Lets talk about smart watches.

[powernoodle]

For the longest time, I have been completely uninterested in the smart watch segment.  In part because I wasn't sure what the point was, and in part because I already had 2 bluetooth devices connected to my Galaxy S10+ and wasn't sure if another device would connect.

Along comes Walmart, which had the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Classic on sale for $99.  So I secretly bought one - pretty much as a toy and something to play with.  More on that in a minute.



One of my favorite things about my current favorite watch lineup - the G-Shock series with atomic timekeeping - is that the daily time sync makes my leg tingle.  I know its stupid, because the phone on my belt is perpetually perfect too.  But the Galaxy Watch 4 always having the correct time sort of supplants one of my main reasons for digging the G-Shock series.

And this does not begin to take into account all of the other smart watch functionality, from text and email to Google maps.  Its pretty awesome.  Throw in the fact that I can magically change the watch face at will, and this is a pretty fun toy.  If I can make it from morning to night without charging, which I'm pretty sure I can, I'll be happy.

As for buying it secretly, I wore it today and Mrs. Powernoodle never knew I had on a new watch.  Not that it really matters.  I just think its fun to have a new watch or gun or toy, and integrate it into the collective unnoticed.  I call this the Powernoodle Event Horizon.  Its when you own so many toys that a new one goes unnoticed because it looks just like the other 20 or 50 similar toys you already own.

I am just getting started learning about this "watch".  So if you are so inclined, tell me please about how you use yours, and any cool tips or tricks.

 

[WhichDawg]

Good deal! I've been seriously thinking about a smart watch, almost got a Garmin Instinct (1st gen) but missed the best sale and passed on some good sales (doh) I'll probably get a Garmin Instinct 2 eventually and learn what I can do also (and play play play!) 

[matzesu]

As i allready did post i have an Garmin Instinct2 Solar on my Wrist, back then i had 2 Apple Watches (2 and 4) and i was quite disappointed about them Batteries .. even though they had quite cool features, a Watch that doesn’t last one day is not that useful some times..

So first i wanted to go back to an non Smart Digital Watch, maybe the Old G-Shock i had or a New G-Shock, i found one at Amazon whit lots of features for over 200 € but then i saw that the Garmin Instinct2 Solar might be much more useful for me whit a bit more features ..
Its a bit more near to an Sports Tracking Watch than an actuall Smarsmurfch like them from Apple but therefore the Batterie Runtime is much longer..

Its doesn’t need to power an permanent Backlight you need for Reading these Tiny Smartphone Screen the Apple Watch had, there is no Touchsscreen, so no worry’s about activating under the Shower or in the Rain, and the Watch itself is also much more Shock and Inpact Resistend ..
This Solar Feature might only make any different if you are actually a few hours a day outside, but its ads allready some juice when you are Tracking some Running or Biking Training.. Just on Batterie Power im now on 90% whit 26 Days left on this Charge..
Therefore its looks like a G-Shock but i like this Style some how ..



Gesendet von iPad mit Tapatalk Pro

[Chako]

I have a few and I find them all rather gimmicky, especially the cool ones with touch interfaces and very short battery life. I found it cool that I could access the internet from a smart watch, that is until you try to read it. I do hope you enjoy yours as they are fun to have if not all that practical...at least from my experience.

My biggest issue is with battery life. Having to charge the watch every single night was a real drag. That is why I fell in love with the Garmin Instinct Solar a while back, and it has quickly became my go to watch for most days...and I do not lack variety in watch selection these days.

Here is a link to my first post on this watch.

https://forum.multitool.org/index.php?topic=90988.0

[powernoodle]

I played with this Galaxy 4 Classic quiet a bit yesterday, and its looks like I could get 2 days out of a charge.  But I have no problem charging it every night.

I guess the best feature for me is the vibrate notifications for email and texts.  Its difficult for me to feel my phone vibrate in a belt holster, and there is no way to miss the watch vibrating. 

I could foresee a smart watch supplanting my love of the G-Shock series, simply because of the greatly added functionality of the smart watch.  Being able to change the watch face to any look is fun, but I've pretty much settled on the one with the most functionality.  The only minor downside is having to lay it on a charger every night, but that's no biggy.

[Farmer X]

I can magically change the watch face at will...

Being able to toggle between positive and negative display would be at least somewhat desirable for me. However...

I guess the best feature for me is the vibrate notifications for email and texts.

Since most of of e-mails I receive don't require immediate attention, that feature would annoy the ever-living smurf out of me in a nanosecond. Considering what I'll be doing on my new job, a smart watch would probably get introduced to the dirty side of a truck. I suppose that feature could be turned off. But that would kinda defeat the purpose of a smart watch, methinks. And I don't like leaving batteries charging overnight unless the device has overcurrent protection. My best bet is likely to stick with "dumb" watches.

But powernoodle seems to be enjoying his new "toy." That's what matters.

[powernoodle]

I'm getting used to this thing, and muchly digging it.  Its just so nice to feel the watch vibrate, and look down to see the text or email rather than pulling the phone out and navigating to it.

I'm a very important person.  I don't have time to be looking at my phone!    

[Farmer X]

I'm a very important person.  I don't have time to be looking at my phone!

I've had jobs where you weren't allowed to have your phone in your hand when on company time, and other jobs where temps were told not to come back after looking at their smart watches. So I'm guessing you're retired, or not working in the same fields as I did?

[powernoodle]

I certainly understand that employers don't want employees looking at their smart devices at work.

I have worked from home on a laptop since 1994 - so I can do pretty much whatever I want as long as I get my work done.   

It also gives me ample opportunities to check MTO all day long.   

I could retire, but see no reason to at this point.  I like to keep the income stream going, delay tapping into retirement income, keep employer-paid health insurance, etc.  But I'll retire in a year or two.

[Farmer X]

Nice job you have there!

[powernoodle]

I've been very lucky, fo shizzle. 

[aicolainen]

I had and used a Fitbit for a minute.
Bought a ridiculously expensive Garmin Fenix a few years back, as a dedicated outdoor device, but I've hardly used it. Worst tech investment ever.

I still consider an Apple watch cellular as a outdoor / workout watch, but I'm hesitant after the Garmin flop. Being an iPhone user I think the Apple watch will be a much smoother switch when I put it on to go outside. With the Garmin it was a mess keeping stuff up to date and tweaking all the settings to where it was useful but not annoying.
To be fair toward the Garmin; back when I bought it the final shootout was against the Apple watch, and because my usage pattern back then leaned more toward the extreme, it won out because it could be operated in all conditions, even with gloves. It was legible in all light conditions, it had better battery life and a simpler and more efficient charging solution.
Extreme outdoor adventures are further apart these days, so I would rather put value on everyday convenience. Better integration with my regular device (iPhone) and maybe most of all, cellular connectivity that makes it more viable to leave the phone behind when going on a run or some activity where I want to go very light without stuff bouncing around in my pockets.

Whatever I decide to do concerning smart watches, it's only for outdoor and exercise. In my regular life I try to be low tech wherever possible. As an electronics engineer I'm exposed to enough tech as it is. I can see how a smart watch can be useful for someone who don't have constant access to other devices, or have their hands busy/dirty a lot of the time and can't easily pick up the phone. But for me the smart watch is just another distraction. It pulls my focus away from what I'm doing, it requires more time and upkeep to do its thing and by design they have a short life expectancy which means more time and money used to regularly transition to a new device. I'm very happy using analogue watches for my regular needs. Mostly quartz these days, but I do enjoy putting on a mechanical watch occasionally. For outdoor, workouts and other hard use I've settled on the Casio GBD-200 G-shock with MIPS display. I guess the BT connectivity and step tracker makes it somewhat smart in the view of Casio marketing dept., but it's rather useless and I just turn it off. Legibility, ruggedness and simplicity is where this watch excels.

[WhichDawg]

I had and used a Fitbit for a minute.
Bought a ridiculously expensive Garmin Fenix a few years back, as a dedicated outdoor device, but I've hardly used it. Worst tech investment ever.

I still consider an Apple watch cellular as a outdoor / workout watch, but I'm hesitant after the Garmin flop. Being an iPhone user I think the Apple watch will be a much smoother switch when I put it on to go outside. With the Garmin it was a mess keeping stuff up to date and tweaking all the settings to where it was useful but not annoying.
To be fair toward the Garmin; back when I bought it the final shootout was against the Apple watch, and because my usage pattern back then leaned more toward the extreme, it won out because it could be operated in all conditions, even with gloves. It was legible in all light conditions, it had better battery life and a simpler and more efficient charging solution.
Extreme outdoor adventures are further apart these days, so I would rather put value on everyday convenience. Better integration with my regular device (iPhone) and maybe most of all, cellular connectivity that makes it more viable to leave the phone behind when going on a run or some activity where I want to go very light without stuff bouncing around in my pockets.

Whatever I decide to do concerning smart watches, it's only for outdoor and exercise. In my regular life I try to be low tech wherever possible. As an electronics engineer I'm exposed to enough tech as it is. I can see how a smart watch can be useful for someone who don't have constant access to other devices, or have their hands busy/dirty a lot of the time and can't easily pick up the phone. But for me the smart watch is just another distraction. It pulls my focus away from what I'm doing, it requires more time and upkeep to do its thing and by design they have a short life expectancy which means more time and money used to regularly transition to a new device. I'm very happy using analogue watches for my regular needs. Mostly quartz these days, but I do enjoy putting on a mechanical watch occasionally. For outdoor, workouts and other hard use I've settled on the Casio GBD-200 G-shock with MIPS display. I guess the BT connectivity and step tracker makes it somewhat smart in the view of Casio marketing dept., but it's rather useless and I just turn it off. Legibility, ruggedness and simplicity is where this watch excels.

Really good points and post aicolainen I appreciated that

[nate j]

I just think its fun to have a new watch or gun or toy, and integrate it into the collective unnoticed.  I call this the Powernoodle Event Horizon.  Its when you own so many toys that a new one goes unnoticed because it looks just like the other 20 or 50 similar toys you already own.

Wife:  “Is that a new…?”

Me:  “I’ve had this for a while.”
 

[nate j]

Here’s my Apple Watch.  Overall, I like it.  It does some cool and convenient things.  And I absolutely feel like Dick Tracy making/taking phone calls on it.


As others have noted, the biggest annoyance is remembering to charge it, especially for someone who was used to solar watches.  I can usually get 2-3 days out of a charge, depending on usage, though the battery is still pretty new (less than a year).

It’s very convenient to be able to make and receive calls, see who is messaging me, check the weather, verify compass heading, etc. without having to pull out my phone.

As expected, integration, syncing, and set up with the iPhone is simple and seamless.  It did take me some time to configure which alerts I wanted to pop up on the watch (for me, only a small subset of what’s on my phone).

The model I have is quite large and heavy, even for someone used to wearing diving watches.

[powernoodle]

Wife:  “Is that a new…?”

Me:  “I’ve had this for a while.”