Submitted by I’ve often predicted the current crop of smartwatches – be they Wear or the Apple Watch – are designed to end up in drawers, forgotten, unloved. However, I had no idea that even Marco Arment would eventually realise the same thing.
Shortly before Christmas, I accidentally found the first mechanical watch that infected my mind so much that I actually wanted – quite badly – to own it. I had many doubts: Would I look ridiculous wearing it? Would I hate setting or winding it? Would I miss notifications, activity tracking, and weather on my watch? Would I wear it briefly but then run back to my Apple Watch and let the mechanical rot in a drawer?
Nope.
Well worth a read. Turns out that even an ardent Apple fan’s smartwatch ends up in a drawer, replaced by a real watch.
I stopped wearing a watch years ago, and once I got a phone with a clock, I thought I would never look back. I bought a Zenwatch 2 on a lark because it was cheap and i thought the restocking fee would be low enough that it was worth trying android wear.
I love this watch because it makes it easier to do the things I already to with my phone, and I now have a watch that I can wear again. I have no inclination to dig out my old watches and wear them.
I love the tone here Thom. Personally I hate smart phones and have for about 5 years now.
Obviously the smart phone is a failure based on this evidence.
also you might remember i absolutely ADORE my ponoplayer and hate playing music from phones or iPods.
before i had a ponoplayer i thought playing music from an iPod or phone was ‘good enough’.
based on that evidence – the iPod was also a failure.
I hope you are being sarcastic. Ponoplayer is that Toblerone flac player right?
being sarcastic about the timeline,and my experience being applied to the world at large, yes.
not sarcastic in the least about the ponoplayer quality. it’s the best playback i’ve heard at that price point. maybe the best digital playback i’ve ever heard, except maybe the $20k converters at my mastering engineer’s place.
the fact that it’s $400 and runs off batteries? amazing. anything lossless sounds amazing on it. 24bit stuff really shines. i plug it into everything and everything sounds better with it, since pure source makes all speakers and amps perform optimally.
there’s other players competing with it but most of them use IC and cheap out on the analog end of things. ayre worked some magic on the analog and the filtering between the DAC and analog. magic.
until you’ve heard it with your own ears, playing exemplary material, don’t bother commenting.
it’s about how it sounds, and unless you know that, you know nothing.
I’m sure that’s true. Trouble is, there’s nowhere I know of where I can objectively demo it. I do have an interested in it, but not a $400 interest when there’s no easy way for me to hear it for myself.
i can understand that. i’d want to hear it too. i took a chance on kickstarter when i started hearing production people talk about it, and i knew from my production days that far better digital sound than an ipod/phone could reproduce was possible.
i figured if the pono was ‘snake oil’ i’d have a conversation piece about how to get ripped off in the kickstarter era. but i knew from chatting with mastering engineers that it was definitely possible to do digital audio the right way, and almost no one was.
i think it’s only available in us, canada, and uk. there were issues shipping it to some countries because of it’s bamboo package, and it looks more like trouble than the average media player. you could always have someone buy one and send it to wherever you are.
or you could buy one on recommendations, and if you don’t like it eBay it.
Stereo hi-fi stores are also completely ignoring it b/c they see it as a threat to their $2k DAC business. Frye’s Electronics in the states has it, and some big chain in the UK has it, but not much more retail that I know of.
I sat with mine in an Apple store once and I had several admirers within minutes. but of course Apple completely ignores it too while they shill their overprices beats crap and stream/sell 10% files for full price.
I used to live near a Fry’s Electronics. Trouble is, I’m all the way on the other side of the country these days.
not kidding, you could post on ponomusic.com’s community,see if anyone is in your town with one. they are pretty passionate customer salespeople up there, i wouldn’t be surprised if you found a friendly type to give you some time with his as long as you didn’t run off with it. the lack of demo models is a common gripe.
