Adjusting to a smart watch at our age

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XBXNinjaMunky@reddit

Love my smart watch. Combined with integrated earbuds is quite the ecosystem.

Don't fight the technology, never understood this

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SweetCosmicPope@reddit

I got a Fossil smartwatch gen 7 earlier this year and I love it.

I've never liked the look and feel of other smartwatches, but this one looks and feels like a normal-ass watch, but I get my notifications on it. It took a few days to get all the notfications and things dialed in, because I was constantly getting buzzing on my wrist, but now I just get the ones I want and I'm able to track my exercise more accurately.

Unfortunately, they stopped making them, so when this one dies I'll be stuck like chuck.

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Bobo_Baggins_jatj@reddit

I started with the Apple Watch Series 2 back in 2017, I think. I liked it, but it didn’t have as many features back then. I stepped up to the Series 4 and loved that one. I used to work on ATMs so I beat the hell out of it and ended up actually busting it inside a machine. I got the Ultra 2 and I LOVE it. I’ve had it a year or 2 now (whenever it released) and it still has no damage.

Now that I’m pushing towards 50, I really use the features. I’m monitoring my sleep along side my CPAP and I track my exercise and heart info as well. The ECG is cool as I’m having some heart shenanigans. Yes, the battery life could be better, but I work from home now and just charge it on my desk real quick. Being destructed by work makes the recharge seem instant.

To each their own, but I love mine.

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Comfortable_Tale9722@reddit

I have a garmin, but I’m also a runner

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MiniTab@reddit

Same, but mountain and road bike. I have a Garmin Fenix 7X solar, and have been wearing the Fenix watches since 2019.

I love them. It’s really nice tracking sleep, and I credit the watch for me cutting back massively on alcohol. It’s insane how alcohol affects sleep and resting heart rate.

Bonus with the Fenix as I approach 50, it has a little light you can quickly turn on to read menus in dark areas, etc. Also, you only need to charge this watch like every 10-14 days. No way would I ever buy a smart watch that needs to be charged every night.

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jmmd321@reddit

Every word here is me, agreed on all points.

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chawrawbeef@reddit

I love my Garmin. I got it in 2022 and it was my first smart watch, so I did a lot of online research comparing features and reviews. I got the Forerunner 955 and it was pricey to me at $500 but after nearly 4 full years I’d say it’s been worth it, though based on how my activities have declined over the past few years I probably could have been fine with the less expensive Forerunner model. I wear mine all day and keep it on at night when I sleep to track my sleep data. I wear it in the pool and in the ocean. I pretty much only take it off to shower and to charge it once every few weeks. I’ve noticed a slight decline in battery life over four years, but I still get way more out of it than my kids Apple watch which has to basically charge every night. Using the GPS features drain the battery a little more, but still even when I was running 2-3 miles a day using the gps data to track my run I would get at least a week or more out of a single charge.

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chawrawbeef@reddit

I love my Garmin. I got it in 2022 and it was my first smart watch, so I did a lot of online research comparing features and reviews. I got the Forerunner 955 and it was pricey to me at $500 but after nearly 4 full years I’d say it’s been worth it, though based on how my activities have declined over the past few years I probably could have been fine with the less expensive Forerunner model. I wear mine all day and keep it on at night when I sleep to track my sleep data. I wear it in the pool and in the ocean. I pretty much only take it off to shower and to charge it once every few weeks. I’ve noticed a slight decline in battery life over four years, but I still get way more out of it than my kids Apple watch which has to basically charge every night. Using the GPS features drain the battery a little more, but still even when I was running 2-3 miles a day using the gps data to track my run I would get at least a week or more out of a single charge.

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Logical-Cherry9395@reddit

I moved to Apple Watch at 46 (i'm now 49) and have no regrets. I turned off all my notifications except alarm, bank, and NASA so it mostly functions like a fitness tracker. I don't like to sleep with them on, so I charge overnight.

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CookCheap4815@reddit

I’d guess 75% of people our age wear one already? Personally though I had one for awhile and I dropped it to switch to automatic watches. They look cooler and way less anxiety for me since I don’t get all the notifications. I also keep my phone on silent 24/7

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danisolas@reddit

My Apple Watch helps me be aware of when I get messages (haptic feedback) and most importantly helps me find my phone when I leave it somewhere.

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RU33ERBULLETS@reddit

Wore one for years, but got tired of the constant notifications. I’d have to disable new ones for every app, every update, it became a hassle to maintain the setting just to avoid notification fatigue.

Dropped it a few years ago for analog dumbwatches. Haven’t looked back.

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HighSeasArchivist@reddit

I have a bybrid. Still has physical hands, but can display basic notifications.

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Traditional_Entry183@reddit

I got my first Fitbit about ten years ago and they were solid. But I upgraded to a Galaxy watch last year and it's just fantastic. Absolutely love it.

