smart watch Is a smart watch really worth it?

[Jeffix]

I'm currently debating whether or not to get a smart watch, specifically an Apple one, as I am an iPhone user. I'm aware of the basic features such as receiving notifications, health monitoring, GPS, etc but my phone can do all of these things regardless. Does anyone that owns a smart watch (not just the Apple variety) find that it has significantly improved your productivity by saving you precious seconds normally spent pulling your phone out of your pocket?

 

I know I sound like I've made up my mind but I'm mainly curious about a largely enthusiast community's opinion on watches. And are there any cheaper options that get the job done that interface well with iOS?

[AnonymousGuy]

I use a fitbit because it does continuous heartrate monitoring (apple watch doesn't) and also provides notifications, and also has more than 1 day of battery life.  Having siri on my wrist might be somewhat useful in rare situations (like skiing when it's a pain in the ass to use your phone).

[COUPER MILLAR]

I have a fitbit blaze. The biggest benefit for me is that I don't need to have my phone on me to see new notifications. Also it is a lot less intrusive in my meetings to glance at my watch to see if the text or email that just came in requires my immediate attention or if it can wait. One draw back is that I can't use the fitbit to send a reply if needed. 

[Mira Yurizaki]

I have a Fitbit Blaze. I bought it primarily for the fitness aspect of it (which I only considered the watch after I was regularly exercising), but it can receive notifications from your phone. I'm liking that part as well, because it allows you to filter out what needs your immediate attention and what doesn't. But if you don't think you need something like that, then a smart watch isn't for you.

 

Plus they have horrible battery lives. Except for Fitbit's options which at least lasts for several days. That was the deal breaker for me.

[Drak3]

I have a Gear Fit 2, had a Gear Fit.

 

They're not worth it.

Theoretically, the notifications thing is great, but in practice, the screens are too small to get any real information as fast as just pulling out your phone.

Fitness tracking is also theoretically great, in practice, Smartwatches do a worse job than dedicated fitness trackers.

Music controls almake for a half decent remote, but a headset with inline buttons is faster and just interacting with your phone is, again, just as fast as fucking around with the watch.

 

They're novelties. Something you buy just to have it. There's basically no real world value to a smartwatch.

[SpaceGhostC2C]

My wife has a Mi Band 2, but she doesn't use it for notifications or anything, just steps and heartbeat monitoring, and as a watch. Battery life is ~3 weeks, but I guess it can drop well below that if you set everything to push notifications to it.

All in all, it's useful for her because she doesn't normally wear a wrist watch, and because she can use the step / heartbeat counting for medical reasons. None of those apply to me, and I wouldn't use it for notifications either (I already only care about phone notifications when it's an actual phone call, everything else can wait until I check for it).

[Pasi123]

I have a Motorola Moto 360 1st gen. I do like but its battery is almost dead (battery life less than a day).

[Guest The Viking]

boff, I have a huawei watch, battery lasts ~4 days without notifications. I just use it as a normal watch. You can set the notifications and see if you got an email from work, home, spam, or a message you need to reply or not, or just check the hour without using the phone. 

 

More productivity? i don't think so. Maybe just a bit easier, but at what cost? do those 3 saved seconds a day justify the price? probably not.

[Hogosha]

It depends on what you want it for. I have a Wear OS watch and I have my daily calender on it and weather. IT is nice to be able to see when my next meeting is at a glance and to know if I should grab my jacket before I go to lunch or not without grabbing my phone while walking down the hall or something. Notifications are nice. I can glance at my wrist to see if the text from my wife is about my kids or if it just a general message without having to interupt anything. 

 

In my personal life it is just a time piece, really. I tend not to wear it on weekends unless I know I have a busy schedule.