If you know how it sounds to you you know a little bit more than nothing. Of course it is about the sound. That is why mp3 on smartphones with cheap earplugs are popular; they just sound good enough. They are not willing to spend $400 on a mp3player and 250 on headphones.
lot of stuff there, let me try to get it all.
sound quality is about signal chain, and speakers are important but kind of simple. they are near the end of the chain and haven’t changed much in 100 years. i don’t believe the easiest upgrade to your audio is new speakers/headphones. it’s about source quality, conversion, and amplification. speakers are garbage in, garbage out – it’s more about the room than the speaker.
battery is cleaner power, you are right, but usually good discreet amp circuits require more power than the average battery provides. there’s also the dc/ac issue and needing it to be smaller than a car battery.
most music since 2000 was recorded and mixed in 24bit formats. it is only downsampled to 16 as the final step – initially to fit on cd – then to compress to mp3. apple’s ‘mastered for iTunes’ started accepting 24bit masters around 2010. sony and other major labels began archiving their tape libraries in 24bit by the late 90’s. 24bit is the professional audio standard and has been for nearly 2 decades now.
24bit releases exhibit much more realism, dynamic range, and soundstage detail. considering they are pushing 2-8x the data as 16/44 it’s not a surprise. only those with agendas or dead ears seem to miss how obvious this is. 16/44 PCM tops out at 1400k/sec. 24/44 pushes 2000k/sec and 24/192 can deliver around 5800k/sec.
You are correct it’s not magic when good components are used. Most these days do not use those components, not in the mobile space. That’s why I’m defending the $400 ponoplayer in the first place – it sounds like $10k+ rigs, and it’s in my pocket. That’s badass.
As far as “good enough” – i was there with those people. I gave in to the mp3 reality, even mixing some of my own music at 16/44. “Why bother?” I thought. Because there weren’t good, affordable DAP’s that could play this material back. There was no hope of streaming it either. No momemtum to re-release in 24bit. That’s all changed in the last 2 years. So has my viewpoint.
“Good enough” usually means crappy when it comes to music. Music is my muse, my love, and often times my trade so I can understand the need for quality. I have plenty of crappy gear and instruments I love, but I don’t pretend better quality doesn’t exist.
Also, there may be one other person in the world with the same experience. All the stone cold proof you’ll ever need.
Snap fast display, too, [and discrete], Marco’s watch
I’ve often predicted the current crop of smartwatches – be they Wear or the Apple Watch – are designed to end up in drawers, forgotten, unloved.
Alas, this prediction is not correct. Wristly.com ( before dying ) did a bunch of research on usage of the Apple Watch and found very high satisfaction ( 97% ) and an abandonment rate under 4% 6 months after launch.
https://techpinions.com/the-state-of-apple-watch-satisfaction/41126
It’s always sort of stupid to assume you and your circle of friends is representative of the population – it doesn’t matter that your Marco Arment.
( By the way this is otherwise an interesting article. If only you didn’t try to shoehorn your own agenda into it. )
Its http://www.wristly.co/#!about-us/kr7wa
But Nomos make you give a part of your body for having one. 3000 EUR.
I was a skeptic about the apple watch but now I couldn’t imagine not using it. The best part of the apple watch is not having to look at the phone any more. I use it for email, calendar, messaging (with good voice recognition), airline check-in, answering phone calls, arming the house.
I like a regular watch as much as others, and it would look a little nicer but I think you are not giving the watch a fair shake.
There is a separate article about large phones — I hate large phones but you can’t get away from it now. Keep that large thing in the zipped jacket pocket and use the watch exclusively.
Except when you actually, you know, need to take a call. I want to smash the Apple Watch of everyone I see using it like a sci-fi phone, because I don’t need or want to hear their business and, really, they shouldn’t want me to either. Of course, I’m old-fashioned that way.
At crowded places prefer to text. Also could be accorded a seconds voice exchange.
Texting is good for informing, but quite inefficient when negotiating.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dicktracy1961cartoon.jpg
If you don’t want anyone to ‘hear your business’ you are probably using headphones which means when you get a call you can glance at your watch, see who it is, accept the call and talk to them – all without actually touching your phone.
You’d think that, but they don’t. It just doesn’t look as cool to use headphones when you can look like a cartoon, apparently.
