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Thread: What would make you buy a 'Smart Watch'?

  1. #51
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    I have a Fenix 5 which I use when running, mountain biking, road biking and swimming. Also in the gym which is handy for text etc. Always revert back to a 'proper' watch the rest of the time but undoubtedly they have their uses especially for me being a data junkie. Not sure why people have such an aversion to them, they are what they are....useful to a lot of people, oh and they tell the time as well🤣

  2. #52
    Grand Master MartynJC (UK)'s Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by watchstudent View Post
    I would be interested in a smart watch that did lots of tracking but actually didn't display it and i could just access the data on my phone if and when i want to.
    The Fitbit Charge 3 does that - the display is black unless you tilt or press button - you can display on wrist too - but all the analysis is done ‘cloud side’ and an app shows your progress and viewable as you need it. Bluetooth connection between the two - data is stored up to seven days locally on the Fitbit and transmitted to the cloud either synch or asynch - your choice.

    I have one of these wearables 24x7 (as I track my sleep patterns too for health reasons) on my right wrist, and my watch on my left. I have no plans to buy a smart watch.

  3. #53
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    Quote Originally Posted by hafle View Post
    I can't help but laugh at the fitness justifications. Humans have been perfectly capable of remaining fit for millenia without the need for calorie counters. It is like the people who require weight watchers diets and guidamce.

    People didn't have super easy access to high calorie low nutritional value food until recently either. We also didn't have so many sedentary desk jobs. The world is a very different place and calorie counting can help lots of people stay on track.

    the high sugar and calorie foods that were very rare and so we crave are now cheap and abundant, for even the most steel willed. It might not be useful to you but calorie counting helps lots of people stay healthy.

    Also the argument that we didn't have fitness aids for melenia is completely flawed. We didn't have computers, organ transplants, vaccines and a plethora of modern tools and developments. People survived without them but are better off with them.

    To the op's question of what would make me buy a smart watch.
    Accurate sleep tracking for one. With young children who don't sleep well, an instrument that wakes me right after a sleep cycle when I'm fresh is useful.
    Also an accurate stress monitor would be usfdul, one that uses pulse, o2, skin conductivness and any other useful metrics to accurately identify the onset of stress would help a lot of people by alerting them to take 5 or simply making them aware of their rising stress level.

  4. #54
    Grand Master RustyBin5's Avatar
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    Smart watches look okay. But one on opposite wrist to a normal watch looks unbalanced and a total clash. To my eyes anyway.

  5. #55
    Master Ruggertech's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by pacifichrono View Post
    Kind of a hybrid mechanical/smart watch:

    I hope the wearer isn't about to jump off!

    Sent from my SM-A105FN using Tapatalk

  6. #56
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    I often wear a watch on each arm around the house...
    Fortunately neither of them is a smart watch, my phone is annoying enough on its own!!!
    The kids think I'm weird when I have 2 watches on

    Sent from my SM-G960F using TZ-UK mobile app

  7. #57
    Grand Master Passenger's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by hafle View Post
    I can't help but laugh at the fitness justifications. Humans have been perfectly capable of remaining fit for millenia without the need for calorie counters. It is like the people who require weight watchers diets and guidamce.
    I think we just have to acknowledge that modern civilisation has domesticated man, as it has the wild animals that we raise for food and companionship, the instincts and independence of mind have had to be somewhat tamed so we can all, mostly, get along, makes us more biddable, less capable of self sufficency, docile...also if we don't keep buying stuff we don't really need, then the whole system collapses.
    Also might explain why we get the political leadership we have, I'll say no more.

  8. #58
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    I’m finding it is really helping with motivation for exercise and diet my 2 main 2020 goals. So far so good - just moved in a belt hole sine 01 Jan!

  9. #59
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    Quote Originally Posted by walkerwek1958 View Post
    +1, a cheap casio watch to time runs etc is all I ever used, it did the job. Simply write the time for a training run in a diary.

    As for diets, the info's readily available on most food packaging or on the good old interweb. Simply do the maths.
    There’s no need for any watch people have been using the sun to tell the time since 1500BC.

  10. #60
    Craftsman Rolthai32's Avatar
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    What would make me buy one ?
    Dementia!

