Curvy, sleek and bold.

OPPO released their first smart watch some months back (you can see our review of the 41mm here) and did so with two size and spec variations.

The 41mm OPPO Watch naturally has a smaller battery and lifespan whereas the larger 46mm is able to keep going for longer.

But that’s not the most notable difference, well not visually.

The large AMOLED face has taken on the curved glass that traditionally was only ever attributed to flagship Android phones.

This gives the 46mm or 1.9 inch screen a beautifully crafted flowing effect from either side. From your wrist to screen to wrist. It’s vibrant, alive and is one of very few smart devices that you can see on-screen information in direct sunlight.

Both the 41mm and 46mm OPPO Watch are built on Google’s WearOS. Hands down my favourite smartwatch system.

With built in A.I. smarts, a zillion watch faces available on Play Store and equally the same amount of apps.

Google Assistant and Google Pay also built in. Pairing to an Android phone you will get all notifications instantly as they arrive. Seamless Spotify integration and a cool feature for some is OPPO’s A.I. of taking a pic and then letting the OPPO Watch do it’s thing and optimise it as a watch wallpaper.

While OPPO have crafted the OPPO Watch as something to behold, the issue I found on the 41mm was battery life.

Having used the 46mm everyday for the past few weeks the lifespan on the larger model is significantly better.

OPPO claim that the 46mm has 36 hours on ‘Smart Mode’ (this is usual mode) and up to 21 days in Power Saving Mode.

Without using Power Save I was consistently able to gain a day and a half of continuous use before it started complaining that it has 10% battery remaining. This is not too bad given the size and high spec screen that the 46mm OPPO Watch has. By comparison, the 41mm only gave me around 4 – 6 hours.

So, not quite the 36 hours OPPO claimed, but not too bad overall. Charging up to full is real quick – around 20 – 25 minutes from zero to full.

The OPPO Watch 46mm is also super-fast. Powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 3100 there is zero lag and for the fitness inclined out there, the OPPO Watch and Google have a whole suite of workouts ready for you take on.

Waterproof up to 50 meters means that you can wear the OPPO Watch no matter what your preferred exercise is.

The screen – I love. An innovative watch face that no other smart watch manufacturer has ever attempted. Battery life is sufficient for most, especially if you’re in the habit of charging your watch up overnight.

A fantastic newcomer in to the smart wearable market and for me the 46mm is definitely the winner between the two OPPO Watch models.

The post OPPO Watch (46mm) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Samsung innovate.

They are THE pioneers of smart wearables, it was the rise of Android based phones from 2008 where the first Samsung smartwatches clasped on to the wrists of the tech savvy.

Soon it was not just the techies wearing smart watches as Samsung perfected their innovative time piece for the masses.

The Galaxy Watch built with Samsung’s own Tizen based software has gone through a few appearance changes over the years. From a small form factor sporty look through to a more masculine rugged appearance and now we have the second iteration of the Active series.

Active2 comes in two sizes, 44mm and 40mm.

The all screen, all glass rounded watch face maximises the display real estate almost from edge to edge.

The tactile twisty bezel that we experienced on last year’s Gear and 2019’s Galaxy Watch series is gone making the Active2 super smooth and exquisitely sleek. Instead of the turnstyle to navigate through the smartwatches menus and settings the upper face edge of the device is touch – thus enabling you to still scroll.

Swipe gestures also operate the Active2.

Swipe right for notifications, swipe left for health stats. Quick menu is a swipe down and to change your watchface is a long press on the screen. Too easy.

The Samsung Active2 smartwatch will need to pair with your smartphone via Bluetooth – on either iOS (iPhone) or Android.

Due to the Active2 requiring the Galaxy Wearable App to pair, you will need to install on your device.

Setting up is super easy on both iOS and Android. Generally the Wearable App will pick up that you have an Active2 and begin pairing it. While the App does offer up stats about your new and shiny Active2 you’re unlikely to use it all that much beyond the initial set up, unless you want to kit out your new wrist based companion and download and install either Samsung or third party smartwatch faces, apps this can be done here.

The health aspect of the Active2 has had an overhaul. As with the Galaxy Watches before it (and the first model of the Samsung Active) it will monitor your heart rate, count your steps, allow you to perform stress tests, set fitness goals and will remind you every hour to move if you have been sitting too still.

Unlike the previous Samsung smartwatches, the reminders are not only text based – they are short animations, most of which display the action the Active2 is recommending.

The Active2 is also equipped to be able to control (if you allow) third party apps, such as Spotify. Or if you have your own personal collection of music tracks, the Active2 has 4GB of internal storage.

