QOTW: Do you wear a smartwatch?

[daddacool]

I used to. Pebble, Pebble Steel, Huawei Watch, Samsung and a Galaxy Watch were my main ones. About a year ago I stopped. I was getting fed up with the battery life and the limitations. It's bad enough having to charge my phone every day but a watch as well? Sheesh.

When I used to be up in London more it was good to look at my wrist to check notifications or navigate as it felt safer than walking around holding a phone.

Now I cycle through my collection of G-Shocks (which has grown during lockdown!), with a Huawei Band 4 Pro on my other wrist to track steps and, via the GPS, runs and bike rides. Can't say I'm missing any of it. I think Qualcomm are mostly to blame for my disillusionment with smartwatches, they've really been massively off the pace when it comes to power and power management. If I had something I could use for a couple of days solid that would run GPS and navigation for a couple of hours a day and BT my music directly to my headphones, I might still be using a smartwatch.

[Phrontis]

A Fitbit Charge 3. Its the second one I have had. The screen failed on the first one a week before the warranty ran out, they sent another one but it has been a bit rubbish from the off. The capacitive "button" doesn't work all of the time, it takes several goes for it to do what its supposed too. I got it because of it supposedly being good for sleep tracking and being waterproof. But if you wake up for longer than an hour it sets itself back to zero again. The strap broke after 9 months and new ones aren't cheap, I couldn't recommend one quite frankly.
As soon as this Fitbit gives up the ghost I'm back to the wind up one.

[Andi-C]

Nope... I like my timepieces ! Seiko's manly.

I do own a Honor band 5 that I use for my mountain bike, gives good GPS tracking for milage, speedometer and heart rate. You can even use it to change tracks if you have a BT IEM or headphones. It was only £20 !

I've seen the large smart watches and they don't do anything for me.

[Mark3p]

Wanted an Apple Watch since they were first released but the lack of an always-on display was always the killer for me. When they launched the Series 5 with the Always-On Retina Display I jumped at it.

Haven't regretted it at all. Use it every single day, battery lasts me about 18-20 hours, charges from empty to full in about 45 minutes, it's fast, the Siri functionality is excellent. I love it.

The only thing I feel like it's missing is the ability to store music and connect to my AirPods. Being able to leave my phone at home for short periods while out for a walk or a run would be excellent.

Oh boy do I have a surprise for you...

For Non-cellular / local files:
Open the watch app on iPhone, go to Music, there’s an add music button. You can copy any music / playlist from Apple Music to the watch.

For cellular watch:
Use either Apple Music or Spotify watch apps. It will use cellular data and stream it.

To pair your AirPods to Apple watch when your phone isn’t there just put your AirPods in, wait for the chime, then leave your phone behind and walk out!

Official info here:
https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT204691
https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT204218

[tonyd2233]

Yes, I'm on my 5th or 6th now, currently a Samsung Galaxy Watch 46mm... but I'm a bit of a watch collector, with about 30 other mechanical and digital pieces (lots of GShock)...

[matts-uk]

Back in the 90s I was scuba diving most weekends and bought myself a Suunto Stinger. Not so much a smart watch as a mixed gas personal decompression computer, that also tells the time and doesn't look too shabby for general wear. The Stinger was used every day and lasted longer than any other watch I have owned. Probably because I could read the display without my glasses and it was heavy enough to know I had it on.

When I gave up diving a few years ago I bought a sailing dinghy and picked up a used Fenix 3, mainly to see how fast I was going and some of the other GPS functions. Didn't even know it did diary notification until I was in the car and it started rattling on my wrist. Proved more useful than I imagined, letting me know I am in danger of running late for my next call when I have my hands full with a raft of 'canyoujust' Move bar is useful for reminding me I have been sat at my desk too long. Battery is easy to manage as it lasts a week unless the GPS is turned on.

The USB port in the Fenix 3 died last year so I replaced it with a Fenix 5 I found on a clearance deal. Thought I might like a heart rate monitor but turns out I don't. Sleep tracking is waste of time as it's too bulky to sleep comfortably with it on. The backlight is quite useful for navigating to the loo in the middle of the night though. Having lived with the 5 for a year, I think the 3 suited me more.

[Dareos]

I will wear a smart watch when, and only when, I can whisper "KITT get me out of here" and have my car come crashing through the wall to rescue me. I mean it will probably ruin the car but the look on my annoying colleagues face as i interrupt her latest diatribe about weekend grocery shopping would be worth it.

[samuraiweasel]

I wear a hybrid smartwatch, the Withings HR Sport.

I tried a couple of smartwatches but didn't feel like they really did anything that I wanted.

[b0redom]

Smartish... Garmin Fenix 5X. I keep toying with the idea of upgrading as this one is a couple of years old now. Has to be Garmin again though as nothing else really has the battery life.

[dfour]

No and never will. Just a gimiky way of making people spend more moeny on things they dotn really need but its new and shiney.

Good olde £20 digital watch for me.

[Quartz]

Of course I don't wear a smart watch; I wear a pocket watch.

[[GSV]Trig]

I wear a hybrid smartwatch, the Withings HR Sport.

How are the newer ones for step accuracy, my Steel HR was branded Nokia, did they do anything other than just rebrand and re-strap?

[Saracen999]

No, and I don't see that changing.

[cheesemp]

Yes. I had never seen the point until work gave everyone a Fitbit Ionic to encourage us to be healthier. I'd never seen the point before that but have gotten to like it. Tracking heart rate etc is a good way to see how my overall health is and made me realise I was in increasing danger of being unhealthy. I've particularly enjoyed the reminders to walk 250 steps an hour as I found out I could sit still for 3+ hours while working. These things aren't the devil some of you make out. I wouldn't wear one to be fashionable though!

[raygdunn]

Yes. I wear a cheap one that usefully monitors the usual paces, heart rate etc.
An age thing? I'm into retirement. Though I switch back to my normal digital, when I need some serious time keeping,

My most comfortable watch to wear to date. Handy for a quick time check during the night, but hopeless to read in bright sunshine. And way too much button tapping to get the right screen.

Bought out of curiosity, as it uses an STM32 processor and some thoughts of reprogramming it.

[Ttaskmaster]

Well.... for the moment, I do own a Galaxy Watch 46mm LTE... but it's getting sold on.

IMO, you really need the LTE to start seeing the benefits. Merely having a secondary screen tethered to the massive phone in your pocket via bluetooth does not put the device in its element. These things work best as standalone devices.

However, despite me not being a "REAL man", or a "real person", or anything like that, I would still advise against smartwatches in general. They have so much potential, but it's all squandered by poor design choices and poor implementation, along with a serious lack of what I would consider to be fundamental apps, that they just can't do what they should be doing. Things might improve eventually, but right now they're just not good enough.

So for daily wear I favour a Casio Protrek/G-Shock Rangeman, with all the ABC and multi-function stuff... partly because I do actually need one, and partly just to upset all the "REAL man" watch snobs!