  11. #61
    Craftsman dmpl's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rolthai32 View Post
    What would make me buy one ?
    Dementia!
    Sadly, I don't think that's true. I reckon it's the old keeping up with the Jones'.

  12. #62
    Grand Master ryanb741's Avatar
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    Hmmm. Let's not be deluded gents. Mechanical watches are lovely bits of jewellery. In terms of useful tools smartwatches are leagues ahead. Turns out I like wrist jewellery but I'm not kidding myself that an Omega Seamaster is a more useful bit of kit than an Apple Watch. Just like you can still continue to use an Abacus to add things up if you want but I'll use the calculator app on my phone thank you

    Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

  13. #63
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    Quote Originally Posted by ryanb741 View Post
    Just like you can still continue to use an Abacus to add things up if you want but I'll use the calculator app on my phone thank you

    Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
    I advise mental arithmetic , the mental exercise is good for the brain.

    All this crap about using an abacus and bloody sundials is exactly that..........crap. The so-called benefits of wearing a smart watch don't cut it for me; I also think they make the wearer look a bit of a nerd.

    I`m surprised that folks who like proper watches would even entertain wearing one, they're the antithesis of good taste. I can understand yungsters being attracted to them because they're hip and trendy, but not grown-ups.

  14. #64
    Grand Master Neil.C's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ryanb741 View Post
    Hmmm. Let's not be deluded gents. Mechanical watches are lovely bits of jewellery. In terms of useful tools smartwatches are leagues ahead. Turns out I like wrist jewellery but I'm not kidding myself that an Omega Seamaster is a more useful bit of kit than an Apple Watch. Just like you can still continue to use an Abacus to add things up if you want but I'll use the calculator app on my phone thank you

    Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
    Deluded, moi ?

    My mobile phone hasn't even got a camera, its a phone.

    I am still capable of mental arithmetic or failing that working something out on paper.

    You can go as far down the technology rabbit hole as you wish but others may not care to do so. There are kids nowadays who cannot read analogue time as they have only ever used digital technology.

    I still use fountain pens, how's that for an anachronism?
    Cheers,
    Neil.

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    http://www.freewebs.com/neil271052

  15. #65
    They have no appeal for me.

    Surely to get the full benefit of the fitness / sleep tracking etc. you need to wear one pretty well all the time, but most need fairly frequent charging.

    I also get more than enough "notifications" via my phone, iPad & laptop - having something else beeping at me is not desirable.

    I did buy an AlpinerX but got rid straight away, mainly because it was just too big.
    Andy

    Wanted - Damasko DC57

  16. #66
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    Essential to me

    I bought and Apple Watch when they first introduced it and then a Garmin Fenix 5X. I use them almost exclusively during my daily exercises. These watches are essential to my trainings.
    The TAG smart is a beautiful one, was about to buy it but the lack of heart rate sensor it became useless for me, so I skipped. Don’t know if they have added that sensor now.

    Quote Originally Posted by proby24 View Post
    I have to admit my initial scepticism about smartwatches is slowly waning and I think it is inevitable I will get one in the next year or so. This has been influenced by friends who all love (and collect) mechanical watches adopting Apple Watches and finding them taking over their wrist time.

    Personally, I see smartwatches as a true threat to mechanical watches, and the dawn of another quartz crisis. With smartwatches becoming increasingly sophisticated 'wearables' with valid medical data and tracking, they can only increase markedly in adoption. How long until your private medical insurance company insists on you wearing one?

    Being a fan of Breitling Aerospaces, and owning two, I would like Breitling to collaborate with a major smartwatch manufacturer to bring a smart Aerospace to market in the current 43mm case (or 42mm Advantage).

    Tag Heuer seem to be working a good concept with their smartwatch and exchangeable modules.

  17. #67
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    If I was a fitness fanatic, or had health concerns where monitoring heart rate etc may be beneficial, I’d consider some type of fitbit thing or possibly a smart watch, but I’m in neither category. Generally I carry a phone thesedays when I’m out and about, if anyone needs to contact me they can phone me . I don’t do texts if I can avoid it, I don’t want pestering with tittle- tattle, I don’t do Facebook and I certainly don’t want alerts etc.

    When I go in the gym I don’t want pestering, so the phone stays in my locker, unless I’m expecting some important communication I never take it in with me. They’re a distraction in my opinion.

