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The Samsung Watch8 Classic is a great smartwatch with long battery life. The design can be a bit unusual, though, featuring a unique combination of a circular screen and a square frame. While I don't mind the shape, I feel this design choice makes it a bit chunkier.
In addition, the band of the watch doesn't have a lot of holes, and for a big guy like me, I had to put the band in the last hole. One drawback is that this watch won't fit bands made for previous watches. It uses a proprietary attachment mechanism that clicks into place. The mechanism is easier to install compared to previous watches, but the button can be a bit hard to press with your bare hands. I had to use a pen to press down on the button to remove the strap.
Although the watch can be worn at night to track your sleep, I find the watch a bit uncomfortable for to wear all night. It affected my sleep quality, causing me to wake up several times.
As with the other classic lines, the watch has a dial to help navigate the menu without touching the screen.
It also comes with 3 action buttons. However, the buttons are not as customizable as I would like.
Only the top button is customizable to launch any app. The middle button is relegated to a few Samsung apps:
Samsung Health
Stopwatch
Flashlight
Water lock
Camera Controller
Voice Recorder
It can also be turned off if you don't use it.
The bottom button is relegated to recent apps or going to the previous screen.
Performance and Software
The watch comes with Wear OS 6. This comes with a slight change in interface. The notifications are grouped vertically. In addition, you can combine some tiles into a daily recap screen. For me, this feature allows me to see all the important daily stats, such as weather, upcoming events, battery life, and physical attributes, all on the same page rather than having to scroll through one tile at a time.
Otherwise, the interface is similar to previous Samsung watches, which I can't complain about since the UI is refined enough to make navigation through the different options seamless. The watch is snappy and responds well to user input.
However, what I find frustrating is that some of the old watch faces that I used on my previous watches do not work and require me to edit them to get them working.
The watch routines sync with the phone, and almost all the watch functions can be adjusted using the connected phone. That means you don't have to fumble around the screen to adjust the options you want.
Health features
The watch comes with a wide array of health features, along with the usual heartbeat, blood oxygen monitor, and activity tracker.
It can also measure blood pressure, but it needs regular calibration with a physical blood pressure machine.
A new sensor on this watch is the antioxidant measurement, which supposedly can measure the amount of antioxidants in your blood. However, I have no way to test whether it's accurate or not.
The watch can detect signs of sleep apnea, which can be handy.
Battery life
I was able to squeeze 4 days of use from this watch, but I don't wear the watch overnight.
Summary
In summary, this watch's main benefit is its long battery life. However, the watch is a bit chunky, and I don't find the default watch band too comfortable. The chunkiness means that the watch may not be too comfortable to wear to bed. Nevertheless, it is a good and stylish smart watch to wear to events or during the day.
I went to Paris in 2022 and would like to impart some tips to avoid being pickpocketed.
Use a front-facing shoulder bag or fanny pack (bum bag). Pull your bag up and clasp your hand over it during busy crowds so they can't easily open the zip.
Close your zips with a Bobino zipper clip (or a similar device). In my experience, the clips are tricky to open. You may want to use the clip with another key ring, as the clips' native rings can flay open if you tug hard on them.
Bury expensive items at the bottom of your backpack and cheap items at the top. On top of my backpack are the sunscreens and a spare T-shirt.
Spread out your cash, including putting some on a lanyard under your shirt. Personally, I have €10 in my wallet, €40 in the inner zip pockets of my backpack (spread out, of course), €5 under my phone holder, and €50 in small notes on the lanyard. I saw a tour guide placing money in a lanyard and adopted that trick. So, if my wallet is stolen, I can still reach my hotel by the latest.
Keep as little as possible in your wallet. Preferably, an amount you're OK with losing.
Use inner zippers to keep your credit card separate from your wallet or deep in your backpack. Use Apple Pay or Google Pay as much as possible, preferably with a watch, to avoid taking out your phone.
Split your ID from your credit card, especially if your ID has an address that matches the billing address of one of your cards. Carry the ID separately from your card. Or use an ID with no address on it.
Attach your phone using a retractable badge holder. You can also do the same for your Navigo Go card.
