10 ms·

Apple Watch with Android

twism 2y ago
wait ... what's wrong with a galaxy watch 5 pro?
- dvh 2y ago
  Wait... What's wrong with dying peacefully in sleep?
  - prmoustache 2y ago
    This, best way to die imho.
- davidmurdoch 2y ago
  If the author can be believed: accuracy.
- MrDresden 2y ago
  I'm not sure about the Galaxy 5 pro, but I'm fairly certain that I've seen it reported that some functionality of the Samsung watches is only available to when paired with Samsung phones. This may be wrong though.
stalfosknight 2y ago
WTF is "aspiration porn"? What is it with people being so salty about Apple and going out of their way to paint them in as malicious a light as possible?
- gessha 2y ago
  My guess on what the author means by aspiration porn is Apple sell you a product by selling you aspirations: you can be more healthy if you have an Apple Watch, you can be more connected if you have an iPhone, you can be a great developer if you sell on the AppStore, etc, etc. More generally, I think people's complaints about Apple are due to a combination of brand engineering and market dominance. Apple make amazing hardware, they market their products as premium and they price it accordingly. If they made inferior products, say Surface Books, nobody would care about it. If they didn't sell at high price, they wouldn't make big money which will limit their ability to innovate (or polish if you will).
  - prmoustache 2y ago
    But doesn't buying a refurbished product of them show you are ok with falling for that?
    - gessha 2y ago
      Yeah, the wording in the intro can be clarified to reflect the change in stance.
    - ciabattabread 2y ago
      Notice the wording - "I decided not to give any more money to Apple years ago". So by his criteria, he's okay.
tonygiorgio 2y ago
This is a cool exploration. The post mentioned the health aspects, yet mostly goes over basic app integrations. I’m curious about how well the health features translate over to the android phone. Is it mostly just to track health metrics locally on the Apple Watch, or is there any sort of “export/sync to android phone” for health? I’ve been really curious about other open source (or at least reversed engineered) devices like the Colmi, and while I’m still an Apple consumer, prefer to track and keep things locally and private to myself with my own apps and scripts.
- codethief 2y ago
  I came here to ask the same question. I hope OP responds!
  - Abishek_Muthian 2y ago
    I responded to parent, I don't have anything interesting to share right now but auto-export & analysis is on pipeline.
    - codethief 2y ago
      Thanks!
- manmal 2y ago
  I‘d write a small watch app that syncs with Health locally and then exports the data to wherever I want it.
- Abishek_Muthian 2y ago
  Very valid criticism. So far the health data is stored within watch and the iPhone. I'm currently fine with it, but planning to export the data and analyze it in future. There are various existing tools to export and analyze Apple-Health data already[1]. [1] https://github.com/topics/apple-health https://github.com/topics/apple-health
dcdevito 2y ago
This is a great write up on how to accomplish this, I hope someday Apple just allows the Apple Watch to work standalone. Having said that, the Apple Watch is the primary reason I switched to the iPhone (and Apple ecosystem with it). I have been using the watch with cellular since April 2019 and I only take my phone with me on the rarest of occasions (usually for events that I want to snap pics or video or if I’m taking a day trip or on holiday). I’ve even taken just the watch on small holidays/trips by keeping my iPhone fully charged but on Wi-Fi to get all notifications. Once I got used to the workflow I never looked back. I noticed I was more focused at work, at social events, dinners either the wife and family or friends while being more social and attentive, and noticed a huge overall improvement in mood and well being. Part of this is due to more focus on health and fitness and the Apple Watch certainly helped me stay motivated. Since 2019 I’ve lost 25lbs, gained some muscle mass, I now compete in friendly running races and I’ve lowered my blood pressure. The Apple Watch truly is the most important gadget I’ve ever purchased and owned.
- keleftheriou 2y ago
  I couldn’t agree more, and this is the reason why I built some apps for the Apple Watch that I was missing: first a keyboard app (before it came built-in with watchOS), a Notes app (there’s still no official app), and most recently a ChatGPT Voice Mode app -- I now feel like I’m carrying a productivity powerhouse on my wrist!
mrcwinn 2y ago
If you bought an Apple Watch and keep an iPhone connected to the internet, I'm not sure you've completely fulfilled your anti-Apple agenda. XD Still neat though. You might also check in on Garmin watches. They have many of the same heart rate monitoring (though no automated emergency SOS) and work well with Android. (Sorry to hear about your friend's passing.)
- becurious 2y ago
  Garmin has incident detection and will send a message within fifteen seconds unless you cancel.
  - mrcwinn 2y ago
    Oh good to know! Thank you.
pedalpete 2y ago
I thought Apple Watch was compatible with Android, just not as smooth to use. This is eye opening. At the same time, though I agree Apple Watch has the best sleep tracking (and I work in the sleep space), the difference in sleep tracking compared to others probably isn't big enough to justify jumping through all these hoops, unless, like the author, you enjoy doing this sort of thing. The Whoop sleep tracking is quite good, but a rather expensive (I think) subscription just to get data about a health function you have very little direct influence over. The Xaoimi Bands are inexpensive, and from what I understand, also have good sleep tracking. I also just came across this https://cardiomood.com/ https://cardiomood.com/, which seems to be like a non-subscription, but rather expensive Whoop.