This is likely to get gobbled up by third party apps or watch faces though and 4GB of internal storage is way too low for any discerning digital music library bearer.  RAM (memory) comes in at 768MB, which seemed to be a weirdly precise configuration to me, but during my time with the Active2 44mm it has not frozen or lagged.

Two hard buttons are slim-lined on to the right side of the Active2. The lower one takes you directly to the main menu’s and the upper one acts like a ‘Back’ button. A long press however, will activate Bixby.

The Active2 comes with a rather fancy strap, when compared to the silicone offering that came with the first Active. Leather-like and buckled. Active and Active2 straps are swappable aswell.

Wearing the Active2 44mm is a perfect fit for a small or larger wrist. I have a Galaxy Watch 44mm and it appears gigantic when compared to the same sized Active2.

Battery will see you right for around two to three days. This is of course dependant on how you use the Active2, as in, Always On Display is turned on, how active you are, how many notifications you receive and of course the addition of third party apps.

I was able to squeeze three days of life and I am a heavy user. In my test with the Active2 44mm smartwatch I was able to squeeze 3.5 days out of the device by turning off Always On Display.

Still – a watch that you can wear and forget about for a couple of days is good enough for most.

Waterproof up to 50M, dust proof and even drop shock protected the Samsung’s Active2 smartwatch appears to be aimed at the more fitness inclined, but is also a fashionable timepiece for anyone, and personally I absolutely love the all screen display.

The post Samsung Active2 Smartwatch Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

As the smartphone industry took over globally for personal connectivity, smart wearables aligned becoming a multi-billion dollar industry in its own right.

Smart wearables mostly offer up similar functions delivered in varying ways. But only one is fully dedicated to you and your wellbeing. Only one is more than a smart device; Fitbit wearables.

Fitbit, a company that actually cares about their consumers, have already a quality lineup of smart health orientated wearables and have just released their Versa 2 smartwatch.

An improved version of last year’s Versa and Ionic devices, the Versa 2 is your personal trainer, coach, health adviser, wellbeing mentor and more that stays with you, uninterrupted for a full working week.

Boasting a five day battery life (I actually managed to get an entire week) the Fitbit Versa 2 seldom needs to be taken off.

With this, it means that the Versa 2 will accurately monitor your vitals, guide your fitness goals, keep your sleep stats in check (to an astounding granular-level) and act as a personal assistant for reminders and notifications, more indepth than any other smart wearable.

Not needing to remove the Versa 2 means that it keeps everything in check in real time for a longer duration retaining more accurately. No interruptions.

From the original Versa to Versa 2 the improvements are vast.

I do love the original Versa (and Ionic) but one small bugbear I had was that I did not always receive notifications from Apps on my iOS or Android device. Versa 2 does not have this problem, whatever you set to be notified on, it will, without delay or failure.

Keeping in the personal assistant space – there’s been another surprising addition that I’m totally stoked about; Alexa.

Ask anyone who has had a techie based convo with me, I’m always praising Amazon’s Alexa as an artificial intelligence assistant so in my professional and personal opinion Fitbit aligned with the right A.I.

A dedicated tactile button to the left of the 40mm high definition OLED watchface will activate Alexa.

The Fitbit Versa 2 has a built-in mic so you can ask Alexa your mind boggling questions and she will respond … albeit silently.

The Versa 2 does not have an internal speaker. This means that you cannot receive calls too well either.

The Versa 2 will notify of an incoming call – and you can swipe to answer it, but your smartphone needs to be within reach to actually speak to the human on the other end. There is also no built-in GPS.

I would’ve liked to seen both of these features as standard in this second Versa model which would make the device a stand-alone and an all-in-one.

Fitbit Versa 2 has its own Apps and can integrate with some third party ones. Connected to your smartphone via Bluetooth the Versa 2 can be controlled on your wrist with swipe menus. A big app feature for the Versa 2 is the Spotify integration. Dedicated to the music streaming service, Spotify can be controlled from your wrist excluding the need of your smartphone, if using a Bluetooth headset and near WiFi.

Fitbit have also rolled out Fitbit Pay and while this is still being undertaken by banks down under, it is another initiative by the health and wellbeing smart wearable company that cements themselves as serious players in the wearable tech marketplace.

The Fitbit App (iOS / Android) records your usage, sleeping, walking, breathing, heart health stats and beyond. Set up your own personal goals for exercise, add in your food and drink intake so that Fitbit can ascertain how your tracking as far as energy consumption. Trying to lose weight or gain it – Fitbit app will enable goals and remind you on how well you’re progressing.

