Smartwatch Dilemma
Help me out, WatchCrunch Fam! I’m in a watch crisis!
This only happens from time to time, but I’m considering going back to wearing an Apple Watch. One of my NY resolutions has to do with fitness/health and it would help tremendously to be able to track some data (e.g. steps, activity, exercise duration, sleep, etc.). When I got into watches 3 years ago, I swore off Smart Watches for the more beautiful and way more interesting mechanical ones. I still love my watches, but the nature of wearing a smart watch for tracking data is that you wear it as frequently as you can. Now I wonder whether the right thing to do is to sell all my watches and to keep one dress watch for those formal occasions, one sport/diver watch for weekends/holidays, and to basically wear the Apple Watch as my daily.
Smart Watches are uglier than their analog counterparts, but they just have too much utility to ignore, IMO. To the second accuracy, synched to your productivity ecosystem, timers/alarms/reminders, fitness tracking, access to Siri…just to name a few things that I find helpful. Smart Watches, with all their functionality, are also much cheaper than the majority of desirable mechanical watches. But to commit to a Smart Watch would be to give up on collecting watches (I only buy watches I plan to wear).
Has anyone else been at these crossroads? Help!
Yeah, I been contemplating getting an Apple Watch Ultra for fitness and sleep tracking.
But, I'm gonna do this!
I wear my Fitbit Inspire on my right wrist and my real watch on my left. It's a small fitness tracker without all the bells and whistles and I can still wear all my watches I've collected.
so whatcha sellin? 😉
I guess my general experience on improving health has been that tracking isn't the issue. More data hasn't really helped me increase exercise and I frankly don't think tracking my sleep would add anything to my life either. I wore a fitbit for some time and I ended up just ignoring the outputs.
What has helped are three things
@Edge168n gets it! If you aren’t wearing a cool wrist watch, no one will ever love you, even if you have six pack abs.
I’ll trade you my Ultra !!? I plan to work out more this year hence why I got it but lets be real at this point I don’t think it’s gonna happen!! 😜… I was kinda leaning towards and even tempted on joining @Deeperblue with the Mordor run/walk thingy… but so lazy right now… lol
I wear my Fitbit Inspire on my right wrist and my real watch on my left. It's a small fitness tracker without all the bells and whistles and I can still wear all my watches I've collected.
That’s a good idea! My only qualm is that it might feel weird to wear a perfectly accurate watch on the right hand, and a less accurate mechanical watch on the left. It feels weird to have two watches going at the same time.
But maybe you’re right and it’s not that big of a deal!
That’s a good idea! My only qualm is that it might feel weird to wear a perfectly accurate watch on the right hand, and a less accurate mechanical watch on the left. It feels weird to have two watches going at the same time.
But maybe you’re right and it’s not that big of a deal!
No it won’t I’ve done it for a year since we were running a project and I have to wear a fitbit and Apple Watch for work and my Fitbit was a nice lavender color since my boss wanted to be funny anyways Wore it and after a while it feels kinda natural and won’t even know your wearing 2 watches at times… or I could care less what people were thinking as long as I don’t mind it
Wear what you want.
Double wrist it if you want.
Who cares what kind of tech you have wear it.
Are you happy? Wear it
Cheers!
Don't wear mechanical watches if a smart watch works better for you.
Many of us really appreciate the smart watch and lots of fans of the Ultra around here. I wear an Oura during the day and when I work out I go with a smart watch. Seems to be the right balance for me. If not for the Oura, I would likely Schwarzkopf.
An Oura Ring for fitness and keep your watches?
I wear my Fitbit Inspire on my right wrist and my real watch on my left. It's a small fitness tracker without all the bells and whistles and I can still wear all my watches I've collected.
I end up double wristing working from home because I use the Apple watch for the heart related tracking (that part of getting old stinks). I would love to find something smaller and thinner like a fitbit that has the same heart tracking capabilities.
using the right tool for the job at hand = tool watch.
do what u gotta do.