Let me clarify one point:
I agree that the dick-tracy/star trek style of speaking is awkward and looks/sounds awkward in public. I guess the closed nature of phones reduces that awkwardness.
I have found a couple of scenarios where it has been very helpful:
1) Driving.
I don’t have bluetooth in my car, so when I get a phonecall, I use my watch. I keep my hands on the steering wheel, and I can speak. I usually let the other person hang up and it shuts off automatically.
2) When you are relatively alone, typing on your computer (assuming you are not using a Type-M)
and you want to multi-task without having to pull out your headphones and plugin.
The sensitivity of the microphone is quite good, so dick tracy style is not necessary. The loudness of the internal speaker isn’t great either. It just has to be arm’s length away and speak relatively normally.
Sometimes when texting, long emails, or long conversations are necessary, I use the phone of course. I do prefer the speech-to-text feature for longer emails or even some quick text messages.
I do enjoy the beauty and craftsmanship of a mechanical watch, and the watch has its place. I’m not one to really switch watches like jewelry, but maybe that’s why the Tag Heuer smart watch is doing so well. Beauty and functionality.
They are of no use at least for me, because I am expecting for a watch’s battery to last a full year at least(1 year is too short actually). If you want a real watch, go for the Casio’s G-Shock with several features and if you want a simple clock get a mechanical watch. Its a real clock and you don’t have to worry in a day to charge it. The reason why smart watch is garbage because its an additional workload for your digital life worrying every now and then charging the battery. If those idiot inventors of these smart watches will manage to stretch the battery to a full year(which is impossible), then that would be the time smart watches are useful.
We already have the SMART PHONE which is smart enough to have those notifications thrown at you, no need for another DIGITAL assistant.
But your smartphone needs it’s own secretary now with equally lame or worse battery life. And entities need another means of tracking you. And the companies who make that nonsense need more of your money.
“Smart” watches are an abomination to a watch guy such as myself. On behalf of all my self-respecting watch brethren, just stop it.
When you bought SAP you didn’t change SAP to fit your business, you changes your Biz to fit SAP.
If you wear a smart watch then it seems that for it to not end up in a drawer/on Ebay you have to change your life to fit within the limitations and features of the watch.
All rather moot to me. I stopped wearing the darned things around 1980 and I don’t have a smartphone. I guess I’m a luddite! Yes!
Speaking about SAP, it speaks about itself, SAP is an abomination to those who want a real ERP system. Its all about your money.
Prophet Thom strikes again. What else are you going to “predict”, Thom? So far, your “predictions” were either false, or simply obvious.
But yeah, keep prophesying.
Basically this is what happened to us in the 80’s and 90’s after the first waves of “smart watches”.
Having survived the Casio and Timex waves, I couldn’t care less for what they are now trying to sell us.
Marco just discovered what we already did before. At the end of the day what matters is the time and not the thousand additional cute features.
The smartwatch revival wave only came to be, because mobile phones have become a commodity, so they are all looking for the next big thing.
Hardly We are their only clients, Moondevil
Well, people these days are so fans of reboot, no wonders why putting some salt and pepper on some old concepts sells so well.
Don’t forget Apple made bigger iPhones, an iPad mini and a stylus for the iPad Pro. As long as there’s a market of people ready to buy…
I looked at smart watches but none appealed to me, both for functionality and aesthetics.
My Swiss quartz watch, abandoned to a drawer 5 years ago, suddenly looked elegant and attractive. A couple of Pounds for a new battery and it works again.
There’s now no need for me to pull the phone out of my pocket to check the time.
The battery charge is likely to last 1000 times longer than a smart watch.
Why does it matter that a smart watch is charging when you are asleep? This battery thing is such a bizarre objection to smart watches.
No it’s not. Just like a cellphone, if you forget to charge it, …..
It’s a big deal. People these days act like they have no clue how to function in the world without their cellphone and other “smart” devices. I’ve seen people panic over not having access to their cellphone. As pathetic and stupid as that sounds, it’s 100% true.
