Show us your smart watch!
Discussion
I’ve got a Fenix 6 solar titanium, it goes around 2 weeks between charges, or about a week if I’ve been at the gym and out cycling.
Absolutely brilliant watch, apart from charging I never take it off and my ‘proper’ watches are now pretty much retired.
I like the Instinct too and at £600 cheaper than my Fenix it’s great value, especially like the camo version.
Absolutely brilliant watch, apart from charging I never take it off and my ‘proper’ watches are now pretty much retired.
I like the Instinct too and at £600 cheaper than my Fenix it’s great value, especially like the camo version.
Cheers for that guys, good to see the Instinct is tried, tested and rated and won't look like a saucer on my wrist. Just to decide on the colour now! While searching last night I came across the Garmin outlet store that had some factory refurbed Instincts for £149 or £159 depending on colour. Sounds very tempting as comes with a warranty still.
Well, I bought the Fossil Gen 5. It will be here tomorrow but now I'm at war again.
My gut is telling me i should have gone for the instinct Solar from Garmin. The Garmin is £92 more expensive but the battery performance looks to be far superior and being Garmin their location service stuff looks on point.
It's not Wear OS but they seem committed to their own app updates and the integrations into google health etc. look to be OK or they will result in a shift to Garmin completely.
Decisions decisions... Fossil Gen 5 might well be on its way back tomorrow having never left its box.
My gut is telling me i should have gone for the instinct Solar from Garmin. The Garmin is £92 more expensive but the battery performance looks to be far superior and being Garmin their location service stuff looks on point.
It's not Wear OS but they seem committed to their own app updates and the integrations into google health etc. look to be OK or they will result in a shift to Garmin completely.
Decisions decisions... Fossil Gen 5 might well be on its way back tomorrow having never left its box.
So, gen 5 arrived and on the wrist.
I had to remove a couple of links from it as it was too big and it's all set up.
I am very concerned about battery life. To be fair here i have yet to give it a proper, full charge so it might improve but i set it up, hopped in the car and drove to the stables and back with the hatchling. When i left it was at 58% and when i got home it was at 32%.
I was busy with the stupid overgrown dogs so other than moving around i wasn't playing with it. Fnarr. I reckon i was gone for about 30 minutes max.
I'm still thinking i should have bought the Garmin solar.
I might write a better review but it feels OK. Has a decent weight to it but the metal strap does feel a little low on quality.
We shall see.
I had to remove a couple of links from it as it was too big and it's all set up.
I am very concerned about battery life. To be fair here i have yet to give it a proper, full charge so it might improve but i set it up, hopped in the car and drove to the stables and back with the hatchling. When i left it was at 58% and when i got home it was at 32%.
I was busy with the stupid overgrown dogs so other than moving around i wasn't playing with it. Fnarr. I reckon i was gone for about 30 minutes max.
I'm still thinking i should have bought the Garmin solar.
I might write a better review but it feels OK. Has a decent weight to it but the metal strap does feel a little low on quality.
We shall see.
Davie_GLA said:
So, gen 5 arrived and on the wrist.
I had to remove a couple of links from it as it was too big and it's all set up.
I am very concerned about battery life. To be fair here i have yet to give it a proper, full charge so it might improve but i set it up, hopped in the car and drove to the stables and back with the hatchling. When i left it was at 58% and when i got home it was at 32%.
I was busy with the stupid overgrown dogs so other than moving around i wasn't playing with it. Fnarr. I reckon i was gone for about 30 minutes max.
I'm still thinking i should have bought the Garmin solar.
I might write a better review but it feels OK. Has a decent weight to it but the metal strap does feel a little low on quality.
We shall see.
Battery life is the bane of my existence I had to remove a couple of links from it as it was too big and it's all set up.
I am very concerned about battery life. To be fair here i have yet to give it a proper, full charge so it might improve but i set it up, hopped in the car and drove to the stables and back with the hatchling. When i left it was at 58% and when i got home it was at 32%.
I was busy with the stupid overgrown dogs so other than moving around i wasn't playing with it. Fnarr. I reckon i was gone for about 30 minutes max.
I'm still thinking i should have bought the Garmin solar.
I might write a better review but it feels OK. Has a decent weight to it but the metal strap does feel a little low on quality.
We shall see.
I'm an Apple user, and most of my tech is Apple, but I just couldn't bring myself to buy an Apple Watch 5, because the 18-ish hour battery life would make me scream.
