Why do you use a smartwatch?

General Chat Tech & Gaming
1

For several years I’ve been using either Fitbit or Garmin watches. I do like using a watch/tracker to track activity, sleep and health metrics and I do like the multi-day battery life of these watches. They also come with some basic smartwatch features which I find useful (e.g. phone notifications, nfc payments, integration with phone navigation app).

I’ve never really tried a full on smartwatch like an Apple Watch, Pixel Watch, or Galaxy Watch. Mostly I’ve been put off by the limited battery life of such watches (1-2 days) in comparison to Fitbit and Garmin devices (typically 5 or more days). However, for those who do opt for full on smartwatches, beyond fitness and health tracking what are the main things that appeal to you? As a way to gauge how useful it is to you, would you find it a big inconvenience if you didn’t have access to your smartwatch for a few days (again thinking about features aside from health/fitness tracking)?

3

All this can be done with a more basic fitness tracker. In this case, what made you opt for an Apple Watch in spite of higher price and limited battery life?

6

I think the second sentence of your first comment (replying on wrist) might have been added whilst I wrote my reply. This is probably something which is indeed done better on a full on smartwatch than a more basic tracker.

9

The only feature I really care about is messages. I only have a handful on people that I “allow” to ping my watch, but knowing I have an important message is key, as often my phone is on my desk or in my pocket and I don’t feel it. Then I can see I have loads of messages and group chats popping off but not urgent enough for me to grab my phone.

If/when there are glasses that gives me a HUD indicator that I have messages, the watch will go.

I have a posh-watch that I wear from time to time, but that’s mainly for a special event or something, so actually I’m quite happy to be less connected when I wear it, but I do end up missing messages.

Fitness I do track but I could cope without it. Sleep I don’t track so I don’t really care about battery as it can charge overnight.

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12

I have the same reason, but I do it on a per-app basis (so e.g. I allow all Signal messages but not WhatsApp as there’s no one there that could be an emergency or important any more).

Other than messaging, I started paying for a 4G watch plan to see what it’s like and if it’s useful, and I’ve used it a couple of times when people have called and I didn’t have my phone on me - in fact, I like the freedom of being able to ‘forget’ my phone somewhere else, whether at work or not, but still be contactable in some ways but not others.

And of course I enjoy the tracking, sleep and fitness.
Lastly, tea brewing time is precise and important (not for me personally but for my other half) so I do enjoy being able to set a timer by voice using the Google Assistant on my watch.

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13

I haven’t worn a watch since I first put a mobile phone in my pocket. Kinda like the idea of a shiny Pixel Watch but I work in a messy industry so wouldn’t be able to wear it during my working week.

14

Have you used it long as a dive computer and is it reliable? Is it easy to read all the info needed on one screen or do you need to swipe/change between screens and how easy is that?

16

The most useful combo of features for me is having a watch screen that changes for the day ahead. So in my work focus mode I have it set up to show my work calendar. Being able to see my next meeting, and getting silent taps to let me know I have something coming up, is so very useful.

I don’t always have my phone to hand but checking it in a meeting is less subtle than a peek at my always on watch screen.

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17

I haven’t gone down the smart watch route because I couldn’t be doing with charging it so often, and I have pretty much all notifications turned off on my phone! I’m not really the market for smart watch sellers!

I do however have a Garmin solar watch which does the fitness tracking stuff, lasts a month between charges even in the winter, and I have phone call alerts only switched on - my phone is always on silent so that’s useful.

Although I said the same about mobile phones once, I really don’t think I’ll ever have a need for a smart watch because they’re never going to replace a phone unless we start going down the microchips-in-skull route and I am very much not into that!

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18

I don’t wear anything on my wrist (no watches or trackers of any kind), but this reminded me of the early days of smartphones. I remember thinking, why would I give up a phone with battery life measured in several days to one that has to be charged every day? I haven’t thought about that for years, though, because the advantages of my iPhone are so huge compared with a ‘dumb’ phone. I think you’re right to try and figure out what would be useful for you on a smartwatch – because if there are even one or two things that you come to rely on, the battery life issue will cease to matter.

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20

I was never really someone who would wear a watch full stop. However, I have tried out both the Pebble (1st generation e-ink watch), and Apple Watch (1st generation) but once they either became obsolete or refused to last more than half a day, I stopped wearing watches altogether.
I only started wearing a Pixel Watch 2 because it was free with my Pixel 8 Pro last year.

I do like getting notifications, step tracking and (of course) seeing the time, but other than that I don’t use it for much else.
That being said, after wearing a watch almost everyday for a year now, I probably couldn’t go back to NOT wearing a watch. Once this one kicks the bucket, I won’t be spending a lot of money on a full blown “smartwatch” again. I’ll either go for one with just basic functionality like time and notifications (don’t care about replying), or just simply a dumb watch.

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21

My top uses for an Apple Watch?

  1. Time (easier than getting my phone out)
  2. Kitchen timer (very useful to have kitchen timers following you around)
  3. Notifications
  4. Payments
  5. Audio controls
  6. Setting reminders.
  7. Quickly see who is calling before dropping the call.
  8. On wrist direction reminders.

I often wonder to myself whether or not a smartwatch is worth the money, then someone asks what I use it for and I remember why I like it.

I don’t use it for anything I can’t do easily on my phone, but having some of the phone functionality transferred from my pocket (or wherever my phone is) to my wrist is very convenient at times.

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22

This for me, too (in addition to the health features). I can quickly see who’s at the door or coming down the drive with the Ring doorbell notification on my watch.

I like being able to go for a walk and not having to bother taking my phone with me to get notifications and calls (although that requires a smartwatch data plan with your mobile provider).

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24

I’d forgotten that use; I’ve added it to my list.

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28

I’ve been meaning to try Apple Maps public transport mode, I’ve been using CityMapper up to now.