- rerx 2y ago
  Do you have an opinion on the sleep tracking in Garmin Fenix watches?
  - hangonhn 2y ago
    I have both an Apple Watch 8 and the Garmin Fenix and I use the Fenix for sleep tracking. I find the Apple Watch to be too general with the stats. The Fenix gives a lot more detail. You can debate if the extra detail is useful or not. I also like the heart rate variability tracking with the Fenix (it seems to mirror how tire I feel pretty well). Lastly, the Fenix can hold a charge for several days. I can use it to sleep track and run and repeat and it charges quickly. If I sleep track with my Apple Watch, it may not have enough battery for the rest of the day. I run with both -- the Fenix for running specific tracking and the Apple for calling friends, listening to Audible, or podcasts.
    - notatoad 2y ago
      my experience with garmin (vivoactive, not fenix) was that they had all kinds of precision and detail, but it also didn't even notice when i got up to pee in the middle of the night - just a straight line through the graphs as though i hadn't woken up at all. that was the end of my trust in their sleep tracking.
kridsdale3 2y ago
I was one of the implementers of the Apple Watch (OS 1.0) CalDAV support. We always wanted people to be able to "bring your own server". You're welcome.
- divbzero 2y ago
  Thank you. CalDAV and CardDAV are wonderful cross-platform protocols that I use every day (including on Apple Watch) and I hope they continue to be supported in the future.
  - mercutio2 2y ago
    In practice it's unlikely you're using CalDAV or CardDAV on Apple Watch, those data classes are synced from your paired phone unless you've set your watch up as a stand-alone device, which is rare. One day, hopefully!
- Abishek_Muthian 2y ago
  Thank you. I'm the author of this post, I assumed Apple still has support for these protocols because of legacy business systems. I hope that the support for interoperable protocols continue to remain in future versions of Apple Operating Systems.
darkwater 2y ago
Is there a way, without jailbreaking, to use that spare iPhone at home, powered on and connected to the internet, to run/host some server software?
- amelius 2y ago
  Ask this guy: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42455642 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42455642 Apparently, the people at Apple are very open to using your own server software with Apple hardware.
  - lucb1e 2y ago
    You think they're an employee? I read it as a tinkerer like you and me. Their profile doesn't say unfortunately
- talldayo 2y ago
  The simple answer is no, not really. I wouldn't even trust it for baseline FTP provisioning, much less anything like Plex that might need working GPU drivers. The emulated shell is really not enough to do anything remote on an iOS device, in my experience.
- manmal 2y ago
  There‘s UTM SE on the App Store, which might be ok to use for very minimal distros (no JIT): https://apps.apple.com/at/app/utm-se-retro-pc-emulator/id1564628856?l=en-GB https://apps.apple.com/at/app/utm-se-retro-pc-emulator/id156... If you had a second spare iPhone, you could run it semi tethered with JIT and just any ARM/x86 OS: https://docs.getutm.app/installation/ios/ https://docs.getutm.app/installation/ios/ Though a JB would be more convenient. And things start to get interesting with M1 and its virtualization support.
ODW 2y ago
[dead]
- LeoPanthera 2y ago
  The Apple Watch, especially the current generation, is thinner than most traditional watches, especially "luxury" watches, which are often absurdly thick.
  - blackoil 2y ago
    Yes, but you are not supposed to watch them in sleep.
reissbaker 2y ago
FWIW, the Pixel Watch 3 45mm is basically equivalent to the Apple Watch in accuracy according to testing by the same YouTuber mentioned in the blog post [1]. And it works out of the box with Android. Personally I also like the form factor better, since it's round rather than square, and unlike the Apple Watch, it still has a working SpO2 sensor... 1: https://youtu.be/Jr4p66vSmLY https://youtu.be/Jr4p66vSmLY
- buu700 2y ago
  Agreed, I'm really not a fan of the square look, and the Pixel Watch looks great. I'd probably get one if Google sold a claspable mesh band like the one I use with my Galaxy Watch[1], or had better support for third-party bands. I don't get the obsession with magnetic bands; the one time I reluctantly gave one a chance, the watch fell and broke and I returned it for a replacement, then the replacement fell and broke and I had to get a refund. 1: https://web.archive.org/web/20210622043132/https://www.wellymerck.com/accessories/classic-los-angeles https://web.archive.org/web/20210622043132/https://www.welly...
- j1elo 2y ago
  I just got a Pixel Watch 3 and find it impossible to understand how they have such an advanced monitoring on so many health aspects, including sleep cycles, but it doesn't support Smart Alarms (aka. Smart Wake or similar names), i.e. an alarm that is able to wake you up when you are in the lightest phase of sleep. (just like what Fitbit bands themselves had, or what apps such as "Sleep as Android smart alarm" try to guesstimate)
  - pedrocr 2y ago
    That's weird. The fitbit bands that Google still sells do have that. They seem to be having a really hard time making the fitbit acquisition work in many ways so I guess that's not surprising.
  - fishywang 2y ago
    I use Sleep as Android on my Pixel Watch 3 for smart alarm. I also found the lack of native smart alarm feature on pixel watches weird.
lxgr 2y ago