    So- called ‘Smart’ devices are addictive to some, its sad to see people so obsessed by them. Sure, they have benefits but its sensible to keep it in proportion. Of all these devices the Smart watches have the highest ‘prat factor’ of them all, hell would freeze over before I’d buy one.

  18. #68
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    I'm on my third, but all have been for running. TomTom Spark 3, then a Garmin 735 XT and now a Garmin Fenix 5. Sadly, the GPS on the Fenix 5 is completely useless, so I use a Stryd foot pod for pace information. I also use a heart rate chest strap as the wrist sensor is useless about 150 BPM. That leaves the Fenix 5 as pretty much just a display....

  19. #69
    Quote Originally Posted by hafle View Post
    I can't help but laugh at the fitness justifications. Humans have been perfectly capable of remaining fit for millenia without the need for calorie counters. It is like the people who require weight watchers diets and guidamce.
    Humans have also been perfectly capable of communicating with each other without the internet for millenia, yet here we are.

    I'm likely to buy an Apple watch soon, and one of the main reasons is fitness tracking. I'm doing my first triathlon (sprint) later in the year and I'd like to know accurately where I am physically compared with my friends who did the event last year. I could of course use any timing device, heart rate monitor, cycle speedometer and the pool clock, or simply a smartwatch – which I'm happy to do, an if that makes you laugh, that's a result for both of us.

  20. #70
    Quote Originally Posted by walkerwek1958 View Post
    ; I also think they make the wearer look a bit of a nerd.

    .
    Thank you for the compliment.

  21. #71
    I'm not sure smartwatches will cause another "quartz crisis". They are a very different proposition to mechanical watches.

    There are plenty of people who would buy a $10,000 mechanical watch, but no-one wants a $10,000 smart watch (as Apple found out - its first series Edition Watches started at $10,000; their latest Editions start at around $800).

  22. #72
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    Nothing, absolutely sweet FA.

    My phone going nuts with messages is a source of constant annoyance, cant imagine that being transplanted onto my wrist.
    I have no interest in monitoring steps or anything else, and if i want to know my bp/pulse/whatever/ ill ask the dr when im next at the surgery which is an annual event at best.
    They just sound like another PITA that you have to remember to charge.
    Cant be bothered.

  23. #73
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    I was tempted to get one to track me when I swim, but I really couldn’t bring myself to do it in case I found myself wearing it all the time. Thankfully you can now get goggles that track the swim and I know I’ll never wear them down the pub.


    Sent from my iPhone using TZ-UK mobile app

  24. #74
    Quote Originally Posted by adrianwong View Post
    I'm not sure smartwatches will cause another "quartz crisis". They are a very different proposition to mechanical watches.

    There are plenty of people who would buy a $10,000 mechanical watch, but no-one wants a $10,000 smart watch (as Apple found out - its first series Edition Watches started at $10,000; their latest Editions start at around $800).
    Only the gold Apple Watch was 10,000.

  25. #75
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    I couldnt bring myself to wear a smart watch, It says all the wrong things about your personality / character.

  26. #76
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    Quote Originally Posted by jjm3uk View Post
    I couldnt bring myself to wear a smart watch, It says all the wrong things about your personality / character.
    Dewey me what are you on about

  27. #77
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    So many smart watches at work, they tend to use them for gym, walking, phone functions etc. I noticed that they come and go too, as they get bored of wearing them, or just start to ignore the little screen on their wrist and go back to just using the phone.

  28. #78
    Were it automatic or solar

    ...
    BUBI 0_0

  29. #79
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    Fitness tracking when doing my exercise. Love how good and encouraging the data the watches provide can be to my daily exercise routines.
    Also love going back to my mechanical watch after training is done.

  30. #80
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    Quote Originally Posted by pacifichrono View Post
    Kind of a hybrid mechanical/smart watch:

    Snazzy, I can see that catching on....You are Predator and I claim my £5

  31. #81
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    Quote Originally Posted by Darklel View Post
    I'd wear one to the gym, that way I can leave my phone in the locker whilst still being connected to the world.

    Wouldn't be caught dead with one during the day though. Plus, how much "activity" do you do and measure during office hours?...
    This I could imagine as a good reason for one otherwise I always have my phone on me so don’t see what else they give me and I love my mechanical watches. My wife has replaced all her lovely watches with an Apple watch because “I don’t always have my phone on me”. It is like when the Blackberry came out being connected to the world 24/7 or monitored 24/7 is not going to make life less stressful or more fun! I miss the days when work emails stopped when I left the office!

