Smartwatches — 2017 Edition: What do you need to know?

To buy or not to buy?

The world of smartwatches is a treacherous place right now, you only need to check the news to tell you that. Fitbit is buying everything or that projections for the future are grim. There is a lot of variety with smartwatches & even more confusion about what it will do to enhance your life.

It just happened that my very first watch The Sony Smartwatch. It was something that I loved, and while I was working as CEA for an Online company and being full time in college, it became an essential asset for me to keep on top of everything. It enabled me to be able to get away from my phone or laptop and gave me the ability to find time. However there were compromises with the unit, and now that many years have passed since its release and indeed, that particular watch is already on its third rendition — has the technology changed enough to get you into the game?

What would you want it to do?

• Give you some time back from a busy day — so notify you appropriately if there is like an emergency meeting on Skype. Or if an urgent phone call is coming through.
• Limited response features on the device itself — you may like the ability to be able to send an automated message to people calling me to tell them I’m in class or unable to take a call by a touch of a button and not have to stress about missing the call.
• Selection of apps — If you want to start using a Bluetooth headset you may want to be able to control the music and volume with it.
• You may want it to be both Andriod & IOS compatible — herein seems to lie the majority of the difficulty.

Can anybody find me, somebody, to love?

Apple Watch

Easily the most expensive option out of all of them is the Apple Watch. Prices ranging from £299 — £15k (€472) makes it a heavy hitter regarding finances. There was a lot of hype about the watch, and none of it enticed me about it except the built quality. It looks significantly more respectable and mature than some of its Andriod rivals. My biggest gripe about it except from the price point is that average usage is cited as being a day at best. While I have no issues with charging my gadgets nightly, I’d have to have a good enough reason to be sure that it is an “I can’t function properly without this device.” before spending that level of cash on something that I could put down and not bother with. Your mileage may vary of course, but if you don’t like to charge your phone nightly, then you may want to skip on this as an option.

Pebble (RIP)

Pebble had been a company I’ve been taking an active interest in for a while. Their original Pebble was a fantastic success and something that I had initially dismissed as being a bit crappy with its plastic build and obnoxious buttons. It took me a long time to realise the pure ingenuity behind having something so simple. At a time when the device was €99, it was an enticing prospect for anyone looking to get into the smartwatch game, who didn’t mind the geek-chic that the watch had to offer. One of the biggest things that the Pebble time had to offer was the 7-day battery life. Which would be the main reason why a lot of consumers would be interested in it with the ability to swap between IOS and Andriod the formula is was set to be a winner. Right now, since its acquisition by Fitbit taking it up as a newer investment wouldn’t be wise. However, it’ll be fascinating to see the results of what will rise from the ashes.

Razer Nabu & Nabu X

Yes, before you ask. Razer is in the smart watch movement — sorta. They presently have two devices. Only one is available as the Nabu, and it is something that maintains to be actually rather difficult to get a hold of. Razer says that they’re doing something about demand but time will tell whether or not the peripherals company will manage to pull anything else out of their hat. The Nabu has some unique features, like the ability to swap contact details when you shake hands with someone who also has a Nabu. I can imagine for Gaming conferences like PAX or DreamHack that this would be super useful. It’s also more discrete than traditional smartwatches, with the screen on the inner wrist side it makes for more subtle notification delivery. However, if the Nabu is unavailable, the only option available is the Nabu X, and that isn’t a bad thing. I personally prefer the design of the Nabu X and at the price point of €59 with free delivery makes it a no-brainer for those who are looking for something to keep them going. The three dot display isn’t for everyone, and apps are limited — could be a reason as to why the Nabu X isn’t selling as well as the first Nabu. This does give someone an option who already is brand loyal a way of keeping connected.

Traditional Watch Brands

While the future may be perceived to be bleak, there are a lot of traditional watch makers who are getting in on the action. Most of these watches are running Andriod Wear, for instance, Casio has their own range of smartwatches geared towards the more outdoor activities. With built-in GPS they are watches that are geared towards hiking rather than anything more suburban. Fossil has offerings that are far more traditional in style but has the added benefit of being run on Andriod also. So it just goes to show that in the Andriod Wear space, there is an enormous amount of variety, so it’s very easy to find something that suits your style.

What do you think?

Do you have any suggestion? Is there any major player who I’ve missed out on? If you know of any, please feel to drop a comment down below! Keep an eye on Should You Care? YouTube for the video version of this blog!