Fitbit analyses to a micro level – truly making the wearable a spot on personal health assistant.

There has also been more depth added in to the sleep monitoring. Fitbit has collated data on 10.5 Billion nights of sleep. This is the largest database on sleeping habits and routines globally.

For example, New Zealander’s sleep an average of 7 hours and 56 minutes per night. This places Kiwi’s as the second highest ranking sleepers in the world.

However the stats on your Fitbit Versa 2 will record your REM, your deepest sleep, your light sleep, sleep routines, outputting how much ‘healthy’ sleep you have had.

Going for a nana nap in the afternoon for around one hour can have similar benefits as a longer night time sleep – but this is dependent on how you slept. The Fitbit Versa 2 is super ideal for those who are concerned whether they get enough rest, especially in the current world we live in where our attentions are so far spread and sleep times become shorter and shorter due to our life commitments.

If you are a restless sleeper or have trouble sleeping, Fitbit App and Versa 2 is also for you to try differing methods of falling asleep and tracking your rest (or lack of).

And for female Versa 2 owners, the app and the wearable will track ovulation and period cycles. Wanting to start a family, let Versa 2 help you with that.

At the time of the Fitbit Versa 2 release, Fitbit launched their subscription service.

For less than a healthy take-away lunch per month  you gain access to a world of like-minded Fitbit communities, user contributed trackings, routines, guides, fitness regimes and way more.

The subscription service is customised to you and similar to the free Fitbit Dashboard that you have on the Fitbit app, the paid service will offer up even more stats on your health and wellbeing, diet, goals and goal creation and sleep more detailed and comprehensive than you’d ever imagine.

I learned alot about my inner-wellbeing with the Ionic and Versa, but even more with the Versa 2.

The Fitbit Versa 2 is your companion. It’s a sleek looking, lighter than air, waterproof, smart wearable that can be customised (watch faces and straps).

For the younger to the older members of the family, friends or wider community, Versa 2 is designed for everyone and at a more than reasonable price point, undercutting all other smart wearable manufacturers.

Where other smart watch or wearable devices only give a vague and general overview, Versa 2 fully tells it like it is, in real-time.

Fitbit’s new smart wearable is designed for life. And like life itself, you do get out what you put in to it, though fair to say that with Versa 2, you get more.

The post Fitbit Versa 2 Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Samsung Electronics today at their Unpacked Event introduced Galaxy Watch Active2, the newest addition to the Galaxy smartwatch portfolio.

As part of the Galaxy family, Galaxy Watch Active2 is purposefully designed with new, intuitive, and refined features to bring more customization to consumers’ personal lifestyles, enhance their health and wellness as well as enable seamless, connected living.

The Galaxy Watch Active2 helps users by providing small, yet meaningful, daily changes—from assisting with wellness goals such as sleep, fitness, and stress management to completing tasks efficiently. Whether you want to take time to meditate, be notified of updates, or fall somewhere in between, Galaxy Watch Active2 complements your lifestyle and delivers on what makes a difference—all while looking sleek and stylish in the process.

“The smartwatch market is rapidly growing, and we at Samsung are excited to continually expand our presence in new and visionary ways,” said DJ Koh, President and CEO of IT & Mobile Communications Division, Samsung Electronics. “With Galaxy Watch Active2, we have created a device that will enable consumers to take control of their health and wellness, and seamlessly flow between their devices and connect across the Samsung Galaxy ecosystem, helping to make their lives easier and better.”

The Galaxy Watch Active2 is masterfully designed to be both beautiful and customizable to your life. The Galaxy Watch Active2 comes in two different sizes—44mm and 40mm in diameter—and two styles: lightweight aluminum with a casual Fluoroelastomer (FKM) Band, and premium solid stainless steel with a leather strap. The smartwatches can be personalized with a range of additional stylish strap and watch-face options.

The Galaxy Watch Active2 features a brand new upgrade to our signature rotating bezel—and turns it digital to make it even more convenient to navigate while maximizing the screen size. Now directly on the beautifully curved Super AMOLED screen, the rotating touch bezel turns both clockwise and counter-clockwise to advance screens so you can easily select favorite apps. Plus, the upgraded One UI offers a simple, clear and natural user experience for navigation.

And for those users who want a watch as stylish as they are, you can now customize your Galaxy Watch Active2 face to your outfit with the My Style color extraction algorithm. Available in the Galaxy Wearable app, simply take a photo of your outfit, choose from five different color patterns, and your watch face changes in seconds. You can match your personal style each and every day—or save a favorite style for later.

