Chris Carlon/Android Authority
If there are two constants in my life, they are a phone in my pocket and a watch on my wrist. So when I bought my first real smartwatch in the form of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4, I was really excited. After years of owning Mi Bands and other “smart” watches, I’m finally able to use a “real” smartwatch, one with an app store. Oh, the possibilities will open up!
But after using the Galaxy Watch 4 and then the Apple Watch Series 7 over the past two years, I knew I could have easily switched either in favor of a more basic smartwatch, and not suffer any loss. In fact, I would have saved a lot of money if I hadn’t been so reckless with my purchases. Because despite owning some of the best smartwatches, I’ve continued to use them all in the usual stupid ways.
Are you using all the smarts in your smartwatch?
10 votes
Can a smartwatch do so much? Yes but …
Jamie Westenberg / Android Authority
Left to right: Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 and Apple Watch Series 6
Despite all the cool tricks that smartwatch makers emphasize when launching their products, the biggest and often underrated feature is the integrated app store. Access the wonderful world of third-party watch apps that can upgrade stock experiences and fix feature monitoring from the manufacturer.
I quite like the idea of being able to see all my Google Calendar appointments on the Galaxy Watch 4. Or the fact that I can open a web page on the watch if I really want to. I load up Outlook to check my emails or use Todoist to remember all the items on my grocery list. Heck, I can even watch YouTube videos if I’m about to stare at that tiny screen. I can do so much more than any glorified fitness band!
But have you actually done any of these things? Did I want to do any of it?
Kaitlyn Cimino/Android Authority
My biggest concern with both the Galaxy Watch 4 and Apple Watch 7 was battery life. If I used my watch to its full capacity during a typical day, I would combat battery anxiety because I managed it in 24 hours. Depending on how many features you enable and how often you actively engage with the watch, the best-case scenario for your 24-hour daily runtime will continue to drop merrily.
If I use my smartwatch to its full potential, I’ll fight battery anxiety like I did all day.
Since I like to maintain a predictable routine, getting at least 24 hours of battery life was crucial to ensuring that my watch charged at the same time every day. Any compromise on battery life could mean that charging time would continue to advance slowly each day, and the watch might eventually die in the middle of the night at some point.
So I did the next best thing to preserve my 24 hours of battery life: I stopped using all those extra features.
Surprisingly, smart smartwatches fail to be good watches
Jamie Westenberg / Android Authority
To be fair, I gave several third-party apps a shot on the Galaxy Watch 4 and Apple Watch Series 7, but quickly realized I was spending way too much time trying to achieve something I could do faster on my phone.
In cases where I couldn’t use my phone, like when my hands were dirty or when I was riding a bike, trying to use the watch was also ineffective (or dangerous).
I’ve tried leaving my phone behind when I went cycling or jogging, with wireless earphones plugged into the watch and streaming content from Spotify. But this did such a disservice to the battery life that it would require a second recharge during the day.
I absolutely need my smartwatch to be a watch first before it tries to be smart.
Likewise, it was very convenient that Google Maps showed directions directly on the watch. This way, I can ride my bike more safely without having to repeatedly pull my phone out of my pocket. But then again, the impact this had on battery life was a huge deal breaker. In one case, I accidentally managed to kill the Galaxy Watch 4 by the time I got to my destination, which meant my wrist had a dead brick for the rest of the night.
Jamie Westenberg / Android Authority
I absolutely need my smartwatch to be a watch first before it tries to be smart. Modern smartwatches can claim to support thousands of features, but if they die before the end of the day, they’re as good as not having them on my wrist in the first place. Very embarrassing if you raise your wrist to see the time, and the watch doesn’t light up because you’ve been streaming music for a few minutes.
You could argue that I can only see the time on my phone. But then why exactly did you pay for an hour? He might as well call it a smart display at that point and I agree.
Getting a standard Galaxy Watch or Apple Watch to work for two days on a single charge would be the dream.