Use a Navigo card or physical ticket, especially if you have pieces of luggage. Don't use your phone, as they may be able to "snatch" it while you have it out.
Avoid ticket machines. You can top up the Navigo card using your phone from the safety of your hotel.
Use a wrist strap with your phone.
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Mattel has made a major oopsie. On the packaging of the dolls, Mattel has linked to the porn site www.wicked.com (owned by Wicked Pictures, a porn production company) instead of Wicked movie's real site, www.wickedMOVIE.com.
A safe-for-work screenshot of www.wicked.com. For the not safe for work screenshot, click here. Wicked.com had changed their website after this incident to make it tamer.
The wrong website appears on the box of all the Mattel range of Wicked dolls, including the Glenda doll, the Deluxe Elphaba Fashion Doll, and the Madame Morrible doll (pictured below).
As of the publishing of this post, Mattel has published an apology but has not issued a recall of the dolls.
Mattel had sent a statement to The Techy saying:
"Mattel was made aware of a misprint on the packaging of the Mattel Wicked collection dolls, primarily sold in the U.S., which intended to direct consumers to the official WickedMovie.com landing page. We deeply regret this unfortunate error and are taking immediate action to remedy this. Parents are advised that the misprinted, incorrect website is not appropriate for children. Consumers who already have the product are advised to discard the product packaging or obscure the link found on the package, and obscure the link found on any instruction materials."
This would be a costly fix for Mattel because the domain www.wicked.com belongs to Wicked Pictures and was registered on July 19, 1994. The first appearance on Wayback Machine was on December 19, 1996. Therefore, Mattel couldn't simply buy the domain.
Wicked is a film by Universal Pictures and will be released on November 22, 2024.
If you are wondering about the title, Defying Gravity is one of the main theme songs in the Wicked musical.
I like the way the phone "unfolds" to have a larger display. The device is a cross between a [mini] tablet and a slab phone phone. This phone is the best of both worlds since if you need a large display, you can simply unfold it, and when not in use, it folds down to a compact device that easily fits in your pocket.
This makes it an ideal media consumption device. I found myself using the fold more than my tablet, even around the house, since it's compact enough to put in my pocket when I'm out and about and then use it to play media when I'm cooking.
Additionally, the large inner screen makes it easy to read emails, news articles, websites, and other content. No more squinting and trying to zoom around on a website.
As with other Samsung phones, the display is quite bright and vivid, and despite its size, the phone is quite light.
The large display also makes it an ideal note-taking device with an S-Pen. I've used the Fold to take notes during courses.
Performance
The phone is quite fast and doesn't display any lags.
The camera on this device is also quite decent, and you can’t tell the difference between a picture taken by the Fold and one taken by Samsung’s other flagship devices.
One drawback of the phone is that the battery is smaller compared to traditional phones at just 4400 mAH, though there are battery improvements compared to previous generations. However, in my experience, the device lasts about a day and a half before having to charge up again. But again, your mileage may vary depending on your use pattern and device installed.
Usability
In Fold6, Galaxy AI is front and center, taking up space in the menu item. I haven't fully used all the features of Galaxy AI, but I frequently use the feature to remove items like people in the background from photos that I have already taken.
Galaxy AI also has a sketch-to-image mode, which looks quite fun. I haven't used the feature extensively, but I can see where it could be useful.
One area where Samsung devices shine is the Samsung Dex feature. On my recent vacation to Scotland, I forgo my laptop and brought a touch-screen monitor, which I plugged into my phone. This greatly reduced the number of devices I had to carry around and keep track of. Plus, I could play media content from my phone.
Durability
One of my concerns about getting a folding phone was its durability. In my time with it, it has withstood the rigors of daily life. Unlike previous generations, the hinge looks robust, and the device folds flat, which leaves a small gap between the two screens.
The phone has an IP48 rating, which means it should be resistant to water and dust, for the first time.
Summary
In summary, the Fold6 is a good all-round device. Though its battery life may not be that good or the camera that great, its biggest strength is compactness. It offers the benefits of a large screen without the bulkiness.
