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The quest for a simple smartwatch

binarymoon.co.uk

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Re: The quest for a simple smartwatch

#131

Post by smallpipe »

mft_ wrote: post #79

I have a Fitbit Inspire 3 which, while looking more like a bracelet than a watch, offers all of the functionality the author was searching for. (I bought it primarily for sleep tracking, for which it offers AFAIK the best feature set outside of dedicated expensive sleep-tracking equipment.) However, I’d not really recommend it, and probably wouldn’t buy it again, given the choice: - very slow and buggy sync, which of…

The double counting of bike activity as steps drove me crazy when I had one. Made me switch to a garmin.

Re: The quest for a simple smartwatch

#132

Post by JKCalhoun »

chimprich wrote: post #94

The title should really be the quest for a cheap smartwatch with battery life, which seems to be what the author was looking for. The more expensive Garmin watches have excellent battery life and solar charging. I use a Garmin smartwatch. One of the surprising things about Garmin is that they don't have a proper app store. They have an app where you can load apps into your watch, but it's rather crippled by having no…

For me GPS is a must-have. I want the tracking of my walks/rides.

Looking at the Garmin specs, the two-week battery life is sans-GPS. With GPS enabled the battery life is the same as the Apple Watch.

Re: The quest for a simple smartwatch

#133

Post by izacus »

JKCalhoun wrote: post #132
chimprich wrote: post #94

The title should really be the quest for a cheap smartwatch with battery life, which seems to be what the author was looking for. The more expensive Garmin watches have excellent battery life and solar charging. I use a Garmin smartwatch. One of the surprising things about Garmin is that they don't have a proper app store. They have an app where you can load apps into your watch, but it's rather crippled by having no…

For me GPS is a must-have. I want the tracking of my walks/rides. Looking at the Garmin specs, the two-week battery life is sans-GPS. With GPS enabled the battery life is the same as the Apple Watch.

It absolutely isn't the same as Apple Watch, not sure what you've been looking at.

Apple Watch lasts hours with active GPS tracking while Garmin will last for a day (or even several days when in so-called Expedition mode).

Nothing from Apple comes close to Garmin's battery life at same usage.

Re: The quest for a simple smartwatch

#134

Post by m-p-3 »

xnorswap wrote: post #61
mtlmtlmtlmtl wrote: post #54

I was fairly happy with my fitbit charge 4, but now it's actually useless as a watch most of the time because they pushed a firmware update that reduces the max screen brightness. So now it's impossible to read the screen outside, even on the max settings . God I hate closed down hardware. I don't actually care if the battery life gets shorter because I take the damn thing off every day to shower anyway, and the time…

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

I currently have a Banglejs.2 and although the UI doesn't feel as snappy, it's IMO a decent enough alternative, although I miss the buttons from my Pebble.

I do might the Timeline UI, it still is in my opinion the pinnacle of what a smartwatch OS should aim for. It focused to keep the core function of a watch (time and time-related events) at the top.

Re: The quest for a simple smartwatch

#135

Post by DreaminDani »

santiagobasulto wrote: post #101
Xenonym wrote: post #21

The Withings Steel HR seems to fit the bill perfectly - it has a screen for phone notifications, a step tracker and basic fitness function, and I regularly get two weeks and more of battery life out of mine. Only problem might be that you find it’s small circular screen too small - but I think that’s a feature of its minimalist aesthetic, not a bug. https://www.withings.com/us/en/steel-hr

I was reading to pull the trigger on a Withings but then I got so many reports of inaccurate tracking data that I backed out. How's been your experience with it?

It makes the same mistakes all the other watches I've tried do. It'll track drumming, for instance, as swimming. But it's easy enough to update the activity or just delete it from your history altogether.

Re: The quest for a simple smartwatch

#136

Post by DreaminDani »

Xenonym wrote: post #21

The Withings Steel HR seems to fit the bill perfectly - it has a screen for phone notifications, a step tracker and basic fitness function, and I regularly get two weeks and more of battery life out of mine. Only problem might be that you find it’s small circular screen too small - but I think that’s a feature of its minimalist aesthetic, not a bug. https://www.withings.com/us/en/steel-hr

Came here to recommend Withings. I have the ScanWatch and love it. All the other watches I've tried were either too dumb (o.g. pebble and the similar tiny Garmin) or too smart (android wear / Apple Watch). Withings strikes a perfect balance between the two

Re: The quest for a simple smartwatch

#137

Post by kaba0 »

izacus wrote: post #133
JKCalhoun wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For me GPS is a must-have. I want the tracking of my walks/rides. Looking at the Garmin specs, the two-week battery life is sans-GPS. With GPS enabled the battery life is the same as the Apple Watch.

It absolutely isn't the same as Apple Watch, not sure what you've been looking at. Apple Watch lasts hours with active GPS tracking while Garmin will last for a day (or even several days when in so-called Expedition mode). Nothing from Apple comes close to Garmin's battery life at same usage.

Hours?! That’s definitely not true, I am by no means a Marathon runner, but mine has definitely managed to track quite long distances.

Although the two are not directly comparable of course, when is more of a fitness watch, the other is a general smart watch with fitness functionality.

Re: The quest for a simple smartwatch

#138

Post by furyg3 »

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 or nothing.

Re: The quest for a simple smartwatch

#139

Post by xela79 »

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 iPhone / Garmin, it's all or nothing.

time to upgrade to Apple Watch ;)

it has all that granularity, which is just awesome https://support.apple.com/guide/watch/change-notification-se...

Re: The quest for a simple smartwatch

#140

Post by xela79 »

xnorswap wrote: post #61
mtlmtlmtlmtl wrote: post #54

I was fairly happy with my fitbit charge 4, but now it's actually useless as a watch most of the time because they pushed a firmware update that reduces the max screen brightness. So now it's impossible to read the screen outside, even on the max settings . God I hate closed down hardware. I don't actually care if the battery life gets shorter because I take the damn thing off every day to shower anyway, and the time…

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

the OG Pebble Steel was in a class apart, really loved that Watch. Unfortunately it had issues with connection cable and had 2 units that broke over time. My favorite long battery smartwatch owned.
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