If I had to charge my watch every night as well as my phone I would go nuts. One thing is enough to remember.
That's why I bought the £29 Huawei 'Honor Band 5' when I was browsing for a smart watch/smart band a couple of months ago.
The battery lasts 2 weeks and I couldn't be happier with it.
Looks decent and very unobtrusive, so much so that it can be worn with a 'normal' mechanical watch on your other wrist as it just looks like a sports band.
Waterproof.
Amazingly clear and bright AMOLED screen.
Displays the weather.
Heartbeat and blood oxygen monitoring.
Fitness/steps/activities/calories/distance.
Notifications - Calls, Emails, Messages, WhatsApp, Facebook, and anything else you want.
Answer/reject calls.
Works with google maps if you are walking somewhere. It vibrates to 'tap' your wrist and displays 'Turn left' etc on the screen.
Vibrate wake up alarms and smart wake up alarm.
Sleep monitoring.
Calendar.
The accompanying app is really good, and also feeds all the info from the watch seamlessly into Apple Health.
A bit basic for some, but it does all the above very well and at £29... crazy value.
Recommended. But I wouldn't say it was for someone who wanted a 'proper' large screen smartwatch as their only watch.
Edited by anonymous-user on Sunday 16th August 19:30
robinh73 said:
Cheers for that guys, good to see the Instinct is tried, tested and rated and won't look like a saucer on my wrist. Just to decide on the colour now! While searching last night I came across the Garmin outlet store that had some factory refurbed Instincts for £149 or £159 depending on colour. Sounds very tempting as comes with a warranty still.
I paid about 190 for mine brand new (here in Singapore). Think the online price in the UK is about that. Arguably should be a tad cheaper now with the launch of the solar model.Lord Marylebone said:
Battery life is the bane of my existence
I'm an Apple user, and most of my tech is Apple, but I just couldn't bring myself to buy an Apple Watch 5, because the 18-ish hour battery life would make me scream.
If I had to charge my watch every night as well as my phone I would go nuts. One thing is enough to remember.
That's why I bought the £29 Huawei 'Honor Band 5' when I was browsing for a smart watch/smart band a couple of months ago.
The battery lasts 2 weeks and I couldn't be happier with it.
Looks decent and very unobtrusive, so much so that it can be worn with a 'normal' mechanical watch on your other wrist as it just looks like a sports band.
Waterproof.
Amazingly clear and bright AMOLED screen.
Displays the weather.
Heartbeat and blood oxygen monitoring.
Fitness/steps/activities/calories/distance.
Notifications - Calls, Emails, Messages, WhatsApp, Facebook, and anything else you want.
Answer/reject calls.
Works with google maps if you are walking somewhere. It vibrates to 'tap' your wrist and displays 'Turn left' etc on the screen.
Vibrate wake up alarms and smart wake up alarm.
Sleep monitoring.
Calendar.
The accompanying app is really good, and also feeds all the info from the watch seamlessly into Apple Health.
A bit basic for some, but it does all the above very well and at £29... crazy value.
Recommended. But I wouldn't say it was for someone who wanted a 'proper' large screen smartwatch as their only watch.
I just charge my Apple Series 4 overnight, no problem. As a watch, it seems to do everything I need it to as a running and everyday watch. Apple Pay is brilliant, is this available for Garmin watches?I'm an Apple user, and most of my tech is Apple, but I just couldn't bring myself to buy an Apple Watch 5, because the 18-ish hour battery life would make me scream.
If I had to charge my watch every night as well as my phone I would go nuts. One thing is enough to remember.
That's why I bought the £29 Huawei 'Honor Band 5' when I was browsing for a smart watch/smart band a couple of months ago.
The battery lasts 2 weeks and I couldn't be happier with it.
Looks decent and very unobtrusive, so much so that it can be worn with a 'normal' mechanical watch on your other wrist as it just looks like a sports band.
Waterproof.
Amazingly clear and bright AMOLED screen.
Displays the weather.
Heartbeat and blood oxygen monitoring.
Fitness/steps/activities/calories/distance.
Notifications - Calls, Emails, Messages, WhatsApp, Facebook, and anything else you want.
Answer/reject calls.
Works with google maps if you are walking somewhere. It vibrates to 'tap' your wrist and displays 'Turn left' etc on the screen.
Vibrate wake up alarms and smart wake up alarm.