They don’t freak out when they forget to charge the phone because they don’t have a timepiece. They freak out because it is a source of information and communication. Smart phones have way shorter battery lives than the last flip phone I had which could go two weeks between charges, and yet I have no interest in an ancient flip phone.
It’s really not a very strong objection to a smart watch that you need to remember to charge it, just like we don’t ride horses because we have to gas up the car every week. Your not smart watch is not useful in any of the ways that a smart watch is, except for the one way that is redundant.
They freak out because they no longer know how to function on their own, using their own minds and resources. It’s that simple.
It sounds like a subset of OSnews readers have severe anxiety and overactive imaginations. No one freaks out because their watch stops working, and most people just plug their phone in when it goes dead.
On the contrary, it sounds to me like you’ve hardly ever been out in public when some nutcase on a bus doesn’t have anywhere to charge their precious phone. It’s quite the amusing event, I assure you. You should get out more.
Absolutely! I also find it funny when I witness meltdowns over cellphones. People can become quite hostile when it comes to charging their phones too. I’ve seen people nearly fist-fighting over who gets the outlet, which isn’t even an outlet they should be using in the first place but since people are selfish & rude who cares about that?
Yes, people lose their shit over stuff like this. And it’s a common occurrence.
How is this any kind of argument against smart watches? There are stupid people in the world, so a useful piece of technology that requires daily charging is not useful…
The simple fact is, there are billions of smart phones that require charging every day and people love and use them. It’s utterly halfwitted to suggest that a watch that needs to be charged on the same schedule is somehow flawed.
Having ONE device that requires daily charging is understandable more or less (yet still not a very smart thing to do). Having TWO devices that require daily charging is the point where you become a slave to your gadgets.
Are you saying that an extra five seconds each day setting my watch on the charger, instead of setting it next to my phone on the night stand makes me a slave to my gadgets?
This ranks as one of the dumbest arguments I have ever seen made.
Why do you insist on comparing smartwatches to smartphones? I guess because the case for smartwatches isn’t strong enough to stand on it’s own. What I think is stupid is people actually believing they need a watch to interface with their phone because looking at their phone is too inconvenient now. You can think it’s perfectly fine to buy a watch so you can still carry your phone around but not use it. Just don’t be surprised when there isn’t tons of people in that boat with you.
My smart watch is an extension of my smart phone, a second screen for it basically. Do you really not understand the concept? The watch is a bluetooth device that connects to the phone, ergo, charging it on the same schedule as the phone is pretty convenient.
The concept of making a watch that can connect to your phone so you can leave your phone in your pocket with all of its inconvenience is not hard to understand. What’s hard to understand is how people let themselves get suckered into & actually start believing their life is easier the more “tech” they chain themselves to. Instead of 1 device you have to worry about, now you have two for twice the cost. That’s genius.
The objection is as strong as the person doing the objecting feels it is. Nobody has to convince you to change your view, just like you shouldn’t expect anyone to move from theirs. Your opinion is no more valid or invalid than the opinions of those you are trying to diminish.
Btw, the horse/car analogy is terrible.
It is completely indefensible to suggest that all opinions are created equal. Some people are racist, and fervently so, but we recognize that those opinions are flawed and indefensible. Etc…
An objection to a smart watch that the battery needs charging more frequently than a watch that has no smart features, but less frequently than the average smart phone is simply an idiotic opinion. The function and usefulness of the smart watch is not impeded in any way by needing to plug it in while you sleep.
You obviously have a very strong fetish for your smartwatch if you are prepared to make statements that retarded and absurd just to “defend it’s honor”.
It’s a typical strategy when you lose a debate, or realize that you have no real point to try to shift the debate to a different topic. It’s simple; It’s not a meaningful criticism that a smart watch needs to be charged on about the same schedule as a smart phone and a dumb watch that does none of the things a smart watch does lasts for years. That is just a stupid meaningless comparison.
It is also a stupid claim to suggest that all opinions are created equal; I’ve provided an example.
I do think there are lots of non-idiotic criticisms of smart watches, but this battery life thing is simply stupid.
