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The quest for a simple smartwatch

binarymoon.co.uk

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Re: The quest for a simple smartwatch

#151

Post by binarymoon »

furyg3 wrote: post #138

I'm disappointed with the lack of notification granularity, at least as it pertains to my iPhone / non-Apple Watch setup (Garmin). On my watch I'd only like notifications about meeting reminders, scheduled reminders, and possibly google maps notifications (directions) while biking. I don't want my watch to buzz when I get a message. I do want to see a badge / bubble on my phone though. With iPhone / Garmin, it's all…

With Garmin on Android you can enable or disable notifications per app in the Garmin app settings.

Re: The quest for a simple smartwatch

#152

Post by silveira »

After my two Pebbles, I have never found something quite like it. I have then accumulated a drawer full of sad, obsolete and nonfunctional smart watches.

I then moved my interest to good old plain watches. Digital, mechanical, self-winding, manual-winding, hacking seconds, chronographs, divers, all that. It's a rich, complex, and beautiful world.

They can get as expensive or as affordable as you want, but for the price of one expensive smart watch you can get quite a nice collection of watches that you can combine with different styles of life and fashion.

Re: The quest for a simple smartwatch

#153

Post by trd716 »

LeifCarrotson wrote: post #116
xnorswap wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is why I loved my Pebble. The LCD screen meant it was readable in any light and also had fantastic battery life.

Transflective Memory-In-Pixel LCD screen. The Fitbit has a backlit LCD, like a TV, which sucks in daylight. You can still get transflective displays on Garmin fitness/hiking watches. They're great, because they allow for always-on display with more than a month of battery life. Some of their new consumer products are OLED that wake up when you turn your wrist, but the core audience really likes the transflective disp…

Moto 360 Sport had this kind of display (transflective LCD) and I kept it working with battery replacements for years. Finally moved on to a GW4C and I miss the display all the time, it was perfect to glance at either day or night

Re: The quest for a simple smartwatch

#156

Post by throwawayai2 »

warunsl wrote: post #39

I am surprised no one has mentioned Coros yet. I have been using the Coros Pace 2 and it been very good. Basic smartphone with notification mirroring from iPhone. Has about 10 days of battery life. Has very good support for various activities. Very satisfied so far.

I just got a Coros Apex 2, I'm very happy with it.

Re: The quest for a simple smartwatch

#157

Post by doodlebugging »

factorialboy wrote: post #106

I feel the new G-Shocks will fill this role quite well. Insane battery life, ruggedness, and now an improved MIP screen and smart features. I tested out and threw out smart watches. They are not for me. I love the freedom of a €125 dumb rugged square G Shock.

I am not a watch person myself though I do wear a Garmin Instinct 2 Solar that I bought last year for some of the activity tracking functionality. It is the first thing for a wrist that I have worn in more than 40 years so I am still getting accustomed to the feel of something on my arm. I may ultimately give it away after getting enough data to understand where I am in my personal fitness at my age (>60).

If I were a watch person I would definitely be a G-Shock person. I bought one for a brother more than 20 years ago when he joined the Army and needed a durable watch. His model charges by solar and syncs to local time via radio I think. No matter where he has traveled he always had the correct time. He told me that the watch has never had a problem and that he wouldn't consider "upgrading" to a smart watch which would tie him to a charger.

Casio makes excellent watches and their entry into the smart watch domain should be interesting. I bought the Garmin because of the battery life, feature set, and reliability and because I have used Garmin GPS devices and know them to be excellent devices. Casio has a similar reputation for quality and so they should be on anyone's short list of devices to consider.

Re: The quest for a simple smartwatch

#158

Post by pydry »

brookst wrote: post #146
b112 wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

which is a bit baffling to me. I'm guessing pebble watches didn't geolocate you, and report your position, and probably didn't record everything said around you then "anonymize" it, so it was likely deemed useless by VCs, and thus died? No wonder there's no replacement! To all VCs, my startup sells geolocated tools, and also orders screws and nails, automatically, by selling special nails, with an rfid tag build in!…

Consumers decide product success, not VCs. If there is demand, the product will succeed. See: all the companies that came from bootstrapped startups. If there is no demand, no amount of VC money will make a successful company. See: Magic Leap.

Consumers will routinely go for a smartwatch that is $25 cheaper that is riddled with spyware.

There are two schools of thought over this: they just don't care so it's fine or the wool has been pulled over their eyes.

The backlash from industry against laws that are largely just intended to inform consumers and keep them in the loop (like GDPR) kind of hints that it's not the former.

Consumers are especially bad at pricing risk. Just because they made a decision doesn't mean that they walked into those risks with open eyes.

Re: The quest for a simple smartwatch

#159

Post by aag »

jstanley wrote: post #8
wanderingmind wrote: post #6

I have not personally used, but looks like banglejs[0], a fully hackable watch with GPS and a good battery life (4 weeks claim) is proabably the best successor for Pebble [0] https://banglejs.com/

I have worn a Bangle.js daily for 2 years (I have both the original and the version 2). I really like the watch, it is easy and fun to program. But I'm not sure it's what OP is after. The requirements are: > Phone notifications (so I don’t miss calls/ texts) > Step counting > A long battery life Bangle.js doesn't connect to your phone at all, so you won't get any phone notifications. I don't personally use step count…

It definitely does connect to the phone. I receive notifications on mine all the time.

I love my Bangle.js 2, and have written my own watch face for it.

Re: The quest for a simple smartwatch

#160

Post by macintux »

rollcat wrote: post #71
profsummergig wrote: post #18

Was talking to an older lady the other day. Very non-tech. Only uses an iPhone and an Apple watch. No laptop or tablet/iPad. Gets a surprisingly large quantity of things done via her phone. My phone is an Android. She shared 2 things her iPhone can do that I don't think my phone (OnePlus 7 pro) and watch (Amazfit T-Rex 2) combination can do: - she can always find out where she parked her car - her watch buzzes to war…

I feel AW is underrated as an everyday tool, especially when it comes to being mindful about contemporary attention sinks. You can do almost anything from it that doesn't require a larger screen or a keyboard, and the kinds of activities the larger screen enables tend to mostly just waste your time. Take a typical 2007 "dumb" phone - the watch screen is roughly that size. It becomes awkward when you need to find some…

I agree, for me the biggest value of the Apple Watch is how much it has liberated me from my phone. I use my iPad for content browsing, and my watch for responding to incoming notifications, and my phone mainly serves as a camera.

The (literal and figurative) friction of dragging my phone out of my pocket when I receive a call or text or other alert is gone, and I love it.

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