I received the Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5 as part of a review program in return for an unbiased review. Mobvoi had no editorial rights to my review, and they received no preview copy of the evaluation.
The watch costs £329 at the time of this review.
Pro:
Extremely long battery life (upward of 4 days)
Lightweight
Activity tracker
A highly readable secondary display
Goes into an essential mode to save battery if there's no activity
Syncs Do Not Disturb (DND) with phone
Cons:
The vibration motor is a bit weak
Proprietary charger
No Google Assistant
Can go into essential mode and lose connection with the watch.
Style
The product inherits the design style of previous Mobvoi watches and subtly improves on it. For example, the two protruding crowns that graced previous Mobvoi watches are gone. Instead, the Pro 5 has one rotating crown and one recessed button. A single tap of the top button triggers the recently used app list. And double pressing that top button launches Google Wallet. The rotating crown triggers the "back" button and the button to launch the app. Double pressing the crown launches the most recently used app. However, you can't customize the action of the controls. For example, you can't change the app launched by double pressing the top button.
The crown is less pronounced than the previous generation watches, so that's a step in the right direction. In addition, the crown is now rotating and can be used to scroll through items.
The watch utilizes a low-power secondary display that is easily read under bright sunlight. The watch face of this lower power display cannot be changed, though.
The watch band of the Pro 5 is silicone, which means it does not suffer the stress creases of the Pro 3 Ultra. Thankfully, the band is longer than the Pro 3 Ultra. The band of the Pro 5 measures around 10 inches.
Technology
Activity tracking
The TicWatch Pro 5 (and most other smartwatches) tracks heart rate, steps, activity, etc. However, it comes with a few added features. It has IHB AFiB Detection and 24-hour stress monitoring. A "one-click measurement" feature measures pulse, Oxygen, breathing, and stress in one go. As with the Pro 3, the Pro 5 didn't sense the sport accurately, and you had to manually select the sport. The watch can auto-detect walks, runs, and cycling, but in my experience, it only said I had walked for 1 minute, while I know I have walked for at least 10-20 min during my commute to work.
Vibration motor
The vibration motor on this watch isn't as strong as the Samsung, but it's strong enough.
Battery life
Mobvoi watches are the king of battery life, and the TicWatch Pro 5 is no slouch. The watch's battery easily lasts 2-3 days and, for me, pushes on to the 4th day. This means I do not have to worry about charging my watch daily. The watch also comes with fast charging, so it doesn't have to dwell on the charger for long. It can charge the watch from 30% to 100% in under an hour. The website says a 30-minute charge will give you 65% battery. This technology is not reliant on the charger since the Pro 3 Ultra charger also gives you a fast charge on the Pro 5.
Mobvoi says it will last 80 hours in normal "smart" mode. One new feature Mobvoi introduces with the Pro 5 is the "smart essential mode." Under this mode, the watch will switch to essential mode automatically during the scheduled time slot. However, during the scheduled time slot, your TicWatch will only switch to Essential Mode if you wear it to sleep or leave it off your wrist for more than 30 minutes.
The essential mode only uses the secondary display and allows you to see your steps, battery life, and the time and date.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Classic lasts about a day of heavy use and often has 40% battery life at the end of the day unless I top it up during the day.
One drawback of the watch is that the TicWatch Pro 5 uses a proprietary charger. However, this problem is not unique to the TicWatch Pro 5. Even Samsung's wireless charger is proprietary and won't charge with ordinary Qi chargers. However, Samsung sells a charger device that simultaneously charges 2 devices plus a watch. And the watch can reverse charge from a Galaxy phone.
Wear OS version
The watch comes with Wear OS 3, which is upgradeable to Wear OS 3.5. With this change, you pair the watch with the Mobvoi Health app rather than a separate Wear OS app. Unlike the Samsung Wear app, you can't fully customize the watch's settings through the phone. However, like the Samsung device, the TicWatch Pro 5's "do not disturb" setting syncs with the phone, significantly improving over the previous watches.