I will choose:
http://www.casio.com/products/Watches/PRO_TREK/PRWS6000Y-1/
over smart watches any day.
G-Shock is smart enough to tell me what to tell and it offers enough features for a solar-powered watch that will last for 6 months without solar exposure or for about two years for a battery-powered watch. It is worth, than having to charge everyday for more crap features.
Its a meaningful criticism specifically to me and others but not to you, you are entitled to your own opinion.
Others disagree with you on that and they are neither wrong nor idiotic. You think your opinion holds more weight than anyone elses and that fact alone makes you the idiot. I assume you’re an adult — is it really that difficult for you to acknowledge that your opinions are no more valid than anyone elses? I haven’t seen a single person voice agreement with you so you must think we’re all idiots. Or, perhaps nobody feels like defending ignorance.
And in what ways is a smartwatch useful? Please elaborate, because I haven’t seen people doing or getting anything useful on/from their smartwatches.
I get hundreds of messages a day, and I am in court a lot, or in meetings. The ability to monitor my messages without fumbling with my phone has been remarkably helpful. The quick access to send simple text messages, esp while walking around is so easy and helpful. I also love the navigation on my wrist. I don;t have to fumble with the phone in the car, and there are no distracted driving laws that cover my watch.
I look forward to whatever new features they add to this thing, but the sheer convenience of it, plus the lower screen time for my phone means the battery lasts even longer.
Because normal people do not take their watches off every nigth.
Actually, normal people do take their watch off every night. Lots of normal people have more than one watch and treat it like a fashion accessory, matching it to their outfit. For normal people, a watch is a fashion accessory.
Normal people also take their watch off when they shower, have sex, go for a swim, etc.
Nope, you are simply wrong (except for sex maybe). Or your “normal” people are not normal at all.
Aside from a few neckbeards and people who are on the spectrum a little bit, most people don’t keep watches on all the time. For most people, they are an accessory. It’s not like a watch on your wrist functions any differently than a watch on your nightstand while you sleep. Overwhelmingly, people don’t keep watches on all the time.
I’ve kept an eye on the smartwatch market, but it’s still several generations way from both being affordable and having a long (i.e. a month or more) battery life.
I’ve been so non-plussed with smartwatches that I’ve continued to buy Casio digital watches as I usually do, with this one being my budget fave:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Casio-WV-58DU-1AVES-Bracelet-Digital-Contro…
Don’t get the resin strap version, that will irreparably break within 6 months of purchase.
However, I decided to spend 109 pounds ($150 or so) – the most ever for me for a watch – on a Pro Trek PRW 1500 recently. As well as various sensors, it’s also solar powered and will probably have a battery life around 10 years, totally destroying any smartwatch’s battery life.
I don’t get the fixation on battery life, I haven’t once had my Zenwatch 2 go dead during the day, and I use it heavily. I wouldn’t be wearing it in bed at night anyway, so when it’s charging I don’t know the difference.
This seems like a pointless objection to smart watches.
Just because you don’t care about the charging issue doesn’t invalidate other peoples view on it. I have zero interest in “smart”watches for a plethora of other reasons but it’s easy to see why people don’t want the chore of charging another device at night.
I’m sure there has already been people who’ve woken up in the middle of the night worried that they forgot to charge their watch. I think that’s funny but I’m sure those people don’t.
It’s not like you have to charge it by riding a stationary bike for 30 minutes; My smart watch charger is right there next to my phone charger. I plug each of them in at the same time.
This is the most idiotic objection I have ever heard.
So you think your opinion is the only one that matters and anyone who disagrees is idiotic. Says a lot about you and taking that into consideration, it’s no surprise you’re horny for your “smart”watch.
I think opinions required supporting facts and some degree of logical reasoning. The argument that a watch that needs daily charging is somehow not useful as a tech device lacks both. It’s idiotic whining.
Opinions don’t require anything at all and you certainly aren’t any kind of opinion police anyways. If people think daily charging of a watch is dumb, then it’s dumb. They’re not wrong and if you disagree you aren’t wrong either. Because there is no right or wrong in opinion, which you seem to have not learned yet.