Interesting background: Apple was, for a while, planning on officially supporting Android as a "host phone OS", but axed the project out of ecosystem concerns: https://9to5mac.com/2024/03/22/apple-watch-compatible-android/ https://9to5mac.com/2024/03/22/apple-watch-compatible-androi... Personally, this is actually how they got me – I used to use Android phones for many years, but found the Apple Watch so much more appealing than anything available from Google at the time that I made the switch.
- CrazyStat 2y ago
  > Personally, this is actually how they got me – I used to use Android phones for many years, but found the Apple Watch so much more appealing than anything available from Google at the time that I made the switch. Same. Maybe Android watches are better now—it’s been a few years since I looked at them—but at the time they were universally thicker and with worse battery life than the apple watch, which is already thicker than I like.
- davidmurdoch 2y ago
  Their lock-in behavior is what has prevented me from buying anything from Apple.
- jeroenhd 2y ago
  If Apple was stupid enough to actually document this decision and the ecosystem concerns in written record, I wonder if they'll get dinged by the DMA for gatekeeping (again) over this.
  - lxgr 2y ago
    I'm not sure the Apple Watch has enough users, or is considered critical enough, to be covered by the DMA (iMessage, macOS, and iPad OS aren't either, for example). In any case, this was all long before the DMA went into effect, so it would have to be a regular old antitrust case.
  - bhelkey 2y ago
    From the US Department of Justice's lawsuit against Apple: >Apple recognizes that driving users to purchase an Apple Watch, rather than a third-party cross-platform smartwatch, helps drive iPhone sales and reinforce the moat around its smartphone monopoly. For example, in a 2019 email the Vice President of Product Marketing for Apple Watch acknowledged that Apple Watch "may help prevent iPhone customers from switching."...Apple also recognizes that making Apple Watch compatible with Android would “remove[an] iPhone differentiator.”[1] The lawsuit also alleges that Apple degrades APIs to hurt Third Party watch manufactures. [1] https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/24492020/doj-apple-antitrust-complaint.pdf https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/24492020/doj-apple-an...
mkoryak 2y ago
Tell me how to get a streaming music app on that watch without an iPhone and I'll buy you a beer
- Abishek_Muthian 2y ago
  All major music streaming apps have an Apple Watch version of their app.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - mkoryak 2y ago
    An iPhone is required to use them. The watch app is like a remote for the phone app. Some will only play if the watch and the phone are near, others don't have that limitation, but all of them require that you have an iphone
flipflopclop 2y ago
You can actually get real compatibility with android directly - https://troopers.de/troopers24/talks/h7mlua/ https://troopers.de/troopers24/talks/h7mlua/
- p0w3n3d 2y ago
  thanks. quite interesting, must watch
- Abishek_Muthian 2y ago
  Excellent, Once they get the bluetooth working then there would be no need for the Jailbroken iPhone, making Watch Witch a great choice for using Apple Watch with Android.
thanksgiving 2y ago
> I keep my iPhone at home, powered and connected to the Internet but don't use it as a daily driver. I recently learned that the Google pixel 8 and 9 will soon get a feature that will allow these phones to remain plugged in and turned on without charging and discharging the battery (under certain circumstances). I really wish this was widely available for all cell phones and tablets. I know new iPhones have a limit charging to 80% option (my iPhone se 2020 does not) but I think the next step is to add this? My main motivation is to do whatever we can to avoid spicy pillow problem in batteries. Do you have any thoughts on this topic?
- topato 2y ago
  Confused by "spicy pillow problem", but I assume you're referring the classic Li-ion BULGE. Im not sure there is any way to protect it in a 24/7 uptime situation outside of a fully removable battery.... Which now has me wondering if the new pixels can run fully disconnected from their battery, like early LG android models.
  - thanksgiving 2y ago
    That's what I understood. I don't own a pixel so I am not sure. Here is a reddit thread on this topic https://old.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/1hcfv54/your_pixel_can_now_run_on_wall_outlet_power_alone/ https://old.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/1hcfv54/your_p...
  - dizhn 2y ago
    They can have circuitry that bypasses the battery.
  - cchi_co 2y ago
    [dead]
- fragmede 2y ago
  chargie is one solution for platforms where support is available https://chargie.org/ https://chargie.org/
gruez 2y ago
>I couldn't dismiss the thought that may be if they had worn a smart watch they could have had better chances of reaching out for help and perhaps even got alerted of some discrepancies in their vitals. Does this actually work? Apple watch only can detect sudden falls and call 911, but AFAIK it can't auto call 911 if you get a heartattack or whatever. >I got the cellular working in the Apple Watch by using the same SIM from my Android phone in the iPhone, pairing with the Apple Watch and setting up the mobile data. >Receiving and making calls via Apple Watch (when Wifi/BT is disabled) works well, but since the SIM is in the Android phone, the SMS functionality doesn't work; with it SOS messages to emergency contacts(even if they're on iMessage ʅ₍ッ₎ʃ ); but SOS calls work. There's no way this can work unless "calls" actually mean facetime audio rather than PSTN (ie. "regular") phone calls. If the sim isn't in the watch, then there's no way it can receive calls.
- fastball 2y ago
  Apple Watch now has irregular rhythm notifications[1] which can help alert you to signs that you will soon have a heart attack. [1] https://support.apple.com/en-us/120276 https://support.apple.com/en-us/120276
