[Misc] Smart Watch

[Arthur]

Looks like I'm in the market for a new Smart Watch.....

Had an Apple Watch for about 5 years and it was great but towards the end the battery wasn't even lasting a day. I was playing a bit of golf at the time so I thought I'd buy a golf GPS watch so went for the Garmin Approach S62. Whilst nowhere near as polished as the Apple what I loved (and still do) was the battery life. Going from a watch that you had to charge every day to one that needs charging (as long as you don't use the GPS) for a 10 days - 2 weeks was a game changer for me.

Which brings me up to Friday just gone. Woke up to find the battery had drained from 70% to next to nothing so put it on charge and didn't think anything of it. Saturday it wouldn't connect to my phone so I spent a good hour trying to fix it on Sunday which involved factory resets and all sorts. Eventually I got it working again and I thought I'd solved it. Then yesterday afternoon it completely bricked. Managed to get it going again but since then it's doing odd things like changing the watch face back to one of the default ones, but then randomly reverting back and most annoyingly when I get a notification on my phone if I don't clear it from the phone it freezes the watch.

So it sounds like it's pretty fubar and annoyingly I'm a couple of months out of the 2 year warranty. So it looks like I need to buy a new watch. I would have an Apple watch again in a heartbeat if it wasn't for the battery life. Even the Apple Watch Ultra only lasts 36 hours, whilst the standard model and SE is only 18 hours. The Ultra also comes with a pretty hefty price tag which I wouldn't object to paying IF like my first Apple watch I get 5 years use out of it. That said I don't use half the features available. I don't want to pay for stuff using my watch and I'm golfing anywhere near as much as I was a couple of years ago. Some of the health stuff is useful as is the pedometer. My main requirement is a basic one, notifications from my phone appearing on my wrist.

TLDR? Any recommendations NSC?

 

[Green Cross Code Man]

Looks like I'm in the market for a new Smart Watch.....

Had an Apple Watch for about 5 years and it was great but towards the end the battery wasn't even lasting a day. I was playing a bit of golf at the time so I thought I'd buy a golf GPS watch so went for the Garmin Approach S62. Whilst nowhere near as polished as the Apple what I loved (and still do) was the battery life. Going from a watch that you had to charge every day to one that needs charging (as long as you don't use the GPS) for a 10 days - 2 weeks was a game changer for me.

Which brings me up to Friday just gone. Woke up to find the battery had drained from 70% to next to nothing so put it on charge and didn't think anything of it. Saturday it wouldn't connect to my phone so I spent a good hour trying to fix it on Sunday which involved factory resets and all sorts. Eventually I got it working again and I thought I'd solved it. Then yesterday afternoon it completely bricked. Managed to get it going again but since then it's doing odd things like changing the watch face back to one of the default ones, but then randomly reverting back and most annoyingly when I get a notification on my phone if I don't clear it from the phone it freezes the watch.

So it sounds like it's pretty fubar and annoyingly I'm a couple of months out of the 2 year warranty. So it looks like I need to buy a new watch. I would have an Apple watch again in a heartbeat if it wasn't for the battery life. Even the Apple Watch Ultra only lasts 36 hours, whilst the standard model and SE is only 18 hours. The Ultra also comes with a pretty hefty price tag which I wouldn't object to paying IF like my first Apple watch I get 5 years use out of it. That said I don't use half the features available. I don't want to pay for stuff using my watch and I'm golfing anywhere near as much as I was a couple of years ago. Some of the health stuff is useful as is the pedometer. My main requirement is a basic one, notifications from my phone appearing on my wrist.

TLDR? Any recommendations NSC?

I would check first with Garmin even though it's out of guarantee. I have had success in the past with an item which similarly had gone past the date but in the same sort of time-frame. There used to be a reasonable life condition which can exceed the guarantee, I would check that first. I'm trying to remember which item it was but I think it was a TV so not inexpensive.

 

[StonehamPark]

Looks like I'm in the market for a new Smart Watch.....

Any recommendations NSC?

I only have experience with an Apple Watch so I can’t offer any other informed opinions or suggestions.

I’m interested though, as you mentioned battery life being an (maybe the main?) issue with Apple, which I get. Do you typically wear your smart watch whilst sleeping?

For me, I put in on its charge stand when I go to bed every night, and put the watch on in the morning, and never encounter a battery issue with that being my routine.

