This post may be informative for #⌚️ "virgins" - people who never used a smartwatch before (or used a primitive one like Pebble) and think #⌚️ will be like a gift from G.O.D. It seems there's a lot of dripping desire here from people who have no idea what a smartwatch is.
I've been using a very capable smartwatch for about 6 months now. Here are my observations.
My history. I used a traditional watch up to until late 90-s when I started using a flip phone with an LCD on its flip cover, it was sufficient for me to check time. I got my iPhone in 2007 and continued using iPhones for checking time. However, about 4 years ago, I bought a cheap Casio for 16 bucks at Walmart because in many life situations, seeing time without pulling iPhone out of pocket and unlocking it was much better (being late for a meeting or train or plane, whatever) - glancing at the watch at any angle, light, and without any delay.
(I'm not a fashionista; this is good enough for me - it tells time, has alarm/timer/stopwatch/memo book, it's waterproof and runs 10 years on the same battery, after which I may just throw it out. It's freaking SIXTEEN bucks!)
In Nov '14, I bought my first smartwatch. From a smartwatch, I wanted these things:
1) Stand-alone GPS - I got it.
2) Offline maps - I got it.
3) Barometer for altitude when hiking - I got it.
4) Stand-alone WiFi for streaming music, loading offline maps, urgent web/email tasks - I got it.
5) Bluetooth for headphones - I got it.
6) Web browser (yes, web browser!) for urgent tasks, like dealing with cancelled flight, transferring funds between accounts, searching for info on the web I urgently need to find while only having a watch, etc. - I got it.
7) Ability to write my own apps for it, for free - I got it. (It's quite simple HTML/Javacript web app development - wrote my own altimeter app using it.)
8) Compass for hiking - I got it.
9) Voice memos and voice-to-text conversion for spur-of-the-moment thoughts and reminders - I got it.
10) Ambient mode - I got it.
11) Good battery life - I got it (42 hours in Ambient mode).
12) Cellular for emergency - I got it (although my SIM in the watch is not activated, it can still be used to dial the emergency number).
That's probably all I've ever wanted from a smartwatch. Now, I didn't want it for:
1) Any Health stuff - not interested. Would prefer it didn't have any health sensors and had bigger battery instead. Although I do run sometimes and hike in the mountains, I know my routine and using the duration of the exercise is more than enough for me. Not interested in any stupid "up-and-down-noise" colorful graphs.
2) Notifications. I don't want another distraction. My phone is my communication center, everything emanates from it. Aside from loading/updating apps and firmware, my watch is mostly independent from my phone and serves its own purposes.
3) Be depended on the phone. It doesn't make any sense to me. If I go anywhere with just the watch, I should be able to use most of its functions without the phone. Even maps - they're offline, preloaded maps. (I have more than a gig of them on the watch, great for navigating by foot in unfamiliar cities.) Same with WiFi - if I want to stream some music or check email or (urgently) do something in the web browser - I can do it with just the watch.
Ok, all that said... After the honeymoon (~1-2 months) was over, I started falling out of love with my smartwatch. Why?
1) Although it has an Ambient Mode, the screen is virtually unreadable in daylight (even not in direct sunlight!). It made me realize how much I miss the ability to glance at the analog watch at any light, any angle, and see the time. This is the major factor that made me think of returning to traditional watch.
2) 99.9% of the time, I just want the time function, not any of "smart" functions. I realized that in my mind, the utility of all those "smart" functions was overrated. I can simply wear the smartwatch when I need these functions (like checking altitude gain when hiking to judge the overall progress) and wear normal watch the rest of the time.
3) My smartwatch only has option of having a rubber (fluoroeuroelastomer?
) band. I'm a sweaty person and the fluoroeuroelastomer makes my wrist underneath sweat a lot. Something to consider for those getting the fluoroeuroelastomer band.
4) Battery life. Although my watch lasts easily more than a day (I clocked it at 42 hours in always-on Ambient Mode), I charged it daily ("just in case") and while it's not super annoying, it makes you wish you haven't had to do it. Having a watch that lasts 10 years (!!!) on a battery after which you just throw this $16 investment in the trash after using a smartwatch seems like the most amazing thing ever invented!
5) Shining watch face in the dark. I think in the evening/night, the shining screen is like a beacon to the world: "I'm wearing a smartwatch!" Wanted to turn off the Ambient mode, and it was just annoying to do it.
6) Motion to activate the watch face - doesn't work in all situations, so I mostly keep it off. I don't think #⌚️ will be any better in this regard, so I think most people will keep it off or be annoyed the hell by it activating it too slowly or in inappropriate times.
7) Using it in the shower - the droplets start "tapping" the screen and before you know, it brings havoc and the moment it pushes "Factory Reset" button on screen will be the last you wear your watch in the shower so you "don't miss any notifications or control music from my watch". Touch screens are totally useless in the shower or the pool. Just "forgedaboudid".
8) Water resistance - well overrated. I think mine is rated IP66 or 67 and it lived a few seconds after I submerged it in several inches of water (not even force-moved it through water like when swimming!). I don't think #⌚️ would be much better. Those holes for mic and speakers, despite possibly having membranes to protect the innards from water, will sooner or later let water in. Also, crown and button will.
Anyway, now I mostly wear my cheap Casio, and only when I need special functions (like altitude or offline maps without the phone), I wear my smartwatch. In fact, losing my "smartwatch virginity" and realizing the shortcoming of smartwatches made me more interested in traditional watches - something I've been totally ambivalent before. I might even upgrade my $16 Walmart watch to some "luxury" (in my mind, again, I'm not a fashionista) $160 dumbwatch someday.