- Abishek_Muthian 2y ago
  Apple Watch cellular uses eSIM, so once I pair with iPhone with physical SIM the eSIM gets setup in the watch. You can then put the physical SIM in any device, Apple Watch's cellular is independent. Apple Watch as AFib alerts, I've linked the health features in my blog.
- prmoustache 2y ago
  Also dying in your sleep is pretty much the best way to die.
sircastor 2y ago
The Apple Watch was a big contributor to my decision to switch back to an iPhone after a decade. I can’t speak to the current smartwatch market, but for many many years, the Apple Watch has been unparalleled in its category. I wish Apple was more flexible in their products. The watch is plenty capable on its own, and I feel confident the attachment to the iPhone is arbitrary.
bangaloredud 2y ago
I use an Android phone for 'watch' (time-telling) task, thanks. Before that: several other phones, don't need an analog / digital cufflink on my wrist.
saaaaaam 2y ago
“I decided not to give any more money to Apple so I bought two Apple devices…”
cchi_co 2y ago
[dead]
mrtedbear 2y ago
I think using the Quantified Scientist's YouTube reviews as reference for the quality of sensors is misleading. He primarily tests the devices on just his own body type, and often doesn't test long enough for the device to adapt to him (some devices take a few weeks to "learn" your body). He does make disclaimers about the above, but people seem to take the stats he presents as gospel.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
Demiurge 2y ago
I actually much prefer Garmin watches, due to battery life, the workout app which has no analogues on iOS, in terms of how it tracks reps and sets, the readable screen, etc. However, its the iOS with it was just unusable. It worked great on Android, but I am used to be able to reply to texts, and I couldn't to pretty much anything on the Garmin watch with iOS, except see some notifications. I hope things get more interoperable, but it's been like this for a decade, so it probably won't get better.
mrbonner 2y ago
I used to wear AW until I got the Garmin Forerunner. One annoying thing about the new 965 is that the HR monitor is getting inaccurate for faster paces. When I have my recovery runs with HR below 150, the watch works perfectly fine. Once my HR goes over 165, it's a wild guess. I fee like I need to stop running and let the Forerunner"catches" up with its accuracy then it is working OK again. Happens in every intensive run.
- invalidptr 2y ago
  This is unfortunately very common for OHRMs. Once your heartbeat approaches your running cadence (~180 bpm), physical movement becomes confused with the color change of your blood that an OHRM relies on. Tightening your wrist strap can help, but if you want accurate heart rate data for workouts, a chest strap is the way to go. Garmin makes a very good and very inexpensive one.
  - danielscrubs 2y ago
    Garmins chest strap recorded that my table had a heartbeat. Your mileage may vary.
gr8Agr8ape 2y ago
[dead]
Abishek_Muthian 2y ago
Project repo is here - https://github.com/abishekmuthian/apple-watch-with-android https://github.com/abishekmuthian/apple-watch-with-android .
freedomben 2y ago
Really cool project, and thank you for writing it up so well! My first question is "why" and the post answers that well (my paraphrasing): because Apple Watch is more accurate than anything else on the market, and health can be a matter of life and death. OP is definitely an open source guy though so even if you'll never buy another Apple product (like myself) it's still a fascinating look at the current state of things!
defenestrated 2y ago
This is beautiful! I've been using an Apple Watch Ultra with my Pixel using some of the same hacks. 0. I use messaging apps like WhatsApp, and Messenger which are multi device. So I log into them on the home iPhone. (WA finally added 'login as companion device' on iOS only a year ago). 1. Pushover to get notifications from any other apps that don't support multi device. (Signal ugh). I used Buzzkill to do the pushing from the android devices. Very reliable once set up. 2. I use Google Voice for my calls and SMS so that was easy to get on iPhone. (No calls though. The watch doesn't support sip/voip calls except Apple's own FaceTime ugh) 3. I spent a year doing cellular on Watch. I joined various family members' premium plans of the big 3 US networks (as well asany MVNOs like Visible) to use cellular on the watch. I paid ~$10/mo via this route. All good. But I stopped early this year because I found the cellular reliability to be just... piss poor garbage. (This is extensive use across US as well as international travel in Europe and Asia) It really wasn't worth cellular I realized. 4. I use Apple laptops, so the "watch to unlock" feature is useful multiple times a day :)
- 293984j29384 2y ago
  I've been using cellular on an Apple Watch 8 for years in the NYC metro area and it works flawlessly.
  - lstamour 2y ago
    Signal can be a bit weaker on the watch up here in Canada but is otherwise adequate. The problem with Apple Watch cellular when not using an iPhone to forward data is (1) battery life on LTE is terrible compared to data over Bluetooth, using wifi, or turning on airplane mode and (2) call forwarding from iPhone to Watch, on some Canadian carriers, is charged per minute due to a carrier bug (Telus) which you can call to get refunded but is still frustrating. Normally calls go to your iPhone and the voice is forwarded to the watch over Bluetooth, I believe. Basically the Apple Watch more often acts like an AirPod than a cell phone. I end up carrying my iPhome with my Android phone to avoid this. I mount the iPhone to my bike/scooter when available using Quad Lock waterproof cases.
  - inquirerGeneral 2y ago

