Smart watches... actually useful?
Discussion
My wife expressed interest in smart watches and really likes the rose gold active watch 2 by Samsung and the similar looking one from Fossil.
It’s her birthday soon and so I got her one. But I’m thinking of returning it before giving it to her. Reason being I think it’ll just fall by the wayside once the novelty has gone. She’s not so hooked on social media that she needs notifications “like right now”. She will often leave her phone behind for many things. HR and step tracking might be useful. She’s newly pregnant so may be some of that health stuff she might find helpful.
Despite being quite diddy as these things go (40mm active watch), it’s still quite bulky compared to the trusty Seiko she wears with its slender metal strap and 22mm pearl face. She wears that every and hates not wearing it. So I don’t know really how she will get on with something as bulky as a smart watch. She doesn’t sleep with any watch still on her wrist either.
Anyone got any experience? Did you get one thinking it would be great only for it to be a bit of a let down? Anyone tried one and have it be a total revelation that they can’t live without?? Help you be more active or track calories or whatever??
It’s her birthday soon and so I got her one. But I’m thinking of returning it before giving it to her. Reason being I think it’ll just fall by the wayside once the novelty has gone. She’s not so hooked on social media that she needs notifications “like right now”. She will often leave her phone behind for many things. HR and step tracking might be useful. She’s newly pregnant so may be some of that health stuff she might find helpful.
Despite being quite diddy as these things go (40mm active watch), it’s still quite bulky compared to the trusty Seiko she wears with its slender metal strap and 22mm pearl face. She wears that every and hates not wearing it. So I don’t know really how she will get on with something as bulky as a smart watch. She doesn’t sleep with any watch still on her wrist either.
Anyone got any experience? Did you get one thinking it would be great only for it to be a bit of a let down? Anyone tried one and have it be a total revelation that they can’t live without?? Help you be more active or track calories or whatever??
The Mrs wasn't keen on any fitness tracker but I got a deal on a Fitbit for her and it never left her side for 2yrs until.it was upgraded and that lasted another 18mths.
She had zero interest in an apple watch but I got a good offer on a S3 LTE version and that's been the same story for 2yrs now also and it's now part of her life and is not without it.
If she wants one I'd be inclined to let be the judge tbh.
She had zero interest in an apple watch but I got a good offer on a S3 LTE version and that's been the same story for 2yrs now also and it's now part of her life and is not without it.
If she wants one I'd be inclined to let be the judge tbh.
Yeah, was thinking just to let her decide. I still have reservations though.
I have had a second brainwave to get her something I know she will love because she's wanted one forever. It's 3x the price, but it won't be out of date in 2 years (or ever really). As its her last birthday before kids I think now is probably gonna be the last time I can contemplate such a purchase for a while!
I have had a second brainwave to get her something I know she will love because she's wanted one forever. It's 3x the price, but it won't be out of date in 2 years (or ever really). As its her last birthday before kids I think now is probably gonna be the last time I can contemplate such a purchase for a while!
Depends.
Mine is useful for alarm clock, timer, real time images of people at my door, news headlines, e mail replies, F1 info, steps counting, controlling house lights, playing music and talking books, ordering Uber cabs, checking in at airports, locking and unlocking cars (and many other car stuff)... and about 30 other things.
As I say, depends what she wants.
My other half wants none of these, so she has a watch.
Mine is useful for alarm clock, timer, real time images of people at my door, news headlines, e mail replies, F1 info, steps counting, controlling house lights, playing music and talking books, ordering Uber cabs, checking in at airports, locking and unlocking cars (and many other car stuff)... and about 30 other things.
As I say, depends what she wants.
My other half wants none of these, so she has a watch.
Edited by GetCarter on Saturday 2nd November 16:54
I've had a few - had a second hand Pebble which was fun, excellent battery life and useful for notifications, etc.
Replaced it with a TicWatch E which was pretty and had nice faces, but hated charging every day and wrist flicks that only worked half the time to switch on the screen. Started running while I had it so Strava / HR functionality was good, but it was unusable in the rain with the touch screen and GPS was a bit flaky.
After some research replaced it with a Garmin Forerunner 935 which is superb if you do a lot of sports/fitness stuff. It's closer in ethos to the Pebble - 2 week battery life, has plenty of faces/widgets and all the notifications you need. I am pushed to see what else you could want from a smartwatch.
So I'm torn really - if you wanted to look like Michael Knight then the TicWatch would let you call from your wrist, and Google Maps would run on it but it was rubbish. Same with composing a text from your wrist, just doesn't work IMHO. For activities Garmin all the way (wife has a fitbit and I think it is rubbish TBH). No experience with Apple Watches but Android WearOS is a bit rubbish and I am not sure if it is still being developed anyway.
Replaced it with a TicWatch E which was pretty and had nice faces, but hated charging every day and wrist flicks that only worked half the time to switch on the screen. Started running while I had it so Strava / HR functionality was good, but it was unusable in the rain with the touch screen and GPS was a bit flaky.
