Why I stopped wearing a $300 smartwatch and switched to a $16 Casio

[matrix07]

>When you buy a product you never care for experience but always looks for features?

For me, the exclusive, necessary to me features take precedence over the experience with absent features.

For example, when I hike in the mountains, I want to go light - without the phone, yet I want to tell my altitude and position, check the weather conditions and have the ability to make an emergency call. ��⌚️ doesn't have these standalone abilities, so it's automatically out. When I'm traveling in Europe, walking the convoluted streets with unfamiliar names in old Italian towns, for example, I want to navigate without using a phone and roaming cellular data - my watch has offline maps for any country in the world, but ��⌚️ doesn't even have a built-in GPS, so it's automatically out.

No matter what amazing heartbeat-sharing and doodling experiences ��⌚️ has, it doesn't have features I want in a smartwatch.

Fair enough. But your $16 Cassio give you that?

 

[JaySoul]

Interesting read!

I don't think smartwatches will be for everyone, but a lot of people will grow to love them.

 

[Kovich]

An interesting perspective from the OP. Most of his concerns would not be my concerns, but if you can't read the screen in some lights (which I think is a possibility with the OLED display? excuse my ignorance) and if the "raise your wrist to read a notification" does not work very well, I can see myself being a little frustrated with the experience.

But you know I am a little frustrated by some of the experiences I have of my Mac, iPad, iPhone, Apple TV etc (as I have been with nearly all gadgets) so I think my Apple fanboy status will see me throught it!

 

[burgman]

That's because you didn't criticize the Apple Watch. You criticized your current smartwatch, which is in fact not an Apple Watch.

Now, some of your criticisms may also be applicable to the Apple Watch, and I'm sure some people will try it and decide to go back to standard watches or no watch, but that doesn't meant that all of the criticisms of your current smartwatch will apply to the Apple Watch.

Just as we can't know if the Apple Watch will be great until it's out, you also can't know if it's not great until it's out. And for some people, it will be great anyway. For others, it will be awful no matter what. Apple isn't forcing anyone to buy the watch, so I doubt it will be a problem.

As for why you get attacked for criticizing the Apple Watch, it's because you say silly things like "The watch will be encrusted with gunk within half a year!" as if you have some kind of special insight into the world of watches that no one else has, and then you repeat ad nauseum. If you got over yourself, you might not get such a negative response.

Getting over oneself can apply to others here as well. In a smartwatch I want the functionality of a Gear S with the build quality and software enhancement of the Apple Watch. Hopefully version 2 will be that watch.

 

[westrock2000]

Yes, this is the ultimate question, and only time will tell. I personally found out not having a smartwatch on my wrist and having a traditional watch instead quite refreshing. It's freaking amazing - it tells you time without any gestures, in any light, at any angle, incognito or not... UNBELIEVABLE! Now my smartwatch is kind of "special forces" watch for me - use it only when it's actually necessary and smart to do so.

I don't think I'll buy another smartwatch anytime soon until they invent one that can show time all the time in any light and angle.

This is why I like the Pebble so much. It is "primitive" as you said, but to me that is a benefit not a derogatory description. I did sell my over the top bright red version and got the Pebble Steel and it is much classier looking.

But I have ticks (the mental kind, not the insects) and one of them is always wanting to know the time, so I have always worn a wrist watch. I feel weird not having it on.

I can read the Pebble during the day, even outside. And at night it's just a matter of hitting a button. There is the option to have it turn on the light when you shake your wrist, but I do not use that option both for having the light come on when I do not need it as well as impacting battery life.

 

[Armen]

GPS is used for various apps, not just working out apps.



Offline maps is something that can be used for indoor malls/stores and can direct you to specific areas of said mall/stores. Additionally, offline maps is excellent for underground subways and parking structures to mark parking space. What if you are carrying luggage and a backpack/briefcase? You gonna stop to take your phone out every time you need to look at which stop you are getting off at or which exit you need? You might, but having a simple look at a watch would be much easier and less complicated.



Barometer can be used for multiple things not just hiking, but for 3D spacial awareness. Like say the parking structure I mentioned above.



BT is used for connecting to phone, unlocking another device like say a Mac when you are close to it, and so on... Are you saying you have your phone in your pocket 24/7, even at home? The answer is likely no.



Web browser on a watch is pretty useless, but you never know?


You would be surprised how useful this can be, especially if your phone is not next to you or iin your pocket.

I'm not saying you would still use any of this stuff I mentioned, but there are things that the Apple Watch will (and in the future, can) do. Having used a smartwatch for a while, there are many instances that you would normally use a phone, but the smartwatch was the one thing available at that time. Like a transformer, there is more than meets the eye with a smartwatch.

