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Hey guys,
I am interested in buying this phone but I can see mixed reviews on gsmarena and a lot of other sites.
Can some of you please provide the pros & cons associated with this phone?
Thanks in Advance.
banjara said:
Hey guys,
I am interested in buying this phone but I can see mixed reviews on gsmarena and a lot of other sites.
Can some of you please provide the pros & cons associated with this phone?
Thanks in Advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you want from this phone? What do you want to do with it?
Iff you want to useit like phone with this super batery 4000ma is an super phone.
I do not play games on the phone. GPS IGO Primo super ok, Agenda more then enough, useit like stick for 8,16,32 gb super ok, useit on this forum super ok , watch movies super ok, listem music super ok, doing your own custom rom super ok, lanterna, compass super on, camera ok for me, record your call super ok ......
I want to use it as a regular phone for everyday usage. Little bit of everything you mentioned there
banjara said:
I want to use it as a regular phone for everyday usage. Little bit of everything you mentioned there
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Click to collapse
Then is a very good phone. :good:
I comandet another one for my wife. Must come from china any time now. I have this phone for 8 month and he never dissapointed me, and LiFe ROM for 7 month. Works fine.
stympy said:
Then is a very good phone. :good:
I comandet another one for my wife. Must come from china any time now. I have this phone for 8 month and he never dissapointed me, and LiFe ROM for 7 month. Works fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your positive responses.
I will wait for few more reviews and then will make up my mind.
I'd say it depends where you live.
Pros:
- Battery life. There is not even competition. +2 hours of web browsing, 4 hours of watching movies, 4 hours of playing music, 1 hour of youtube HQ video watching, navigation software for 45min, some sms and calls, some emails. Both SIM cards on, one with 3G. Data connection on all the time.Google, whatsapp,viber,facebook sync on. Wifi was off even. Did all of this in 16 hours of time, and as you see, all of it require screen on and the web browsing+Youtube typically uses a lot of radio power., and ended up with 55% of battery left. My girlfriend on an S3 did about the same and it took out all her battery + again 40% of battery after recharge.
I typically do 1 hour of web browsing, some emails + whatsapp + viber + 1 hour of Youtube video, and an hour of music. In the evening, I have 70-75% left so my biggest problem is to recharge or let it go another day
This was my main reason for buying this phone and so far, it has not let me down.
- Performs well. Not the fastest on the market, but it performs well, stable, applications are fast. I don't use it for games, but I did install Ingress to test, and my performance was not worse than an HTC M8... For the normal use, as you and stympy are planning, it's more than sufficient.
- Price : under $250 is a bargain for what it has to offer you
- Modifications : it's pretty easy to flash your phone with a new ROM
- Magnetic case recognition : it's a stupid little thing, but I got a MOFI magnetic case with it, which automatically turns the screen on/off if you open/close the case (even unlocks it). I got instantly used to it, and love the feature. Only seems to work on stock ROM though...
- Back camera : works well, fast, and takes good quality pictures. Lot of filters in built-in SuperCamera app.
Cons:
- 3G Signal quality. That's why I'm saying it depends on where you live. If it's in a city, and you are almost always there, with good 3G, no problems. But if you go places where the signal coverage is less, then 3G is gone really fast. (I compared to other phones, and while they typically have 2-3 bars on 3G, I'm already falling back to G(Edge). This might be because the Chinese version lacks 900Mhz 3G support, and if I flash a modem with 2100-900Mhz, my second SIM card doesn't work anymore (and not sure if it really does 3G 900).
However, the 2G signal on both SIM1 and SIM2 is holding the same as any other phone I compared it with.
Also, sometimes 3G H+ speed is all of a sudden capped at 30 or 50K/s, switching the data connection off and on again solves it, but it can be annoying. Might be related to my modem version too...
- MTK related issues: this chipset has some issues that can be solved, but you need to be a bit of a tweaker to do it. Mainly GPS and modem require some problem solving. Right now my modem is good enough, and my GPS gets a fix in under 20 seconds, but out of the box, my GPS didn't work well at all, and I had bad call quality.
- ROM support: the device isn't that popular outside China and Russia, so English ROMs are not updated that frequent. KitKat ROM available but unstable. The Chinese ROMs are well maintained and pack a lot of extra features (VIBE, Stock) as compared to ROW, but I don't speak Chinese Coming from an HTC phone, I'm used to a lot of XDA support, frequent CyanogenMod updates and fixes and so on. I might have been spoilt
- Community support : XDA has the basic forums for this phone, but nothing compared to 4PDA. So if you read Russian or Chinese, there is a lot out there. For English speakers, it's hard to find answers to some questions. However, a lot of issues you might encounter are typically chipset issues for MTK6589, and what works for other phones with this chipset, usually also works for the P780.
- Heavy : if you have an S2 right now, and switch to this one, it will feel like a brick in your pocket. You get used to it straight away, but if you pick up another phone like S2 or S3, they feel like they weigh nothing
- Front camera : only 0.3M, and that is really noticeable. Quality of front camera pictures is ..well...bad. Selfies are not worth it, and video chat is ok but was better on my 4 year old HTC phone. People notice that quality is low when video chatting with them.
Interesting software for this phone:
- Keeping my screen on while using the phone (Smart Reading) : standard in VIBE, but on other ROMS, I have Gravity screen which works a lot better actually.
- XPosed+GravityBox support : tweak your phone any way you want
- Lenovo SecureIt : nice features, and although I think I don't need it, it's quite good. Chinese version even better (with built-in ad blocker!), but I don't understand it
- Lenovo PowerManager : great tool for monitoring your power consumption, with a lot of features like freezing apps, and detailed overview and estimations are pretty accurate (I also use GSAM because it gives me better statistics)
- MobileUncle tools : you cannot have this phone without this app. It lets you tweak everything, like GPS settings, Headset volume (because the default max. volume is too silent for me), and so many other settings no other tool gives you access to. It is a must.
- SuperCamera and SuperGallery (built-in) : really great apps, camera has many features and takes great pictures (main camera that is)
Conclusion : if you know what rooting and flashing is, and have no problem doing that, then this phone is awesome. It's an ok phone out of the box, but tweaking it turns it into a great phone. You will probably have to overcome some nasty issues you wouldn't get on an HTC or a Samsung.