  32. #82
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    Used to have one of those Seiko things, gutted that it just evaporated over time during my nomad years.

    I own an apple watch and although it has now been relegated to being a very expensive alarm clock sat by my bed I'm thinking of getting a smart band to replace it for one and only one reason. It saved my life.
    I used to suffer from atrial flutter, this is where half your heart beats 2x-8x faster than the other half, this is not only rather weird feeling but can cause standing pools of blood within the heart which can then clot and be pumped into your body causing strokes, embolisms, and all manner of nasty stuff.
    The first I knew about it, I was sitting watching TV and my apple watch started going mental every 10 minutes saying my heart rate is over a certain level and it cannot detect me moving much. First few times I cancel it and think nothing of it, then I start feeling strange and ask the wife to check my heart rate - shes a nurse. She checks it, goes a bit pale and immediately calls 111 as it's up around 180bpm. Get bussed to A&E where they fuss at me, inject me with something that makes me feel like death, threaten to sedate and then try to shock my heart back into rhythm but decide not to as it's been going long enough for clots to form. They then pump me full of blood thinners and keep me in over night.
    Eventually I had a minor heart operation (ablation) and while this has fixed me it does come with increased risk of developing fibrillation in the future.
    So, A heart rate sensing smart watch is something that I value greatly. I also found it useful at the gym - which since the operation I've had to cut down on.

  33. #83
    Craftsman trott3r's Avatar
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    If they made the pebble again! ;)

    Shame fitbit bought and killed the technology although it is still supported with rebble.io
    I am one of those that has a mechanical on the left and pebble on my right under my sleeve so its not so obvious.

  34. #84
    Grand Master ryanb741's Avatar
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    Wow! Glad to hear you are on the mend. Suspect the outcome may have been less happy had you been wearing a Submariner!
    Quote Originally Posted by julian2002 View Post
    Used to have one of those Seiko things, gutted that it just evaporated over time during my nomad years.

    I own an apple watch and although it has now been relegated to being a very expensive alarm clock sat by my bed I'm thinking of getting a smart band to replace it for one and only one reason. It saved my life.
    I used to suffer from atrial flutter, this is where half your heart beats 2x-8x faster than the other half, this is not only rather weird feeling but can cause standing pools of blood within the heart which can then clot and be pumped into your body causing strokes, embolisms, and all manner of nasty stuff.
    The first I knew about it, I was sitting watching TV and my apple watch started going mental every 10 minutes saying my heart rate is over a certain level and it cannot detect me moving much. First few times I cancel it and think nothing of it, then I start feeling strange and ask the wife to check my heart rate - shes a nurse. She checks it, goes a bit pale and immediately calls 111 as it's up around 180bpm. Get bussed to A&E where they fuss at me, inject me with something that makes me feel like death, threaten to sedate and then try to shock my heart back into rhythm but decide not to as it's been going long enough for clots to form. They then pump me full of blood thinners and keep me in over night.
    Eventually I had a minor heart operation (ablation) and while this has fixed me it does come with increased risk of developing fibrillation in the future.
    So, A heart rate sensing smart watch is something that I value greatly. I also found it useful at the gym - which since the operation I've had to cut down on.

  35. #85
    Ability to perform ECG ( albeit a limited one) is a dramatic breakthrough. Before this smart watches were able to do it but it was a cumbersome costly app needed by both patient and the doctor. For patients with arrhythmias, this is a boon.

  36. #86
    Craftsman Recht's Avatar
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    Pretty soon these watches will be able to communicate with other watches. Users will be able to indicate their status, so I'll be able to pinpoint available women. That would make me interested in having one. Oh, and solar charging too. I'm not going to be bothered charging something every night.

  37. #87
    Master WarrenVrs's Avatar
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    I wear a mi band most of the time, so the phone stays on silent and the band vibrates for notifications.

    Don't see the need for anything else.

  38. #88
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    I would never say never.

    Managed for years without a mobile phone or sat Nav as they hadn’t been invented.
    Can’t imagine life without either now.

    In 5 years time, some new smart watch might be very desirable.
    They might have features that would be very useful.