Although the watch has the same apps as Google's and Samsung's Wear OS 3.5 watches, the TicWatch Pro 5 doesn't come with Google Assistant. However, during my 2 weeks of use, I rarely used the assistant on my watch. Although it supports control of my smart home devices, it does not support routines. When I'm at home, I use my Google Home devices anyway, and if I'm on the way, I will use my headphones to trigger the Google Assistant from my phone.
Now, let's segue to software updates. Regarding smart devices, OS updates are just as important as hardware features. Mobvoi doesn't have the best track record for updating their watches. The Pro 3 and Pro 3 Ultra's promised OS 3 update was severely delayed. According to an XDA developer, Mobvoi told a customer that the update would come in Q3 of 2023. This spans a 3-month period from July to September.
Mobvoi released a statement on Twitter, which says the reason for the delay is due to the dual system architecture used by the E3, Pro 3, and Pro 3 Ultra:
We sincerely acknowledge your concerns and understand that you may be disappointed by the fact that our TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra, TicWatch Pro 3, and TicWatch E3 have not yet been upgraded to Wear OS 3. We apologize for any inconvenience and frustration this may have caused. Our commitment to delivering the upgrade remains unwavering. We share the same enthusiasm and eagerness as you do about this upgrade.
Please allow us to clarify the reasons behind this. Our TicWatch utilizes the SDW4100 chipset and a Mobvoi proprietary dual system architecture. This necessitates further architecture upgrades and performance debugging when updating to Wear OS 3 to guarantee the highest level of software quality and user experience. Rest assured, we are actively working on this matter.
We will soon be conducting an extensive closed beta testing phase. Please stay tuned for our official announcements if you are interested in participating.
I emailed the Mobvoi rep for their plan to update the Pro 5 to WearOS 4, and they replied to me with the following statement:
Hi,
Sorry I missed your email. For the W4 update, currently we have not received such information. We will announce it as soon as it is confirmed
Sleep sensing
The watch comes with sleep sensing, which tracks the quality of sleep. Compared to previous watches, the watch now comes with real-time SPO2 sensing. Also, the watch is more comfortable to wear during sleep.
Chipset Platform: Snapdragon® W5+ Gen 1 Wearable Platform
Memory: RAM: 2GB / ROM: 32GB
Display:
1.43 "466*466 326ppi
Full Color Always On Display AMOLED + Ultra-low-power Display
Corning Gorilla Anti-fingerprint Cover Glass
Connectivity:
Bluetooth 5.2
Wi-Fi: 2.4GHz
GNSS: GPS+Beidou+Glonass+Galileo+QZSS
NFC Payments: Google Pay, 13.56MHz
Battery Capacity: 628mAh (typical)
Compatibility: Android 8.0 or newer
Application: Mobvoi Health
Additional features:
Speaker
Mic
Vibrator
PPG
Barometer
Compass
Sensors:
Accelerometer
Gyro Sensor
HD PPG Heart Rate Sensor
SpO2 Sensor
Skin Temperature Sensor
Low Latency Off-Body Sensor
Barometer
Compass
Conclusion
Mobvoi is a champion with battery life, and their dual-display technology is extremely legible even in bright sunlight. TicWatch Pro 5 continues this trend of excellence in the TicWatch Pro 3 and Pro 3 Ultra.
The watch has a couple of minor negatives. But the biggest is Mobvoi's track record regarding software upgrades. Their TicWatch E3, Pro 3, and Pro 3 Ultra have not received the promised Wear OS 3.0 update. Even then, Wear OS 3 is 3 generations behind Wear OS 3.5. Plus, Wear OS 4 is on the horizon, making Wear OS 3.0 4 generations behind.
Although I can recommend the watch based on hardware features alone, Mobvoi's updated track record is not the greatest. And the reply from the Mobvoi rep isn't reassuring. Therefore, I can only recommend with the caveat that the watch will be delayed in being updated to Wear OS 4. If the software is important to you, I would give this a miss.
The Logitech Brio beats the Dell webcam in most conditions, despite shooting at only 1080p (2.1 MP) on a Chromebook; the Dell webcam, on the other hand, shoots at 3.7 MP (1444p) on the same Chromebook.