Sleep monitoring.
Calendar.
The accompanying app is really good, and also feeds all the info from the watch seamlessly into Apple Health.
A bit basic for some, but it does all the above very well and at £29... crazy value.
Recommended. But I wouldn't say it was for someone who wanted a 'proper' large screen smartwatch as their only watch.
Edited by Lord Marylebone on Sunday 16th August 19:30
Two watches makes you look nuts.
Edited by Piginapoke on Tuesday 18th August 10:23
Piginapoke said:
I just charge my Apple Series 4 overnight, no problem. As a watch, it seems to do everything I need it to as a running and everyday watch. Apple Pay is brilliant, is this available for Garmin watches?
Two watches makes you look nuts.
Not sure about Garmin but anything with WearOS will do google pay. Two watches makes you look nuts.
Edited by Piginapoke on Tuesday 18th August 10:23
The problem with having to charge it every night is that you can't use it for sleep tracking. If you need that then you are definitely going to consider a watch where better battery life is there.
Of course, you don't need the watch for sleep tracking; most apps on phones will take a sound input and will do a good job at deciding what deep sleep is. A watch with sufficient sensors will also log hear rate and i *think* will use accelerometers to log movement etc.
blueg33 said:
Lord Marylebone said:
blueg33 said:
Mine still works, but I am not brave enough to update to the latest version of the software.
It generally works ok and always has done.
Are you using it with an iPhone?It generally works ok and always has done.
What made you say they went out of business? Web site looks normal, can still get a Zetime for £70 with is crazy cheap!
Still happily getting 10 days battery life from mine, works fine....
Huawei GT2 ordered with the leather strap so I could have it in silver and then add a 22mm fit stainless strap.
I had the original WearOS Huawei Watch that I bought about 4 years ago, going from that and needing to charge it daily and this one that lasts over a week despite constantly monitoring me is nice.
There's some things like not being able delete / reply to messages on the phone or use the watch to control Spotify that I miss but otherwise its leaps ahead.
My wife has the GT2e and we occasionally notice that hers accurately tracks exercise better than my GT2, particularly the GPS mapping (the other day we walked together, she did 6km, I supposedly did 4.9km) but as I'm not planning to train for a marathon I can live with this.
Hoofy said:
MXRod said:
I have a FitBit Charge 3, It is now a useless bit of junk .
When I first got it all seemed well , did what it said on the tin .
Then after a year or so , I think after an O/S update, it all went wrong .
It would only stay connected to my phone for 24/48 hrs , now it will not connect at all , the phone cannot even see it on Bluetooth . I understand this is a problem with all early FitBits . O/H has a charge 2 FitBit and hers has the same problem , my phone is Android , hers Iphone , so not the phones
One of my friends had this problem and they just gave him a newer model. Is it too late for this?When I first got it all seemed well , did what it said on the tin .
Then after a year or so , I think after an O/S update, it all went wrong .
It would only stay connected to my phone for 24/48 hrs , now it will not connect at all , the phone cannot even see it on Bluetooth . I understand this is a problem with all early FitBits . O/H has a charge 2 FitBit and hers has the same problem , my phone is Android , hers Iphone , so not the phones
Rang Fitbit helpline and spent about 20 mins with a member of their technical team giving instructions to try and get it working again after which he gave up and offered a replacement via a web link sent to my wife's email,
she now has a Versa 2 instead
thetapeworm said:
Huawei GT2 ordered with the leather strap so I could have it in silver and then add a 22mm fit stainless strap.
I had the original WearOS Huawei Watch that I bought about 4 years ago, going from that and needing to charge it daily and this one that lasts over a week despite constantly monitoring me is nice.
There's some things like not being able delete / reply to messages on the phone or use the watch to control Spotify that I miss but otherwise its leaps ahead.
My wife has the GT2e and we occasionally notice that hers accurately tracks exercise better than my GT2, particularly the GPS mapping (the other day we walked together, she did 6km, I supposedly did 4.9km) but as I'm not planning to train for a marathon I can live with this.
Davie_GLA said:
thetapeworm said:
Huawei GT2 ordered with the leather strap so I could have it in silver and then add a 22mm fit stainless strap.
I had the original WearOS Huawei Watch that I bought about 4 years ago, going from that and needing to charge it daily and this one that lasts over a week despite constantly monitoring me is nice.