What i love about smart watches:
- Utility like you mentioned
- Flexibility to choose from a variety of watch faces to fit whatever occasion
- Serve as a prompt to lead a healthier lifestyle (closing the rings, ease of activating mindfulness exercises that are like 5mins, 1min which is a great reminder to slow down sometimes)
- So useful when i'm driving to take/make calls and activate siri
What i don't like about the smart watches:
- Too casual for certain occasions, (leather strap/bracelets might help dress it up a tad)
- We collect watches for a reason right?! - gotta wear them out right?
But of course as a everyday watch selection, my go to would still be the Apple watch.But the way i see it is that helps me build a watch collection more intentionally; like going for specific watch dials, heritage, functions etc. (which is great for the pocket as well 👍)
Wear it if you like it, however my own experience tells me that the type of watch worn has very little relation to the state of fitness or health of the wearer. It's part of a belief system and if you buy into it this will probably makes you train and sleep better for a while until you realize that either it's not working for you or that you don't need it anymore to change your lifestyle.
I have a Garmin watch for health tracking/beater and wear it on my right wrist. My left wrist has my watch. I switched from Apple because I was tried of charging it everyday. I get 6 days with heart rate and pulse oximeter.
If you wear the Apple watch it may help with your fitness - You may live another 10 years - But they're the crap years at the end. Who wants to sit in a home, wearing a nappy (diaper), trying to remember what your family look like and when they last visited.
Throw the Apple watch in the bin, grab a beer and a burger, put on a Seiko (other watch brands are available), sit back and enjoy life.
You don't need a six pack when you have a barrel.
You'll thank me and so will your pension provider... and so will your kids who won't feel guilty for not visiting you.
You're welcome 😊
Love that! LOL
Resolved for me: 2 wrists , 2 watches.
An interesting take on this debate:
https://www.theverge.com/23522956/double-wristwatch-apple-watch-smartwatch-mechanical-quartz
Whoop on one wrist. A mechanical watch on the other.
I completely relate. I had a galaxy watch, but I found it ugly and too big and I gave it to my son. But I miss getting notifications on my wrist, as I keep my phone on silent. I also came to rely on the vibrating alert that I'd disconnected from Bluetooth, which saved me from leaving my phone behind on numerous occasions. And being able to answer calls without having to root through my bag for my phone was handy.
I am considering getting something smaller and cheaper to wear on my right wrist. But, then, isn't a regular watch then superfluous?
I have Apple Watch SE and an Amazfit Stratos and use them both. I'm a data junky and it's essential to keep me motivated. I was 300 pound in my late 20s (post university I have money for food weight gain) setting goals and tracking was key to get the weight off and keeping it off for 25 years.
I'm in the middle of a fitness challenge right now so I've been ignoring my poor watch collection for over a month and wearing the Apple Watch. I only take it off on date nights when I dress up a bit; I think a classic watch fits better than a Smart Watch for that purpose. When the challenge is over I'll go back to my normal practice and wear the Apple Watch if doing an Apple Fitness Plus Workout or other Gym Workout and wear the Stratos when I run outdoors.
I've joked about Apple Watches here but in all honestly I think the anti-smart watch thing is silly. Not using the best tool for the job doesn't make sense to me. If your working out and training for something (in my case a possible Spartan Race) I smart watch is the best tool. However, if dressing for a more formal work place or night out the Automatic Watch is the better choice. There's room for both.
Note if your absolutely dead set against a Smartwatch I think the next best alternatives would be a Whoop Band or Oura Ring. However, I would be worried about damaging an Oura Ring in the weight room and the Whoop involves a subscription and contract and I hate those.
Side note my Apple watch has the smoothest moving second hand I've ever seen, definitely a high beat movement in there lol.
You definitely do not need anything tech related to work out, as a few have pointed out here. I keep a small book with pen and track my exercises, reps, and weight. There are a ton of free workout guides on YouTube that you can try. Keep your watches.
I have Apple Watch SE and an Amazfit Stratos and use them both. I'm a data junky and it's essential to keep me motivated. I was 300 pound in my late 20s (post university I have money for food weight gain) setting goals and tracking was key to get the weight off and keeping it off for 25 years.