wait ... what's wrong with a galaxy watch 5 pro?

dvh 2y ago
Wait... What's wrong with dying peacefully in sleep?
- prmoustache 2y ago
  This, best way to die imho.
davidmurdoch 2y ago
If the author can be believed: accuracy.
MrDresden 2y ago
I'm not sure about the Galaxy 5 pro, but I'm fairly certain that I've seen it reported that some functionality of the Samsung watches is only available to when paired with Samsung phones. This may be wrong though.

WTF is "aspiration porn"? What is it with people being so salty about Apple and going out of their way to paint them in as malicious a light as possible?

gessha 2y ago
My guess on what the author means by aspiration porn is Apple sell you a product by selling you aspirations: you can be more healthy if you have an Apple Watch, you can be more connected if you have an iPhone, you can be a great developer if you sell on the AppStore, etc, etc. More generally, I think people's complaints about Apple are due to a combination of brand engineering and market dominance. Apple make amazing hardware, they market their products as premium and they price it accordingly. If they made inferior products, say Surface Books, nobody would care about it. If they didn't sell at high price, they wouldn't make big money which will limit their ability to innovate (or polish if you will).
- prmoustache 2y ago
  But doesn't buying a refurbished product of them show you are ok with falling for that?
  - gessha 2y ago
    Yeah, the wording in the intro can be clarified to reflect the change in stance.
  - ciabattabread 2y ago
    Notice the wording - "I decided not to give any more money to Apple years ago". So by his criteria, he's okay.

tonygiorgio 2y ago

This is a cool exploration. The post mentioned the health aspects, yet mostly goes over basic app integrations. I’m curious about how well the health features translate over to the android phone. Is it mostly just to track health metrics locally on the Apple Watch, or is there any sort of “export/sync to android phone” for health? I’ve been really curious about other open source (or at least reversed engineered) devices like the Colmi, and while I’m still an Apple consumer, prefer to track and keep things locally and private to myself with my own apps and scripts.

codethief 2y ago
I came here to ask the same question. I hope OP responds!
- Abishek_Muthian 2y ago
  I responded to parent, I don't have anything interesting to share right now but auto-export & analysis is on pipeline.
  - codethief 2y ago
    Thanks!
manmal 2y ago
I‘d write a small watch app that syncs with Health locally and then exports the data to wherever I want it.
Abishek_Muthian 2y ago
Very valid criticism. So far the health data is stored within watch and the iPhone. I'm currently fine with it, but planning to export the data and analyze it in future. There are various existing tools to export and analyze Apple-Health data already[1]. [1] https://github.com/topics/apple-health https://github.com/topics/apple-health

dcdevito 2y ago

This is a great write up on how to accomplish this, I hope someday Apple just allows the Apple Watch to work standalone. Having said that, the Apple Watch is the primary reason I switched to the iPhone (and Apple ecosystem with it). I have been using the watch with cellular since April 2019 and I only take my phone with me on the rarest of occasions (usually for events that I want to snap pics or video or if I’m taking a day trip or on holiday). I’ve even taken just the watch on small holidays/trips by keeping my iPhone fully charged but on Wi-Fi to get all notifications. Once I got used to the workflow I never looked back. I noticed I was more focused at work, at social events, dinners either the wife and family or friends while being more social and attentive, and noticed a huge overall improvement in mood and well being. Part of this is due to more focus on health and fitness and the Apple Watch certainly helped me stay motivated. Since 2019 I’ve lost 25lbs, gained some muscle mass, I now compete in friendly running races and I’ve lowered my blood pressure. The Apple Watch truly is the most important gadget I’ve ever purchased and owned.

keleftheriou 2y ago
I couldn’t agree more, and this is the reason why I built some apps for the Apple Watch that I was missing: first a keyboard app (before it came built-in with watchOS), a Notes app (there’s still no official app), and most recently a ChatGPT Voice Mode app -- I now feel like I’m carrying a productivity powerhouse on my wrist!

mrcwinn 2y ago

If you bought an Apple Watch and keep an iPhone connected to the internet, I'm not sure you've completely fulfilled your anti-Apple agenda. XD Still neat though. You might also check in on Garmin watches. They have many of the same heart rate monitoring (though no automated emergency SOS) and work well with Android. (Sorry to hear about your friend's passing.)

becurious 2y ago
Garmin has incident detection and will send a message within fifteen seconds unless you cancel.
- mrcwinn 2y ago
  Oh good to know! Thank you.

pedalpete 2y ago

I thought Apple Watch was compatible with Android, just not as smooth to use. This is eye opening. At the same time, though I agree Apple Watch has the best sleep tracking (and I work in the sleep space), the difference in sleep tracking compared to others probably isn't big enough to justify jumping through all these hoops, unless, like the author, you enjoy doing this sort of thing. The Whoop sleep tracking is quite good, but a rather expensive (I think) subscription just to get data about a health function you have very little direct influence over. The Xaoimi Bands are inexpensive, and from what I understand, also have good sleep tracking. I also just came across this https://cardiomood.com/ https://cardiomood.com/, which seems to be like a non-subscription, but rather expensive Whoop.

