I personally have a Fitbit Ionic, partly because I loved the Surge I had (but the band kept breaking), partly because I’m on Android but mostly so I can post Palpatine memes when people ask me what watch I have:
So we got my sister the same watch as me (LG Watch Style) for Xmas and there was a specific use case she required which is working REALLY well.
She is a Type 1 Diabetic and uses a Dexcom device which is permanently attached to her to continuously monitor her blood sugar levels so that she doesn’t have to manually prick her finger dozens of times a day to get blood to test.
It syncs to her phone, and it’s Android Wear compatible. Meaning her Android Wear watchface shows her continual blood sugar level as well as the time - and if her levels drops to dangerous levels (which can happen during sleep and is very dangerous) it will buzz on the watch to alert her.
I just thought I’d mention this as for most of us, smartwatches are just a fancy accessory. But for people like my sister, it’s literally improving her quality of life massively.
Amazing!
My boyfriend is on a pump and uses freestyle libre when he wants to take a break from pricking his fingers (and the NHS supply them now).
He would be woken up an awful lot though …
Looks like Oreo is rolling out to a bunch of watches including my LG Watch Style! Need to have a look to see what it brings to the table
That is epic. So glad to read that
I am in the market for my first ever smart watch.
My only constraints are that it must be android, must be compatible with Strava.
Ideally have a heart rate monitor,
Ideally have a longish battery life.
Before I dive head first into the world of smartest he’s I would prefer to buy an older one secondhand before researching exactly what one I want.
Anyone have a good recommendation for a cheapest one I can pick up secondhand that fit my criteria?
Or better yet, anyone upgrading and want to sell me their the old one.
Ticwatch E, Misfit Vapor or the original Huawei Watch are probably the ones to look at
I thought you were going to say it buzzes on yours if she needs urgent help!
I believe it does that too, but she has our dad set as the emergency contact rather than me.
I have a Huawei watch, got it when it came out in November 15. I like it as it’s one of the few smartwatches that actual look like a watch. Never had a problem with it. Battery life is great, even after all this time. No slowdown or anything like that has been experienced either.
Been using a Series 3 Apple Watch with 4G since November 1st. It replaced my Pebble.
Love the watch but do think its capabilities are massively underused due to so many companies dropping their native watch apps - it’s mostly just a second screen for notifications now.
But the most important thing I use it for is Apple Pay. It has been an absolute revelation in terms of using the Tube and buses (I use PAYG contactless rather than my Oyster card these days as it works out cheaper than a Travelcard) as I no longer need to get a physical card out of my wallet. Unfortunately, I’m still not using Monzo for this, but rather Starling is my primary option (this will change the second Monzo catches up on supporting Apple Pay).
Always been that for me and also why I’m debating on getting getting a Series 3… I know support for Series 0 will stop at some point butyeah…
As this is my first Apple Watch, I went all-in on the most recent and fully-featured option. But really, if you have one of the older models and it works, then I would say it is not worth upgrading. The 4G support on the watch is awful (it rarely ever manages to connect to EE when out of range of my iPhone) and I’m not convinced about its waterproof credentials. In hindsight, I would be just as happy with the cheaper, older model.
I’ve recently been naughty and couldn’t resist passing by the Apple Store without spending anything so I got myself a Series 3 (non LTE model).
Granted the lack of apps is still bad and I still use my phone for most non-notifications things, but when I have to use it (forgot my phone in another room, etc) it’s really better compared to my previous Series 1. It’s also good for development when you no longer have to wait an hour for your freshly compiled app to install.
The 4G support on the watch is awful (it rarely ever manages to connect to EE when out of range of my iPhone)
It’s funny how they locked it to a certain carrier, theoretically to guarantee a good experience, but they couldn’t even choose a good carrier to do so and the result is a disaster.
If I buy I I’m going with the LTE version… I reckon there will be a new one by the time Three pull their finger out.
I heard it is because EE is the only network that supports/is willing to support multiple Sim cards to one number in the UK
Wow, wish I had the $ for an AP watch.
I had a Sony Smartwatch 3, but the battery life sucked. I now rock a very cheap and cheerful Amazfit Bip (cost me < £50) which includes GPS tracking, HR monitoring etc, as well as sync with Sleep as Android which is awesome… the best thing, I only charge it once a week, or less. It’s rated as having a > 1 month battery life.
I’m not currently in the Apple ecosystem (skint postgraduate student past his funding period) but I’m intrigued by the card payments, music streaming without a phone etc. Hoping Spotify will be supported, that would be awesome!
Any carrier can do that, there’s really nothing complicated about it - mine could even do that too back in 2016 when I started.
This is more about “exclusivity” where EE has outbid everyone else, but it’s complete bullshit from a consumer perspective, and might even run afoul of anti-trust laws. The reason we have SIM cards to begin with is to give the consumer freedom to choose & swap their provider at will.