After some research replaced it with a Garmin Forerunner 935 which is superb if you do a lot of sports/fitness stuff. It's closer in ethos to the Pebble - 2 week battery life, has plenty of faces/widgets and all the notifications you need. I am pushed to see what else you could want from a smartwatch.
So I'm torn really - if you wanted to look like Michael Knight then the TicWatch would let you call from your wrist, and Google Maps would run on it but it was rubbish. Same with composing a text from your wrist, just doesn't work IMHO. For activities Garmin all the way (wife has a fitbit and I think it is rubbish TBH). No experience with Apple Watches but Android WearOS is a bit rubbish and I am not sure if it is still being developed anyway.
They're not terribly useful, pretty much everything your phone does anyway, plus a lot are connected via bluetooth to your phone anyway...
Mine did stuff like heart rate, steps counted, sleep (allegedly) nothing was terribly accurate and to be honest the wearable things are pretty much just a gimmick. as stated earlier most need to be connected to your phone anyway so youre carrying two devices.
Mine did stuff like heart rate, steps counted, sleep (allegedly) nothing was terribly accurate and to be honest the wearable things are pretty much just a gimmick. as stated earlier most need to be connected to your phone anyway so youre carrying two devices.
On my second iWatch and love it. Great for work for keeping up with meetings and a subtle way of checking messages without getting my phone out.
Also use it for activity tracking, heart rate monitoring, football results and the location of my nearest and dearest.
Plenty more could also do with it.
Also use it for activity tracking, heart rate monitoring, football results and the location of my nearest and dearest.
Plenty more could also do with it.
Yeah I think when it comes to the Apple Watch, it becomes a different thing because it’s clearly a more sorted, better integrated product.
I don’t even do a1/3 of the things GetCarter lists let alone need a watch to do them. My wife does even less than me.
Think I will leave it. Second option is a definite winner and now might be the only realistic chance of doing it for the foreseeable!
I don’t even do a1/3 of the things GetCarter lists let alone need a watch to do them. My wife does even less than me.
Think I will leave it. Second option is a definite winner and now might be the only realistic chance of doing it for the foreseeable!
During the working week, I where a garmen (cant remember the modle). It last 5 days with out a charge, is waterproof and the tracking, alarms that vibrate and a host of other notifications make it very useful to me. At the weakend I where an apolog watch, it helps me seporat work me from weakend me and switch off from work.
I have a cheapie Huawei. Sounds daft but #1 use is seeing what time it is without getting my phone out! Second is seeing who’s calling me and silencing it without getting my phone out. I don’t miss calls either in loud places. I often don’t hear or feel my phone vibrate but I always feel my watch.
I have a Samsung smart watch and I highly rate it. Its good for me because I am moving around a lot at work, and I can just leave my phone on my desk and still get calls and texts. Its mainly the texts. The range is pretty decent too, if I leave my phone in the bedroom at home I have coverage in the whole house. Even in the garden usually. At work whole office ok, but if I go into the workshop it can drop out.
The fitness side of it is ok but not something I use to its full potential just if I am going for a run which is usually once a week.
Its also stopped my wife complaining that I go through work shoes too quickly... I regularly do 15-20km walking in a day at work so no wonder I only get 5-6 months out of a set of shoes.
The floor climber app is the only bit of the Samsung that's not accurate. I do 20-40 flights a day and it usually only registers a dozen or so.
The fitness side of it is ok but not something I use to its full potential just if I am going for a run which is usually once a week.
Its also stopped my wife complaining that I go through work shoes too quickly... I regularly do 15-20km walking in a day at work so no wonder I only get 5-6 months out of a set of shoes.
The floor climber app is the only bit of the Samsung that's not accurate. I do 20-40 flights a day and it usually only registers a dozen or so.
bought a samsung s3 watch, and im very happy with it. other than the obvious features, the most useful to me is the workout tracker, when i use it for a run it shows my route average sped average heart rate , it shows the parts where i struggled , it has decent battery life so i really like it
Otispunkmeyer said:
My wife expressed interest in smart watches and really likes the rose gold active watch 2 by Samsung and the similar looking one from Fossil.
If by 'expressed an interest' she said she'd like one for birthday, then just get it. Don't try to be practical or sensible when it comes to presents for women. Get her the other thing as a push present perhaps.The endless battery charging is the one that kills smart watches for most people I know. It's so tedious, people get sick of it and dump them. So many of my friends have them sitting in drawers gathering dust now (including the one I bought for my partner at her request)
Apple watches seem to be less affected by this for some reason, even though they also need haring every day.
Apple watches seem to be less affected by this for some reason, even though they also need haring every day.
I've recently gone back to a traditional watch after having a smart watch for about 10 months. It's nice to have the notifications but often people would ask me if I needed to get away as they thought I was looking at the time.
I'll keep the smartwatch (garmin fenix 5) for the gym and swimming but I think im going to keep with my traditional watch for daily use.
I'll keep the smartwatch (garmin fenix 5) for the gym and swimming but I think im going to keep with my traditional watch for daily use.
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