rerx 2y ago
Do you have an opinion on the sleep tracking in Garmin Fenix watches?
- hangonhn 2y ago
  I have both an Apple Watch 8 and the Garmin Fenix and I use the Fenix for sleep tracking. I find the Apple Watch to be too general with the stats. The Fenix gives a lot more detail. You can debate if the extra detail is useful or not. I also like the heart rate variability tracking with the Fenix (it seems to mirror how tire I feel pretty well). Lastly, the Fenix can hold a charge for several days. I can use it to sleep track and run and repeat and it charges quickly. If I sleep track with my Apple Watch, it may not have enough battery for the rest of the day. I run with both -- the Fenix for running specific tracking and the Apple for calling friends, listening to Audible, or podcasts.
  - notatoad 2y ago
    my experience with garmin (vivoactive, not fenix) was that they had all kinds of precision and detail, but it also didn't even notice when i got up to pee in the middle of the night - just a straight line through the graphs as though i hadn't woken up at all. that was the end of my trust in their sleep tracking.

kridsdale3 2y ago

I was one of the implementers of the Apple Watch (OS 1.0) CalDAV support. We always wanted people to be able to "bring your own server". You're welcome.

divbzero 2y ago
Thank you. CalDAV and CardDAV are wonderful cross-platform protocols that I use every day (including on Apple Watch) and I hope they continue to be supported in the future.
- mercutio2 2y ago
  In practice it's unlikely you're using CalDAV or CardDAV on Apple Watch, those data classes are synced from your paired phone unless you've set your watch up as a stand-alone device, which is rare. One day, hopefully!
Abishek_Muthian 2y ago
Thank you. I'm the author of this post, I assumed Apple still has support for these protocols because of legacy business systems. I hope that the support for interoperable protocols continue to remain in future versions of Apple Operating Systems.

darkwater 2y ago

Is there a way, without jailbreaking, to use that spare iPhone at home, powered on and connected to the internet, to run/host some server software?

amelius 2y ago
Ask this guy: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42455642 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42455642 Apparently, the people at Apple are very open to using your own server software with Apple hardware.
- lucb1e 2y ago
  You think they're an employee? I read it as a tinkerer like you and me. Their profile doesn't say unfortunately
talldayo 2y ago
The simple answer is no, not really. I wouldn't even trust it for baseline FTP provisioning, much less anything like Plex that might need working GPU drivers. The emulated shell is really not enough to do anything remote on an iOS device, in my experience.
manmal 2y ago
There‘s UTM SE on the App Store, which might be ok to use for very minimal distros (no JIT): https://apps.apple.com/at/app/utm-se-retro-pc-emulator/id1564628856?l=en-GB https://apps.apple.com/at/app/utm-se-retro-pc-emulator/id156... If you had a second spare iPhone, you could run it semi tethered with JIT and just any ARM/x86 OS: https://docs.getutm.app/installation/ios/ https://docs.getutm.app/installation/ios/ Though a JB would be more convenient. And things start to get interesting with M1 and its virtualization support.

ODW 2y ago

[dead]

LeoPanthera 2y ago
The Apple Watch, especially the current generation, is thinner than most traditional watches, especially "luxury" watches, which are often absurdly thick.
- blackoil 2y ago
  Yes, but you are not supposed to watch them in sleep.

reissbaker 2y ago

FWIW, the Pixel Watch 3 45mm is basically equivalent to the Apple Watch in accuracy according to testing by the same YouTuber mentioned in the blog post [1]. And it works out of the box with Android. Personally I also like the form factor better, since it's round rather than square, and unlike the Apple Watch, it still has a working SpO2 sensor... 1: https://youtu.be/Jr4p66vSmLY https://youtu.be/Jr4p66vSmLY

buu700 2y ago
Agreed, I'm really not a fan of the square look, and the Pixel Watch looks great. I'd probably get one if Google sold a claspable mesh band like the one I use with my Galaxy Watch[1], or had better support for third-party bands. I don't get the obsession with magnetic bands; the one time I reluctantly gave one a chance, the watch fell and broke and I returned it for a replacement, then the replacement fell and broke and I had to get a refund. 1: https://web.archive.org/web/20210622043132/https://www.wellymerck.com/accessories/classic-los-angeles https://web.archive.org/web/20210622043132/https://www.welly...
j1elo 2y ago
I just got a Pixel Watch 3 and find it impossible to understand how they have such an advanced monitoring on so many health aspects, including sleep cycles, but it doesn't support Smart Alarms (aka. Smart Wake or similar names), i.e. an alarm that is able to wake you up when you are in the lightest phase of sleep. (just like what Fitbit bands themselves had, or what apps such as "Sleep as Android smart alarm" try to guesstimate)
- pedrocr 2y ago
  That's weird. The fitbit bands that Google still sells do have that. They seem to be having a really hard time making the fitbit acquisition work in many ways so I guess that's not surprising.
- fishywang 2y ago
  I use Sleep as Android on my Pixel Watch 3 for smart alarm. I also found the lack of native smart alarm feature on pixel watches weird.

lxgr 2y ago

Interesting background: Apple was, for a while, planning on officially supporting Android as a "host phone OS", but axed the project out of ecosystem concerns: https://9to5mac.com/2024/03/22/apple-watch-compatible-android/ https://9to5mac.com/2024/03/22/apple-watch-compatible-androi... Personally, this is actually how they got me – I used to use Android phones for many years, but found the Apple Watch so much more appealing than anything available from Google at the time that I made the switch.

