That’s a shame. I really liked my Fossil before I switched to the Apple Watch. It did a fantastic job of looking like a normal watch while still being a decent smartwatch.
Visually as a watch design I agree with you. Having used quite a few round face smart watches before getting an Apple Watch I can absolutely see why Apple went with a square face. It just makes way more sense for displaying data. A square space displays more information in a an easier to read format.
I agree. I’ve gotten used to it, and I can understand its usefulness for ease of app development and density of data. But I miss having a circular watchface.
Ditto! Team Lily watch here. Round face, not a smart phone display, and battery lasts. I’ve had it for two years and it’s tracked me through big life ups and downs which are super interesting to look at now.
They have to get usable at some point, but I got tired of the (shitty off-brand) smart watch I had after a couple minutes. I replaced it with a fully analog Seiko watch and a fitness tracker ring.
Way easier to manage and still meets the needs addressed by the smart watch.
Seiko are great watches. I have a couple of G-Shock watches and a Garmin heart rate monitor watch. The Garmin is kinda like a smart watch but more practical. It’s got all the sports stuff you’d ever need but GPS too. It makes for an excellent daily-driver watch.
I find HRM watches to be very handy. I can tell from checking my heart rate whether I need to slow down my running speed. I can tell if I start running for something how long I’ll last by checking my heart rate. If it’s in the “anabolic zone” I’ll crap out in a few minutes. If it’s in the “aerobic zone” I’ll crap out when my body gives up.
It’s also been handy for monitoring my general fitness. Resting heart rate, steps, floors travelled, etc. I recommend the Garmin Fenix if you ever wanna try out a ‘Smart watch’ again: https://www.garmin.com/en-GB/p/641479
I think “full blown” smart watches like the Apple Watch and Samsung Gear are largely a waste of money. I always considered getting one, but always read the largely “meh” or negative reviews from them. When I got my Galaxy S23 Ultra Verizon said I could get the Gear 5 for “free” I just had to pay $5/month for LTE service. The thing lasts about 15 hours on a single charge, it’s damn near impossible to type anything on, I’ve never used it to make or receive a phone call, the fitness tracking is nice, but unless you’re a hardcore athlete/gym rat you don’t really need it, and the sleep tracking is nice, but once again not really that useful. After about a year of using it, I’m largely over it.
Analog face, and a wee display that tells you whether you want to look at your phone when it buzzes. Counts steps and stuff if you’re into that. Week of battery (still 5-7 days after like 5-6 years of owning mine). Perfect daily wear.
I have a fitbit I think its called, charge it once a week, doesn’t have the call, mesaaging or other functions, but I just want a watch that gives me the time and doesn’t requiere to charge daily.
I really rely on my watch for notifications in particular since it’s MUCH less intrusive to check my wrist than pull my phone out. The other big benefit for me is maps. I get a tap on the wrist when my turn is coming up, which works particularly well when walking like I’m doing a lot of in NYC this week.
That said, my watch is something like 5 years old now and I see zero reason to upgrade. I’ll wear it till it dies and then buy whatever the cheap version is.
The notifications are nice, but half the time I have my phone out anyway. I lived in NYC for 5 years (and only got the watch about 4 months before I moved away) and the directions were useful like you said, but using my phone was just as good.
Smart watches looks interesting to me at first, but knowing how it only lasts 3-5 years and additionally companies loves to purposely make stuff obselete quickly, I’d rather just buy normal watch… Or just look at my phone’s clock.
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That’s a shame. I really liked my Fossil before I switched to the Apple Watch. It did a fantastic job of looking like a normal watch while still being a decent smartwatch.
The square face of the Apple Watch really irks me.
Visually as a watch design I agree with you. Having used quite a few round face smart watches before getting an Apple Watch I can absolutely see why Apple went with a square face. It just makes way more sense for displaying data. A square space displays more information in a an easier to read format.
I agree. I’ve gotten used to it, and I can understand its usefulness for ease of app development and density of data. But I miss having a circular watchface.
The Apple part of the Apple Watch really irks me.
Will there ever be a day where I can just buy a smart watch strap to attach to my mechanic watch to get biometrics and what not?