The Galaxy Watch Active2 also serves as your guide to assist with improved health and wellness, providing actionable insights that can help you make positive lifestyle choices in your diet, exercise, mental health, sleep and more.

With exercise, for example, the smartwatch can manually track more than 39 workouts with seven of them automatically activated—including running, walking, cycling, , rowing machine, elliptical machine and dynamic workouts. With an updated Running Coach, you can monitor your running pace in real-time and enjoy seven different running programs to help meet your goals. The Galaxy Watch Active2 even incorporates innovative new health sensors on the back, which take in readings fast, so you know you’re getting insights quickly to maximize your fitness routine and stay on track.

The Galaxy Watch Active2 also helps you track real-time stress levels through Samsung Health, our signature and popular health and wellness app. It also provides access to guided meditation programs through an integration with the leading sleep and meditation app, Calm, now available in English, German and Spanish. And enhanced sleep analysis algorithms help you work toward healthy sleep patterns (through the four sleep stages), aiding recovery at night and getting you ready for the next day.

The Galaxy Watch Active2 makes it easy to stay connected to your life, and your other devices, even while you’re away or on-the-go. The Galaxy Watch Active2 with LTE connectivity allows you to make and receive calls freely from the watch, while social media viewers are accessible with just a tap of the finger, and offer more interaction with your content on these platforms. Now you can respond to or like a tweet, and even watch a short video clip or movie trailer right from your wrist. You can even travel across the globe with greater confidence, as Galaxy Watch Active2 now supports convenient real-time voice and text translation in over 16 languages.

Another way we’re making it even easier to stay connected is through our partnership with Spotify. Sign into your Samsung account with single sign-on from your phone or Galaxy Watch Active2, and easily browse through your music on Spotify and enjoy a continuous listening experience. The Galaxy Watch Active2 brings you seamless device interaction experiences, and makes music and multimedia access even easier.

As part of the Galaxy family, the Galaxy Watch Active2 brings the best of Samsung’s Galaxy ecosystem to the smartwatch for those who want to do it all. When the Galaxy Watch Active2 is paired to your Galaxy smartphone, for example, the Watch Camera Controller on the Galaxy Watch Active2 allows you to take photos, start recording a video, preview footage on the watch, switch between front and rear lenses, set a timer and then check the final photo or video—all from your wrist. You can also use Wireless PowerShare on your Galaxy smartphone to charge your smartwatch in an easy and intuitive way.

Plus, all the Samsung services you get with Galaxy ecosystem—like Samsung Health, SmartThings, Samsung Pay, and more—are seamlessly integrated with your watch and across your devices. You can use, for example, Bixby to navigate your watch, start a workout or check the weather. And of course, everything you do on your watch is protected by Knox technology.

The post Galaxy Unpacked: Galaxy Watch Active2 Announced! appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

NOW CLOSED – The Fitbit Ionic is the super smartwatch of all Fitness wearables.

Having just released the Fitbit Versa, the Ionic released earlier and had solidified itself as the premium option in the Fitbit range.

Light on the wrist and long on life, the Ionic will keep it’s charge for up to 4 days use.

Water resistant to 50 meters means that the Fitbit Ionic can also take a splash with you as you do Olympic laps in the pool.

Being a personal coach and a health and wellbeing monitoring device it is a smartwatch that all should be using. Whether you are already going to the gym or taking marathon-like jogs, or simply someone who likes to walk on the beach every morning, the Ionic will both reward and encourage you whatever your goals are.

Thanks to our good mates at Fitbit New Zealand, STG has ONE Fitbit Ionic Fitness Werable Smartwatch valued at $449.00 NZD to Giveaway.

To Enter our Fitbit Ionic Competition you will need to answer this Question correctly:

Between the Versa and the Ionic there is one huge difference that will aide you in your exercise quests. What does the Fitbit Ionic have that the Fitbit Versa does not?

A: Heart Rate Monitor

B: GPS

C: Interchangeable Straps

You can give us your Answer by placing a Comment below, hitting us up on Facebook, Tweet to us, or Email Us.

* Winner(s) will be randomly selected from those that Comment below / Facebook Comment / Email in accordance to the above Question. One winner(s) will receive a new boxed Fitbit Ionic Fitness Wearable Smartwatch. Competition ends on the 7th of June 2018. Only New Zealand entries only will be accepted.

The post Enter to Win a Fitbit Ionic appeared first on Shane the Gamer.