CrazyStat 2y ago
> Personally, this is actually how they got me – I used to use Android phones for many years, but found the Apple Watch so much more appealing than anything available from Google at the time that I made the switch. Same. Maybe Android watches are better now—it’s been a few years since I looked at them—but at the time they were universally thicker and with worse battery life than the apple watch, which is already thicker than I like.
davidmurdoch 2y ago
Their lock-in behavior is what has prevented me from buying anything from Apple.
jeroenhd 2y ago
If Apple was stupid enough to actually document this decision and the ecosystem concerns in written record, I wonder if they'll get dinged by the DMA for gatekeeping (again) over this.
- lxgr 2y ago
  I'm not sure the Apple Watch has enough users, or is considered critical enough, to be covered by the DMA (iMessage, macOS, and iPad OS aren't either, for example). In any case, this was all long before the DMA went into effect, so it would have to be a regular old antitrust case.
- bhelkey 2y ago
  From the US Department of Justice's lawsuit against Apple: >Apple recognizes that driving users to purchase an Apple Watch, rather than a third-party cross-platform smartwatch, helps drive iPhone sales and reinforce the moat around its smartphone monopoly. For example, in a 2019 email the Vice President of Product Marketing for Apple Watch acknowledged that Apple Watch "may help prevent iPhone customers from switching."...Apple also recognizes that making Apple Watch compatible with Android would “remove[an] iPhone differentiator.”[1] The lawsuit also alleges that Apple degrades APIs to hurt Third Party watch manufactures. [1] https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/24492020/doj-apple-antitrust-complaint.pdf https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/24492020/doj-apple-an...

mkoryak 2y ago

Tell me how to get a streaming music app on that watch without an iPhone and I'll buy you a beer

Abishek_Muthian 2y ago
All major music streaming apps have an Apple Watch version of their app.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- mkoryak 2y ago
  An iPhone is required to use them. The watch app is like a remote for the phone app. Some will only play if the watch and the phone are near, others don't have that limitation, but all of them require that you have an iphone

flipflopclop 2y ago

You can actually get real compatibility with android directly - https://troopers.de/troopers24/talks/h7mlua/ https://troopers.de/troopers24/talks/h7mlua/

p0w3n3d 2y ago
thanks. quite interesting, must watch
Abishek_Muthian 2y ago
Excellent, Once they get the bluetooth working then there would be no need for the Jailbroken iPhone, making Watch Witch a great choice for using Apple Watch with Android.

thanksgiving 2y ago

> I keep my iPhone at home, powered and connected to the Internet but don't use it as a daily driver. I recently learned that the Google pixel 8 and 9 will soon get a feature that will allow these phones to remain plugged in and turned on without charging and discharging the battery (under certain circumstances). I really wish this was widely available for all cell phones and tablets. I know new iPhones have a limit charging to 80% option (my iPhone se 2020 does not) but I think the next step is to add this? My main motivation is to do whatever we can to avoid spicy pillow problem in batteries. Do you have any thoughts on this topic?

topato 2y ago
Confused by "spicy pillow problem", but I assume you're referring the classic Li-ion BULGE. Im not sure there is any way to protect it in a 24/7 uptime situation outside of a fully removable battery.... Which now has me wondering if the new pixels can run fully disconnected from their battery, like early LG android models.
- thanksgiving 2y ago
  That's what I understood. I don't own a pixel so I am not sure. Here is a reddit thread on this topic https://old.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/1hcfv54/your_pixel_can_now_run_on_wall_outlet_power_alone/ https://old.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/1hcfv54/your_p...
- dizhn 2y ago
  They can have circuitry that bypasses the battery.
- cchi_co 2y ago
  [dead]
fragmede 2y ago
chargie is one solution for platforms where support is available https://chargie.org/ https://chargie.org/

gruez 2y ago

>I couldn't dismiss the thought that may be if they had worn a smart watch they could have had better chances of reaching out for help and perhaps even got alerted of some discrepancies in their vitals. Does this actually work? Apple watch only can detect sudden falls and call 911, but AFAIK it can't auto call 911 if you get a heartattack or whatever. >I got the cellular working in the Apple Watch by using the same SIM from my Android phone in the iPhone, pairing with the Apple Watch and setting up the mobile data. >Receiving and making calls via Apple Watch (when Wifi/BT is disabled) works well, but since the SIM is in the Android phone, the SMS functionality doesn't work; with it SOS messages to emergency contacts(even if they're on iMessage ʅ₍ッ₎ʃ ); but SOS calls work. There's no way this can work unless "calls" actually mean facetime audio rather than PSTN (ie. "regular") phone calls. If the sim isn't in the watch, then there's no way it can receive calls.

