Droid Turbo and Smart Watches

Some Samsung watches (the ones with the Tizen OS) work only with specific Samsung Galaxy and Note models. If you buy a watch that supports Android Wear, it will work with the Turbo.

So, the Gear Live I know is Android Wear. I'm not sure about any of the others, though. Look at them online and check to make sure that they say "Android Wear".

The new Sony watch looks interesting, too...

You might try asking in ... Device/Carrier Comparisons - Android Forums.

... Thom

I have a Sony smartwatch 2 , it works well with the droid turbo. I can view texts, control my music, receive notifications from apps that have extensions for the watch. What would you like to know?

I'm not getting why you're so amped about this. If you go with a watch that runs Android Wear, there isn't a problem, they all run the same. Android Wear is made to run on Android 4.3 and up. The most common watches that run Android Wear are as already said, the Samsung Gear Live, and also the LG G Watch and G Watch R, the Asus Zen Watch, the Sony Smartwatch 3, and the Moto 360.

I own a Droid Turbo and a Moto 360 and it runs identical on my Turbo as it did on my Maxx, as it will on any watch running Android 4.3 and up.

The other Samsung Gear models run Tizen OS and are not compatible with anything other than Samsung devices. Pebble and the Sony Smarwatches 1 & 2 run proprietary OSs, however IIRC they are still compatible with Android, most likely through an app.

All of this info is available doing a Google search, including in depth reviews of Android Wear, the other Operating systems, and each smartwatch model.

I know it's off point, but my issue with smart watches is guaranteed obsolescence. I'm a watch guy, and I buy watches (even well selected cheap ones) with the idea of hanging on to them indefinitely. I like the look of certain smart watches but if one is going to get any wrist time I want to know I won't be replacing it every year or two like we tend to do with our phones.

iploya said:

I know it's off point, but my issue with smart watches is guaranteed obsolescence. I'm a watch guy, and I buy watches (even well selected cheap ones) with the idea of hanging on to them indefinitely. I like the look of certain smart watches but if one is going to get any wrist time I want to know I won't be replacing it every year or two like we tend to do with our phones.

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The problem is, you can't really compare a mechanical watch with a smartwatch.

First, the battery won't last as long, because of the difference of what each two accomplish. A mechanical watch only has to run a small electric motor. A smartwatch is running a display, processor, wireless radios, etc. You can't even really compare a digital watch to a mechanical one in terms of reliability. There's just more going on than with a standard mechanical watch.

Secondly, obviously the display on a smartwatch won't last as long as with a physical face.

As far as how long a smartwatch will last, we can't really say. Beings that the market is so new, there isn't a frame of reference to go by. And more than likely the longer these devices are around, the longer they will last due to refinements and technology breakthroughs. Companies will learn what works and what doesn't.

So that being said, I'd say a smart watch probably isn't for you. We are years and perhaps decades from a smartwatch lasting as long as a mechanical watch, if they ever will. The more complex something is means the less reliable they are. So it's conceivable that they may never be as long lasting as a mechanical watch. But the difference is, a mechanical watch will only ever tell you time and date. Whereas the possibilities of what a smartwatch is capable of is endless. You have to decide if having more capability is worth it to you or not.

I'm not concerned with how long the watch physically lasts or how long the battery lasts. I'm concerned with it becoming obsolete in a year and having to constantly upgrade the watch. I'm sure the watches will physically last long after they are obsolete.

That depends on the user. I'm assuming you would consider the Droid Incredible released in 2010 obsolete right? My brother just switched from that earlier this month after 4 years of use. It still was running just fine up until a month ago, but most anyone would consider it obsolete.

What I mean is, if a person wants the latest and greatest features, then yes it will be obsolete, as will any mobile device. This notion of future proofing is kinda ridiculous. There is no such thing considering the pace of innovation today. Next year's devices will all most likely come with hardware that will fully support 64 bit. Does that mean that it'll be the last phone you buy for the foreseeable future? No, because these companies need to make sure you come back and give them your business. Apple introduced 64 bit to the iPhone last year, did everyone who bought a 5s skip this year's offering, because they wanted the latest and greatest.

The problem is most all meaningful innovation is done on the hardware side, and so far hardware isn't upgradeable. Now so far as the functions the watch can do today, I would venture that it will still be able to do those years from now as well. With newer functions, assuming the hardware can handle it, those should also be available. But companies like to add features that aren't supported by existing hardware. Why? Because then they can sell you a new device.

So the point is, if the functions that this watch currently performs are all that you need, then it'll most likely function as long as the hardware allows. It may get expanded functionality in the future, but that isn't a certainty. What is certain is that these companies will offer more features and functions in future decices that won't be supported by this device. And that's the case for all smartwatches, smarphones, tablets, TVs, computers, cars, etc, etc. If you're happy with what it does today, it'll be okay for quite awhile. But if you're going to always want the latest and greatest features, then it'll be obsolete the second the next version is available.

coulterjosh said:

I have not seen another posts about people using a smart watch with the turbo so i am going to start it. i really want to get a smart watch and i have been leaning towards the Samsung smart watch because of its slim design and i like how it looks. The draw back from the Motorola watch for me is the unused space at the bottom of the screen making it look weird in my opinion. The lg watch looks nice as well but i think i would end up going with the Samsung. Is this something that can be done or do you need to have the same smart watch brand as your phone? Also for all the turbo users if you have a smart watch please let me know which you are using and how it works for you. Thanks

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I have the Droid Turbo and use my Moto 360 with it. I like it alot. I don't use all the features because really, I am simple. I like being able to check notifications easily and tracking my steps daily is nice too. I love watches so being able to change the face is just plain fun.

Love my LG Watch R. Simple to recharge, lots of face to choose from, and much more useful in day to day work setting that I ever thought possible. Highly recommended.

hsb