Only a few years ago, the case for smartwatches was not clear. At present, the world can be used filled with a group of high-quality devices to choose from, and some key players have pushed themselves to the front of the package.
But some are still wondering: Is smartwatches worth it? Chances are if you read this guide, you have decided the answer is yes. But even if the market has mostly got rid of it too, devices that remain were not created equal. We are here to help you know the right questions to be asked when looking for the best smartwatch for you.
Smartwatch basics
Let’s put the base: three things to remember when considering any smartwatch is compatibility, price and battery life. All major smartwatch today pair up with a smartphone, so you have to find one that is compatible with your operating system.
Suitability
Apple Watches only work with iPhone, while using good OS devices with iOS and Android. Smartwatches made by Samsung, Garmin, Fitbit and others are also compatible with Android and iOS, but you have to install the companion application.
The SMARTWATCH OS will also determine the type and number of on-watch applications that you will access. Many of these are useless, making this feature not too high in our list of requirements.
Price
The best smartwatch generally costs between $ 200 and $ 400. Compared to a budget smartwatch, which costs between $ 100 and $ 200, this more expensive device has sophisticated fitness, music and communication features. They will often also have benefits such as onboard GPS, musical storage and NFC, which are generally budget devices do not have.
Some companies make special fitness watches: they can easily more than $ 500, and we only recommend them for serious athletes. “Luxury” Smartwatches can also reach high sky prices, but we will not recommend one of them. This device can cost more than $ 1,000, and you usually pay for the brand name or exotic material but in the end it is useless.
Battery life
The battery life remains one of the biggest complaints about SmartWatch, but the steps have been made recently. You can expect two full days from Apple watches and mostly use OS devices. Watches using the Snapdragon Wear 3100 supports extended battery mode that is said to allow you to get up to five days at a cost – if you are willing to turn off most of the features of, you know, display time. The 4100-gene Green-Gen processor was announced, but we haven’t seen the first smart watch that runs on it. Other devices can last five to seven days, but they usually have fewer features and low-quality displays, and some fitness watches can last weeks with one charging.
Some smart watches now support faster charging too. For example, Apple promises series 6 can change from zero to 80 percent power in just half an hour, and get full charging in 90 minutes. The new Oneplus event is even faster, turning on zero to 43 percent in just 10 minutes (however, which turns out to be the only good thing about Oneplus’ can be used).
What to look for in smartwatch
Fitness tracking
Activity tracking is a big reason why people turn to smartwatches. All-purpose watches must record steps, calories, and exercise you, and most can be used today have a heartbeat monitor too.
Many smartwatch also have GPS on board, which is useful for running mapping and riding bicycles. Swimmers will want something waterproof, and fortunately most of the multi-purpose devices can now hold at least one dunk in the pool. Some smart from companies like Garmin focus more fitness than others and often offer additional features such as tracking of heart rate variance, estimated recovery time, automatic exercise detection, onboard maps, and others.
Over the past few years, health tracking becomes more advanced on most smartwatches too. Both Apple and Fitbit devices can estimate blood oxygen levels and Apple Watch can even measure ECG. But the more affordable SmartWatch, the smaller the possibility of having advanced health tracking features like that – if collecting the data type is important to you, you have to pay it.
Music
Your watch can not only trace your morning run but also plays your jogging jams. Many smartwatches lets you save your music locally, so you can connect wireless earbuds and listen to songs without carrying your cellphone. Those who do not have onboard storage for music usually have on-watch music control, so you can control playback without whipping your mobile. And if your watch has LTE, local savings are not needed – you can stream music directly from the watch to your partner’s earbud.
NFC.
Many smartwatches have NFC, letting you pay for your wallet without your wallet. After storing your credit or debit card information, you can hold your smartwatch to the NFC reader to pay a cup of coffee on the way home from run. Keep in mind that different watches use a different payment system: Apple watches use Apple devices, use OS devices Use Google’s salary, Samsung devices use Samsung payments and so on. Fitbit and Garmin even have their own version called – you guessed – Pay Fitbit and Garmin Pay.
Communication
Smartwatches can also make communication easier with application warnings, text replies, and the ability to answer calls. Warning the application is sent to your smartwatch, let you look at and see if you really need to check your phone now. Text warnings do the same thing, and some smartwatches allow you to send a short reply directly from your wrist. Others let you answer calls too, and those who have LTE lets you make calls even when your cellphone dies.