[Other SmartWatches] she1don:
Update from open notes

TL; DR

new watch, new themes, same ole screen issue, no push notifications, the kind of problem we want having

1. New watch

After a drop, old watch screen suffered irreparable damage.

Itching for another, I went ahead and bought from Chinese marketplace, which had the only watches available.

In particular, I purchased HW Ultra 2, with 5G, two cameras, from AliExpress.

To my delight, the watch arrived a week earlier than expected.

The issues I had with the old watch were:

• No Notification Access given the stripped down version of Android 8.1

• battery life was terrible

• Raise wrist to turn on screen was way too sensitive

• Pet peeves more than strict cons: using pins (2-pin) connections for charging rather than wireless mag-charger like real Apple Watch, hate default launcher UI

Issues I have with current watch

• still no Notification Acccess

• battery slightly better but just the same

• Raise wrist to turn on screen is sensitive

• Bluetooth: even when paired and discovery mode on, phone cannot see watch, thus makes harder to send files or use bluetooth

• Again, more of pet peeve than strict cons: using pins (2-pin) connections for charging rather than wireless mag-charger like real Apple Watch, dislike default launcher UI

2. Alternative Launchers

As with the previous watch, I adopted Nova Launcher as my default launcher and customized the look and gestures of my watch.

Then I re-discovered THEMES.

Oh, sure I knew about themes and I had played with them on my phone, but for some reason I had to remind myself that my watch is an Android phone which means, I can play around with the look and feel with Themes i.e. I do not need to reinvent the proverbial wheel finding suitable wallpaper and widgets.

I can get what I want closer too with themes.

Upshot is, although I am keep Nova Launcher apk -- not installed, on my watch, I am using CMM Launcher and I plan on switching-up themes on a weekly or even daily bases to change the look and feel of my watch.

View attachment 6110737

It was my researching on how to solve the screen timeout issue that lead me to finding -- again, themes.

Speaking of Screen timeout issue

3. The default utility of a watch is being able to glance at the wrist and seeing the time. When a watch screen is off to conserve energy, then need to tap or press a button to turn back on. Some features are designed to avoid that action especially when hands are full.

The watch has a Turn on with Raised Wrist built-in but the Raise Wrist is too sensitive and actives with every hand or arm gesticulation resulting in the screen on more often than off thus draining the battery.

I tried using AOD with a live wallpaper but all drain battery too much.

My solution was using Tasker; whenever the display was OFF, turn screen back ON, dim the screen to very low amount, overlay a black scene to save on pixel change and less energy, with a clock overlay on face. The exit task, restored the brightness level and removed the black overlay thus accessing the watch home screen/page.

Most times, Tasker works but on rare occasion, Tasker would crash or not execute. To help with that I used 3rd party app Screen Alive to keep the screen ON, but that too resulted in huge battery drain.

Recently, with the new watch, I discovered a live screensaver wallpaper I liked. Tested with the new watch and screensaver kicked in with screen timeout. No need for Tasker or Screen Alive.

View attachment 6110736

Bad news, the app is free -- with ads, without any premium option to purchase to remove ads. Thus on a couple of occasions, ads for TikTok popped up instead of screensaver and ad does not clear until clicked away. I do not like the watch using my data without my explicit awareness.

3. Push Notifications

An issue that I think many care about more, finally, is the workaround the no Notification Access for 3rd party apps.

There is, was more like the case given the developer has stopped updating the app years ago, an app that allowed anything to be sent from one phone to another another so as long the devices were on the same account. The sorts of things that can be done, telling the second device to speak, ring the phone, send intents to change volume, install an app onto receiving device, and sharing or sending notifications.

All works when done manually via the app. BUT when came to using the Tasker Action for automation, nothing.

I've tested high and lo, and contacted the developer with no response.

Understand how close I was to solving the problem. I can take a notification received on the phone and send it to the watch. And the notification pops up on the screen and rings audio, if wanted, without the no Notification

inaccessibility issue. Done manually. But not when done via automation. Ugh! So close.

My new watch has better Google integration, not all apps are pre-installed, but GoogleGo, Assist are. My thinking is if can shunt incoming notifications to those apps, then I can receive notification pops --- or on my watch pop downs.

4. Privileged problem

I am crossing the street heading to a library to kill some time. I know I would have about an hour before needing to leave.

I tap my watch and ask to remind me to leave in an hour.

An hour passes and no alarm.

I check my phone and see the notification is there.

Then it hits me. Whenever I am at a library, phone auto sets the volumes (System, Notifications, media, and alarm) to OFF and turns on DND.

DND does not vibrate.

Because on shared Google account, the phone took the alarm.

Good thing is no double notification but bad because phone took away from watch.

Nothing went wrong. No problem. All devices did what they were suppose to do.

There is no device capable of intuiting that some particular alarm is to ignore the silent mode and blare aloud when I happen to be

in the library.

What if I were at the cinema? Or an orchestral concert?