In addition, the audio quality of the Logitech is much better than the Dell webcam. The Dell webcam's microphone is disabled by default. According to Dell, you must enable the setting through the Dell Peripheral Manager (DPeM) software first. And the software is only compatible with Mac and Windows.
Today, I will be reviewing the AEG 8000 Series AP81A25ULT Cordless Vacuum Cleaner - Bronze. I needed a new vacuum cleaner since I moved to a new property.
Pros:
Agile in vacuum mode
Decent price
Decent battery
Light at the end to see dark spaces
Cons:
Heavy to use one-handed, and if you're trying to vacuum the ceiling
The trash bin is tricky to open
The AEG 8000 costs £390 from AO.
I was initially considering a Dyson cordless cleaner. I had worked for Curry's before and liked Dyson's lightweight nature. They have a reputation for being one of the best cleaners.
However, the AEG gives Dyson a serious run for the money.
The vacuum picks up dirt quite well. It is agile when vacuuming the floor. However, it is not so comfortable to do one-hand operations for cleaning ceilings and other tight spaces.
Although it seems like a gimmick, it allows me to see when vacuuming in dark spaces.
The interface of the vacuum is pretty simple, too. There are only two buttons. One is to turn it on, and the other is to adjust its suction strength. The battery indicator isn't too granular and can only measure the remaining power to the nearest 30%
The cleaner also has a "tree" to charge and hold all the accessories. This is rather neat and handy for small-house dwellers.
However, releasing and reinstalling the vacuum cleaner's bin can be a bit tricky. In addition, you have to touch the dust a bit when removing the filter "cap" for the bin.
Overall, the device is a good one at a decent price. Its pros greatly outweigh its cons.
Faux leather/silicon wrist strap (if that's your style)
Activity tracker
An extremely readable secondary display
Cons:
Short wrist strap
The vibration motor is meh
Protruding side buttons
Leather wrist strap
Proprietary charger
LTE version locked to Vodafone
TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra... that's quite a mouthful. It seems the company is just tacking on words to the name. It reminds me of this video by Mrwhosetheboss.
But I digress. If you have the TicWatch Pro 3, the Ultra version is more or less the same as the TicWatch Pro 3. Unlike the Pro 3, the Ultra has an internal compass. They both have great battery life. In fact, no watch to date beat Mobvoi's Pro 3 and Pro 3 Ultra in terms of battery longevity.
Style
The TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra LTE has a dual-screen display. The second low battery secondary display reminds me of the Casio non-smartwatches.
Unlike the non-Ultra version ie TicWatch Pro 3, the TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra's Secondary display can change colors. However, that setting isn't in the main watch settings and is controlled by the Essential mode app.
To change the color:
Open the Essential Mode app (using its launcher icon)
Swipe left for settings
Scroll down until you get the option for backlight color
If you want to boost the brightness of the screen, you can double-click the top page button.
The LTE version is made of faux leather/silicon hybrid. Although it looks more stylish than the non-Ultra or non-LTE version, the leather band has a few caveats.
After about two weeks of wearing, it suffered some stress on the bands, causing marks around the holes.
Also, I find the buttons a bit protruding and uncomfortable under certain conditions. The bezels on the watch are also large, making the watch a bit bulky. However, unlike the Samsung Watch 4, the bezels are useless; it does not have a rotating crown. Although the crown on the Samsung may be a bit of a gimmick for some, I use it fairly often, especially when it's raining since the touches may misregister if the screen is wet.
For me, the strap was a bit small.
In fact, out of the three watches I own, the Pro 3 Ultra is one of the smallest circumference bands. However, you can probably get bigger bands aftermarket.
Technology
Activity tracking
As with the TicWatch Pro 3 (and just about most other smartwatches), this watch tracks heart rate, steps, activity, etc. However, it comes with a few added features. It has IHB AFiB Detection and 24 hours stress monitoring.
