Smartwatches are being made today by all the companies. Be it international brands or traditional brands. The introduction of smartwatches is a boon to the society nowadays. With the help of smartwatches nowadays, we do not have to check our phone time and again. Many brands such as Fossil, Apple, Fitbit are the premium brands selling smartwatches today. These watches help in delivering notifications straight on the watch and eliminating the need to check the phone again and again. It also helps you in saving time and keeping tabs on your health. Most of the watches have built-in features like rate sensors and GPS. This smartwatches buying guide will help you to make a decision regarding buying a smartwatch which is not a watch but also a fitness tracker.
Fitbit is advertised as a health-focused device rather than a smartwatch. The Apple series 3 and the apple series 4 work independently without the phone and are designed as companion devices.
Below mentioned are the most important things that have to consider while Smartwatches Buying Guide:
- The first thing to consider while buying a smartwatch is that it should be compatible with your mobile phone. Apple and Samsung watches are very compatible with Android and iOS devices but offer fewer features used with android operating devices.
- You should pick a watch that has an in-built heart sensor. Along with it, the watch should have a GPS tracker to keep track of your health.
- One of the important things is to consider the battery life of the watch. Hybrid watches are more like ancient timepieces but durable and good battery back-up. But the only drawback is that they don’t have modern touch screens.
- You should also check the buckle of the band attached and that it should be easy to swap. It should also be easy to replace the band.
- You should also the applications that are available on the watch.
Let’s Elaborate Each Feature Separately
Operating System and Device Compatibility
Most of the smartwatches are in accordance with your smartphone. They are made to be compatible with the smartphone. Samsung’s Gear S3 and the sportswear Perform well with the Android Operating system as compared to the iPhones. The Fitbit works well with both Android phones and also with the iPhone.
Android phone owners have an extra advantage of sending quick replies to the texts.
Google’s Wear OS watch is an operating system that runs on watches from LG, Huawei, and other brands. Also, they are reported to perform well with Android version 4.3 and other smartphones. The wear OS watches work with iPhone but are better suitable with android.
Android Wear version 2.0 was introduced in 2017 and it had new features related to fitness tracking, google assistants. One feature that makes the watch stand out is you can download the app on the watch directly. In March 2018 the rebranded version of Android 2.0 introduced by the name of Wear OS which was to show the compatibility with different OS. Just connect your smartphone with the app Wear OS downloaded on it.
The Apple Watch only works with the iPhone. The pre-installed Apple watch Application on the iPhone is where you can see the Watch OS app store. You can then install versions of your favorite iOS applications and also find new ones. The store has everything from games to fitness tracking and also many productivity applications that have Slack notifications and Trello cards. Don’t buy a smartwatch unless you know that it will work with your smartphone.
>>This budget friendly smartwatch is giving tough competition to Premium Smartwatches.<<
Display
Almost all the smartwatches use colorful LCD screens or AMOLED display, which lets you see photos and applications with other things in a better and brighter color. The only drawback is that it leads to low battery-life which decreases the efficiency of the watch. The color display uses too much power which makes the screen turn off when the watch is at sleep which leads to waking the device when you have to check the time.
The LCD display is thicker than the OLED one which is the reason Apple has developed the number one OLED display for the first-generation Apple Watch to make it as slim as possible. Then Samsung created its first OLED smartwatch which is Gear Galaxy in 2013.
Interface: Buttons or touch
The preference for touch screen or the buttons depends on the size of the watch. If the watch has a bigger dial then the touch screen should be preferred and for the small ones, the buttons are more useful. Wear OS has the feature of showing the notifications with card-based you can easily eliminate with a swipe but also you need to swipe a lot of times to get other applications and options with apps.
The latest update allows you to switch between cards with a flick of your wrist. The apple watch used the combo alternative which offers the touch display and also digital crown with a button on the side in the right. You can quickly zoom the content in and out with it and also scroll the screen also uses the force touch which also knows the difference between the tap and also a long press.
A press of the side button brings you to your dock of frequently used apps. The Samsung Gear S3 Frontier and the Samsung Gear Sport provide a bezel which helps in rolling through menus. They are used in combo with the touch. Over time you see the touch screens have an upper hand rather than buttons but some people are preferring old fashion for aesthetic look and prefer buttons over touch screens.