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AshDogBucket@reddit

I had a smart watch for a few years. Then I stopped. One more piece of tech = one more thing to get dependent on and then annoyed by when it doesn't work, when it dies, when it changes and my autistic self has to struggle through learning how to adjust to the changes that are great for other people but not me.

It didn't do anything that I couldn't do with my phone and an analog watch. My phone counts steps and tracks mileage on my bike rides and hikes. My analog watch tells time. And I just don't need to be getting constant notifications with a buzz on my wrist.

I tried it for a while, and for a while it was an essential piece of me... and now it's not.

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BigPoppaStrahd@reddit

I don’t see how “our age” has anything to do with adjusting to yet another touch screen.

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PeterPDX@reddit

Used one for nearly 10 years now in some form. The health and activity stuff is nice if that's your priority. I really like not having to take my phone out to see messages and alerts and it's helped reduce my screen time.

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Illustrious-Low3948@reddit

Those health tracking devices have an inaccuracy rate of 20-30%. It might help you recognize trends in your behavioral patterns, but it is not really useful for other purposes.

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cbih@reddit

I don't get why people wear watches at all. I can't even recall a time in my life when it would have been useful.

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elmoosh@reddit

Since we’re all here, I’ve had an Apple Watch for years and although it works well and I have the smallest one they make, I hate the size and weight of it. I have some sensory issues. I only really use it to track heart rate, steps, and workouts. Been eyeing a Fitbit due to the slender profile but I don’t like the subscription aspect. Anybody have any suggestions? I don’t care about brands or bells and whistles, just want something to track the health items I mentioned and not dig its big face into my skin every time I bend my wrist.

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ThisIsACompanyCar@reddit

I have had my Apple Watch for 5 years now, and had fit bits before that. Most people I work with have one, whether they are older or younger than me.

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crazycatlady331@reddit

I've used a Fitbit for the last decade or so. I feel naked without it.

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don51181@reddit (OP)

I liked my Fitbit. The only reason I am not going back to them is they charge for premium and Google is taking over. So its future is not looking good.

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Maxi-Minus@reddit

Take a look at Garmin Venu 4s. Battery time up to 10 days and a lot of features that do not require subscription. I am very satisfied with mine.

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CariniFluff@reddit

If you use Android, I can definitely recommend the Zepp Amazefit Bip smart watch. It has seemingly hundreds of different watch faces to choose from, ranging from your standard analog to super complex digital faces.

It monitors heart rate with updates I believe every 2, 5 or 10 minutes with the ability to request a check at any time. It logs your sleep schedule in great detail, measuring heart rate, breathing rate and whether you're in light, deep or REM sleep, as will as every time you wake up. Through this you can get a rough idea of you may have sleep apnea. It also has a ton of different workout options and will even detect if you've started working out but forgot to set it to go.

And it only costs $80 so it's not super expensive. Not fragile. And as long as you don't keep Bluetooth on except for a quick app sync, a fully charged watch should last you roughly 5 days.

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NYtrnsplnt@reddit

TIL there are people our age that don’t wear a smart watch. I’m 47. I’ve worn an Apple Watch for around 8 years now. The newer versions have solid battery life and charge very quickly. I personally like mine quite a bit, but I’m also someone who values quantitative feedback, especially health related.

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Lowspark1013@reddit

Really? Hard pass for me. A smart phone is far enough down the rabbit hole of personal devices.

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wisdomseeker42@reddit

Depends what you want from it. I have an apple watch. I turned off as many notifications as I could except texts (I don’t notice otherwise). I started out years ago hoping it would motivate me to exercise, and it has. I started out with the goal of 30 minutes of movement (walk, strength, whatevs), and now I do an almost daily 2-mile walk plus a 45 min - 1 hour workout 3-5 days a week. I really like that I can just announce what I need to remember and it automatically adds it. Easy access to timers and alarms. I like watching my workout metrics change and have found it useful to see how my body is handling my workouts and recovery. You can see where sickness derails things. It actually helped me during a recent illness because I could see my heart rate, blood oxygen %, etc and it was reassuring that I wasn’t getting worse and needing additional medical help.

I have only recently started watching my sleep. It’s actually been useful. My battery is fine. I charge while I shower and get ready for the day and then when I’m getting ready for bed.

Sometimes I think of “unplugging.” For now, I still find a lot of value in supporting my crazy, busy life.

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Jimmy_McAltPants@reddit

I wore a Garmin for about a year. I much prefer a mechanical watch. I started getting anxiety over my wrist vibrating and not being able to disconnect. Maybe the health data would be nice, but not at the detriment to my mental health

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tettoffensive@reddit

At our age? You make it sound like we’re senior citizens

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don51181@reddit (OP)

I like new tech but charging devices has become annoying. Seems to be if you get a top smart watch you have to charge it each day. Just like my phone. Not the worst problem but I wish the battery life would be better

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MsBlondeViking@reddit

I love my watch. It’s great motivation in ways I need, and are actually helpful. When I leave my home, it doesn’t matter if I have my phone with me or not.