If that is ok for you, go for it and you'll not regret it. Given the low price, if it really, really doesn't work out, you're not out $600 at least...
I just love, love, love that I never have to worry about using it a lot and running out of battery. Even after using it to charge my girlfriends S3, there's plenty juicy left
I wish I could thank your post more than once. Thanks a lot for such awesome review :thumbup::thumbup:
I wanted a phone for my wife which should be hassle free. I have ripped my s2 with custom roms, kernels and modems but wifey doesn't appreciate if I try to do the same on her phone.
There are few issues mentioned by you which would need tweaks and without them it's daily operations will be affected e.g. call quality.
So this phone is a no go for me. Will have to look at Samsung or the sony ones. Moto g is another good option.
Anyways, thanks again for taking time to thoroughly enlighten me. Appreciate it.
banjara said:
I wish I could thank your post more than once. Thanks a lot for such awesome review :thumbup::thumbup:
I wanted a phone for my wife which should be hassle free. I have ripped my s2 with custom roms, kernels and modems but wifey doesn't appreciate if I try to do the same on her phone.
There are few issues mentioned by you which would need tweaks and without them it's daily operations will be affected e.g. call quality.
So this phone is a no go for me. Will have to look at Samsung or the sony ones. Moto g is another good option.
Anyways, thanks again for taking time to thoroughly enlighten me. Appreciate it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, well, I described the worst case scenarios here, and maybe scared you too much
I had my phone 5 minutes and flashed it already, causing a lot of the issues described. I went from Chinese to ROW (almost bricking it in the process btw), and immediately tried to get 900Mhz 3G working, which was problematic.
Right now, my girlfriend is actually jealous of my phone, and whenever she uses it, is loving it. It took me indeed some time to get there, but now it's all good.
ROMs like Life are excellent, and well supported. For me personally, it's not what I was looking for, but maybe for you it's all you need.
Installed Cyanogen om my girlfriends phone, but she hated it, although it worked better and was superior to the stock ROM.
So in terms of buying it for your girlfriend, I'll tell you what my girlfriend (dis)likes:
Pros:
- Big screen that is very good quality
- Nice design
- Magnetic case
- Doing stuff on it all day and have enough battery
- Fast
- 2 SIM cards for calling everybody
- Auto beautify function on camera (not that she needs it, but it's quite amazing how well it works )
- record a call
Cons:
- a bit heavy
- the data connection issues (sometimes when switching from WIFI to data or when data seems capped, you have to switch off/on data and it's annoying)
- the bad front camera for selfies and mirror app for checking makeup and video chatting
- never an excuse to not call me because the battery was dead
As an alternative, if you are really looking into another one, the OnePlus One is being released starting from $300. It's high end hardware (similar to S5 and HTC One), partnered with CyanogenMod, but for a ridiculous low amount of money.Only downside is no SD card, but the 64Gb model is supposed to cost only $50 more...
If I had to choose right now between my P780 and another phone...I'd still choose my P780. Yes, I don't like the 3G being a bit iffy, I don't like the bad front camera, but I love all the rest. And it's cheap. And soon a modem for it might be released that gives excellent 3G results.
Right now, after my modding and flashing, I have a really stable phone (had to reboot it 1x in the last 3 weeks and that was partially my fault ), good call quality, does whatever I want how I want it. It's just a bit more difficult to get to that point...
For me, being able to install different ROMs and battery life are crucial, and I'm happy with it.
Would I recommend it to my girlfriend? Yes and no. Yes because she'll be happy with it, but it's more of a geek phone that you have to hack and maintain a bit more than another model to get/keep it in good shape.
Good luck
As you mentioned it would require some hacking to make it perfect, and that's where my wife won't allow me to touch it. If I was buying it for myself, it would be a different story altogether.
I would like the Gear Fit to give stronger vibrations, or, if impossible: More vibes each time.( e. g. a burst, like three on a row. :---,---,---.)
Should have been in the settings. BTW. "Amount of vibes 1,2,3 or 4.
E.g. for Skype it gives only one short vibration; I miss it all the time.
Would it be possible to give it three "beeps" using e.g. Tasker?
Or should I have bought another wearable......
I bought the Gear mainly because of frequent missing Skype messages. The sound of Skype seems not to be changable. For Whatsapp and mail I have a very strong sound that I will always hear from my phone itselve.
Huib
Nobody?
More and more I have the impression I threw away 149 euro.
Maybe another watch later, but this thing.....
Huib
herpi said:
More and more I have the impression I threw away 149 euro.
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Click to collapse
This is correct. Gear Fit is just a toy which can't do anything. GF is good only for notification, but not great. Maybe you should try Sony SmartWatch2. I bought them few weeks ago and I'm really satisfied. Vibrations are 10x stronger than GF. And display? I'm in seventh heaven.
That's interesting to hear. I will check it out.
QUOTE
The Good The Sony SmartWatch 2 screens phone alerts, Gmail, and call info in real time. The device also has a modern, water-resistant design that's compatible with standard watch bands.
The Bad The Sony SmartWatch 2 is tricky to set up on non-Sony phones. The watch has a small clock face selection, short battery life, and a quirky music player app. There's no iOS support.
The Bottom Line With its ability to push Android notifications to your wrist, the Sony SmartWatch 2 is more useful than Samsung’s Galaxy Gear, but the Pebble is still the best smartwatch deal around.
UNQOTE
herpi said:
The Bad The Sony SmartWatch 2 is tricky to set up on non-Sony phones.
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Click to collapse
This is not true. Tested with LG and Samsung mobile phones. Fully working.
herpi said:
The watch has a small clock face selection
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Click to collapse
You can choose what you will see. This can not be set up on Gear or Pebble.
herpi said:
short battery life,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think so. I got 3-4 days.
herpi said:
and a quirky music player app.
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Click to collapse
I don't use it with music player so I don't know this.
herpi said:
There's no iOS support.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Much better then Android Wear. Trust me.
herpi said:
The Bottom Line With its ability to push Android notifications to your wrist
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can set up which notification you will be receiving.
herpi said:
but the Pebble is still the best smartwatch deal around.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In which way? I don't know what is better in Pebble than in SW2.