Design and Personalization
The best smartwatches offer to choose in the straps and also the chance to exchange them with a third-party option. It is very important if you want to make the look of the device according to your choice. The smartwatches nowadays offer plenty of customizations and a variety of options before purchase.
You can pick the color of the band and also the material that should be used in making the band such as the Moto 360 and Apple Watch. You need to understand that comfort matters a lot and it should make it easy to fasten your watch strap easily. Most watches today use standard buckles. Many more watches are sporting round face nowadays and make them more traditional in look.
Now they are smaller and slimmer. The traditional smartwatches are now deciding to make the Android Wear smartwatches that have the traditional style with the smartness of the google watch operating system. The brands such as Movado, Tag Heuer, Emporium Armani, and many others have started making smart watches with making it a fashion style.
Notifications and Alerts
The notifications and the alert help you in informing about the incoming calls, email, and texts which you can see without answering directly and discreetly seeing if you want to answer or not. You can also see social media notifications with the help of this watch such as Facebook and Twitter.
Make sure that you are able to quickly see all of your most recent notifications, even if you miss them when they first come in. For example, the Apple Watch lets you swipe down from the top of the screen to see Notification Centre, while Wear OS lets you swipe up from the bottom to see your latest messages. Some smartwatches do give more customization options.
The Samsung Gear S3, as an example, uses the Gear Manager app on the phone to help you see which notification that has come through to your wrist. There is also a Smart Relay feature in it. By just picking up your phone with the notification displayed on your Gear watch will help you open the corresponding app on the larger screen. The Apple watch helps in adjusting all your notifications on the Apple Watch itself for iOS. You can choose the option to mirror the notifications from your phone to customize them.
Apps and Watch Faces
The smartwatches have hundreds and thousands of applications with each new model being introduced. The Apple Watch has a well-rounded app roster with more than 20,000 applications available including ESPN, MapMyRun, Uber and many others. They have features such as controlling lights with the Philips application and many other features.
There is a dedicated Apple Watch Application store for installing the application in the Apple Watch. The Wear OS has thousands of applications optimized for its platform. You can install the application directly on the watch itself than using your smartphone before. The Wear OS has the same applications as the Watch OS which includes the Lyft and WhatsApp which lets you message with your voice.
Other proprietary systems, especially Samsung’s Tizen OS for the Gear S3 and Gear Sport, tend to be deficient in the apps department. This platform currently offers about 1,400 apps.
Fitness Features: Heart Rate and GPS
The fitness tracker is one of the major attractions in the watch which includes the activity- monitoring functions. Some of the smartwatches depend on the smartphone for activity tracking and most of them have built-in pedometer for tracking your footsteps. In this Smartwatches Buying Guide, we have given priority to this feature as today’s youth want ta smartwatch for its display but also for its fitness features.
If the use of the watch is primarily for working out, you will want to consider fitness trackers with a smartwatch for features such as the Fitbit versa or the Garmin Vivo active 3 both of which let you read notifications and change the watch face. It also offers female health features such as the ability to log on your periods and also record the symptoms. You can also compare your cycle against health stats such as sleep and activity.
The Apple Watch heart rate sensor proved more accurate in our testing. They also provide Heart rate monitors, the Apple Watch Series 3, the Samsung Gear S3 and also Gear Sport which has GPS and also makes it more attractive for the ones who want to go running or biking outdoors to track their fitness and pace. However, while using it GPS can have an effect on the battery life of the watch.
Battery Life
The Battery life of some watches lasts only half a day while the others last for over 1000 days after one charge. The power cycles depend on the features of the watch and how regularly the watch is being used with the big internal battery.
Checking the battery life before buying the watch is very important as if the watch has a short battery life then charging the watch again and again can be a problem.
It is also important to see that some applications which drain the battery the most have to be used less and how the watch is compatible with these applications.
Water Resistance– Best Smartwatches Buying Guide for Swimmers
You will prefer to wear watches for an extended period of time and there is also a chance that you may even forget that you are wearing it. Some of the watches are splash proof which means that you can wear them in the shower and also during rains. But there is an extent to it as they watch can bear the water only up to some extent.
