Have you been wondering about the increase in popularity of smartwatches across the globe? Smartwatches these days can perform some of the roles of a typical mobile phone, including setting timers, playing songs, and many more functions. The advent of smartwatches is a representation that mankind is becoming more advanced.
You might want to own the best smartwatch. You might be distrustful of smartwatches. Maybe you are on the fence and you want to learn more.
You’ve come to the right place! We will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of smart watch, and ascertain if a smart watch is worth buying.
Advantages of a Smartwatch
Smartwatches have changed the way we view watches in general. This is due to the perks you can enjoy when you own one.
Never Miss Calls
When you have a smartwatch strapped to your wrist that’s connected to your phone, you do not necessarily have to take out your phone to receive a call. It may seem like a small thing, but imagine if you’re 20 minutes into your workout and your phone rings from your gym bag across the room! You’ll appreciate being able to take urgent calls immediately, especially when you can’t easily get to your phone.
Some smart watch models have voice support and you can even receive the call right there and then. It might take you time to adjust to the smaller interface. However, this is still a pretty convenient feature.
Receive Notifications Instantly
With a smartphone, you get to receive personalized notifications — not just calls or texts. For instance, if you want to exercise regularly but have trouble making it a habit, you can use a habit tracker to send timely reminders to your smart watch. This quick access to notifications makes it easier for you to stay on track.
Reply to Messages Quickly
Just as easy as it is for you to receive calls with little effort through a smartwatch, you can reply to texts through your smartwatch. Even though smartwatches may not have a full keyboard – for now – you can still send messages to loved ones effortlessly.
The best smartwatches come with a range of functions that make it possible to send messages anytime you want. These functions include customized shorthand, emojis and dictation.
Track Health Metrics
Gone are those days when you need to visit the hospital to check your heart rate or blood pressure. Nowadays, you can get a fairly accurate measurement through your smartwatch. Besides that, it has been generally recommended for an individual to take an average of 8000 steps in a day. As a result, your smartwatch just does not count the number of steps you take, but also allows you to set a target for the day.
Wondering how the smartwatch works? There is a sensor at the back of the watch. Once you strap it on your wrist, it takes your health metrics and shows you your health status. The smartwatch of today can even track stress levels and sleep quality. This is what makes it such a good fitness tracker. You have quick access to these metrics, and they can be exported from the app during doctor’s visits.
Weather
We used to rely on data provided to us by the internet or on the TV. However, we do not necessarily have to go through that fuss anymore. You can easily access the weather statistics and full forecast for the day. You’ll find this useful if you have planned an activity that is dependent on the weather. Most models are even splash-proof or water resistant, so you don’t have to worry about bad weather!
Contactless Payment
Before the arrival of the smartwatch, one could only make payments by using debit/credit cards, smartphone applications, or other related means. However, that is not the case anymore. Several smartwatches can carry out complete transactions. You can add a card to your smartwatch and make contactless payments in stores effortlessly. This feature supports a safe, quick and convenient exchange.
Your Ultimate Travel Partner
A smart watch can be used for navigation. Some smart watches can vibrate when on the wrist to direct you to your destination. You can do this on your smartphones too, yet it might prove less convenient to keep bringing out your mobile phone just to check if you’re headed in the right direction. With the smartwatch, it’s more or less like following an invisible tour guide.
Personalized Watch Faces
Unlike the conventional watches that are designed to have a single unique face, based on the settings you prefer, you can make your smartwatch look anyhow you want. It allows you to wear your great memories on your wrist. You can easily set your favorite photos as watch faces. Owning a smartwatch implies that you possess a device that —at any point in time —offers you stylishness, alongside comfort and sleekness.
Disadvantages of a Smartwatch
Although there are many advantages of owning a smartwatch, there are certain smartwatch disadvantages that you should take into consideration before making your purchase.
Short Battery Life
Smartwatches, generally, cannot be used for a long period. Depending on the brand, they can last for about 2 days to 10 days. As a result, it requires constant charging, which in turn, requires a stable supply of electricity. This can make it very demanding especially if you are often outdoors.