For What It's Worth, folks.
I've been using a very capable smartwatch for about 6 months now. Here are my observations.
My history. I used a traditional watch up to until late 90-s when I started using a flip phone with an LCD on its flip cover, it was sufficient for me to check time. I got my iPhone in 2007 and continued using iPhones for checking time. However, about 4 years ago, I bought a cheap Casio for 16 bucks at Walmart because in many life situations, seeing time without pulling iPhone out of pocket and unlocking it was much better (being late for a meeting or train or plane, whatever) - glancing at the watch at any angle, light, and without any delay.
(I'm not a fashionista; this is good enough for me - it tells time, has alarm/timer/stopwatch/memo book, it's waterproof and runs 10 years on the same battery, after which I may just throw it out. It's freaking SIXTEEN bucks!)
In Nov '14, I bought my first smartwatch. From a smartwatch, I wanted these things:
1) Stand-alone GPS - I got it.
2) Offline maps - I got it.
3) Barometer for altitude when hiking - I got it.
4) Stand-alone WiFi for streaming music, loading offline maps, urgent web/email tasks - I got it.
5) Bluetooth for headphones - I got it.
6) Web browser (yes, web browser!) for urgent tasks, like dealing with cancelled flight, transferring funds between accounts, searching for info on the web I urgently need to find while only having a watch, etc. - I got it.
7) Ability to write my own apps for it, for free - I got it. (It's quite simple HTML/Javacript web app development - wrote my own altimeter app using it.)
8) Compass for hiking - I got it.
9) Voice memos and voice-to-text conversion for spur-of-the-moment thoughts and reminders - I got it.
10) Ambient mode - I got it.
11) Good battery life - I got it (42 hours in Ambient mode).
12) Cellular for emergency - I got it (although my SIM in the watch is not activated, it can still be used to dial the emergency number).
That's probably all I've ever wanted from a smartwatch. Now, I didn't want it for:
1) Any Health stuff - not interested. Would prefer it didn't have any health sensors and had bigger battery instead. Although I do run sometimes and hike in the mountains, I know my routine and using the duration of the exercise is more than enough for me. Not interested in any stupid "up-and-down-noise" colorful graphs.
2) Notifications. I don't want another distraction. My phone is my communication center, everything emanates from it. Aside from loading/updating apps and firmware, my watch is mostly independent from my phone and serves its own purposes.
3) Be depended on the phone. It doesn't make any sense to me. If I go anywhere with just the watch, I should be able to use most of its functions without the phone. Even maps - they're offline, preloaded maps. (I have more than a gig of them on the watch, great for navigating by foot in unfamiliar cities.) Same with WiFi - if I want to stream some music or check email or (urgently) do something in the web browser - I can do it with just the watch.
Ok, all that said... After the honeymoon (~1-2 months) was over, I started falling out of love with my smartwatch. Why?
1) Although it has an Ambient Mode, the screen is virtually unreadable in daylight (even not in direct sunlight!). It made me realize how much I miss the ability to glance at the analog watch at any light, any angle, and see the time. This is the major factor that made me think of returning to traditional watch.
2) 99.9% of the time, I just want the time function, not any of "smart" functions. I realized that in my mind, the utility of all those "smart" functions was overrated. I can simply wear the smartwatch when I need these functions (like checking altitude gain when hiking to judge the overall progress) and wear normal watch the rest of the time.
3) My smartwatch only has option of having a rubber (fluoroeuroelastomer?
) band. I'm a sweaty person and the fluoroeuroelastomer makes my wrist underneath sweat a lot. Something to consider for those getting the fluoroeuroelastomer band.4) Battery life. Although my watch lasts easily more than a day (I clocked it at 42 hours in always-on Ambient Mode), I charged it daily ("just in case") and while it's not super annoying, it makes you wish you haven't had to do it. Having a watch that lasts 10 years (!!!) on a battery after which you just throw this $16 investment in the trash after using a smartwatch seems like the most amazing thing ever invented!
5) Shining watch face in the dark. I think in the evening/night, the shining screen is like a beacon to the world: "I'm wearing a smartwatch!" Wanted to turn off the Ambient mode, and it was just annoying to do it.
6) Motion to activate the watch face - doesn't work in all situations, so I mostly keep it off. I don't think #⌚️ will be any better in this regard, so I think most people will keep it off or be annoyed the hell by it activating it too slowly or in inappropriate times.
7) Using it in the shower - the droplets start "tapping" the screen and before you know, it brings havoc and the moment it pushes "Factory Reset" button on screen will be the last you wear your watch in the shower so you "don't miss any notifications or control music from my watch".
Touch screens are totally useless in the shower or the pool. Just "forgedaboudid".8) Water resistance - well overrated. I think mine is rated IP66 or 67 and it lived a few seconds after I submerged it in several inches of water (not even force-moved it through water like when swimming!). I don't think #⌚️ would be much better. Those holes for mic and speakers, despite possibly having membranes to protect the innards from water, will sooner or later let water in. Also, crown and button will.
Anyway, now I mostly wear my cheap Casio, and only when I need special functions (like altitude or offline maps without the phone), I wear my smartwatch. In fact, losing my "smartwatch virginity" and realizing the shortcoming of smartwatches made me more interested in traditional watches - something I've been totally ambivalent before. I might even upgrade my $16 Walmart watch to some "luxury" (in my mind, again, I'm not a fashionista) $160 dumbwatch someday.
For What It's Worth, folks.
Watch be useful enough to keep you in the habit of wearing it?