 

[Nitram]

I bought an Apple Watch a year ago. Three weeks in it alerted me to Atrial Fibrillation irregularities. I did an ECG at the same time as the heart irregularities.
Paramedics attended and the readings were confirmed as accurate on their machines.
I was rushed to hospital for treatment. Two of the paramedics were astounded/sceptical if the watch could do register heart irregularities, the third said they had heard about the accuracy of Apple Watches before.
The doctors said the watch probably saved my life.
I wear the watch during the day and at night it gives me a weekly readout on my AR status.
It takes about half an hour to charge the watch to wear daily. I have not had any concerns over battery life.
Cost of the watch with a metal band was approx. £400.

 

[Arthur]

I only have experience with an Apple Watch so I can’t offer any other informed opinions or suggestions.

I’m interested though, as you mentioned battery life being an (maybe the main?) issue with Apple, which I get. Do you typically wear your smart watch whilst sleeping?

No I don't and I'm not bothered about any of that sort of thing.

For me, I put in on its charge stand when I go to bed every night, and put the watch on in the morning, and never encounter a battery issue with that being my routine.

Agreed and that is what I did for 5 solid years when I had one, until that is the battery wasn't it making it through a normal day. However whilst it may sound like a small thing I find it's a very nice to have not having to worry about having a watch AND phone charger when travelling, which I do a fair bit of.

 

[ozzygull]

I have an apple watch, got it as a gift from work. I used it for about two years, but I wear a watch all the time apart from in the shower, so I would forget to charge it. I have gone back to wearing a conventional watch.

 

[Nitram]

Looks like I'm in the market for a new Smart Watch.....

Had an Apple Watch for about 5 years and it was great but towards the end the battery wasn't even lasting a day. I was playing a bit of golf at the time so I thought I'd buy a golf GPS watch so went for the Garmin Approach S62. Whilst nowhere near as polished as the Apple what I loved (and still do) was the battery life. Going from a watch that you had to charge every day to one that needs charging (as long as you don't use the GPS) for a 10 days - 2 weeks was a game changer for me.

Which brings me up to Friday just gone. Woke up to find the battery had drained from 70% to next to nothing so put it on charge and didn't think anything of it. Saturday it wouldn't connect to my phone so I spent a good hour trying to fix it on Sunday which involved factory resets and all sorts. Eventually I got it working again and I thought I'd solved it. Then yesterday afternoon it completely bricked. Managed to get it going again but since then it's doing odd things like changing the watch face back to one of the default ones, but then randomly reverting back and most annoyingly when I get a notification on my phone if I don't clear it from the phone it freezes the watch.

So it sounds like it's pretty fubar and annoyingly I'm a couple of months out of the 2 year warranty. So it looks like I need to buy a new watch. I would have an Apple watch again in a heartbeat if it wasn't for the battery life. Even the Apple Watch Ultra only lasts 36 hours, whilst the standard model and SE is only 18 hours. The Ultra also comes with a pretty hefty price tag which I wouldn't object to paying IF like my first Apple watch I get 5 years use out of it. That said I don't use half the features available. I don't want to pay for stuff using my watch and I'm golfing anywhere near as much as I was a couple of years ago. Some of the health stuff is useful as is the pedometer. My main requirement is a basic one, notifications from my phone appearing on my wrist.

TLDR? Any recommendations NSC?

Regarding the watch just being out of warranty I would pop into the Apple Store and have a chat with them, I would be surprised if they were not flexible, especially as it’s reasonable to assume the item should be fit for purpose for longer than a two year period.

 

[banjo]

Fitbit sense 2, pretty good for H/R Sleeping etc.

 

[Green Cross Code Man]

Regarding the watch just being out of warranty I would pop into the Apple Store and have a chat with them, I would be surprised if they were not flexible, especially as it’s reasonable to assume the item should be fit for purpose for longer than a two year period.

It was the Garmin out of warranty not the Apple.

 

[dazzer6666]

I would check first with Garmin even though it's out of guarantee. I have had success in the past with an item which similarly had gone past the date but in the same sort of time-frame. There used to be a reasonable life condition which can exceed the guarantee, I would check that first. I'm trying to remember which item it was but I think it was a TV so not inexpensive.

Definitely do this. Garmin are usually very, very good when products stop working. I’ve had several running GPS Garmin watches and the few times I’ve had issues their customer services has been excellent.

 

[StonehamPark]

Agreed and that is what I did for 5 solid years when I had one, until that is the battery wasn't it making it through a normal day. However whilst it may sound like a small thing I find it's a very nice to have not having to worry about having a watch AND phone charger when travelling, which I do a fair bit of.