fastball 2y ago
Apple Watch now has irregular rhythm notifications[1] which can help alert you to signs that you will soon have a heart attack. [1] https://support.apple.com/en-us/120276 https://support.apple.com/en-us/120276
Abishek_Muthian 2y ago
Apple Watch cellular uses eSIM, so once I pair with iPhone with physical SIM the eSIM gets setup in the watch. You can then put the physical SIM in any device, Apple Watch's cellular is independent. Apple Watch as AFib alerts, I've linked the health features in my blog.
prmoustache 2y ago
Also dying in your sleep is pretty much the best way to die.

sircastor 2y ago

The Apple Watch was a big contributor to my decision to switch back to an iPhone after a decade. I can’t speak to the current smartwatch market, but for many many years, the Apple Watch has been unparalleled in its category. I wish Apple was more flexible in their products. The watch is plenty capable on its own, and I feel confident the attachment to the iPhone is arbitrary.

bangaloredud 2y ago

I use an Android phone for 'watch' (time-telling) task, thanks. Before that: several other phones, don't need an analog / digital cufflink on my wrist.

saaaaaam 2y ago

“I decided not to give any more money to Apple so I bought two Apple devices…”

cchi_co 2y ago

[dead]

mrtedbear 2y ago

I think using the Quantified Scientist's YouTube reviews as reference for the quality of sensors is misleading. He primarily tests the devices on just his own body type, and often doesn't test long enough for the device to adapt to him (some devices take a few weeks to "learn" your body). He does make disclaimers about the above, but people seem to take the stats he presents as gospel.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

Demiurge 2y ago

I actually much prefer Garmin watches, due to battery life, the workout app which has no analogues on iOS, in terms of how it tracks reps and sets, the readable screen, etc. However, its the iOS with it was just unusable. It worked great on Android, but I am used to be able to reply to texts, and I couldn't to pretty much anything on the Garmin watch with iOS, except see some notifications. I hope things get more interoperable, but it's been like this for a decade, so it probably won't get better.

mrbonner 2y ago

I used to wear AW until I got the Garmin Forerunner. One annoying thing about the new 965 is that the HR monitor is getting inaccurate for faster paces. When I have my recovery runs with HR below 150, the watch works perfectly fine. Once my HR goes over 165, it's a wild guess. I fee like I need to stop running and let the Forerunner"catches" up with its accuracy then it is working OK again. Happens in every intensive run.

invalidptr 2y ago
This is unfortunately very common for OHRMs. Once your heartbeat approaches your running cadence (~180 bpm), physical movement becomes confused with the color change of your blood that an OHRM relies on. Tightening your wrist strap can help, but if you want accurate heart rate data for workouts, a chest strap is the way to go. Garmin makes a very good and very inexpensive one.
- danielscrubs 2y ago
  Garmins chest strap recorded that my table had a heartbeat. Your mileage may vary.

gr8Agr8ape 2y ago

[dead]

Abishek_Muthian 2y ago

Project repo is here - https://github.com/abishekmuthian/apple-watch-with-android https://github.com/abishekmuthian/apple-watch-with-android .

freedomben 2y ago

Really cool project, and thank you for writing it up so well! My first question is "why" and the post answers that well (my paraphrasing): because Apple Watch is more accurate than anything else on the market, and health can be a matter of life and death. OP is definitely an open source guy though so even if you'll never buy another Apple product (like myself) it's still a fascinating look at the current state of things!

defenestrated 2y ago

This is beautiful! I've been using an Apple Watch Ultra with my Pixel using some of the same hacks. 0. I use messaging apps like WhatsApp, and Messenger which are multi device. So I log into them on the home iPhone. (WA finally added 'login as companion device' on iOS only a year ago). 1. Pushover to get notifications from any other apps that don't support multi device. (Signal ugh). I used Buzzkill to do the pushing from the android devices. Very reliable once set up. 2. I use Google Voice for my calls and SMS so that was easy to get on iPhone. (No calls though. The watch doesn't support sip/voip calls except Apple's own FaceTime ugh) 3. I spent a year doing cellular on Watch. I joined various family members' premium plans of the big 3 US networks (as well asany MVNOs like Visible) to use cellular on the watch. I paid ~$10/mo via this route. All good. But I stopped early this year because I found the cellular reliability to be just... piss poor garbage. (This is extensive use across US as well as international travel in Europe and Asia) It really wasn't worth cellular I realized. 4. I use Apple laptops, so the "watch to unlock" feature is useful multiple times a day :)

293984j29384 2y ago
I've been using cellular on an Apple Watch 8 for years in the NYC metro area and it works flawlessly.
- lstamour 2y ago
  Signal can be a bit weaker on the watch up here in Canada but is otherwise adequate. The problem with Apple Watch cellular when not using an iPhone to forward data is (1) battery life on LTE is terrible compared to data over Bluetooth, using wifi, or turning on airplane mode and (2) call forwarding from iPhone to Watch, on some Canadian carriers, is charged per minute due to a carrier bug (Telus) which you can call to get refunded but is still frustrating. Normally calls go to your iPhone and the voice is forwarded to the watch over Bluetooth, I believe. Basically the Apple Watch more often acts like an AirPod than a cell phone. I end up carrying my iPhome with my Android phone to avoid this. I mount the iPhone to my bike/scooter when available using Quad Lock waterproof cases.
- inquirerGeneral 2y ago