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ClockNo4810@reddit

I went from wearing an Apple Watch for 7-8 years back to a G-Shock and I much prefer it.

The smart watch was just another device fighting for my attention, constantly distracting with notificatios, needing to be charged, updates making functionality and the UI worse, more data about sleep and heartrate and oxygen to look at and stress and worry about. Remembering to start a work out before I do a long work and pause it if I stop somewhere etc... I realised it was actually adding nothing to my life.

Picked up a G-Shock thinking I'll still use the AW from time to time but it's been dead on the shelf since the day I bought my G-Shock about a year ago. I should sell it.

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DarthKingBatman@reddit

I have a garmin and I love it for health tracking.

But.

I do not turn notifications on.

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Expensive-Day-3551@reddit

I have an Apple Watch. I used to charge it during my commute. I work from home now so I charge it when I’m in the shower and getting ready for bed. It has held up for many years, I’ve banged it and dropped it and no cracks or chips. It’s very convenient because it reminds me to stand and move around if I’m sitting too much, and I like all the things i can track.

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throwawayhbgtop81@reddit

I've had a smart watch for about 12 years now. I'm partial to Samsung but I started with Fitbit.

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Thatoneguyfrom1980@reddit

So for years I didn’t wear a watch. It was kind of a job hazard. I ended up in a new role and got an Apple Watch. It’s…fine. Screening calls and texts and controlling my music or podcasts without pulling out my phone is nice. As far as the health stuff goes, it’s just data. What are you able to with it? Calorie counters can be off by as much as 30 percent and that data doesn’t help you much if you don’t track your eating habits. I can’t do anything about how good or bad my sleep was last night. It can’t take my blood pressure. I can’t really do much about my blood oxygen level. The data is kind of cool but like I said I can’t do anything about most of it.

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mystiqueallie@reddit

I have an Apple Watch after having a Fitbit charge 4. I like the Apple Watch for all the functions and stuff I can do on it. I HATE the battery life. I get less than 20 hours per charge, then when I charge it I forget to put it back on until I’ve left the house. Charging it overnight means I don’t get any of the sleep tracking benefits.

My Fitbit could go 7 days between charges. I’d rather give up some of the functions of the Apple Watch to get better battery life, tbh

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KeyFeeFee@reddit

How long does your watch take to charge? I can wear mine a day and a half ish on one charge and then it only takes an hour to charge. If I remember I put it in before bedtime routine then back on for sleep. I have a new one though, the older ones may be different.

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mystiqueallie@reddit

It doesn’t take very long - maybe 90 mins from dead, but the problem is I don’t get even 24 hours from one charge, so having a consistent routine to charge it is a struggle if I want it to last during my most active parts of the day (evenings). I get a LOT of notifications on it that could be the reason it doesn’t last.

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Mike__O@reddit

I've tried two different smart watches. Both times I went back to my old Citizen Skyhawk

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JollyJeanGiant83@reddit

I have an Android watch with exactly 2 purposes: tracking my sleep and being a watch. I occasionally don't mind getting a weather report. Turning off all the other crap took a while. And I don't always remember to charge it (ADHD). But it does ok.

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Specialist_Action_85@reddit

Meh, I won't get a smart watch. I already have as many notifications off as possible on my phone. But I have autoimmune thyroiditis and a health tracker helps me manage it. My Garmin vivoactive 5 is more accurate for sleep tracking than the Fitbit Charges I've had and the Body Battery is a better gauge of readiness than Fitbit's readiness score

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HalfFrozenSpeedos@reddit

I had a samsung watch 4, features were nice but it was fragile, i broke 2 of them in a year...
Have had a cheap huawei for over a year now and its been through the wars and laughed it all off, counts my paces, calories and lets me see my messages, better yet, only needs charged every week or 2 vs everyday with the samsung

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bushie5@reddit

I tried switching a few years ago and hated it. Trying to remember to keep it charged was a nuisance.

Every time I tried looking at it, the screen wouldn't turn on and I had to jiggle it to see what time it is.

Plus the vibrating notifications and the screen randomly turning on, or the green heartbeat light underneath would wake me up while I'm trying to sleep.

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Abpoe77@reddit

I hate it but my wife bought it for me and I have to wear it. I hate it. I want a Timex or Casio.

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ThePerfectDrug1980@reddit

I'm 46, my advice is to keep the G-shock.

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BattlebitsTooHard@reddit

Had samsung and apple smart watches, hated having another thing to charge regularly, switched back to a g-shock mudmaster about 5 years ago and have been perfectly happy with it.

