[Fortuna]

Considering getting one. I already know I'd use: Spotify, answering texts, calls, calc, heartbeat thing, calories burned, sleep tracking, weather/time, navigation, NFC pay. Basically I want to test using only the smartwatch and not needing to bring my phone everywhere.

[Pete Svarrior]

I don't, but my partner has used a few smart watches and settled on Apple. I can pass some questions on if you'd like

[Dr David Thork]

I don't, but my partner has used a few smart watches and settled on Apple. I can pass some questions on if you'd like

Ask him how much talk time he gets on a full battery, please.

[Pete Svarrior]

I don't think she really uses it for phone calls - it would take a special kind of stupid to try using a watch as a main driver.

[Fortuna]

I don't, but my partner has used a few smart watches and settled on Apple. I can pass some questions on if you'd like

Almost got the Apple watch, but I settled on the Fitbit Charge 4. The idea of having a cellular Apple watch and not needing to bring your phone everywhere is p dope, but T-mobile charges $10 a month to add it to your regular plan. Without a cellular plan, the Apple Watch just seems very redundant.

I don't think she really uses it for phone calls - it would take a special kind of stupid to try using a watch as a main driver.

I have a friend who does this. He uses Apple pay, maps and texting mostly and just keeps his driver's license in his pocket. Seems pretty efficient.

[Pete Svarrior]

The idea of having a cellular Apple watch and not needing to bring your phone everywhere is p dope, but T-mobile charges $10 a month to add it to your regular plan. Without a cellular plan, the Apple Watch just seems very redundant.

Yes, fair enough. She works for a major telco, so she gets a ridiculous discount on all plans. IIRC she had a Fitbit Charge 2 back in the day, but ended up switching because she likes having everything within the same ecosystem.

Me, I don't get smart watches at all, but that's probably just because I'm getting old.

[RonJ]

I've been using a Fitbit Ionic for a couple of years now.  You can't really leave your iPhone behind when you have this kind of watch but there are some advantages.  If I get a text message, my watch vibrates for half a second and the message is displayed on the screen.  If the message is insignificant then I don't have to get my phone out.  When my iPhone rings the number who is calling me is also displayed.  Again, if it's someone I don't need to talk to I don't have to get my phone out.  This is particularly handy when I'm home and my phone is on the charger.  If someone calls my watch buzzes and the number is displayed.  I don't need to even get up if the call is insignificant.  My watch is used at many stores and I don't have to get my credit card out.  This way I won't ever leave my credit card behind.  Reminders of something on my schedule is often put in my iPhone and I'm given an alert 1 day before and 1 hour before an event by my watch buzzing and a reminder displayed.  The Fitbit Ionic can read the GPS receiver on your iPhone and can be used to keep track of how far you are walking. I've even used the Fitbit software development kit (SDK) to do a little tweaking of my display screen.  Fitbit is now owned by Google so they should have plenty of support. I've only scratched the surface of what these smart watches can do today.  The Ionic has a 16 bit microprocessor that's quite capable and it uses the same screen technology that's used by your flat screen TV sets and computer screens.  I didn't buy an Apple watch because the battery consumption is very high with that product.  A Fitbit can last at least 2 or 3 days before recharging but I usually recharge mine every night for about 30 minutes.  If I forget, my watch will still work fine for the entire next day.  Recently I did order a spare battery from iFixIT and changed out the old one.  My watch was purchased cheap on Ebay so I didn't really know the history of the battery when I got it.  I know this whole thing is crazy for a retired 'boomer' but some of us are really quite tech savvy.  I feel a bit envious of those who are starting out their careers or are a bit farther along and have access to all the nice tools available today.  These were the things of science fiction back in the 50's & 60's when I was just getting started.  Now the 'Dick Tracy watch' is no longer science fiction, but science fact.