GPS- Since the Apple watch requires a connection to an iPhone you'd most likely use the phone for GPS purposes.

Offline Maps- This is probably a low use case. Who uses a map to navigate underground parking or a mall or is this a thing in some other country?

Barometer - This really is a gimmicy feature that the average user would not care about. I'm not saying it doesn't have a user case but I wouldn't be surprised if the average person didn't even know what a barometer was or did.

Bluetooth - This is definitely a wanted feature. For what it's worth my phone isn't in my pocket at home but its within bluetooth range of my Pebble watch so I don't need it to be.

 

[rui no onna]

This is why I like the Pebble so much. It is "primitive" as you said, but to me that is a benefit not a derogatory description. I did sell my over the top bright red version and got the Pebble Steel and it is much classier looking.

But I have ticks (the mental kind, not the insects) and one of them is always wanting to know the time, so I have always worn a wrist watch. I feel weird not having it on.

I can read the Pebble during the day, even outside. And at night it's just a matter of hitting a button. There is the option to have it turn on the light when you shake your wrist, but I do not use that option both for having the light come on when I do not need it as well as impacting battery life.

Yup. The Pebble's fairly simple but it addresses my gripes with other smartwatches namely visibility under direct sunlight and battery life. The Pebble, I only have to charge once or twice a week. I certainly don't have the patience to charge my watch as frequently as my phone.

I was a Kickstarter backer for the original Pebble and boy was I glad I got it. Heck, even my mom has commandeered my old Pebble. She finds it really, really useful, too.

 

[Supermallet]

Getting over oneself can apply to others here as well. In a smartwatch I want the functionality of a Gear S with the build quality and software enhancement of the Apple Watch. Hopefully version 2 will be that watch.

Sure, some people will defend the watch no matter what, some people will attack it no matter what. Both sides can get over themselves, because the watch will not be perfect, nor will it (probably) be a completely unusable disaster.

It's fair to say that the first gen won't have everything that everyone wants from a smartwatch, but for many people, it will do a lot of what they want.

 

[Anonymous Freak]

I can appreciate your opinion, for the most part. But there are a couple of exceptionally assumptive comments such as (but not limited to) the one below.

The Pebble Time is rated to ISO 22810 30m, which means "you can actually use it 30m under water," and it has a microphone. So, yeah, OP's concern about water resistance can be avoided.

My Nikon 1 AW1 camera is also rated for 20m, and it has a microphone, speakers, and an interchangeable lens!

It is certainly possible to make electronics that can withstand drops in puddles and being worn in the rain/shower/etc.

 

[McCool71]

I've been using a very capable smartwatch for about 6 months now. Here are my observations.

I think your observations are that you do not need a smartwatch

I have been using one for a year now, and having to check notifications (texts, e-mails, meetings, alarms and so on) on my phone instead of my watch is a huge step back - I usually leave my phone on my desk at work and in my living room at home. I seldom carry it with me in the two places (home/work) where I combined spend most of the day.

That it shows the time as well is just icing on the cake - that single feature is of so little importance to me that I have not used a regular watch for 15 years and would surely not buy one if I for some reason stopped using a smartwatch.

 

[tbayrgs]

I think your observations are that you do not need a smartwatch

I have been using one for a year now, and having to check notifications (texts, e-mails, meetings, alarms and so on) on my phone instead of my watch is a huge step back - I usually leave my phone on my desk at work and in my living room at home. I seldom carry it with me in the two places (home/work) where I combined spend most of the day.

That it shows the time as well is just icing on the cake - that single feature is of so little importance to me that I have not used a regular watch for 15 years and would surely not buy one if I for some reason stopped using a smartwatch.

I've had a similar experience. I've been wearing a Microsoft Band for about 4 months now and love the blend of health elements (including onboard GPS) as well as limited smartwatch functionality (notifications, alarms, weather, even ability to pay at Starbucks). I love being able to quickly glance at incoming notifications while the phone is charging or just in the other room. Unfortunately, it had started to irritate my skin and I've had to stop wearing it. You don't realize how convenient those quick glances are until you don't have them.

I was originally going to hold off trying an Apple Watch but after reading early reviews and no longer having my Band, I'm going to preorder and give the Apple Watch a try. The recent news that most of the Apple Watch's functionality is still available as long as it is on a known wifi network make it even more worthwhile. My wife will be able to leave her phone in her office while she rounds at the hospital or sees patients, but still discretely receive her notifications.