And what’s a `useful tech device` is in the eye of the beholder. Smartwatches don’t offer me anything I don’t already have. They don’t solve any problems that aren’t solved already. They don’t provide me with anything at all that warrants their use, therefore smartwatches are useless to me. Deal with it.
Actually, opinions are certainly fair game for critique, and an utterly stupid opinion raises questions about how it was formed.
You may have a preference that is all your own, but the idea that charging a device during the time you are asleep and not using it is some kind of extreme burden is simply idiotic, unless you live somewhere with no power outlets…
There are plenty of reasons why a “smart”watch is dumb so you don’t have to fixate on just the charging aspect. But people are neither wrong nor idiots because they don’t want yet another device that needs to be charged every day. Why they feel that was doesn’t matter. It’s pretty lame you can’t just accept the fact that other people see things differently. You’re convinced you’re right and they’re not, or that they’re just idiots. That’s how people act when they’re coming from a weak position.
The most idiotic thing I have ever heard is person having to plug TWO devices to charger every night. Even one is way to much. I charge my phone once in 3 weeks, and my watch requires maintenance only once in 3 years. A person who puts up with charging his devices each and every night is a complete idiot in my view.
This is the most bizarre stance I have ever seen. We live in a world of portable devices. Charging requires plugging something in while you sleep and takes 5 seconds to do each day. I don’t put up with charging my devices (including my phone, watch, laptop, my kid’s blood glucose monitor, portable games, etc.), it’s one of the biggest improvements in the world that the entire internet is available on a portable device.
I charge my phone once per 3 weeks. I charge my portable music player once a week. And those are the only things I charge. Having to charge several devices every day looks just plain idiotic to me. Such devices are useless crap in my view.
Internet on a phone/watch? Why in the world would I want that? I am at my computer 8-12 hours on a usual work day, and that’s more than enough internet for me. If I also had internet in my pocket, I would consider something is seriously wrong with me and go see a psychiatrist about possible addiction.
Most people aren’t at their computer all day, but see my previous comment about neckbeards…
That’s because smartwatches themselves are pointless. Anyone who is used to wearing watches his entire life, almost never takes it off. Sleep, shower or sports — watch is always on the wrist. I would probably throw my watch in a trashcan after a week if I was required to take it off and put it on a charger every night.
Actually, almost no one leaves their watch on all their life. Watches for most people are changed with their fashion choices and activity. It’s only a few anxious types who are probably somewhere on the spectrum who are that attached to never taking their watch off.
You don’t have to wear same watch all your life. I never said that. But there’s simply no need to take it off every night. Why in the world would I do that? Just… Why? It does not bother me, it does not irritate my skin, so why would I take it off every night? I simply forget to take it off.
I take it off to shower, have sex, sleep, or put on one of my other watches. Most people in the world who wear watches take them off, as they do with their other accessories. It’s not a problem to take it off and set it on the charger right next to the phone.
This remains a completely idiotic objection to any device. If it lasts though the day reliably, the battery life is adequate.
And this remains a completely idiotic line of discussion. For you, it’s fine. For others, it’s not. Get it through your brain and let it go!
You aren’t raising a single reasonable argument, you are just throwing a tantrum. The idiotic part of this discussion is the assertion that you never have to justify an opinion.
Your corded phone has an infinite battery life, why are you using a smart phone?
It’s true, the convenience of having the whole internet at my fingertips is barely worth leaving my home. After all, I could use my desktop and my princess phone to accomplish all the same things and I would never have to suffer the horror of charging my device, or worrying about battery life during the day. Also, I have a wall clock at home and would never even need a watch!
Yeah, and you forgot to mention how your watch.. Sorry, “smart”watch has a great ui for accessing the whole internet. Just think, you can see your friends Facebook lunch pics with a simple glance at your wrist. Convenience at its finest.