My expectations are not even high. I don’t need months or even weeks of battery life. Just something more than 24 hours without disabling a bunch of features (AOD, roll-to-wake, voice commands) will do the trick for me. For this reason alone, I was really tempted to buy the Apple Watch Ultra, but I was put off by its size and cost. Getting a standard Galaxy Watch or Apple Watch to work for two days on a single charge would be the dream.
The most I use my smartwatches for is just notifications
Jamie Westenberg / Android Authority
Throughout my time with them, the only consistent use I could get from my expensive smartwatch was notifications. With my watch on my wrist, I’ve learned to leave my phone untouched for hours at a time, especially when I’m working. I relied heavily on my watch to notify me instantly of phone calls and incoming notifications from apps I deemed important enough to reach on my wrist. I can answer calls directly on the watch as well, but the constant earphone connection is another drain on the battery, and the speakers on the watch are best left unused.
For the years I’ve spent with my smartwatch, I’ve pretty much used them mostly as glorified notification displays.
Over the two years that I’ve had with the Galaxy Watch 4 and Apple Watch Series 7, I’ve pretty much used them as the glorified notification shows up 80% of the time. I also tracked my workouts and my sleep every day. Always On Display will remain on on both of them, and all automatic background health-related features will remain on at their default settings. Only in rare and calculated situations would I use my watch to stream Spotify or check Google Maps directions.
The third-party app fad remained restricted to honeymoon phases for both hours, and I didn’t really embrace anything new into my daily schedule. I tried, but nothing really stuck.
I don’t really need a smartwatch, and you probably don’t either
Rita El Khoury/Android Authority
With the Galaxy S23 Ultra I’m using right now, I have the Galaxy Watch 4 on my wrist. But the battery life is now starting to deteriorate past the crucial 24-hour mark. I’m afraid I’ll soon be in the market for a new smartwatch, and this time around, I might stick to something a little more basic.
I asked myself what I’d really miss from the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4, and the answer is a list of minor features that are more neat additions than everyday necessities: powerful DND sync with my phone, crash detection (but my phone already has that), blood pressure monitoring, and an ECG app. In the case of the latter two though, I can barely remember to use it once every few weeks.
In the past, I’ve been impressed with the Amazfit GTR, while the OnePlus Watch Harry Potter version also looked great on my wrist. Almost all current use cases have been encountered with these fitness trackers-turned-watches in the past, with 7-10 days still an added bonus. I really miss those days when charging the watch was a weekly routine rather than a daily chore. On small business trips, I wouldn’t even carry my watch charger, which is a blessing in this age of proprietary suspenders.
Scott Brown/Android Authority
If I were in the market right now for a cheaper alternative, I would go for the Amazfit GTR 4 as my primary choice. Since it uses standard 22mm straps, I would save some money aside for a quality leather and metal strap. As for a fitness tracker/smart band, I’d either go for the Fitbit Charge 5 if I want more advanced features or go for the always-reliable Xiaomi Mi Band 7 if I want to stick to something basic.
33%on
Fitbit Charge 5
Bright OLED display
Stress monitoring
Precise sensors
4%on
Xiaomi Mi Band 7
Bigger and brighter screen
Accurate resting heart rate
Continuous monitoring of SpO2
Amazfit GTR 4
Long battery life
In-depth health tracking
More than 150 sports modes
So think about it: Are there any features on your smartwatch that you critically use every day that cheaper fitness trackers or basic smartwatches can’t achieve? Look beyond the spec sheet and what really matters to you. Analyze an ordinary day and see if you are doing anything smartly with your smartwatch. If it was just about health tracking and notification transcription, you really don’t need to spend money on an expensive smartwatch. A cheaper option will do just fine, and you can complement it with some good ribbons for different occasions.
Look beyond the spec sheet and see if you’re doing something smart with your smartwatch.
Of course, if smart watches can achieve multi-day battery life at a normal watch size, you don’t need to write this article. Until then, I’d like to ask you to look beyond the marketing and sweet fantasies of the gaming ecosystem, app stores, etc. Do you really need a smartwatch? Or would you do well with a smart bracelet or stupid smartwatch that lasts a week on a charge?