The step counter was fairly accurate and was about 50 steps off from the Galaxy Watch 4. This is a small margin of error and can be attributed to perhaps me being more dominant on the arm that I wore the Galaxy Watch 4. One good thing about the Mobvoi watch is that it syncs with Google Fit, unlike the Samsung watch. Samsung Watch only syncs with Samsung Health and you need a third-party app like Health Sync. In my experience, it didn't sense the sport that accurately and you have to manually select the sport.
Vibration motor
The vibration motor on this watch isn't that strong compared to the Samsung but it's strong enough.
Synergy with phone
One feature on the Samsung that I miss is the synergy with the phone. The Samsung Watch syncs the do not disturb mode with the Samsung Note 20 Ultra. In addition, with the Samsung, any alarms ringing on the phone also ring on the watch, which is nice. The TicWatch Pro 3 and Pro 3 Ultra, however, lacks this feature.
Google Assistant
Unlike the Samsung watch, the Pro 3 Ultra comes with Google Assistant. However, during my 2 weeks of use, I rarely use the assistant on my watch. Although it supports control of my smart home devices, it does not support routines. When I'm at home, I tend to use my Google Home Hub Max anyway and if I'm on the way, I will use my headphones to trigger the Google assistant from my phone.
4G/LTE
Although my version provided by Mobvoi is the LTE version, it is tied to the Vodafone network. However, there is an unofficial workaround on Reddit. The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 is slightly more open but I found out only certain networks and certain plans support the esim on the watch. Your watch and your phone must be with the same provider.
In other words, if you want to use the watch to make independent calls, you need to be with a certain network (on your phone) and you have to pay more to support the watch. Last I checked, none of the supported providers support the watch on their PAYG plan. You need to be in with a contract with the network. There isn't a PAYG plan just for the watch.
I miss my Huawei Watch 2 when you can simply pop a sim into the smart watch and use it as a phone.
Battery life
The TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra has no contender in the battery life category. It has extremely long battery life. With its 577 mAh battery and secondary FSTN display, the TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra is the king of battery life. Mobvoi says it would last 72 hours in normal "smart" mode and 45 days in the essential mode. The essential mode only uses the secondary display and allows you to see your steps and battery life along with the time and date.
Wear OS version
The watch comes with Wear OS 2.33. However, no other smartwatch apart from the Samsung Watch 4 comes with Wear OS 3.0, so I'm not going to count this as a con, unlike other review sites. The TicWatch Pro 3 and Pro 3 Ultra are slated to be upgraded to Wear OS 3 later this year.
Chipset: Qualcomm® Snapdragon Wear™ 4100 Platform and Mobvoi dual processor system
Memory:
RAM: 1GB
Onboard storage: 8GB
Display: 1.4“ 454x454 326ppi Full Color Always On Display AMOLED + FSTN
Connectivity:
Bluetooth 5.0
Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n (Wifi 4)
GNSS: GPS+Beidou+Glonass+Galileo+QZSS
NFC Payments: Google Pay
Additional features:
Speaker
Mic
Vibrator
Barometer
Sensors:
Accelerometer
Gyro Sensor
HD PPG Heart Rate Sensor
SpO2 Sensor
Low Latency Off-Body Sensor
Barometer
Battery capacity: 577mAh
Durability: IP68, Pool Swim/MIL-STD-810G
Conclusion
Mobvoi is a champion with battery life and their dual-display technology is extremely legible even in bright sunlight. TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra continues this trend of excellence in the TicWatch Pro 3. It has a couple of negatives though. The watch is slightly bulky and the wristband is smaller than other watches, including the TicWatch Pro 3. Also, unless you're with Vodafone or plan to switch to Vodafone, don't get the LTE version. The Bluetooth version will suffice and you will save a couple of bucks as well. For a more in-depth review, please see Brian Burriston's excellent review on Notebookcheck.net: https://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobvoi-TicWatch-Pro-3-Ultra-GPS-in-review-Small-update-of-a-good-smartwatch.574006.0.html.
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Hello and welcome to my blog! Scroll down to read the posts. Click on the yellow tab to the lower right to contact me. If you're on mobile or the widget doesn't load, click here. You can also tweet me. I am @Tyw77. Please follow me on Twitter, where I will tweet links to new posts.
