Thanks! but no thanks

Along with the onslaught of “smart” watches ; a question was repeatedly being asked “will you buy it?”

My response was , No.

I am always looking for new technology trend(as a user); but a “smart” watch , still NO.

Growing up, I always wanted a nice watch similar or better than what my dad used to wear but with my own money. I did end up purchasing not one but 2 watches and wore them for quite a few years before the mobile(cell phone) revolution came by. As mobile phones became more and more common(and affordable), I started feeling less and less need to use a watch on my wrist and finally stopped using it.

I used it occasionally in weddings , parties etc. but pretty minimal. This coincided with the rise of smart phones and demise of Nokia 3310 era and decline of Blackberry.

Then came fitness devices(the wearables). They could track my steps, sleeping pattern , workout and also an alarm without waking up my wife and the battery lasted a week. Not bad for something that could do so much with a few hours of charging. I was not super happy with the fact that there was something on my hand all the time but this is so far wearables are at the moment.

The reason, I am still opposed to buy a “smart” watch is due to the very word and definition of watch.

Let’s go back in time.

Starting with a mobile phone.

Remember those phones that looked more like a car phone (without a cord), which had be charged every other day.

Then came smaller ones every 6 months until Nokia created a gold standard (with much of the world) with their 3310 and everyone else followed it too.

These phones had better aesthetics, more memory, longer battery life and they were slimmer. They still had to be charged every 1–3 days depending on the usage, reception etc.

Then came Blackberry, the best smartphone of that time(not based on specs but usability in enterprise, security and functions) , it also had similar battery life.

Even with the advent of iPhones and Androids of the world, the charging (and battery life) has remained similar but we do much more tasks on the phone than just talking.

Now about watches

When watches were first invented(in 17th and 18th century), they had be wound frequently (every day).

Then came automatic watches , where they would be wound if the watch was wore for a few hours a day and the automatic watches became better and better.

Later in last century , watches started having battery and again battery life became better and better.

I remember a Casio watch battery (it was a truly a smart watch in late 1980s and early 1990s), used to typically last 10 years and most people did not care to replace the battery after 10 years.

So until, “smart” watches do not figure out a way to go back to a stage where we left off the watches (a very long battery life), my answer to the question “will you buy a smart watch?” is Thanks! But not Thanks

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