I'm in the middle of a fitness challenge right now so I've been ignoring my poor watch collection for over a month and wearing the Apple Watch. I only take it off on date nights when I dress up a bit; I think a classic watch fits better than a Smart Watch for that purpose. When the challenge is over I'll go back to my normal practice and wear the Apple Watch if doing an Apple Fitness Plus Workout or other Gym Workout and wear the Stratos when I run outdoors.
I've joked about Apple Watches here but in all honestly I think the anti-smart watch thing is silly. Not using the best tool for the job doesn't make sense to me. If your working out and training for something (in my case a possible Spartan Race) I smart watch is the best tool. However, if dressing for a more formal work place or night out the Automatic Watch is the better choice. There's room for both.
Note if your absolutely dead set against a Smartwatch I think the next best alternatives would be a Whoop Band or Oura Ring. However, I would be worried about damaging an Oura Ring in the weight room and the Whoop involves a subscription and contract and I hate those.
Side note my Apple watch has the smoothest moving second hand I've ever seen, definitely a high beat movement in there lol.
Good points! Much of the appreciation for mechanical movements comes down to a celebration of the marriage of technology, craftsmanship, and style/aesthetics. I believe that Smart Watches ARE the next technology, especially at the rate that they are being improved and upgraded all the time. It kind of renders ultra precise movements and ALL the complications we love--day/date, annual/perpetual calendars, minute-repeaters, alarms, Chronographs, GMTs, Diving Bezels--obsolete. It does everything better at a lower price, connects to your phone/computer and productivity ecosystem, and while you do need to charge them once in awhile the technology is improving all the time.
I'm saying this as someone who loves mechanical watches, but we have entered a new age with regard to timekeeping, and that is something difficult to ignore.
Good points! Much of the appreciation for mechanical movements comes down to a celebration of the marriage of technology, craftsmanship, and style/aesthetics. I believe that Smart Watches ARE the next technology, especially at the rate that they are being improved and upgraded all the time. It kind of renders ultra precise movements and ALL the complications we love--day/date, annual/perpetual calendars, minute-repeaters, alarms, Chronographs, GMTs, Diving Bezels--obsolete. It does everything better at a lower price, connects to your phone/computer and productivity ecosystem, and while you do need to charge them once in awhile the technology is improving all the time.
I'm saying this as someone who loves mechanical watches, but we have entered a new age with regard to timekeeping, and that is something difficult to ignore.
Don’t get me wrong though I will always likely own an Automatic but I take my training pretty serious and use things like heart rate zones so a smart watch is my tool of choice for exercise. I believe in using the best tool for the job :).
I think you should keep it in rotation! Use it as a tool when you need it. Every once in a while I want to chill without my phone and use the apple watch for that. I just go back and forth and it makes me appreciate the other!
I wore a Fitbit during my entire process of losing 40lbs and becoming a everyday runner. At a certain point I realized that I never actually did anything with the information provided by this annoying little wrist device. The desire for a long lasting battery on a durable timepiece is what got me into watches in the first place. I would suggest focusing on dietary habits and showing up for yourself every day and not on any fancy fitness tracker.
That’s a good idea! My only qualm is that it might feel weird to wear a perfectly accurate watch on the right hand, and a less accurate mechanical watch on the left. It feels weird to have two watches going at the same time.
But maybe you’re right and it’s not that big of a deal!
I don't wear watches for their accuracy. I wear them for their craftsmanship and complications
I wear the relatively unobtrusive Garmin Vivosmart 4 on one wrist and a mechanical watch on the other.
I'm adamantly opposed to smart watches, but I'll try to be objective in my take here.
Does your ability to maintain your physical fitness really depend on a watch? How have people managed to stay in shape before the advent of smart watches? People talk about all the features they offer, but IMO that all seems like mere noise added to your life. As someone else mentioned, more data likely isn't going to be a game changer when it comes to your physical fitness.