Actually, I receive between 50 and 200 messages a day related to work, while I work. I find the notification on my wrist to be unobtrusive, and easy to check while I work, drive, eat, etc. Some of those messages require immediate action, others can be ignored. Add to that a watch, the ability to reply quickly by dictating a short response and I have the most useful bit of tech since the smart phone came along.
I don’t use facebook, it seems like a waste of time.
That’s nice. Thanks for sharing.
…and here we go with reductio ad absurdum arguments… Please, don’t click “Submit comment” if you don’t have anything to say.
Add me to the group that bought and wears an Apple Watch, but prefers dumb watches. I own about 20 legitimate watches, my most recent addition being a Citizen Eco Drive Satellite Wave GPS, which auto-sets its time. I also love my Hamilton Khaki. I have so many automatics that I’m spending some time each morning shaking today’s watch awake.
The Apple Watch is great, but I usually tell people that beyond notifications, it’s not that good a watch, or anything else. And it’s just not fashionable.
Save your money and buy a nice wristwatch.
A) In a pinch, I can use it as a phone.
B) I normally have my phone on vibrate so as to not annoy coworkers, but can’t feel it in my pocket, so the watch vibrates my wrist.
C) Appointment notifications are fantastic.
D) I can leave the brick at home and still make calls/ text (bluetooth headset so I am not Dick Tracy.)
I get about two-three days of use before I have to charge it, which isn’t great, but better than my phone, that’s for sure.
Just in case you needed more evidence that Marco is a bit of a douche: The fact that he blogs about preferring a $5000 Nomos watch over the paltry $300 Apple watch should confirm it.
I love my Apple Watch, I wasn’t sure how much I was going to use one so instead of opting straight for one I had a standard pebble for a year.
The best way to view a smart watch is a second screen for the phone and not really a device in its own right.
After a year I went for the Apple Watch and I haven’t been disappointed.
I’m in the uk and Apple Pay or contactless payment is quick and easy and I personally think more secure. Nothing is handed to the cashier and every purchase I make is accompanied with a notification from Lloyds telling me how much I just spent and where I spent it.
I use the maps a lot saves me getting out my phone and is always there’s and ready. Especially handy when exploring various towns and cities.
Notifications and being able to reply in a simple way to messages is great, again allows me to keep my phone secure.
Control the music and volume on my phone, really handy when I use my phone across the room to play music when I’m at work and wanna change track / volume.
Pedometer and heart sensor is great, the app could do with a little bit of historic reporting but it’s solid and presents the information well.
Wallet is handy repository for qr codes for cinema tickets, loyalty card (costa coffee etc) and train ticket collection.
Train app is perfect on the watch as I walk into the station it refreshes and tells me the train and platform.
Love dark sky’s app on it, warns me when it’s going to rain and gives me a good idea of what’s happening outside
I get about 2 days out of it and I use it a lot and couldn’t be without it.
I have some standard watches which I love especially my mondaine my Apple Watch is a functional bit of equipment that helps me in my daily life.
Some 20 years ago Casio had wrist watches with MP3 player, GPS receiver, multiplayer “Snake” and a sensor to detect GSM calls so it would tell you when your cellphone in another room is ringing/about to ring.
Current smartwatches look totally lame in comparison, given how far electronics in general have evolved. Current smartwatch makers have tech that would’ve been unbelievably advanced 20 years ago, yet they fail to create anything useful or original.
Yup, agreed.
This is a case of rose coloured glasses. The mp3 playing watch was 16 years ago and the battery lasted 4 hours. It held at best 1 hour of music and took 4 hours to recharge. As for the other cute tricks, these are pretty low tech and not that useful.
At least one part of the linked article completely captures my sentiment:
“As software creeps into ever more objects in my daily life and makes them more capable yet more disposable and less reliable than ever, it’s nice to have something that does less, always works, never needs a software update, requires no cables, doesn’t need to be charged, and whose useful life will probably be longer than mine.”
I took to wearing a mechanical watch precisely because I wanted something that I could pass on to my son in a decade or two and expect it to work. Also because its a beautiful piece of engineering that is more long lived than the smart watches / phones