There's some things like not being able delete / reply to messages on the phone or use the watch to control Spotify that I miss but otherwise its leaps ahead.
My wife has the GT2e and we occasionally notice that hers accurately tracks exercise better than my GT2, particularly the GPS mapping (the other day we walked together, she did 6km, I supposedly did 4.9km) but as I'm not planning to train for a marathon I can live with this.
The app seems robust on my P30 Pro and I was impressed with how easy it was to use with the watch compared with WearOS. LiteOS seems far more suited to a wearable but perhaps the upcoming WearOS improvements will close that gap.
The GT2 isn't perfect but having spent ages trying to find something to replace my old one it fit the bill for me and I've been really chuffed with it bar a few small niggles now and again.
mikeiow said:
Mine is fine with an iPhone 8.
What made you say they went out of business? Web site looks normal, can still get a Zetime for £70 with is crazy cheap!
Still happily getting 10 days battery life from mine, works fine....
Just a couple of things made me wonder. The MyKronoz discussion groups are full of people saying they are no longer responding to any customer communications. People sent watches back to them for repair months ago and now the phones/email seem to be dead, and they just assume they have lost the watch etc.What made you say they went out of business? Web site looks normal, can still get a Zetime for £70 with is crazy cheap!
Still happily getting 10 days battery life from mine, works fine....
MyKronoz have pulled all their 'new' products that they were supposed to launch about 6-12 months ago, and when asked about it on the groups, it appears they occasionally reply and say that that it is "no longer their priority to launch any new models". It just looked like they were selling off all their existing stock and quietly closing.
But... I have good news.. I saw what a bargain they were at £70 and ordered one a few days ago, and I confirm it has now arrived!
My wife had a Versa 2, after about 15 months she looked down to find the whole display hanging out of the case and dangling by a few tiny cables.
You’d think Fitbit might show some interest or offer some kind of deal seeing as it’s not lasted very long, but they offered bugger all.
I won’t be buying anything from that lot again.
You’d think Fitbit might show some interest or offer some kind of deal seeing as it’s not lasted very long, but they offered bugger all.
I won’t be buying anything from that lot again.
Lord Marylebone said:
mikeiow said:
Mine is fine with an iPhone 8.
What made you say they went out of business? Web site looks normal, can still get a Zetime for £70 with is crazy cheap!
Still happily getting 10 days battery life from mine, works fine....
Just a couple of things made me wonder. The MyKronoz discussion groups are full of people saying they are no longer responding to any customer communications. People sent watches back to them for repair months ago and now the phones/email seem to be dead, and they just assume they have lost the watch etc.What made you say they went out of business? Web site looks normal, can still get a Zetime for £70 with is crazy cheap!
Still happily getting 10 days battery life from mine, works fine....
MyKronoz have pulled all their 'new' products that they were supposed to launch about 6-12 months ago, and when asked about it on the groups, it appears they occasionally reply and say that that it is "no longer their priority to launch any new models". It just looked like they were selling off all their existing stock and quietly closing.
But... I have good news.. I saw what a bargain they were at £70 and ordered one a few days ago, and I confirm it has now arrived!
Edit, that not 30%, it must just be £30 off...
Edited by FurballS2000 on Friday 21st August 07:53
FurballS2000 said:
Lord Marylebone said:
mikeiow said:
Mine is fine with an iPhone 8.
What made you say they went out of business? Web site looks normal, can still get a Zetime for £70 with is crazy cheap!
Still happily getting 10 days battery life from mine, works fine....
Just a couple of things made me wonder. The MyKronoz discussion groups are full of people saying they are no longer responding to any customer communications. People sent watches back to them for repair months ago and now the phones/email seem to be dead, and they just assume they have lost the watch etc.What made you say they went out of business? Web site looks normal, can still get a Zetime for £70 with is crazy cheap!
Still happily getting 10 days battery life from mine, works fine....
MyKronoz have pulled all their 'new' products that they were supposed to launch about 6-12 months ago, and when asked about it on the groups, it appears they occasionally reply and say that that it is "no longer their priority to launch any new models". It just looked like they were selling off all their existing stock and quietly closing.
But... I have good news.. I saw what a bargain they were at £70 and ordered one a few days ago, and I confirm it has now arrived!
Edit, that not 30%, it must just be £30 off...
Edited by FurballS2000 on Friday 21st August 07:53
Gassing Station | Watches | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff