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Ask HN: How do you like your smartwatch?

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11–19 of 19 posts

Re: Ask HN: How do you like your smartwatch?

#11
Moto 360 (gen1) here. I find that a lot of it depends on the cost. This watch launched at $250 and while I really liked the look and idea of it, it was still a bit more than I wanted to pay for a cool gadget that I didn't really need.

A few months after launch I snagged one on sale for $175 and I quite enjoy it (although not necessarily for the reasons I originally expected to).

My experience: it's nothing groundbreaking like your first (or latest) smartphone because it's largely just an extension of that smartphone. I don't really run too many watch-specific applications and mostly use it for quick notifications/replies and the occasional case where having a control on my wrist is nicer than messing with my phone.

One example of that would be navigation while riding my motorcycle. I don't have a phone charger/mount but I can fire up nav before leaving and glance down at my watch to see upcoming turns. It can also be nice as a remote for my phone's camera or to pause something I'm casting to the TV like a Netflix show.

Honestly my main, favorite thing about this watch is the ability to change the face to look like just about anything I want. I never would've guessed this at first but this is my stupidly obvious killer app (or at least the most enjoyable). There are several great watch faces for free or cheap on the Play Store and thousands of them available for download and application through apps like Watchmaker.

The fact that this is just a programmable screen means you can make it look like a subtle, classy "traditional" watch or you can do things not possible on traditional jewelry. If I felt like it I could swap between a long list of favorites to match whatever I'm doing or even what I'm wearing. Granted I'm not quite that obsessed with fashion or anything but it's a surprisingly cool thing to have.

And since I enjoy playing around in Photoshop and Illustrator, I can create my own interactive watch faces with no programming skill required. Watchmaker and other apps allow you to create each element from the background to the hands or dials or readouts or buttons and tie them to variables like time, date, battery, location, or even the orientation of the watch in space.

It's totally a geeky bit of tinkering that not everyone would enjoy but again, there are thousands of great ones out there made and shared by people who are into that sort of thing. Granted there are plenty of shitty "brand" watch knockoff faces and ugly amateurish stuff but that's the nature of user-generated designs.

So yeah, for $150-250, if you're a gadget fan and have the dough to spend on something that's mostly just pretty neat but not necessary, I think these sorts of watches are great. If the idea of putting it on a cradle on the nightstand every night turns you off or you would never spend that much on any watch, maybe it's not a great idea.

I doubt that I would spend the $400-500+ I've seen other smart watches going for because there's only so much I'd pay for a smartphone extender with custom display but in the $150-250 range it's pretty sweet.

Re: Ask HN: How do you like your smartwatch?

#12
I have a G watch R, Initially I wore it constantly, but I stopped wearing it around the house, it seemed to get in the way. Admittedly I never really wore a watch before so it could be that.

I feel odd going outside without it though, I have bluetooth headphones, so on my walk to/from work, my phone can stay in my jacket pocket, and I still get notifications and can control my music.

I use the heart rate/step tracker a fair amount too as I'm trying to lose weight.

I don't use the other apps on there particularly regularly, although I found the 'remote camera view' app is great when working behind PCs/Monitors.

Re: Ask HN: How do you like your smartwatch?

#14
Moto 360 Gen2

Mainly use it to get a glance at messages (Hangouts etc.), control music while on the go and to track my fitness goals.

I'm working on a Raspberry Pi powered doorbell/camera, so I'm looking forward to making the companion app and wear app.

Re: Ask HN: How do you like your smartwatch?

#15
I have the Pebble Time (Kickstarter Edition!) and I like it for the most part. My favorite feature is seeing text messages on my wrist so 1) I can enter 2FA codes without taking out my phone and 2) seeing if I actually need to reply back to someone.

What annoys me is the constant Bluetooth disconnection and sporadic battery life. Maybe I'm a heavy user or am remembering things incorrectly, but I feel like I used to get more battery life. I get a 20% battery warning every two days it seems.

I only wish the screen was retina like my co-worker's  Watch. It's nice.

Re: Ask HN: How do you like your smartwatch?

#17
post #2

I'm curious as well. I've noticed that one of the things that seems like a big predictor of the success of gadgets that we use in public is whether or not they force users to break etiquette, or if they can be 'grandfathered' into existing social norms. I'm curious about smart watches during one on one interactions in particular because the 'checking your watch' gesture is considered to be pretty blatantly rude in a…

I have noticed that checking my watch for notifications seems to make people think I'm checking the time. Where as actually pulling out my phone would indicate that more obviously.

I do absolutely love that my phone's ringer is never ever on. It just doesn't ever make a noise.

Re: Ask HN: How do you like your smartwatch?

#18
post #3

I currently have an Apple Watch and two 1st gen Pebble watches. I have had the Apple Watch since its release in 2015 and the Pebble watches since their kickstarter campaign. What I like most about my Apple Watch is that I don't need to wear a chest strap to use the heart rate sensor. Other features that are useful are turn-by-turn navigation and the ability to store music on it for use with bluetooth headphones while…

How accurate would you say the heart rate sensor is with the Apple Watch? I know there's a fitbit with an optical HR monitor as well but it is apparently very unreliable. That's one of the reasons I ended up going for the Garmin Vivoactive + heart rate strap - accuracy of results. Do you know of any comparisons between the Apple Watch sensor and a strap?

Re: Ask HN: How do you like your smartwatch?

#19
post #2

I'm curious as well. I've noticed that one of the things that seems like a big predictor of the success of gadgets that we use in public is whether or not they force users to break etiquette, or if they can be 'grandfathered' into existing social norms. I'm curious about smart watches during one on one interactions in particular because the 'checking your watch' gesture is considered to be pretty blatantly rude in a…

I have noticed that checking my watch for notifications seems to make people think I'm checking the time. Where as actually pulling out my phone would indicate that more obviously. I do absolutely love that my phone's ringer is never ever on. It just doesn't ever make a noise.

I've had the same thing. I didn't tell my coworkers I had a Pebble, but when I got a notification in a meeting, I looked at my watch and the boss commented that I must be bored with the meeting and looking to get out. Once I said it was a smartwatch, they then always assumed I was playing Tetris.
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