Smartwatch advice for iPhone user - Feedback from Geekzone smartwatch owners appreciated!

Forums › Gadgets, robotics, home automation, electronics (including wearables) › Smartwatch advice for iPhone user - Feedback from Geekzone smartwatch owners appreciated!

tehgerbil

1110 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 884

ID Verified

Subscriber

#295232 15-Mar-2022 09:26

Good morning Geekzoners,

My ol' reliable Samsung Fear Fit recently took a tumble and the face smashed after 4+ years of use.

Looking at a replacement and I'm totally out of touch with watches nowadays.

What do you have

Things I enjoyed about the Gear Fit..
•Automatic workout detection after 10 mins of movement (eg walking)
•Size/weight - Very discrete and barely noticeable.
•Strong vibrate alarm

Not a fan of..
•Battery anxiety, lasted reliably 24hrs. Slow charge.
•Hard to read screen (Albeit low brightness to save batt)
•Truncated message notifications.
•Poor/no water resistance

I don't mind buying second hand, I have a iPhone 11 as a daily driver but it is a work phone and will probably go back to Samsung if I leave.
I am thinking a second hand iWatch and selling when/if I leave.

Are there much differences with the iwatch series - Any to specifically avoid?

Thank you, I started reading reviews and realised I don't care about "accurate ECG" ratings, or other such granular details that reviewers go on about, just a reliable easy to use smart watch.

Thank you in advance!

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

9184 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 4834

#2886339 15-Mar-2022 09:31

Perhaps look at the Apple Watch? If you just want a basic one, the series 3 could be a could option. It's several generations (years) old, but still made and sold new as an entry level device. As expected, very good interaction with your iPhone.

https://www.apple.com/nz/apple-watch-series-3/

EDIT: It seems to hit all your good/bad points OK.

jonathan18

7415 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2850

ID Verified

Trusted

#2886345 15-Mar-2022 09:42

One thing I was shocked to find out is the battery life of the iWatch 7 series is apparently 18 hours...

Apple Watch is so capable you’ll want to wear it all day long. So we made sure we gave it a battery that lasts all day, too. Our goal for battery life is 18 hours after an overnight charge, factoring in things like checking the time, receiving notifications, using apps, and doing a 60-minute workout. And because everyone will use Apple Watch differently, we tested several other metrics as well.

https://www.apple.com/watch/battery/

That means nightly charging for sure, so if you're not happy with the battery life of your current watch, an iWatch doesn't look like it'll solve this problem.

As a contrast I always get three days out of my watch - a Galaxy Watch of some gen, at least two years old. Sure, I don't have the screen to be always on etc.

Noting you write of potentially going back to a Samsung phone, perhaps it could be worth holding off buying a new watch until you know if you are going to swap phones - not surprisingly, Samsung watches integrate well with Samsung phones, whereas I don't believe the current Galaxy even works with iOS; it's the same in reverse (so buying an iWatch now won't be much use to you if you do go away from an iPhone).

(One advantage of buying a Galaxy 4 watch at the moment is lots of people got these free when buying a new S22, so quite a few are around as s/h but unused; I have to admit I'm tempted to upgrade...)

michaelmurfy

meow
13579 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 10910

Moderator

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2886365 15-Mar-2022 09:57

Seriously for Apple just get an Apple Watch. For you perhaps the Apple Watch SE is a good start.

Battery life - basically, all day no problems but I'd recommend charging it overnight. I personally have a wireless charger dock beside my bed and pop both my phone and watch on charge at the same time, wake up to both charged.

The Apple Watch just has features that make sense - easy to use, has things like Apple Pay but something I use all the time is Stocard too which holds all my loyalty cards so basically my entire wallet sits on my wrist. My Apple Watch is 3 years old now and battery still lasts a day.

The Apple Watch Series 7 charges pretty quick (my better half has one) and seems to last 2 days on battery at a stretch.

Just do it - you won't regret it. It is basically the best polished smartwatch you can get.

