Smartwatch v mechanical watch

[Ascender]

Pretty much since the first Apple Watch came out, I've worn one every single day. I used it for fitness tracking (so it replaced my Suunto GPS watch) and loved getting notifications without having to look at my phone. Being able to use it for Apple Pay and phone calls meant I could go running with just that and a pair of headphones which was great.

About a month ago I bought a traditional watch I've been wanting for many years and have been wearing that almost constantly. There's been times where I go all Harry Metcalfe and wear both, but more and more I've found myself ditching the Apple Watch completely.

One of the things I enjoyed most about it was getting those notifications. But now, without it, I think I'm really enjoying not getting those notifications at all. Around the house, if I don't have my phone with me or am just listening to music or a podcast, I've literally no idea if someone has tweeted a thing or commented on a picture of their homemade soda bread on insta. Teams notifications? They can wait til I get back to my desk. I don't need to know everything in real time, much less reply to everything within an instant.

As a nerd in work and personal life it's been a genuine, pleasant surprise.

[mik]

Also....

About a month ago I bought a traditional watch I've been wanting for many years and have been wearing that almost constantly.

...well - spill them beans.

[DeskJockey]

What have you bought?

I don't have a smart watch and don't want or need one either.

[Simon]

I've held off getting a smart watch for long, but I'll probably cave and get the likely Pixel watch 3 for free when the P9 Pro comes out next year. My wife has an apple watch and I can see how useful it is for her. I have a Fitbit which gets notifications but the screen is so small iits barely useful.

I also have a nice Citizen I got for my 40th. I want to wear that more but its hard finding an excuse to wear it.

[Rich B]

I have no interest in getting a smart watch. There's no notifications that are important enough to need instant review (my phone is bad enough for that), and I don't need to be told I'm lazy and should move more.

I only really wear a watch as part of the outfit, I barely look at it when I do wear it.

[mik]

I feel naked without a watch.

Smart watches have always felt a bit like steering wheel controls for the car stereo. Yeah I can adjust the volume and change the track with my thumbs, but if I just - y’know - reach my arm out a little…. I can do all that anyway.

Probably different now with heart rate & fart volume monitoring etc, but I’ve never yet desired one.

[Matty]

Problem with Smart watches is still that the batteries are terrible, by and large. It's a 'great success' if they last a full day. None of them are particularly nice looking things either.

I bought a Fossil Sport about 3-odd years back for £80 and it's been fine, although the battery is down to about 8 hours now so it's EOL. I do find it handy just to look at my wrist to see who's calling/texting/emailing, but not enough to warrant spending £300+...if anything the fitness tracking is it's biggest draw.

[Beany]

Honestly my one just gets used to skim notifications and save me taking the phone out of my pocket.

Sometimes, just sometimes, I use it to tell the time.

Pixel watch is small enough and subtle enough not to be obtrusive, honestly. A lot of smart watches seem to be really obvious and flashy.

[Mito Man]

My Apple Watch saved my life so I’m a fan, but I’d also like an option for just a slim wristband without a screen which just does all the background health tracking so I can wear a normal watch… My friend said something about a rumour that Apple are making a ring so hoping for that in the future.

[teacherboy]

Obviously due to my recent health complications it's a sensible move to have an appropriate smartwatch for me - except its pretty dum at being a smartwatch and very good at being a health tracking watch

https://consumer.huawei.com/en/wearables/watch-d/

Does blood pressure. ecg, heart rate, skin temp and O2 level

Battery is 7 days and if you have a compatible phone it'll do the usual notifications etc but my Oppo phone doesn't wanna talk properly to it so just the health stuff is good enough

[RobYob]

As my work seems determined to ban personal devices from the office for security I'm likely to need to need to begin wearing a "dumb" watch again.

Pity I break most watches I'm given from clumsyness.

I'd happily wear some sort of watch ring thing if I could find one that wasn't designed for a cocktail party.

[IanF]

I quite often wear two watches, girlfriend hates it! but if I’m going into London or abroad I just use my smart watch. I like them because they are common and relatively cheap, so no machete action on Kings Rd, they auto adjust to my local time zone and I can use the payment system rather than drag out my phone (or indeed when my phone has died at the end of the night).