Soon. Oura rings exist so they could be an alternative.
Invis make straps without sensors but with NFC payments.
There’s clearly a market for rings as fitness trackers so people can avoid a watch altogether
Wanting a watch strap is a bit more niche but it’ll come around as a product I’m sure.
A smart strap honestly sounds like a gap in the market. Seen quite a few people wearing a normal watch and trackers.
Sucks but they couldnot keep up. I’m rocking a Garmin and am very happy with it
Ditto! Team Lily watch here. Round face, not a smart phone display, and battery lasts. I’ve had it for two years and it’s tracked me through big life ups and downs which are super interesting to look at now.
They have to get usable at some point, but I got tired of the (shitty off-brand) smart watch I had after a couple minutes. I replaced it with a fully analog Seiko watch and a fitness tracker ring.
Way easier to manage and still meets the needs addressed by the smart watch.
Seiko are great watches. I have a couple of G-Shock watches and a Garmin heart rate monitor watch. The Garmin is kinda like a smart watch but more practical. It’s got all the sports stuff you’d ever need but GPS too. It makes for an excellent daily-driver watch.
I find HRM watches to be very handy. I can tell from checking my heart rate whether I need to slow down my running speed. I can tell if I start running for something how long I’ll last by checking my heart rate. If it’s in the “anabolic zone” I’ll crap out in a few minutes. If it’s in the “aerobic zone” I’ll crap out when my body gives up.
It’s also been handy for monitoring my general fitness. Resting heart rate, steps, floors travelled, etc. I recommend the Garmin Fenix if you ever wanna try out a ‘Smart watch’ again: https://www.garmin.com/en-GB/p/641479
Quitting, you barely started.
I just want Pebble back 😭😭😭
I think “full blown” smart watches like the Apple Watch and Samsung Gear are largely a waste of money. I always considered getting one, but always read the largely “meh” or negative reviews from them. When I got my Galaxy S23 Ultra Verizon said I could get the Gear 5 for “free” I just had to pay $5/month for LTE service. The thing lasts about 15 hours on a single charge, it’s damn near impossible to type anything on, I’ve never used it to make or receive a phone call, the fitness tracking is nice, but unless you’re a hardcore athlete/gym rat you don’t really need it, and the sleep tracking is nice, but once again not really that useful. After about a year of using it, I’m largely over it.
Garmin vivomove.
Analog face, and a wee display that tells you whether you want to look at your phone when it buzzes. Counts steps and stuff if you’re into that. Week of battery (still 5-7 days after like 5-6 years of owning mine). Perfect daily wear.
+1 for Garmin!! I’ve got 2 Fenix watches and they’re so important to me I’d be lost without them.
The vivomove is my daily, but for many outdoor activities I’d be literally lost without the GPS forerunner!
Also they seem to be one of the lesser evils for those who care about personal data collection and brokerage.
I got the Lily, seems like one of the cheaper ones but ditto to pretty much everything you said here!
Agree 100%.
I have a fitbit I think its called, charge it once a week, doesn’t have the call, mesaaging or other functions, but I just want a watch that gives me the time and doesn’t requiere to charge daily.
I really rely on my watch for notifications in particular since it’s MUCH less intrusive to check my wrist than pull my phone out. The other big benefit for me is maps. I get a tap on the wrist when my turn is coming up, which works particularly well when walking like I’m doing a lot of in NYC this week.
That said, my watch is something like 5 years old now and I see zero reason to upgrade. I’ll wear it till it dies and then buy whatever the cheap version is.
The notifications are nice, but half the time I have my phone out anyway. I lived in NYC for 5 years (and only got the watch about 4 months before I moved away) and the directions were useful like you said, but using my phone was just as good.
Smart watches looks interesting to me at first, but knowing how it only lasts 3-5 years and additionally companies loves to purposely make stuff obselete quickly, I’d rather just buy normal watch… Or just look at my phone’s clock.
Agreed, they’re largely A gimmick. For like the first time in 10-15 years I got a nice looking analogue watch.
I like the style. I might just skip smart watches just because of this.