Michael Murphy | https://murfy.nz
Referral Links: Quic Broadband (use R122101E7CV7Q for free setup)

Are you happy with what you get from Geekzone? Please consider supporting us by subscribing.
Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

RunningMan

9184 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 4834

#2886368 15-Mar-2022 10:04

Being slightly pedantic, there is no such product as iWatch. The correct name is Apple Watch.

jonathan18

7415 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2850

ID Verified

Trusted

#2886375 15-Mar-2022 10:12

RunningMan:

Being slightly pedantic, there is no such product as iWatch. The correct name is Apple Watch.

Ah, that's a good sign that I'm no Apple fanboi!

That said, if I had an iPhone chances are I would select an iWatch*, just for that compatibility - my point re the OP's situation relates to his comment that they may be leaving that ecosystem... But, yeah, going with a s/h iWatch* means they'll probably lose little money if/when they move to Android.

(* these times on purpose!)

davidcole

6099 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1465

Trusted

#2886376 15-Mar-2022 10:13

If you wanted longer life but less "smarts" then the garmins tend to run about 7 days before charging.

Wont automatically figure out an activity, but you set it before you start (pool swimming, run, walk, cycling, skiiing etc).

Gets notifications from a device, but you can't interact with them but read.

Previously known as psycik

Home Assistant: Gigabyte AMD A8 Brix, Home Assistant with Aeotech ZWave Controller, Raspberry PI, Wemos D1 Mini, Zwave, Shelly Humidity and Temperature sensors
Media:Chromecast v2, ATV4 4k, ATV4, HDHomeRun Dual
Server Host Plex Server 3x3TB, 4x4TB using MergerFS, Samsung 850 evo 512 GB SSD, Proxmox Server with 1xW10, 2xUbuntu 22.04 LTS, Backblaze Backups, usenetprime.com fastmail.com Sharesies Trakt.TV Sharesight

HP

Shop now for HP laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

Technofreak

6656 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 3474

Trusted

#2886380 15-Mar-2022 10:34

I have an Amazfit GTR2 which I really like. Battery life ranges from around 4 days and up to 14 days depending on what features you are using.

It has built in GPS, activity tracking, heart rate, O2, sleep monitoring, in addition to phone notifications etc and water proof to 50 metres. It is device agnostic so you don't have to worry about when you change phones.

It has an "always on" function which means there is no need to have to "activate" the screen each time you want to see the time, this reduces the battery life to about 4 days.

I previously had Pebble smart watches and have tried a Fitbit Surge, and a Samsung which I gave up on pretty quickly due to the short battery life. One or two day battery life doesn't cut it for a smart watch in my opinion.

Sony Xperia XA2 running Sailfish OS. https://sailfishos.org The true independent open source mobile OS
Samsung Galaxy Tab S6
Dell Inspiron 14z i5

alasta

6888 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 3362

Trusted

Subscriber

#2886384 15-Mar-2022 10:44

davidcole:

If you wanted longer life but less "smarts" then the garmins tend to run about 7 days before charging.

Wont automatically figure out an activity, but you set it before you start (pool swimming, run, walk, cycling, skiiing etc).

Gets notifications from a device, but you can't interact with them but read.

Over the last few years I've had an Apple Watch S2, Garmin Fenix 5 Plus, and now I have an Apple Watch S6. The Garmin watches are undoubtedly better for battery life and they are arguably better for serious athletes due to the stopwatch style control interface and their capabilities with external sensors.

Having said all that, as a competitive runner and a casual open water swimmer, I find the Apple Watch adequate for sports and much better than the Garmin for daily use. Battery life isn't really a problem for me - in a 24 hour cycle I can wear it all day, use sleep tracking all night, and do a 45 minute run, and typically the battery state would still be at least 35%. Their 18 hour claim must be incredibly conservative.

The other big advantage of the Apple Watch is that it uses induction charging. I've never been a fan of the exposed electrical contacts on the charge port of the Garmin watches, bearing in mind that we're talking about a device that gets drenched in sweat, chlorine and salt water.

davidcole

6099 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1465

Trusted

#2886386 15-Mar-2022 10:47

alasta:

Having said all that, as a competitive runner and a casual open water swimmer, I find the Apple Watch adequate for sports and much better than the Garmin for daily use. Battery life isn't really a problem for me - in a 24 hour cycle I can wear it all day, use sleep tracking all night, and do a 45 minute run, and typically the battery state would still be at least 35%. Their 18 hour claim must be incredibly conservative.