Imprecise Tracking/Data
While it’s true that the smartwatch can efficiently track metrics, sometimes the data may not be 100% accurate. Inconsistent tracking can be regarded as one of the most inconvenient issues for a fitness enthusiast. In many cases, that issue is compounded by myriad other bugs. Indeed, it’s hard to completely believe any result a fitness tracker shows whenever a significant bug is detected. This often occurs on many smartwatches.
Requires a Smartphone to Function
When you purchase and turn on a smartwatch, you activate it by creating an account for it on your smartphone. Once this is done, your smartwatch can only perform some unique features only when it is connected to a smart device. For instance, most smartwatches cannot play songs on their own and they require a smartphone to complement them.
Connectivity Radius
It’s not a strange fact that smartwatches operate by connecting them to smartphones via Bluetooth. You must be within the Bluetooth range of your smartphones before you can use them unless your smartwatch can connect to a WiFi network. In fact, for a smartwatch using Bluetooth to function, the primary device must not exceed 300 feet of the secondary device. This implies that anywhere you go with the watch, you still have to carry your phone with you.
Expensive
Even though there are less costly smartwatches, it would be very remiss of us not to point out the fact that most smartwatches are quite expensive. The less expensive ones do not cost up to RM500, while those of the highest quality cost over RM2000. If you are budget-conscious but wish to purchase a top-quality smartwatch, it might be better to make do with your smartphone.
Small Screen
The screen size is tricky. The small screen of these smartwatches makes them hard to read sometimes. In most cases, texting with them can be very difficult, regardless of your finger size. Using apps can require additional effort and watching movies and other videos cannot be as visually pleasing. On the other hand, the screen size cannot be too large or it will be too bulky for the wearer.
Are Smartwatches Worth It?
There are so many people that are eager to purchase a smartwatch but are not quite sure if it is for them or not. Now, taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of smartwatches, are smartwatches worth the money? We shall examine this in a jiffy.
A Worthy Investment?
Typically, as mentioned earlier, many low-cost smartwatches are worth less than RM500, while several top smartwatches are worth more than RM2000. The mid-range smartwatches fall somewhere between these two prices.
Whether it is a worthy investment or not depends on your budget. For a budget-conscious individual, an affordable smartwatch seems the ideal choice. However, if budget is not a concern, you can easily go for the more expensive ones. Generally, if it feels comfortable and if the features are useful in your everyday life, it’s safe to affirm that owning a smartwatch is a good investment.
Usability
A smartwatch is a significant upgrade — in style, functionality, and design — compared to conventional wristwatches.
Furthermore, they are made in such a way that they are user-friendly. When you use it, you’ll find so many great features that are simply amazing. Oftentimes, people believe a common misconception: smartwatches are meant for young people. Yet, it is ludicrous — to say the least — for anyone to assume that people of the older generation cannot enjoy the perks associated with owning a smartwatch. Older people also can benefit from getting a device that can comfortably and easily measure their heart rate, stress levels and step count. In other words, its use is not limited to a specific age demographic.
Longevity
Generally, a good smartwatch is relatively long-lasting and can last for almost 2 to 3 years or more before it starts to deteriorate, depending on its usage. Typically, the battery of a smartwatch can withstand 300 to 500 charging cycles.
If used efficiently and with care, it can last longer than that. It is not just a high-efficiency device but is also highly durable. Again, if used properly, its functions can last for as long as 7 years.
Taste and Style
Over the years, people have generally enjoyed the fact that their burden is being reduced significantly by the advancement in technology. In so many ways, we have all enjoyed some of the benefits this modern era has brought us. One of these is the advent of smartwatches.
The appearance of a smartwatch has made it popular among fashion and fitness enthusiasts. Most smartwatches can be easily customized to whatever style you want. That is what people want: choice. Smartwatches also complement activewear.
I Think I Want a Smartwatch: What Now?
Great! Here are some things you should take into consideration before you make your smartwatch purchase.
