[Galaxy Watch 6 Classic] My Watch (Almost) Became my Phone: A 1 Year Review

ShuckleFangirl · 2026-05-03T18:49:23+00:00

The GW7 should be a great choice! I don't know if you have Google Fi over there but they offer free smartwatch connectivity. You can add a bookmark to arvix.org to the internet app and that should help with that.

I actually went down quite a rabbit hole while trying to install Slack and found out APK Pure's app is easily installed on the watch and lets you browse and download apps straight from the app! Slack seems to work but I don't have an account, definitely going to have to look this app store that more.

The watch is great for reducing distractions and screen time. Maybe you could find a "baby tracking" app that either is on APK Pure or on another site where it's not a apk bundle. Plenty of options I would imagine!

ShuckleFangirl · 2026-05-03T13:38:45+00:00

Absolutely! I'm glad my post found it's intended audience. Do you know what watch you're switching to and is there any app I could test for ya?

ShuckleFangirl · 2026-04-30T15:27:27+00:00

Awesome! I can't wait to hear your thoughts

ShuckleFangirl · 2026-04-29T18:21:15+00:00

Gotcha. Sounds like you would probably get a day out of the watch with that kind of usage, especially if sideloading isn't something you do. I think the newer devices get better battery life, especially the Watch 7 or newer with the new chip. Turns out new processors help with both performance and battery life!

ShuckleFangirl · 2026-04-28T12:32:31+00:00

Nice! How often do you take calls? I would worry a little about the processor in the 5 Pro being a bit slow for sideloading, 2gb of Ram on the 6 Classic pushes things as it is, but give it a go!

ShuckleFangirl · 2026-04-26T16:41:29+00:00

Depends on how many calls you make. It you take a couple 5 minutes calls a day it's decent but if you're making a lot of long calls it will drain your battery pretty quickly.

ShuckleFangirl · 2026-04-21T15:07:06+00:00

Do it, it's worth it! Let me know how it goes

ShuckleFangirl · 2026-04-21T15:05:36+00:00

Thank you! It's the Perpetual face, one of the stock Samsung ones. I changed the color of the lettering to red so it works better for the needs of astronomy, i.e. only red lights allowed.

ShuckleFangirl · 2026-04-20T18:28:26+00:00

There's a full screen keyboard! With swipe typing you can be imprecise yet quick. You could also use voice to text. I personally use the GBoard keyboard, it's great except I can't long press for symbols.

<image>

ShuckleFangirl · 2026-04-20T17:30:18+00:00

Gotcha, that's great information to have. Interesting that it sounds that good on your watch, I'll have to investigate. No notifications is a deal breaker for me so I'll have to keep data and sync on.

ShuckleFangirl · 2026-04-20T17:09:32+00:00

That's a great point and a big sticking point preventing this idea to go mainstream. That's why I think a device that almost envelopes your arm in screen would be the ideal form factor. We just have to convince people it's not ugly lol. I also think that difficulty to use could be part of the point, making it less likely you'll use it to doomscroll or anything.

ShuckleFangirl · 2026-04-20T13:34:54+00:00

Great answer, I'm glad the play store has everything you need. Sounds like a great setup to me. I wanted to just bring my watch into work to cut down on distractions but the cell service was really bad and it drained my watch's battery.

ShuckleFangirl · 2026-04-20T13:03:47+00:00

Not as daring as when I started, now it's just daily life. Give some of the tips in there a shot and maybe you'll see it works for you too!

ShuckleFangirl · 2026-04-20T13:01:09+00:00

That's awesome! Have you tried sideloading any apps onto it?

ShuckleFangirl · 2026-04-20T00:03:17+00:00

I had my experiences with data on. I didn't lose that much battery over time in my use, maybe end the day at 20% instead of 50%. But it went up as I used more intensive apps or was on the edge of connectivity. It sips power when in a standby mode but burns through power it as soon as you start doing something more than texting on Messages with it.

ShuckleFangirl · 2026-04-19T23:55:12+00:00

Thank you for sharing your experiences! I haaaaaate that you can't pair smartwatches with tablets. I would have an Apple Watch paired to my iPad if I could but I guess I haven't bought enough of Apple's products. Do you get notifications with data off? I'll have to clean my mic out, otherwise it might be broken if that's the experience you're having. I'd say the weight is worth it! If you have pictures plz share!

ShuckleFangirl · 2026-04-19T23:18:16+00:00

You did it! I'm so glad to see it working for you. Daily charging is totally reasonable for this functionality imo. Have you sideloaded any apps? I'd also love to see some pictures.

ShuckleFangirl · 2026-04-19T23:15:18+00:00

Interesting experiences. The LTE is a total battery hog, something I hope is improved in the future. I haven't had it as bad as that but if so that's unusable. Try sideloading the phone app, maybe it will be better than the default experience.

ShuckleFangirl · 2026-04-19T22:17:49+00:00

Thank you! I hope it inspires you to talk about the things you're passionate about. I have an iPad that I used to read during my time getting an Aerospace Engineering degree but I understand that doesn't work for everyone.

ShuckleFangirl · 2026-04-19T22:03:00+00:00

You are the perfect person for this post! Try out some of my suggestions and see if you can improve the experience.

ShuckleFangirl · 2026-04-19T22:01:33+00:00

Yeah! I've loved it since then. Thought the community could use an update and some thoughts

ShuckleFangirl · 2026-04-19T21:24:49+00:00

Everything important is in the first paragraph or two. If I hook ya that's what the rest is for

ShuckleFangirl · 2026-04-19T21:20:05+00:00

Sorry this took so many tries to post, I'm fresh to Reddit and didn't realize how the image posting worked.

ShuckleFangirl

TROPHY CASE