Hey, I just copied a review..
Huib
Yeah, but I have this smartwatch so I know all about it.
It's Here!
Finally, I have it. The Oneplus 2 was delivered to me on Friday (didn't actually got my hands on it until Sunday).
Bought the device officially from Oneplus on wednesday and they shipped it on Thursday so that was fast! And thanks to DHL of course for the speedy delivery.
I have now used the device for a day and here are my few impressions of it. I will do a larger review later on.
What's in the box
The box is very nice (picture at the end). In the box you find:
The phone (it has a screenprotector installed at the factory)
Power Brick
USB-C cable (the power brick/USB end is also reversible)
Basic use guide etc
So again no headphones. Many have questioned why, but you have to remember the price point of the device and providing headphones would increase the price and knowing Onelus, they don't want to provide some ****ty "samsung like" headphones just because headphones
Build quality and feel
The device feels superb on hand when first lifted from the box. The phone feels really sturdy thanks to the metal edges (like in Galaxy S6 and other premium phones). The device is heavier than it's predecessor.
Build quality is not a problem on this phone. The new StyleSwap covers are now easy to take off and install (pretty much the same as for example on Note series backplates) and there is a hole in the bottom for easy uninstall. I bought the Kevlar and Black Apricot StyleSwaps with the phone and the hard part is to decide which one to use. I am starting to like the Black Apricot one better.
Software
So no more Cyanogen but is this a bad thing? Hard to say really at the moment, also my opinion might be little biased as I pretty much hate anything coming from CM.
So as said the phone comes with Oneplus inhouse ROM called OxygenOS which has now a matured to 2.0 stage.
As I have had the phone just a under 24hours I won't be saying much of the OxygenOS yet, but I have to say that at this stage I would expect more. The ROM is pretty basic vanilla Android with few tweaks like Dual Sim support (more on this little later) and a Dark UI mode etc.
Coming from a custom rom / CyanogenOS world this a step backwards if you like customization features. Oneplus has said that there will be an OTA update soon to bringing more stuff and fixes, so we will see.
Haven't found any big bugs yet but the camera app is also pretty basic and doesn't have lot of options. But I haven't used the camera much so I won't judge it yet
Snapdragon 810 - hot or not
I tested the "boiling/overheating" with a little gaming session (nothing fancy or really heavy) with few small games (i don't usually play games on my phone).
The phone heats from the topside but for me it's nothing to get worried about. I have seen samekind of heating with the S6 and other phones. But I will need to test longer and heavier games.
I haven't run any benchmarks and don't think I even will as they don't show the "real world usage".
Unique features
Oneplus 2 comes with few unique features that are not very common in flagship phones. I will go through few of them here.
Dual sim
Oneplus 2 supports Dual Sim configuration which is pretty big thing nowadays. Ok, it's a feature that many propably won't need all the time but it actually is a great feature. I haven't had a dual sim phone before so I was pretty eager to see if it would have any value to me.
The phone uses Dual Sim Dual Standby mode (DSDS) and you can configure which sim is used for different tasks (mobile data, texts and phone calls). Text and phone call options can be configured so that the phone asks which sim will be used when you make a call or send a text.
I have configured that texts and calls are from the SIM1 (my main sim) and mobile data comes from SIM2 as my main sim has a sloooow mobile data so i will use my unlimeted 4G data sim for the mobile data.
As I mentioned the dual standby mode that the phone uses means that if my SIM2 is using mobile data and I get a call to the SIM1 number the mobile data connection will be disconnected until i disconnect the call / reject it. Both sims can receive call but when there is a call coming to either on the other one will be "dead". So if you are on phone call thrue your SIM1 and someone tries to call you to SIM2 number he will get a message that the number can't be reached / call will be transferred to voicemail.
I think I am going to enjoy this feature as it gives me more room and will be good when travelling.
Fingerprint reader
Yes, Oneplus 2 has a fingerprint reader. Oneplus #hyped the feature a lot and even said that it will be better and faster than the one on the iPhone.
Well, I have to be honest here. It's not. The reader is pretty good reading the fingerprint but it isn't as good or fast than the counterpart. Few times the phone hasn't recognized my fingers at all and sometimes the home button (reader is integrated to the capacitive button) just doesn't react to the finger at all.
There is also a setting that allows you top wake the screen and unlock it by just putting your finger to the scanner (like in few Huawei phones etc). This feature also works pretty well but sometimes the phone doesn't wakeup when you put your finger on the scanner.
There should be a OTA coming what should fix these things so let's hope it comes soon.
Conclusion
So the initial impression? Brilliant device with few quirks and pretty basic software. The software part is the part which needs to come better and it should come soon. For me...well let's just say that I will wait for the custom rom developers to bring their magic on this phone.
Oh, almost forgot. THERE IS NO NFC on this phone and there never will be. I don't actually need it and when NFC is actually really really useful here (hint: android pay) we will have the Oneplus 3 or even 4 already.
All in all, at the moment I am really impressed by the phone and hardware, but I want to see lot of improvement on the software side.
Few pictures attached too
We have a thread for reviews. Find it in the link below.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-2/general/oneplus-2-user-opinion-reviews-t3177299
Thread closed
Hey everyone,
I got finally got the urge to buy a smartwatch and couldn't refuse the 30 dollar deal AT&T had with the contract. (Yeah, I know it's weird to get a 2 year contract for a watch, but even if I cancel it, it's still very cheap lol)
What I exactly want still doesn't exist (Gear S like watch with added features of S2 like NFC for tap to pay, IPX68 water resistance, some type of a smart bezel/dial, better app support like android wear for tizen) so I got what I think would work for me and went with it.
While doing all this, wife got jealous so we ended up getting her a rose gold moto 360 Gen 2. She's loving it so far.
I'm not the kinda guy to get last gen stuff, but I feel like this phone has some features I would want out of a smart watch, so I went with this instead of the S2 from AT&T. I would have really liked the LG Urbania (sp?) if it was still available and could make phone calls standalone.
ANYWAYS...
I just want to know if anyone decided to get a Gear S instead of a Gear S2 for whatever reasons... I'm curious what they were.
