Some criticism, a small bit of positive feedback and a suggestion. But mostly criticism.
I despise the new apps layout. I liked that we had the rotary view option before. Took up a lot less space and was more visually appealing. You could also see more apps at once and not feel overwhelmed by the oversized icons. Even the list view was better than what it has now.
I also very much hate the change in the Samsung Health widget. Where before, the four trackers matched up with the hours on a clock, now, it's four corners. It was a more balanced look before, and again, overcrowding with the oversized icons. It overstimulates me and not in a good way.
I would also like to add that the colors are not true to tone between the phone and the watch. The purples show up too pink on the phone, and the indigos are too blue on the watch. I've also noticed that the dark purple circle in customization doesn't match the preview or the watch. I haven't checked too many other colors, as I've just been trying to replicate what was on my previous watch as best as I can.
Also the button reversal? Super irritating. I keep trying to just go back by hitting the top button, because that's the back button on my Active2, but it takes me to the home screen, which is ridiculously frustrating. Active2 was also better in that the power button and back button were different shapes, allowing it to be even easier to differentiate.
I do like added functionality on the Watch6. BMI/Body Fat Percentage is a nice feature, if inconsistent. For 6 tries within a few minutes, I got 6 different results. However, they were all relatively close to each other, so I'm not mad about that. I know positioning and other factors can affect the reading, too.
I think it may be cool to take a screenshot of the watch??? But I'm not really sure what the point would be unless it was to provide proof of a glitch or to send location or something if you forgot your phone. I don't use my watch for the internet. š¤·ā:female_sign:
Another problem with the Watch6, though, is that the home screen is darker than the other screens. If you have a deep color for your clock on a black background, it's hard to see, and then it feels like you're blinded by the brightness of the other widgets, despite them also having black backgrounds.
It would be nice if we could customize the appearance of widgets and icons on the watch the same way we can on our phones. (That wasn't possible on the Active2 either, I just think it would be nice. The Active2 didn't blind me switching between widgets, though. All of those screens had equal brightness.)
I also hate that I can't remove or disable/hide apps that I have no intention of using on my watch, such as weather and Bixby. I use Google Assistant on my phone. I don't want Bixby, and I rarely use the weather on my phone either. At that point, I now have multiple useless apps taking up space on my watch. And even if they have to be on the watch, they shouldn't have to be visible. The Active2 allowed hidden apps.
I don't see why we have lost so much functionality and customization in the past few years. I get that the UI changed from Tizen/Knox to Google, but that's really not an excuse to take away functionality. You would think with a big name like Google, there would be increased options but instead, we got less.
But also the button thing. What was the point?
And if you can change a Bixby button into a power button on a phone, I see no reason why we shouldn't have the option to switch which button is the power/home and which one is the back button.
I get that most people will not agree with this criticism, because most people have been upgrading their watches with each new version, but I'm not one of those people.
If I'm honest, I only upgraded because my phone broke, and I got the watch free with the new one. Kinda seems like it wasn't worth it though. Most of the "upgrades" suck.
(I could also write a whole post about how much easier phones break when they discontinue certain lines *cough* S8 Active *cough*, but I'm sure we all have complaints about how much shorter the life of technology is these days.
I also still have an S8 Active. Its just not getting updates anymore. And they dont make Actives anymore because they were made to last.)
I agree I still use my active 2 and like it better than my classic 4. Just feels better. Felt like a downgrade. I use my active 2 much more than my classic 4.
To take a screen shot on your watch, press both buttons simultaneously, then open your gallery app, it will create a new folder called watch, since it is a new folder it will be at the bottom
This isn't meant to be rude, I swear, but I know how to take the screenshot.
My point was that there wasn't much use for that outside of sending a location (like a picture of your map) or sending a picture of a watch glitch. I don't use my watch to go on the internet, so it's not a feature that I find beneficial at all. š¤·ā:female_sign: like, it may be a cool feature, but its not something that I find actual purpose/usefulness in.
