Android Central: It's past time for fitness watches to promise proper software updates
The fear of buying a Garmin watch, only for a new model to arrive a year later with game-changing tech you won't receive, is real.
Me over here still rocking my pebble time steel. I like that pebble opted to be an accessory and not just a little full featured phone on your wrist. A shame they are gone.
My first “smart watch” was a pebble and I still think it was the best. People want everything to do everything these days rather than pebble which did watch stuff well and for days without charging, while simply showing you phone notifications. It wasn’t complex, didn’t offer a ton of extras, but it just worked well.
I picked up a Fossil Everett watch that is a hybrid between a physical watch and a smart watch. It has all the basics like message notifications, pedometer, heartbeat sensor, etc. The best part is the battery lasts well over 2 weeks between charges.
Pebble tasker is nice too. Stuff like laundry timers and setting my home "went to bed" profiles, and a "where the fuck is my phone" task. Also a nice way to flip through apps in my van that does not have Android auto.
I really liked my pebble, haven't bothered with another smartwatch since they went under. I don't need an OLED watch with all the features of my phone that needs to be charged daily. I want a quick display that lets me use minimal phone features and needs to be charged only once a week.
I don't get it. I've had two Garmin watches and they both received regular updates and occasionally new features trickle down to the older models (where possible).
This article is dumb. It literally links to an article talking about how older Garmin watches are getting new software upgrades and in the same paragraph complains about how old watches are just becoming obsolete due to lack of updates.
What does this guy want? Free hardware upgrades and a back massage every time Garmin releases a new model?
What does a new smart watch track that "last year's model" doesnt? Like....what more do people need out of a watch???
My galaxy watch 4 tells the time, step count, battery, and heart rate. It takes calls and could send a text. It can open emails. I only use it for the first 3. Thats it. If it hadn't been on discount I probably would still regularly wear a gshock because I don't have to remember to charge it every 3 days.
Fitness watches? How about regular smartwatches. Google has been dropping WearOS devices left and right with not giving them any updates.
Why do we really need a smartwatch? Just making sure if I'm missing out on anything, never found a reason to buy one.
Nobody needs a smartwatch. The question really is: "Will a smartwatch benefit me?" I can't speak to everyone's use case, but for me it's been really useful for my cycling. I have an LTE smartwatch, so it's nice that I can leave my phone in the car or at home and still track my cycling (with GPS and heart rate monitoring). Less bulk for me to carry around, and I'm protecting my significantly more expensive phone from potential falls or crashes.
This is great for my regular exercise cycling because I don't really need my phone camera or anything with me while doing my regular routes. Just the ability to make and receive a call if I need to and track my cycling performance. And since the watch can also pair with my Bluetooth headphones, I can download a couple podcast episodes and keep myself entertained. Again, all without my more expensive, bulkier phone.
Just like any consumer device, not everybody needs it. You find the right devices that make your routines more convenient.