For me it was:
Proximity, and brightness sensor
bigger screen
doesn't look so much like another watch, so if I decide to wear my higher end watches, it doesn't look like I have 2 watches, but more so one smart device and one watch.
clasp and bit more premium feel
to go charger pack (maybe S2 has this too)
The reasons I considered S2 (and still do)
numbersync from at&t (is this coming to gear S?)
rotating bezel
slightly less obvious form factor (which contradicts my smart device thought)
NFC for tap to pay
I guess I'm just creating a discussion here. Feel free to chime in!
Personal preference
Still loving my Gear S. Haven't seen many S2 or even apple watches in Vancouver as yet, though I'm sick of people asking "Is that the Apple thingy?". I'm using this as a primary Phone these last few months only missing the camera function and initiating messages. That NFC Tap-to-Pay function you mentioned would be nice as well. As for customizing; I have several bands from E-bay to suit my mood and can even make it look high-end. (see http://forum.xda-developers.com/gear-s/accessories/stainless-steel-metal-band-gear-s-sale-t3091831). It IS water-resistant; I'm in the movie industry and this thing gets a beating/soaking from stunt and background work. Can't do without it anymore for exercise, riding , dog-walks or emergency - no more losing/forgetting/misplacing big old cellphone. Truth? I just really love showing off the convenience and features. Could've sold at least 2 dozen on set last season. The S2 and apple watch are simply extensions of their respective phones IMO.
I ordered mine from Ebay a few days ago. For me, it came down to the fact that they took away some great features in the S2. I like having the ability to use it as a standalone device. I also hate smartphones with rounded screens. Just doesn't make sense to me.
Techngro said:
I ordered mine from Ebay a few days ago. For me, it came down to the fact that they took away some great features in the S2. I like having the ability to use it as a standalone device. I also hate smartphones with rounded screens. Just doesn't make sense to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You mean smartwatch? lol
I figured if I have 2 rounded watches, and I feel like wearing my rolex, it would be awkward to have 2 watch looking devices. at least with the phone like styling of Gear S, it looks like I have some smart device on my wrist lol.
and FYI, S2 does have a stand alone version.
razorseal said:
Hey everyone,
I got finally got the urge to buy a smartwatch and couldn't refuse the 30 dollar deal AT&T had with the contract. (Yeah, I know it's weird to get a 2 year contract for a watch, but even if I cancel it, it's still very cheap lol)
What I exactly want still doesn't exist (Gear S like watch with added features of S2 like NFC for tap to pay, IPX68 water resistance, some type of a smart bezel/dial, better app support like android wear for tizen) so I got what I think would work for me and went with it.
While doing all this, wife got jealous so we ended up getting her a rose gold moto 360 Gen 2. She's loving it so far.
I'm not the kinda guy to get last gen stuff, but I feel like this phone has some features I would want out of a smart watch, so I went with this instead of the S2 from AT&T. I would have really liked the LG Urbania (sp?) if it was still available and could make phone calls standalone.
ANYWAYS...
I just want to know if anyone decided to get a Gear S instead of a Gear S2 for whatever reasons... I'm curious what they were.
For me it was:
Proximity, and brightness sensor
bigger screen
doesn't look so much like another watch, so if I decide to wear my higher end watches, it doesn't look like I have 2 watches, but more so one smart device and one watch.
clasp and bit more premium feel
to go charger pack (maybe S2 has this too)
The reasons I considered S2 (and still do)
numbersync from at&t (is this coming to gear S?)
rotating bezel
slightly less obvious form factor (which contradicts my smart device thought)
NFC for tap to pay
I guess I'm just creating a discussion here. Feel free to chime in!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You mention it being last year's tech, but if you compare the gear s to the brand new standalone gear s2 you'll find that it has the exact same processing power. But the nfc would be a nice feature. What it really came down to for me was the gear s has the screen size that allows it to have a fully functional keyboard. The rotating bezel is great in the gear s2 for scrolling through notifications and other functions, but trying to type with that is annoying. I am still surprised at how often I use the on screen keyboard of the gear s
razorseal said:
I figured if I have 2 rounded watches, and I feel like wearing my rolex...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see what you did there, big baller.
Of course, I forgot the S2 has a standalone version. I saw it every time I went to the T-Mobile website to figure out how to get a data plan. But I'm sure it would be significantly more expensive than what I paid for the Gear S. But correct me if I'm wrong, they took away the speaker and the microphone from the Gear S2, right? I read that somewhere.
Techngro said:
I see what you did there, big baller.
Of course, I forgot the S2 has a standalone version. I saw it every time I went to the T-Mobile website to figure out how to get a data plan. But I'm sure it would be significantly more expensive than what I paid for the Gear S. But correct me if I'm wrong, they took away the speaker and the microphone from the Gear S2, right? I read that somewhere.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They took away the speaker and microphone on the gear s2 and gear s2 classic, but they brought both back in the new standalone version
I will add that using the phone capability few days ago, (wife called, phone was downstairs, I was upstairs) it's a feature I will most certainly expect in a smart watch.
and that being said, even though the keyboard is tiny, it's rather usable with the 'swype' style typing. Easy to text if you have to. Used it several times already. I'll be missing that on the S2.. (of course I can T9 old school which I was pretty good at back in the day lol)
They both have positives and negatives that cancel each other out, but I'm getting used to my S that I don't know if I want to give it up lol.
Gear S Forward, Gear S2 Lost features.
Techngro said:
I ordered mine from Ebay a few days ago. For me, it came down to the fact that they took away some great features in the S2. I like having the ability to use it as a standalone device. I also hate smartphones with rounded screens. Just doesn't make sense to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
THIS!!
Exactly the same for me. I waited for the S2 and the speaker (used to Gear S). Once I realized that all notifications just disappear (can't get them back). I was not happy. The sole and main reason I left android wear.
God forbid, we DO want to go back and read a text again, or email, etc.
just my two cents.
Zeek
Got the Gear S2 the day it came out. Felt it did a lot of things right like the rotating bezel, the wireless charger etc. All things considered it felt like a watch that was more catered towards new buyers then early adopters. I've owned every iteration of the gear watch, kept my live for android wear and my nexus 6p.