That still implies an almost daily charging routine? I think I'm too lazy for that.

alasta

6888 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 3362

Trusted

Subscriber

#2886389 15-Mar-2022 10:51

davidcole:

alasta:

Having said all that, as a competitive runner and a casual open water swimmer, I find the Apple Watch adequate for sports and much better than the Garmin for daily use. Battery life isn't really a problem for me - in a 24 hour cycle I can wear it all day, use sleep tracking all night, and do a 45 minute run, and typically the battery state would still be at least 35%. Their 18 hour claim must be incredibly conservative.

That still implies an almost daily charging routine? I think I'm too lazy for that.

Yes, I charge it every day. That doesn't bother me, but I know that a lot of people prefer multi-day battery life in which case the Garmin models with transflexive displays are the way to go.

tehgerbil

1110 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 884

ID Verified

Subscriber

#2886444 15-Mar-2022 12:41

Awesome, thank you helpful people.

I'll start looking for a second hand Apple Watch SE.

Thanks RunningMan, I sincerely thought they were call iWatches haha. Shows my naivety!

The GTR also looks like a great alternative, will check that out too.

I guess if anyone does have an Apple watch they're wanting to offload please hit me up. :)

Samsung

Shop now on Samsung phones, tablets, TVs and more (affiliate link).

lxsw20

3689 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2174

Subscriber

#2886465 15-Mar-2022 13:21

Have a look on the Apple referb store, my mum got a Series 6 on there for about the same price as an SE. IMO it's worth it for the always on display.

Technofreak

6656 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 3474

Trusted

#2886515 15-Mar-2022 13:32

tehgerbil:

Awesome, thank you helpful people.

I'll start looking for a second hand Apple Watch SE.

Thanks RunningMan, I sincerely thought they were call iWatches haha. Shows my naivety!

The GTR also looks like a great alternative, will check that out too.

I guess if anyone does have an Apple watch they're wanting to offload please hit me up. :)

Amazfit make a range of devices. The GTS2 is basically the same as the GTR2 in a square format like the Apple Watch (iWatch 😉) ) if you're that way inclined. I specifically didn't want to have a smart watch that looked like the Apple Watch.

A lot of the reviews rank the Amazfit down against the likes of Samsung and Apple when comparing the features/functions. So far I have no complaints, especially for the money you pay and the battery life you get. It does all that I want and more. The GPS has worked well the times I have tried it. The heart rate and SpO2 functions seem to be accurate. There are after market apps in the Play Store that add/improve functionality and there's good choice of after market watch faces.

I've had Apple Watch owners comment very positively about the looks and the watch face I use.

Sony Xperia XA2 running Sailfish OS. https://sailfishos.org The true independent open source mobile OS
Samsung Galaxy Tab S6
Dell Inspiron 14z i5

Handsomedan

7769 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 7402

ID Verified

Trusted

Subscriber

#2886547 15-Mar-2022 14:38

Apple Watch SE will do everything you want it to.

Don't bother trying second-hand, as they retain their value and are usually overpriced in the second-hand market.

Noel Leeming have the latest SE with full warranty etc for $479: Apple Watch SE at NL

PB Tech are slightly cheaper at the moment: PB Tech Apple Watch SE - a bit cheaper

Handsome Dan Has Spoken.
Handsome Dan needs to stop adding three dots to every sentence...

Handsome Dan does not currently have a side hustle as the mascot for Yale

*Gladly accepting donations...

Obraik

2167 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1347

#2887278 16-Mar-2022 16:36

Another +1 for the Apple Watch if you're an iPhone user. I've been using them for 7 years now and I see no reason why you'd want a lesser experience by trying to pair other options with an iPhone as they all lack much of the integration that the Apple Watch has.

No, you won't get multi-day use out of the watch but it also doesn't take very long to charge them. I have mine charge while I shower and wind down for bed and then I wear it while I sleep for sleep tracking, so the only time I'm not wearing it is during that hour and a bit before bed.

Looking to buy a Tesla? Use my referral link and we both get credits

1 | 2 | 3 | 4