The quest for a simple smartwatch

I'm right there with you (drawer full of loved-but-neglected pebbles, along with a few Garmin watches).

I ended up going the other direction, I got an apple watch and just sucked it up and accepted that I'll toss it on the charger every morning. It has a lot of really good features (I can approve okta logins and get authy codes from my wrist, I can check weather and scroll around to browse the forecast, things like that).

I think there are two branches at this point post-pebble. You either get something that augments your phone with a couple benefits over a traditional watch, or you get something like Apple Watch that does many of the things your phone can do, saving you from spending time on the big screen.

For me there's strong value to the latter that makes up for the battery downsides: the powerful-but-focused app functionality means I can accomplish a task without getting pulled into other things. On a phone I find it all too easy to check the weather then start checking notifications and get sucked into news or something.

I have a charge 5 and it's fine - in particular, it would suit the OP.

I also would love to tinker with the fw and be able to service parts. But providing each of those features is a tradeoff. The fw is primarily a cultural issue, but to some extent also a support one. I think that's where I would push harder - rather than the hw aspect. Replaceable batteries are either quite specific or incur a substantial space penalty (are any widely-available button cells rechargable?)

The recent release H5600 is a square G Shock with smart features. There's also the GBD 200 and the H1000s, but the 5600 is closest to the old-school square G Shock.

> Plus, call me picky if you like, but having a reputable brand name behind my purchase gives me extra peace of mind when it comes to reliability.

I hope the author realizes that Amazfit is owned by Huami which is a sister/sibling company of Xiaomi. And as of 2021 at least, they were the 3rd largest smartwatch maker after Apple and Samsung.[1] I'd expect their build quality to be at least quite decent on average, and my n=1 $60 Amazfit Bip is probably 4 years old now with absolutely no issues.

> I’m aware that there are cheaper alternatives out there like the Amazfit range but these watches were either too complex, or too basic, there was no middle ground.

AFAIK nearly all the fancier options can be turned off from the app. And apart from a very few models with (I think) 8 segment displays all of them satisfy the author's criteria of notifications + other features.

I sometimes wish Amazfit would advertise more because every "I want a simple smartwatch!" discussion ends up with "Aah I wish Pebble existed" comments, folks paying $$$ for Garmins/Fitbits and people bemoaning the battery life on Apple/Samsung watches. Just get an Amazfit Bip (original or S).

1 - https://www.gizmochina.com/2021/11/30/amazfit-becomes-third-...

An interesting thing to note is that Garmin, Coros, and Suunto are pretty much the only brands used by long distance runners, and all three companies have really optimized them for long battery life. I really love my Garmin Fenix 6, and the battery on it lasts around 10 days-2 weeks depending on how much running I record with it. It's funny how most people don't know about Coros or Suunto outside of the running community though.