I ended up returning my gear s2 because it didn't feel like an upgrade but more of I side-grade for all the things I gained i list another and it's so damn small. Not manly at all. If they made a bigger one I could be swayed. The size was really a deal breaker for me. After all the times I walked up to people at the office and pointed at their apple watch saying "Cute watch. Do they make them for men too?" Now the joke was on me. LOL.
mrnovanova said:
Got the Gear S2 the day it came out. Felt it did a lot of things right like the rotating bezel, the wireless charger etc. All things considered it felt like a watch that was more catered towards new buyers then early adopters. I've owned every iteration of the gear watch, kept my live for android wear and my nexus 6p.
I ended up returning my gear s2 because it didn't feel like an upgrade but more of I side-grade for all the things I gained i list another and it's so damn small. Not manly at all. If they made a bigger one I could be swayed. The size was really a deal breaker for me. After all the times I walked up to people at the office and pointed at their apple watch saying "Cute watch. Do they make them for men too?" Now the joke was on me. LOL.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I feel you on the size issue also. On the new standalone s2 they did make it a little larger, but it still isn't enough of an upgrade to make me switch out my gear s
jeremytheboss said:
I feel you on the size issue also. On the new standalone s2 they did make it a little larger, but it still isn't enough of an upgrade to make me switch out my gear s
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree. You know what bugs me though? Why the hell did they not update the software on the strip to match the s2? The new keyboard? The new features that can easily be replicated? The skin? I don't get it. I hate how Samsung just abandons their product after 18 months. It really irks me... Just saying.
I think u did forget that the standalone version of s2 dose have a E sim card. Wich is so new that few countrys do have it.
I love my GS and would never downgrade it for S2.. S2 is not a bad watch..but i have tested the moto 360 and a round little screen is no fun for scrolling or using or reading. The only thing i miss in my S is the camera.
Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk
Compared the S2 and the S couple days ago at the AT&T store. Some features are neat (mainly the alternative way to scroll and I like the S health app more) but that's about it. I didn't like the flimsier rubber band, and side by side, that is a very small screen.
AT&T rep and I compared on screen typing (on a pinch if you must) it was a serious PITA even with T9. As we all know, S voice doesn't always work so...
I don't see myself letting go of this watch for an S2. LIike someone said, it's more of a sidestep then an upgrade.
I'll be sticking with the Gear S.
We'll see what S3 brings to the table end of this year. I'm pretty sure it will be another circular watch though.
And I do wish Samsung wouldn't abandon their products so fast. I wouldn't mind if they continued to update the software on this thing and bring few things update like S health.
I've also been messing with the wife's moto 360 2015. it's ok... I'm not really sold on the android wear experience either.
To be fair, s voice is a million times better than what it used to be. It was unusable back in the days of the s3/s4. It's nowhere near as good as Google, but at least it's acceptable on the tizen watches
I had a Mi Band 2 for about a year, combined with Notify & Fitness app it provided everything I needed or wanted. Except for the broken strap I didn't have any major issues with it, so I had no reason for an upgrade. But..once I saw the Fallout pip boy custom watch face for Mi Band 4, I was sold immediately Using Mi Fit app is mandatory for the time being, but frankly speaking it provides almost everything I need when combined with Mi Band 4 (with MB2 the functions are much more limited). So.. a short comparison:
- MB2 is smaller and less obtrusive. MB4 is taller and you can't really "hide" it. I would strongly prefer a more generic and flat band shape (like Honor Band for example).
- MB2 has "invisible" display, MB4 has clearly visible edges when the display is off
- MB2 doesn't have a lock screen function, but all it does in the shower is cycle through screens. MB4 gets unlocked by running water and can set/change some settings during shower.
- custom watch faces for MB4 are great, you can see all the stats with a quick glance
- starting/stoping a workout from the band itself is very convenient, also it displays real time stats on the band display during the workout
- steps, HR, sleep cycles seem to be about the same, I have no problems with MB2 or MB4
- Notify & Fitness app supports both, it is a must have for MB2 if you want to get most of it, but only optional for MB4. It's still a nice addition, so I'm using both N&F and Mi Fit. There seem to be no conflict when using both apps.
- Mi Band Tools is totally useless with MB4 (for me), it doesn't provide anything extra to Mi Fit (except custom watch faces). Integration with Sleep as Android doesn't work on my phone.
- Sleep as Android is next to useless for both bands, it ignores my night walks and counts them as a good sleep. I can't trust this app at all.
- Mi Fit and N&F (accurate analysis with 4.7 engine) provide quite accurate results (as far as I can say) with similar stats, detecting start/end of sleep automatically and night wake up periods correctly, no objections.
Functionally wise, and for my usage, it's not really an upgrade. But the new display and custom watch faces were worth the investment..
I was actually thinking of making a video comparing the Band 2 and 4, whether or not it's worth upgrading, I was pleasantly surprised by your thread
I had bought my MB2 back in October 2016, upgraded to MB4 about 3 weeks ago.
Never used, let alone heard of "Notify & Fitness," will definitely check it out later.
I agree with most of what you wrote, but I'll also give some of my insight.
- I didn't really notice the MB4 being that much bigger than the MB2, I'd compare the two bands' body-to-display ratio as picking up an "old" phone, with a 16:9 display, and a top and bottom chin, vs. a phone with no chins and notches. MB2 only had an "invisible display" in my opinion, because there was a larger air gap between the display and the top of the glass.
I'm super happy they went with an OLED display, despite the price - great contrast, and no wasted screen-on time!
- I usually had the Band 2 randomly vibrate when having failed to measure my heart rate in the shower, as the running water did indeed cycle thru the functions, however I've never had that or anything similar happen with the newer band (you could also enable the screen lock on it, however that only reduces the chance of it doing random things).
- I can't see any of the downloaded watch faces on my phone in the Mi Fit app (OP3T, with RR) (the placeholders are there, but they are blank, even when tapping on them, all I can see is their names), I also wish it would be a bit easier to create custom faces, though the band's been only out for like a month or two, I'm sure we'll get some AIO tools later down the road.
- Being able to start, monitor, and stop workouts from the band itself is indeed very convenient and useful (also, hooray for pool swimming finally being added), however I wish the real time (not the length of the workout) would be displayed with a bigger font, it's been real hard for me to see, even on full brightness.