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MotherofaPickle@reddit

I went through over six fitbits before I decided to bite the bullet and get an Apple Watch. I loved my Fitbits, but I love the Apple Watch even more.

I don’t use for much more than tracking basic activity, but having the current temp and a timer on my watch face has been very convenient for me.

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Ok-Criticism6874@reddit

I have a galaxy watch 5, because I don't have an apple. I feel naked without it. I miss text messages without the rumble on my wrist. I also use it for a quick timer setting too.

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don51181@reddit (OP)

Do Samsung watches have any subscription requirements? I’ll look at those also. Thanks

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Ok-Criticism6874@reddit

I don't think so. It has all the health tracking, weather, fitness tracking and I dont pay any fees

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I_AM_DEATH-INCARNATE@reddit

I fucking loathe charging my watch every night. I don't have a GShock, but I have a few Seiko and Timex pieces that I wear pretty regularly.

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CunnyMaggots@reddit

I've used a Galaxy watch for several years now. I like it, but I hate having to charge it every 2 or 3 days.

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dckik@reddit

charging is very annoying, mine is right now. the newer they are, the bigger the batteries and longer it takes? but I love the health metrics, and I'm still doing daily rings to motivate myself. find the right oem or aftermarket band if you don't like the feel of the silicone, 1000 options

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heresmytwopence@reddit

I've been wearing Apple Watches for 8 years. I refuse to burn a calorie without it on me.

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alfguys@reddit

I had an Apple watch for a bunch of years. Realized it was useful to do the health tracking and know when I got a message, but not much else. Barging it every night was a bummer and I didn’t want the screen on all the time, so when I needed to know the time I would wait for the screen to wake up when I flipped my wrist, which was also annoying.

2 years ago I got a scanwatch 2, it has an actual watch face which real hands so I can always see the time. There’s a small display that’s good enough to let me know if I’m getting a message or something, but not a big battery drain. It does all the health stuff and a charge lasts 2 weeks. I’ve been much happier with it than with my Apple watch.

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ForeverDMdad@reddit

I make it a point to wear a dumb watch. I get enough alerts from everything else throughout the day.

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cmgww@reddit

I’ve had one for a few years now. Apple Watch. Good for health stuff like steps, heart rate, detecting Afib (I had it but got an ablation in my 20s to fix it), sleep stuff, etc. But the battery life is annoying. And I set up notifications so only my wife and parents can text me. Not letting it run my life with constant push notifications from apps. I travel a lot for work, driving, so the combo chargers with the watch disc are nice. But all these….Fitbit, Hume, etc….they can create health anxiety. So be careful. Don’t obsess over whether or not you got 7-8 hours of sleep every night, don’t worry if your heart rate variability isn’t high (everyone is different, I’m in decent shape and mine is low), etc

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JamesMattDillon@reddit

I just recently got myself a Samsung Watch 5 Pro. I love it.

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Chi_Nap_King@reddit

Smart watch is convenient for the health part of it too. Some watches say they can detect sleep apnea

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brattybabyc@reddit

I’ve worn an Apple Watch for about 7-8 years now. I have managed a few deep scratches, but never busted one, despite banging it on a door frame over and over. I’m a klutz and I do fine with them.

My granddad was a watchmaker. Sorry, homie.

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don51181@reddit (OP)

That’s good to know

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wheniwaswheniwas@reddit

I refuse to have to charge a watch every night that's going to bug me with push notifications. I'm a g shock fan.

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SurfNTurf1983@reddit

My Samsung lasts 2.5 days and I just turn all notifications off.

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wheniwaswheniwas@reddit

I have one too I bought to try but found no utility to it and switched back to digital watches. The G-Shock I wear these days is solar so I don't worry about charging anymore.

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don51181@reddit (OP)

I have the solar G-shock as well. It’s mostly analog so nice and simple.

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SurfNTurf1983@reddit

Oh nice. I find them way too bulky. I already bang mine on doorways etc. also wear it out in the surf under my wetsuit and find it's already big enough.

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erindizmo@reddit

I just charge mine while I shower and get ready for work and it's fine.

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don51181@reddit (OP)

I would not care about getting notifications either. The G-shock is nice and simple.

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No-Gas5342@reddit

I never wore a watch at all and started about 3 years ago with a smart watch and I love it. No small part of it is being able to screen calls and messages without carrying my phone around.

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Thin-Spot1678@reddit

I tried a couple I can't stand the constant notifications.

I sometimes wear my withings watch. It does health tracking, charge lasts weeks and I set it so it don't buzz every time my phone does.

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Trixxstrr@reddit

I have an old Samsung Gear S3 Frontier that I’ve had for many years now still going strong. I like the look of it over other watches I’ve seen. I have to charge it each night but that’s fine cause I don’t like wearing a watch while sleeping. I really like to quickly see texts, notifications or the weather with it without having to use my phone.

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