovation, now in the absence of communication, the clock remains operable. Responsiveness of the interface was improved to the ideal: now there are no brakes and delays anywhere. So once again, we safely put 6 out of 5. I really admire Sony, in 2013 such a thorough approach can only be seen in rare Apple products.
Connection
The clock works on Bluetooth 3.0, equipped with an NFC chip (which is needed except for the first pairing). At the first pairing, problems arose: the SmartWatch 2 application itself fell on the phone. I have a Motorola RAZR MAXX HD, and I installed the firmware without the Russian language, for the work of the Russian language I used a program to change the locale. As it turned out later, the SmartWatch 2 application is not friendly with such programs, except one - Locale & Language. After installing it and removing all the others, everything worked right away.
If you are afraid that Bluetooth 3.0 will drain the battery of your phone, then you should not worry: there is simply no difference (my consumption has not changed). Judge for yourself: in hours the battery capacity is about 50-100 mAh, they have enough for 4 days of work. In the phone, the battery capacity is at least 2000 mAh, so if you accept the fact that the power consumption is equal, then the communication phone's battery will discharge at least 80 days. I think that Sony is not a fool, and since they didn’t install BT v.4, that means there was no need.
Communication is held just fine, caught through the walls. No surprises, everything is fine here, no spontaneous dumps. Here are 5 of 5.
Working hours
Honest 4 days, as stated. MN2 honestly worked for 1-2 days, with the stated 4x, and here there is no deception. And the time of work is quite stable and personally I almost did not depend on how often notifications come. Also the charge indicator was repaired, now it shows not the weather, but the charge with an accuracy of one percent. Speaking of charging, again microUSB, covered with a plug, which is also very good - a proprietary cable is no longer needed.
After receiving a low charge notification (15 and 10%) you have at least half a day, so you should not worry too much.
Some for some reason expect a miracle and work time for a month. Well, there won't be a miracle until they reinvent the screen with a built-in solar battery or something like that. It may work the same principle as with a self-winding mechanical clock - a handwheel that generates energy from hand movements. Although, for me personally, charging the watch once every 4 days is the same as charging it once a month. The main thing is that more than a day they are guaranteed to live, and the rest is not particularly important.
Upd 2014: Autonomy, after the upgrade, increased significantly, with occasional use - this is WEEK (7 days), with an active, I managed an average of 4 days. I consider that this is a great success, now the clock has to be charged very rarely.
findings
Should I buy? - Definitely yes. There are no significant flaws in the device.
You must clearly understand why you need this accessory. This accessory is an assistant to the phone, a kind of additional wireless little screen. It allows not to miss a single event, while having the opportunity to keep the phone always in silent mode.
If you make a lot of calls and take calls using the headset, this watch is indispensable: number, name and photo of the caller, the ability to reset the call. With SW2, you can even dial a number in several ways (direct input, recent, search by first letter and selected contacts). Obviously, there is no useless feature like a speakerphone through the clock, like in the Galaxy Gear - this is not a toy, but a useful tool.
Of course, I may not be very careful with them, but I still have noticeable scratches on the glass. There is nothing to say about the bezel - it is the same as on the black 5m iPhone, he received the first injuries at the very beginning of operation.
I really hope that in the next version, Sony will finally understand that it is necessary to release the female and male versions, plus, probably, some titanium with sapphire glass and other exclusive materials that do not wear out for years. The question of the price will not stand, I would buy this. In general, we must look at the market for ordinary watches and copy his ideas.
I really like the watch, there is no this unpleasant feeling that “not bad, but it would be better, we are waiting for the next version”. Their function is performed, work is reinforced stable, the battery life is more than sufficient.
My expectations were met - 146%.
Goodbye - photo next to great-grandfather - SonyEricsson LiveView:
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/228323/
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