Weekend Open Forum: Do you use a smartwatch?

[David Matthews]

Recently, my wife has been really interested in the Apple Watch. We're both iPhone owners (as you know), so naturally an Apple Watch would be a perfect fit. However, while I do see plenty of Apple Watches around, I have barely seen any Android Wear watches. Perhaps I need to find a more technologically diverse set of friends but even my Android toting buddies don't seem too enthused about any of the decent Android Wear watches out there like the Moto 360, Huawei Watch, or LG.

The state of smartwatches seem to be in a state of flux. While the Apple Watch is completely dominant in smartwatch sales, the only other company that seems to be making headway is Fitbit with its fitness focused Ionic smartwatch... and it's not even running Android Wear. According to Fortune (who referenced analyst firm Forrester), consumers are more likely to buy wearables if they're geared towards fitness. It's the reason why Apple heavily markets the Apple Watch to fitness conscious consumers. Why buy a smartwatch if it's just a mini version of what I can do on my phone which is usually in my pocket anyway?

So with that, I open the forum to the readers. Do you use a smartwatch? If so, is your reason primarily fitness related or it mostly because you're a gadget nerd like me?

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/72134-weekend-open-forum-do-you-use-smartwatch.html

 

[cliffordcooley]

No and never will. A phone is small enough and multitudes smarter.

 

[BSim500]

No and never will. A phone is small enough and multitudes smarter.

Same here. Never have or will own one. What's the point? Exercise is the one single "killer feature" it has (making it a "one trick pony" device), and even that doesn't justify the price vs a cheap Bluetooth wristband linked to an existing smartphone (or even a $10 pedometer for the 99.999% of us who aren't training for the Olympics). The average person wildly over-estimates how much data they need to collect for simple distance / time / resting pulse rate tracking from one week to the next. As for everything else like watching video on a 1.6" screen. No. Just no.​

 

[Vulcanproject]

Wearable technology is so faddish

 

[p51d007]

Nope. I carry my phone in a leather belt clip, it's always with me. Also, smartwatches are too EXPENSIVE, battery life is too SHORT.

 

[senketsu]

No, but I am recently using a Garmin Edge 520 when I ride my bicycle.

 

[treetops]

I have a gaming pc and to a lesser extent a cell phone. A watch seems cumbersome and deucy.

 

[Lionvibez]

I actually just bought one last friday. I have many analog watches and decided now was the time to try one out.

So far I'm liking it, the only thing that isn't great it battery life but its not a huge deal because I can get through the whole day without a problem and by the time I get home the watch comes off anyways.

I'm always on the go at work and its nice to get those notification directly on it so I don't have to pull my phone out of my pocket. And very handy when in a meeting.

I picked up the Fossil Explorist which is a Gen 3 Android smart watch.

https://www.fossil.com/us/en/products/gen-3-smartwatch-q-explorist-brown-leather-sku-FTW4003P.html

 

[Cycloid Torus]

Nothing I use is smart. I'll just rely on the old gray cells for a bit longer.

 

[captaincranky]

What's a "watch"?

 

[Skjorn]

Smartwatches are about like a visor to me. They both are half a product.

 

[dirtyferret]

I own one tag heuer and one Movado and I hardly wear them but they won't be outdated in two years like some smart watch.

 

[mcborge]

Never had one, never will. Smart watches should have never been more then fitness trackers that told the time. All other features are served better on a phone.

 

[Julio Franco]

I always wear a watch (the standard analog kind) but I'm not into smartwatches. I was gifted a Galaxy Gear which I use ocassionally but honestly it's not very useful. Then I also have a Garmin which I use only when I go biking, running or swimming, but because of those tracking features, not because of the notifications and other smartphone integrations.

 

[JetFixxxer]

OH Yes I do. I have a Garmin Fenix 3HR sapphire and I love the thing. My battery last a week before I have to charged it(YMMV). It's water resistance to 50 meters and I don't have to take it off while I take a shower.

 

[Guillermo Belli]

No, and probably never will. I don't even use a regular watch. I see smartwatches as gimmicks, and not very useful.

 

[oldikes]

Ultimately I wouldnt want a smartwatch unless its battery life was >= 1 month.
The idea of a health tracker appeals to me much more than a smart watch, and some of those actually are approaching reasonable battery life

 

[wiyosaya]

Smart watch? No, not even a dumb watch! Who needs them? Clocks are everywhere.

 

[Squid Surprise]

Got the new Apple Watch as a birthday present about 6 weeks ago - exchanged it for the new iPhone X (and sold my old 6+ as well to make up the difference).

I have a nice self-winding Tissot I wear all the time (including to sleep). It glows in the dark, has the date/time and looks nice... I see no reason to have a "smarter" one.

 

[bugejakurt]

Yes, but not much more than telling time..

 

[Nobina]

I don't because smart watches are absolutely useless. They feel unfinished. Maybe one day they will have more function and then I will get one. I like nice looking watches in general, but the dumb ones.

 

[mailpup]

No, just an analog watch.

 

[Anton Skryaga]

Bought iWatch as a New Year gift for myself 2 years ago. Just to look at (I'am not really "hi-end guy").
It was not very useful until I connected my bank card to ApplePay. Now I use it in 90% of all daily payments.
As a fitness gadget they not really "smart" - for example it sees my morning bus journey to work as activity And all these "badges and achievements" looks like they not from Apple - not funny and not well designed.

Another way of use - to quick look at new message and decide to ignore it.
Unlocking my Air with iWatch is not faster than to type password.

So it is not very useful but I just wear it every day when going to work.

 

[dj2017]

I have an ancient analog watch with 256MB storage. Does it count?

 

[Ray Bond]

Yes I do, I've had an Asus Zen Watch 2 for 2 years, it's a daily wear, never missed a beat but sometimes hard to get the charging connection to mate. Main use is fitness steps & looking at WhatsApp messages while in meetings. Yes I'd like it slimmer, battery to last 3 days but really not much more.