- What's been bugging me is that now, on the MB4, you can 'Lift to Wake' even when DND is turned on, which wasn't a thing on the older one - which I preferred more. I know there's an option to disable the function from set time to another set time, but I wish there was a way to automatically have it turn off and then back on again.
- Being able to adjust brightness is a blessing, though I wish it wasn't hidden so deep within the settings. It would also be nice to be able to change the left and right swipe actions from the home screen - music playback controls have not worked more often than they had, and since I'm outside of China, I'm not able to use AliPay even if I wanted to, so that's just a wasted gesture, basically.
- The 'Weather' panel is nice to have, however it's not very accurate at all, I found myself checking the stock Google weather forecast on my phone - but that's just an 'unreliable' weather provider, which, along with most of the things I mentioned, could be changed via a simple software update.
- Lastly, it's kinda funny how when receiving notifications with special characters or emojis in it, the you just get a missing character - ⍰ - icon, but that's just nitpicking.
I was happy to see the new Mi Band 4's release price being almost exactly the same as the price I paid for my Mi Band 2 a few years ago (about 35 bucks).
Thank you for adding your experience. Just a few remarks to your comments, if you don't mind
- for custom watch faces you have to use 3rd party app or quite complicated manual setup with Mi Fit. I prefer N&F app as it works nicely with this great page https://amazfitwatchfaces.com/mi-band-4/top and it's basically a question of pressing the "use the face" button. I add interesting watch faces to my favorites while on a PC and then locate them quickly from N&F on the phone.
- if you want to have better (and automatic) control over MB4, I would suggest looking at Tasker and N&F app. You can turn on/off many settings based on different events, times etc., but it definitely isn't very user friendly (especially when you see both apps for the first time). Though once you get the grasp of them, you can have a lot of fun
- based on your Ali pay comment I assume you have Chinese version. Global one has music control for both directions. However I will probably never use it, so would definitely appreciate a customizable shortcuts to different actions. Hopefully future firmware release will contain it. Maybe if enough of us will send a feedback from Mi Fit app, they'll consider it..?
- weather is being said to be using Xiaomi servers with "automatically selected providers". I just disabled this item in the menu as my experience with inaccuracy is the same as yours. Using phone for such info is more convenient anyway.
- I hoped that they finally accepted the fact that people are using special characters around the world and could display them correctly in year 2019.. But so far we're out of luck. As a workaround you can disable notifications in Mi Fit and use those from N&F with "transliterate" feature (it replaces all special chars with standard ones). For Emojis there's a special custom FW version, but it's being said that it heavily drains the battery, so not sure how useful it is.
There are many videos comparing MB3 and MB4, but probably not a single one for MB2 vs. MB4 - I would certainly welcome one.. Btw. I paid ~40eur for the global version and full 2 years of warranty (Slovakia). Would be happier with lower price, but I didn't have the patience to wait for the shipping from China
_mysiak_ said:
Thank you for adding your experience. Just a few remarks to your comments, if you don't mind
[...]
There are many videos comparing MB3 and MB4, but probably not a single one for MB2 vs. MB4 - I would certainly welcome one.. Btw. I paid ~40eur for the global version and full 2 years of warranty (Slovakia). Would be happier with lower price, but I didn't have the patience to wait for the shipping from China
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Click to collapse
I only watched like one video on using custom watch faces, they didn't mention N&F, didn't know that was an option, my mistake.
I have used Tasker a few times before, but honestly, it's not that big of a deal for me to go that far, it's just something new I need to get used to, and it's taking a bit. I also don't really see any difference between the "sensitive" and "normal" options at the 'lift to wake sensitivity' or whatever the option is called.
I wouldn't go as far as to flash some custom firmware just to have emojis show up, it's just strange to see them missing in 2015+4
I actually want to go out for a run, just so I'd be able to say something about the workout tracking - I've used it for a few days when going to and coming home from work by bike, but that's like a 5 minute ride, so nothing conclusive there - only problem is I'm a lazy ass, and I don't do any sports anymore, let alone go for a run every now and then, I still need to convince myself
Got my Band 4 on eBay from Germany, not sure about the warranty, I just bought whatever had the best date of arrival to price ratio (tbh, my wristband broke for my Mi Band 2, I thought I had some replacements at home but I didn't, so I was like whatever, I'll just upgrade now)
I hear you about being lazy (I like "not a sports person" term more )..today I went to work on foot for the first time (instead of the usual public transportation) just to test the workout feature for 25 minutes..
Lada333 said:
- I can't see any of the downloaded watch faces on my phone in the Mi Fit app (OP3T, with RR) (the placeholders are there, but they are blank, even when tapping on them, all I can see is their names), I also wish it would be a bit easier to create custom faces, though the band's been only out for like a month or two, I'm sure we'll get some AIO tools later down the road.
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Click to collapse
I've just found that AmazFaces app populates the "My band displays" in Mi Fit app with 3rd party watch faces with preview (just click on "Download" in AmazFaces app and it magically appears in Mi Fit ). It's probably even quicker than using Notify & Fitness or Mi band tools.
_mysiak_ said:
I've just found that AmazFaces app populates the "My band displays" in Mi Fit app with 3rd party watch faces with preview (just click on "Download" in AmazFaces app and it magically appears in Mi Fit ). It's probably even quicker than using Notify & Fitness or Mi band tools.
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I have completely abandoned the Mi Fit app (the only thing I'm losing out on, is syncing new watch faces, but I found one I like, not going to change it any time soon), I bought Mi Band Master, for like 3 dollars, it's working flawlessly for me.
I also purchased N&F, but I didn't quite like it as much, and some functionality (that was important to me, at least) seemed to be broken, so I stuck with MBM - they also have a modded mi fit apk which lets MBM authorize the band, so there's no need to have the Mi Fit app installed at all!
I'm really looking forward to what custom utilities we're going to get for this watch
Lada333 said:
I have completely abandoned the Mi Fit app (the only thing I'm losing out on, is syncing new watch faces, but I found one I like, not going to change it any time soon), I bought Mi Band Master, for like 3 dollars, it's working flawlessly for me.