Material
What is the smart watch made of? A good smartwatch should be sturdy. This enables it to function well for years. It needs to look good on the wrist every day. You should look for a comfortable wristband that also looks good. Smartwatches even come in different varieties and sizes, with designs targeted at men or women respectively. It is also important to look at the available customizations for the watch when it comes to the strap too.
Compatibility
What operating system (OS) is it compatible with? Will it be able to connect to your smartphone? This is one of the most important factors you must consider before you choose a smartwatch. Since a smartwatch needs a smartphone to function, you must look at the platform on which the smartwatch runs. Some of them run on their manufacturer’s platform, while others use a mainstream platform.
Connectivity
When it comes to connectivity, what is important to you? Recently, smartwatches have seen some new connectivity features added to them. One of the important ones includes an in-built GPS, which allows you to track your route while jogging in the morning without the need to take your phone with you.
Another feature that can make your phone pair easily is NFC once the phone is an NFC-enabled device. It all depends on what you need to use every day.
Screen Visibility
Smartwatches, unlike conventional watches, must be bright enough so you can see them during the day. They cannot be seen until they are turned on. You have to check the quality of the screen —especially the screen brightness and contrast levels. Once you see one that has all these features, then it is a good choice for you.
Looking for a Good Smartwatch?
Here are our top picks to get you started on your smart watch shopping journey.
Best Smartwatch for Men (Huawei Watch GT 2e)
Huawei is not a new brand in the market. It has recently launched an amazing smartwatch, called the Huawei Watch GT 2e, which has so many new features. For instance, it can monitor a fitness program and has 85 custom workout modes.
Features
- Display: 1.39 inch AMOLED display
- Strap: Black/Red/White Fluoroelastomer strap
- Screen Size: 1.39 inch AMOLED display 454 x 454 pixels resolution
- Dimensions: 53 x 46.8 x 10.8 mm
- Battery: Li-Ion 455 mAh
- Weight: 43g (without strap)
| Pros | Cons |
| Accurate fitness tracker. | It is expensive. |
| Stainless steel body. | No Wi-Fi connectivity. |
| In-built memory support. | |
| Oxygen level meter. |
Best Smartwatch for Women (Apple Watch SE)
Do you think the Apple Watch SE is the ideal watch for you? Of course, this top-notch watch has many great features. Interestingly, it has so many features of the Apple Watch 6 but is cheaper.
Features
- Made of aluminium
- A magnetic charging cable
- Fitness tracking
| Pros | Cons |
| Superb haptics | Sleep tracking isn’t outstanding |
| Great health tracking | Only works well with an iPhone |
| Magnificent battery | Lacks always-on display |
| Water-resistant up to 50m | No ECG |
Best Smartwatch for Exercise (Huami Amazfit Verge Lite)
Huami is a subsidiary of Xiaomi and they basically deal in cloud-based wearable smart technology. The Huami Amazfit Verge Lite is a middle-range option for budget-conscious users. You do not have to break the bank to acquire this smartwatch.
Features
- Display: 1.3-inch AMOLEDResolution: 360 x 360Corning Gorilla 3 reinforced glassAnti-fingerprint coating
- Strap: 183mm long (made of silicone and polycarbonate)
- Screen size: 43mm diameter dial
- Dimension: 226mm (full length), 43mm (full width)
- Battery: 390mAh lithium-polymer battery
- Weight: 46gm
- Modes: 7 sports modes
- Warranty: 12 months
| Pros | Cons |
| Durable battery | Relatively small dial |
| Dual-mode navigation | Limited variety |
| High-resolution display |
Conclusion
Smartwatches are definitely a trending digital gadget in today’s world. We’ve covered a number of advantages and disadvantages of owning smartwatches. Some of the best benefits of smart watches are quick access to information, communication and fitness tracking. Downsides may include the battery life and small screen.
So, is it worth it? Well, our take is that the benefits of a smart watch outweigh the disadvantages of a smartwatch.
What do you think about the smartwatch? You are welcome to leave a comment below!