    Until then. I will resist.

  39. #89
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    Nothing short of being compelled, under pain of death, to buy either a smart watch, or the Steinhart abomination (The Watch That Shall Not Be Named) posted here by Papa Hotel.

  40. #90
    Master PreacherCain's Avatar
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    For me, the fundamental problem is that currently I don't find the admirable and useful feature set of any of the smart watches sufficiently compelling to make me choose to wear one over and above one of my collection of watches. It's not really a jewellery thing as such, in that I wouldn't choose a smart watch over one of my scabby old 5610 G-Shocks *or* one of my big-brand Veblen watches. I see the utility of notifications, activity tracking etc., but I just don't want it enough to swap over.

    I'm conscious that this in many ways mirrors the traditional "yoof" reason for not wearing a watch: I've got a phone, and that performs a smart watch's functions very well...

  41. #91
    I wear mine every day to work as it keeps my life insurance low showing that I'm active for 9-10 hrs per day. It gets me a Starbucks every week and cinema tickets plus I couldn't wear my other watches due to the chance of damage

  42. #92
    Master PreacherCain's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by m4ckg View Post
    ...plus I couldn't wear my other watches due to the chance of damage
    Each to their own, but I’ve never understood this: for me, the main thing about owning a nice watch is the pleasure I get from wearing it; anything I don’t wear gets sold or traded for something that I will. And so far I’ve not really damaged anything.

    He says.

    Tempting fate...

  43. #93
    Quote Originally Posted by PreacherCain View Post
    Each to their own, but I’ve never understood this: for me, the main thing about owning a nice watch is the pleasure I get from wearing it; anything I don’t wear gets sold or traded for something that I will. And so far I’ve not really damaged anything.

    He says.

    Tempting fate...
    I’m deriving less pleasure these days from wearing nice watches. Too self conscious on the tube or in the pub.

  44. #94
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    I wear my samsung smart watch for work (building trade) Monday-Friday as a fitness tracker and nice watches on the weekends.. funny thing is my phone also tracks fitness! Go figure

    Sent from my SM-G965F using TZ-UK mobile app

  45. #95
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    Battery life of at least one week. Non-proprietary wireless charging (e.g. can charge from any qi-compatible wireless charger).

    Kind regards

  46. #96
    Anyone thought to get an Apple Watch 1, boxed and unused. It's bound to be a future collectable.

  47. #97
    Quote Originally Posted by PreacherCain View Post
    Each to their own, but I’ve never understood this: for me, the main thing about owning a nice watch is the pleasure I get from wearing it; anything I don’t wear gets sold or traded for something that I will. And so far I’ve not really damaged anything.

    He says.

    Tempting fate...
    Would you wear a rolex on a construction site?

  48. #98
    Unfortunately I find the Apple Watch pretty practical for business use and for health monitoring. So day to day I’ve stopped wearing my nice old stuff during the week.

  49. #99
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    What would make you buy a 'Smart Watch'?

    Firstly let me say that I am pretty much a Luddite, but I was given an Apple Watch for Christmas and I have to say, no other watch has really had a look in since. I spent the 6 months before Christmas being prodded and poked by half the cardiologists in Sussex before eventually being diagnosed with and something called athletic heart syndrome. I thought the watch would be good to monitor my heart rate during exercise, but it’s become a pretty indispensable item and I absolutely love it.
    Aside from using it to monitor my sleep, it warms me when my heart rate gets too low in the night meaning - I need to ease up a little on the fitness regime. But I also use the health tracking, Strava and Spotify regularly as well as a couple of hiking apps.
    I also travel around Europe a great deal for work - to different offices and I often have a few meetings in different places all over a particular city which I travel to on foot. The GPS is absolutely brilliant for this. Maybe I’m just a little over cautious, but nothing says “target” to a would be mugger like a lone person wandering round a strange city sometimes in the dark staring at his phone for directions to a hotel. A quick glance down at the wrist is all it takes to see where I’m going (incidentally not making myself a target is also the reason I no longer really wear expensive watches when I’m at work).
    I will accept, it’s not to everyone’s taste, but I really can appreciate the outstanding level of technology and usefulness for something so small.



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    Last edited by Piemuncher22; 29th January 2020 at 23:48.

  50. #100
    nothing.

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