I also purchased N&F, but I didn't quite like it as much, and some functionality (that was important to me, at least) seemed to be broken, so I stuck with MBM - they also have a modded mi fit apk which lets MBM authorize the band, so there's no need to have the Mi Fit app installed at all!
I'm really looking forward to what custom utilities we're going to get for this watch
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Just wondering - which feature was broken in N&F for you? I tried Mi Band Master as well, but didn't really like it (too simple charts, no activity tracking, overall just not enough details). N&F is able to work as standalone app now too, but I find Mi Fit tolerable and will keep it at least until they keep providing FW updates for Mi Band. All in all, I'm so glad that I did not go with Honor Band 5 (even if I like it's form factor and SpO2 sensor more). I would be stuck with Huawei app and many features wouldn't be working as I don't have EMUI phone..
_mysiak_ said:
Just wondering - which feature was broken in N&F for you? I tried Mi Band Master as well, but didn't really like it (too simple charts, no activity tracking, overall just not enough details). N&F is able to work as standalone app now too, but I find Mi Fit tolerable and will keep it at least until they keep providing FW updates for Mi Band. All in all, I'm so glad that I did not go with Honor Band 5 (even if I like it's form factor and SpO2 sensor more). I would be stuck with Huawei app and many features wouldn't be working as I don't have EMUI phone..
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My main reason for trying out apps other than the official Mi Fit was to have smart alarm functionality - where it wakes you up when you're in light sleep some time before your set alarm. That worked a lot better with MBM for me, also, I set an "emergency" alarm 1 minute after my Band goes off, in case it doesn't vibrate for whatever reason, on my phone, MBM actually rang an alarm, whereas N&F just started spamming notifications, lmao.
Mi Fit's weather provider was interfering with the one I set in N&F, it just kept reverting back.
Charts are indeed more simplistic, and there's no support for processing the workouts YET in MBM, but I just found it overall to stand a bit closer to my heart
Also, I couldn't really get N&F to work without having Mi Fit installed, but even knowing now, that it's an option, I still don't think I would switch over to it.
_mysiak_ said:
- Mi Band Tools is totally useless with MB4 (for me), it doesn't provide anything extra to Mi Fit (except custom watch faces). Integration with Sleep as Android doesn't work on my phone.
- Sleep as Android is next to useless for both bands, it ignores my night walks and counts them as a good sleep. I can't trust this app at all.
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Click to collapse
My Mi Band 4 arrived today. I was using the MB2 with Mi Band Tools due to the integration with Sleep as Android, and for notifications of several apps and calls.
Now with the MB4, I saw that the Mi Fit app seems to have the same functions (app and call notifications) and start to thinking about uninstall MBT.
My doubt is precisely regarding Sleep as Android since i would like to "track" my sleep.
You think that SaA is inaccurate? Do you know any other app better than that?
Also, what do you think about the steps measurements with the MB4? I know that for this price range we can't ask to much, but it doesn't seems very reliable (and let's not talk about the heart rate sensor because is even difficult to know).
Thanks
CMC_PUBLIKUM said:
My Mi Band 4 arrived today. I was using the MB2 with Mi Band Tools due to the integration with Sleep as Android, and for notifications of several apps and calls.
Now with the MB4, I saw that the Mi Fit app seems to have the same functions (app and call notifications) and start to thinking about uninstall MBT.
My doubt is precisely regarding Sleep as Android since i would like to "track" my sleep.
You think that SaA is inaccurate? Do you know any other app better than that?
Also, what do you think about the steps measurements with the MB4? I know that for this price range we can't ask to much, but it doesn't seems very reliable (and let's not talk about the heart rate sensor because is even difficult to know).
Thanks
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Click to collapse
Well, from my experience SaA doesn't register wake up times in the middle of the night. Not only brief ones (take a sip of water or go to the bathroom and back), but even if I literally walked around the house for tens of minutes (with my toddler). Mi Fit and N&F showed correctly this period as a break in sleep, SaA considered it as a sleeping time. If it can't register this kind of disruption, I question other stats as well. The need for manual start and stop of sleep tracking is annoying too.
Recently I noticed that Mi Fit sometimes stops sleep tracking prematurely or starts lately. With N&F I get very consistent results and fall asleep/get up times are very accurate as well. Regarding light/deep sleep stats..they are all assumptions and each app gives different results, even if you select different version of sleep analysis in N&F. I do not really trust any of those stats in absolute values, but they should be "good enough" to provide trends. So even if they give us wrong results, as long as they are consistently wrong, we can still benefit from them as we see change in usual patterns (I can easily identify nights when I drank more than I should just by looking at sleep charts ).
Personally I find steps counter very accurate, when I manually counted 100 steps, MB4 and MB2 showed 100 as well. Sometimes they register "false steps", but at the end of the day it makes maybe 5-10% of overcounting, so IMHO "good enough" again. For tracking of longer walks/runs I consider it spot on.
I compared HR measurements between MB2, MB4, semi-professional (blood pressure monitoring device) and professional equipment (EKG) and they all provided about the same values while resting. You can verify it easily manually, there is no need for an extra device. Optical sensors have limits and in extreme conditions (heavy/fast hand movements, sweaty skin etc.) they can't provide accurate results, but for day-to-day usage they should be "good enough". They aren't intended as professional devices anyway.
Long story short, I use only N&F now and trust provided data as accurate enough for my non-professional usage.
_mysiak_ said:
Well, from my experience SaA doesn't register wake up times in the middle of the night. Not only brief ones (take a sip of water or go to the bathroom and back), but even if I literally walked around the house for tens of minutes (with my toddler). Mi Fit and N&F showed correctly this period as a break in sleep, SaA considered it as a sleeping time. If it can't register this kind of disruption, I question other stats as well. The need for manual start and stop of sleep tracking is annoying too.
Recently I noticed that Mi Fit sometimes stops sleep tracking prematurely or starts lately. With N&F I get very consistent results and fall asleep/get up times are very accurate as well. Regarding light/deep sleep stats..they are all assumptions and each app gives different results, even if you select different version of sleep analysis in N&F. I do not really trust any of those stats in absolute values, but they should be "good enough" to provide trends. So even if they give us wrong results, as long as they are consistently wrong, we can still benefit from them as we see change in usual patterns (I can easily identify nights when I drank more than I should just by looking at sleep charts ).