The watches nowadays provided by Apple and Samsung are water resistant which means that they are helpful for all the water activities a person is performing every day on a daily basis. If a person is going swimming then wearing the watch while swimming can help them see their activities and keep track of their health and the calories they have burnt.
The water-resistance of the watch has to be checked before buying it. You should check the water resistance rating of the watch before making a checklist on your Smartwatches Buying Guide. So that there is no problem later while using the watch and you can get the worth of your money.
Fixability Rating
The fixability should be real as when it comes to buying a device and maintaining it for a long period of time, you will want something which works for a long period of time. You can easily replace the wrist bands or the battery or display cracks are most of the things people overlook when buying a new device.
If you want to keep the watch for a long period of time, then after a certain period of time, something is going to go wrong. So, when that happens the main goal is to fix that problem easily. The main aim is that there is no special incurred cost when you are fixing the watch or might just go purchase a new watch.
The watch should be durable and you should be able to fix the problems easily arising in the watch without extra costs as then it would not provide you the value of your money. This Smartwatches Buying Guide is for you to make a wise decision.
Remote Functionality
The watch should be more than just its display. It should allow you to check in to your location on Facebook or play music or all the other features that have been promised to you by the company in the watch. It should also allow you to find your lost phone if that’s the case.
It should allow you to do all the things without your phone which are there in the modern smartphone. The point here is that smartwatches can have a lot of additional functionality depending on the model. The Moto AC TV, for example, is specifically designed to aid in exercise and health tracking and includes related features. Someone who doesn’t run or exercise often would probably be very disappointed if they purchased the Moto AC TV.
You need to check before buying what the smartwatch is offering you and it has all the features that are there on the phone so that you get the value of your money and there should be no need again and again to check your smartphone. That should be the main function of the watch.
Appearance must to Consider in Smartwatches Buying Guide
The watch that you are buying should also complement your daily fashion and should not stand out all the time. It should be good looking so that the buyer is not embarrassed to wear such as a watch. It is one of the most important things of Smartwatches Buying Guide to make sure when you are buying the watch. It should not look hideous on your wrist.
It should provide you the value of your money. While this list includes important factors you should look at when picking out a smartwatch it’s not comprehensive by any means. Don’t be afraid to look for other elements and features when picking out a watch, especially if you have something specific in mind.
Other Features: Calling and Mobile Payments
Some of the smartwatches also allow you to make calls from your wrist. The Apple Watch Series and the Gear S3 frontier have built-in LTE so that even if you leave your phone at home, then also you are able to make and attend calls. AT&T’s Number Sync and Verizon’s Number Share feature let you use the same number on your phone and the watch, and your phone doesn’t need to be nearby or turned on.
You have to pay separately for this data plan on your watch that is $10 a month which is something that you have to consider if you have to take advantage of its cellular connectivity. Many watches have NFC chips inside which means that you can them to pay for anything even when you do not have your phone nearby. All the Apple Watch models have Apple Pay enabled which means that even without a phone the watch has an internet connection.
The Wear OS supports the Android Pay include the LG Watch Sport, Huawei Watch 2 and the Tag Heuer connected Modular 45. Samsung’s own mobile payment system and the Samsung Pay which works on 5 of its Gear models.
Conclusion:
There are many factors that have to consider while buying a smartwatch. The above-mentioned features are very helpful in seeing what kind of smartwatch is suitable for you and all the things that are important and should be there in a smartwatch. Many brands such as Fossil, Apple, Fitbit are the premium brands selling smartwatches today. These watches help in delivering notifications straight on the watch and eliminating the need to check the phone again and again. It also helps you in saving time and keeping tabs on your health. Most of the watches have built-in features such as rate sensors and GPS.
Fitbit is advertised as a health-focused device rather than a smartwatch. The Apple series 3 and the apple series 4 work independently without the phone and are designed as companion devices. The Apple series 3 and the apple series 4 work independently without the phone and are designed as companion devices.
These are the premium brands that sell smartwatches and have amazing features for the benefit of the consumer. The smartwatches are made for the customer and also to make their life relatively easy so that they do not have to use the phone again and again. Hopefully, this Smartwatches Buying Guide will help you to reach onto a decision of buying a smartwatch for yourself.