From my perspective, 5 years is a relatively ok run for an Apple watch, especially an earlier model.

I suggest considering diving back in, and looking at a Series 6 upwards. I think you’ll encounter better battery life, and general quality of life features.

But yea, I agree about having another cable/charger for another device being an annoyance.

 

[theboybilly]

I've got Samsung phone, so ended up getting the Samsung watch.

Great piece of kit. Very happy with it.

It is indeed. I'm not tech savvy but this watch (Galaxy 6 so not quite the latest) does everything I need and more. I'm always learning new stuff with it

 

[Arthur]

Definitely do this. Garmin are usually very, very good when products stop working. I’ve had several running GPS Garmin watches and the few times I’ve had issues their customer services has been excellent.

I would check first with Garmin even though it's out of guarantee. I have had success in the past with an item which similarly had gone past the date but in the same sort of time-frame. There used to be a reasonable life condition which can exceed the guarantee, I would check that first. I'm trying to remember which item it was but I think it was a TV so not inexpensive.

Thanks folks. Just spoken to their support and they were very helpful. They've asked me to send in a couple of photos of the device but have said as long as there is no obvious damage (which their isn't) then they'll send out a replacement.

 

[CheeseRolls]

I have a Fitbit Charge 5. It is actually my third one, as it has been replaced twice FoC under warranty. Good service but not sure what it says about quality. You can swim in the sea with it on, which I do. Mid price mix of health and fitness features. Needs to be charged every 7-10 days. Fitness and health stats quite good and now I get Sofascore notifications I am happy.

My sons have Garmins, which provide IMO better more accurate running information. One was top of the range the other a hand me down from a running mate. Newer models with solar charging can go a month between charges.

My missus has a Huawei - less stats than the Fitbit. Needs charging roughly every 30 days. Does a great job at the basics and really not expensive.

Money No Object

• Apple watch if you love Apple
• Samsung if you love Samsung
• Garmin for fitness
• Withings for health
• Smart goggles for swimming

 

[Comrade Sam]

I thought this was the opposite of the stupid rioters thread.

 

[METALMICKY]

Perhaps controversial but here goes. Surely the only true smart watches are those that work untethered from a mobile? In just how many situations is it that much of bind to get the phone out of your pocket? Cellular watches and fitness ones where mobile is nowhere in sight do make sense to me.

 

[Littlemo]

I bought an Apple Watch a year ago. Three weeks in it alerted me to Atrial Fibrillation irregularities. I did an ECG at the same time as the heart irregularities.
Paramedics attended and the readings were confirmed as accurate on their machines.
I was rushed to hospital for treatment. Two of the paramedics were astounded/sceptical if the watch could do register heart irregularities, the third said they had heard about the accuracy of Apple Watches before.
The doctors said the watch probably saved my life.
I wear the watch during the day and at night it gives me a weekly readout on my AR status.
It takes about half an hour to charge the watch to wear daily. I have not had any concerns over battery life.
Cost of the watch with a metal band was approx. £400.

A similar thing happened to me. I got an Apple Watch and I was wearing it after having been to the gym and had a weird heart episode where it showed my heart rate at 215bpm. Went to the hospital (as it felt like heart attack symptoms) and they diagnosed a heart condition called Wolff Parkinson White.

On another occasion the heart condition had landed me in hospital again and the nurse wanted to see if it was accurate so she took my pulse then asked what the watch said, and she said it was accurate with her reading.

Despite it probably saving my life twice, if you want it for actual exercise recording, it’s quite shit, especially for swimming out of doors. Otherwise, it’s very good.

 

[Half Time Pies]

Perhaps controversial but here goes. Surely the only true smart watches are those that work untethered from a mobile? In just how many situations is it that much of bind to get the phone out of your pocket? Cellular watches and fitness ones where mobile is nowhere in sight do make sense to me.

We brought a cellular smart watch for my son so as he could call us and we could keep track of where he was. Didn’t realise that even though the watch is cellular you still need a mobile phone with a separate contract to make it work! We wanted to avoid giving him a phone so sort of defeated the object!

 

[Arthur]

In just how many situations is it that much of bind to get the phone out of your pocket?

Walking the dogs.
Driving.
Afternoon snooze when I'm meant to be working.
Watching telly and my phone is on the coffee table.
Sat at the bar.
In fact pretty much every when apart from when I wake up and when I'm sat at my desk and my phone is in it's charging cradle.