Personally I find steps counter very accurate, when I manually counted 100 steps, MB4 and MB2 showed 100 as well. Sometimes they register "false steps", but at the end of the day it makes maybe 5-10% of overcounting, so IMHO "good enough" again. For tracking of longer walks/runs I consider it spot on.
I compared HR measurements between MB2, MB4, semi-professional (blood pressure monitoring device) and professional equipment (EKG) and they all provided about the same values while resting. You can verify it easily manually, there is no need for an extra device. Optical sensors have limits and in extreme conditions (heavy/fast hand movements, sweaty skin etc.) they can't provide accurate results, but for day-to-day usage they should be "good enough". They aren't intended as professional devices anyway.
Long story short, I use only N&F now and trust provided data as accurate enough for my non-professional usage.
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Well, that was a very good explanation about what you think [emoji16]
Honestly, i never liked very much Mi Fit app and i still use Mi Band Tools because i need to spend (probably more than i wanted) time to figure out how everything works.
CMC_PUBLIKUM said:
Well, that was a very good explanation about what you think [emoji16]
Honestly, i never liked very much Mi Fit app and i still use Mi Band Tools because i need to spend (probably more than i wanted) time to figure out how everything works.
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Click to collapse
Mi Fit seems much better now, it used to be way worse. However I do not like the fact that it uses almost as much CPU as Android system itself. For no apparent reason it uses CPU all the time (albeit small utilization, but very consistent). One must ask what is it doing in the background.. So I rather uninstalled it.
If you have to learn how to use a new app, I'd suggest giving a chance to N&F. It can be overwhelming at first, but IMHO it's worth the time and money. Once you set it up to your liking it's really great.
_mysiak_ said:
Mi Fit seems much better now, it used to be way worse. However I do not like the fact that it uses almost as much CPU as Android system itself. For no apparent reason it uses CPU all the time (albeit small utilization, but very consistent). One must ask what is it doing in the background.. So I rather uninstalled it.
If you have to learn how to use a new app, I'd suggest giving a chance to N&F. It can be overwhelming at first, but IMHO it's worth the time and money. Once you set it up to your liking it's really great.
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Click to collapse
Do you own or work at N&F? Just kidding [emoji38][emoji38][emoji38]
Mi Band Tools is much simpler but N&F made me curious. I'll give it a try.
Just 2 more things:
-if you uninstalled Mi Fit, you now use customs fw to the Mi Band 4?
-Do you use N&F also as an alarm clock?
I've been using Sleep as Android not only because the ability of sleep tracker (being it reliable or not), the challenges to make people improve their quality of sleep, the warning about bedtime (in order to sleep the hours we want), the smart wake time period, and, finally, the lullabies.
Basically it's an AIO, instead of having a "bunch" of apps.
Thanks, and sorry for the testament. [emoji16]
CMC_PUBLIKUM said:
Do you own or work at N&F? Just kidding [emoji38][emoji38][emoji38]
Mi Band Tools is much simpler but N&F made me curious. I'll give it a try.
Just 2 more things:
-if you uninstalled Mi Fit, you now use customs fw to the Mi Band 4?
-Do you use N&F also as an alarm clock?
I've been using Sleep as Android not only because the ability of sleep tracker (being it reliable or not), the challenges to make people improve their quality of sleep, the warning about bedtime (in order to sleep the hours we want), the smart wake time period, and, finally, the lullabies.
Basically it's an AIO, instead of having a "bunch" of apps.
Thanks, and sorry for the testament. [emoji16]
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Click to collapse
It might seem that I have some profit from promoting N&F so much, but that's (unfortunately) not true. Just a happy user, spreading info around.
There are no custom FWs for MB4 (and probably never will be), so I'm still using only firmware provided by Xiaomi, just flashing it via N&F. I am subscribed to this topic on geekdoing.com, all the firmwares are listed there with download links. Be careful to wait for confirmation that newly released FW is stable and released in Mi Fit as well, one beta firmware bricked a few devices.
I tried smart alarm in N&F once or twice, but it worked just as a normal alarm (maybe because it was set up for 05:00 and there wasn't big enough time window to detect light sleep phase? ). As I don't need vibrations to wake me up, I'm sticking with standard alarm on the phone.
I am not discouraging you from using SaA, I was actively using it for years (even though purely as a sleep tracker), just that one should be aware of its possible limitations. It's still interesting app with some unique features and I really wish they fixed/improved sleep tracking with MB4. Sometimes I still track my sleep with sonar in SaA, I find it really fascinating that in ideal case they're able to detect even breathing. Just don't use it around dogs and small children, they are able to hear it
_mysiak_ said:
It might seem that I have some profit from promoting N&F so much, but that's (unfortunately) not true. Just a happy user, spreading info around.
There are no custom FWs for MB4 (and probably never will be), so I'm still using only firmware provided by Xiaomi, just flashing it via N&F. I am subscribed to this topic on geekdoing.com, all the firmwares are listed there with download links. Be careful to wait for confirmation that newly released FW is stable and released in Mi Fit as well, one beta firmware bricked a few devices.
I tried smart alarm in N&F once or twice, but it worked just as a normal alarm (maybe because it was set up for 05:00 and there wasn't big enough time window to detect light sleep phase? ). As I don't need vibrations to wake me up, I'm sticking with standard alarm on the phone.
I am not discouraging you from using SaA, I was actively using it for years (even though purely as a sleep tracker), just that one should be aware of its possible limitations. It's still interesting app with some unique features and I really wish they fixed/improved sleep tracking with MB4. Sometimes I still track my sleep with sonar in SaA, I find it really fascinating that in ideal case they're able to detect even breathing. Just don't use it around dogs and small children, they are able to hear it
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I thought that the fw upgrade option on N&F was for customs. If not, there's not much interest on having Mi Fit installed?!
CMC_PUBLIKUM said:
I thought that the fw upgrade option on N&F was for customs. If not, there's not much interest on having Mi Fit installed?!
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N&F will flash any compatible firmware BIN file. I download the official FW and RES files, flash FW first, then RES and band is updated. Mi Fit does it automatically, with N&F you need to download and flash files manually.