I did think a two faced watch, ie the strap has two watches on it (basically an Apple Watch on the inside of your wrist) would work well if they can make it slim and tough enough. Although, maybe we’ll get to the point where the strap is the smart part and it has a ticker tape style built in

[Jobbo]

Like Mik I feel naked without a watch on. So I only take it off to go to bed.

I got annoyed with Siri piping up regularly when unwanted so only wear my Apple Watch for tracking when cycling, walking etc. I do cycle through my traditional watches - some quartz so not just mechanical - but it took a while to work out what I preferred. I have pretty much every notification turned off on my phone already though.

[duncs500]

I'm very happy to reduce my access to the digital world. Phone is still problematic in terms of grabbing for it every time I am without instantaneous entertainment for more then a few mins, bit I am trying to sling it somewhere and be more present. Definitely don't want my watch interfering with that.. plus, it's the only bit of jewellery us lads get. Make it beautiful and mechanical.

[Matty]

plus, it's the only bit of jewellery us lads get.

I'm sure there's a few sovereign and/or gold chain wearers among us.

[Mito Man]

[Gavin]

I had a tongue stud years ago, not fancying a PA though!

I have a Suunto 9, having had a 5 and a couple of Garmins prior to that. With the early Gramins I wore a citizen ecodrive or Jorg Gray and just poppedon the sports wtahc for sports but I stupidly left the ecodrive in a drawer and now it doesn't actually wor and the JG battery ran out, I don't know how long ago.

The Suunto battery last days and days, even with acouple of runs or cycles in there. It does ping with notificatioins but I tend to ignore most of them, but sometimeshandy to glance at so I know I can.

[Ascender]

I recently had to buy a new gps watch and it's amazing how much that market has changed over the last 4 years or so. Nearly impossible to find a watch which was just for activities and not trying to do absolutely everything else.

@Mito Man - What did the Apple Watch alert you to health-wise? I won't lie, that part of the watch is a big thing for me along with fall detection etc when out running on my own in the middle of nowhere.

I'll post in the watch thread, but mrs mike keeps saying "you're not James Bond."

[Ascender]

Obviously due to my recent health complications it's a sensible move to have an appropriate smartwatch for me - except its pretty dum at being a smartwatch and very good at being a health tracking watch

https://consumer.huawei.com/en/wearables/watch-d/

Does blood pressure. ecg, heart rate, skin temp and O2 level

Battery is 7 days and if you have a compatible phone it'll do the usual notifications etc but my Oppo phone doesn't wanna talk properly to it so just the health stuff is good enough

That's pretty cool, I didn't realise they could do blood pressure as well now. Obviously a very good thing if you've had health issues or are concerned about them. Apple's fall detection for elderly parents on their own seems like a no brainer for example.

Maybe like Mito says, the best solution for those who don't want something as-intrusive would be a smart ring full of sensors.

@duncs500 - Being more present and not constantly reacting to things from the digital world is a bit part of this for me. Feels so freeing. Just not knowing what notifications are there and not caring. Didn't think I'd have such a positive reaction to this so quickly.

[Mito Man]

I recently had to buy a new gps watch and it's amazing how much that market has changed over the last 4 years or so. Nearly impossible to find a watch which was just for activities and not trying to do absolutely everything else.

@Mito Man - What did the Apple Watch alert you to health-wise? I won't lie, that part of the watch is a big thing for me along with fall detection etc when out running on my own in the middle of nowhere.

I'll post in the watch thread, but mrs mike keeps saying "you're not James Bond."

Years ago now so I had the original Apple Watch which only had the heart rate sensor - but crucially it uploaded and saved all the results in a graph on the health app.

So I had heart problems for months which the GP couldn’t diagnose (felt faint every time I stood up, increased heart rate, breathlessness), eventually sent to a heart consultant who was useless. Took my heart rate and said “it’s within normal range” which I disagreed with as my resting heart rate had gone from 40 to 90… Show him the health app and you can clearly see my resting heart rate looks abnormal vs previous year and he says “to put your mind at peace we can arrange an echocardiogram” - still being pretty dismissive I must add.
Anyway it was a pericardial effusion as a result of stage 4 lymphoma. I wanted to visit him again and tell him “I told you so” but I was too unwell