If you start a conversation with anyone about wearable technology, it’s very likely that the first piece of wearable tech they mention or know about is the smartwatch. The innovations in the smartwatch space are staggering, with many big smartwatch makers racing to create more accurate, more useful smartwatches, and increasing their styling to make them fit with any user – from business users to athletes and even the casual user.
Have you considered buying a smartwatch? If so, you’ve probably asked yourself what the advantages are, and if there are any disadvantages of wearing a smartwatch every day. Let’s have a look at some of these pros and cons.
The advantages of having a smartwatch
Pro – Don’t Forget That It’s Also a Watch
That’s right, your fancy new smartwatch is exceptionally good at being able to tell the time. It’s probably getting the time from your smartphone, which in turn is linked to an internet time service, so your watch will always be accurate. It might even be able to change time zones automatically if you are a frequent flyer.
Pro – It Gets You Moving
Smartwatches are incredibly popular with those who need extra motivation to get moving. That’s because your smartwatch is always there, and always monitoring how much movement you do every day. They measure metrics like your step count and distance traveled, and even approximate your calorie burn. If you need that extra boost to get moving, even if it’s just for a short walk, wearing a smartwatch might spur you on.
​Pro – You’ll Be Reaching for Your Phone Less Often
If you have a smartwatch that connects to your smartphone and offers the feature of passing your phone notifications to your wrist, you’ll be able to quickly see why your phone is vibrating or beeping without having to pull it out of your pocket or handbag. Some might even let you reply to messages. Your phone, on average, can stay where it is for much more of the day.
​Pro – You’ll Be Reaching for Your Phone Less Often
If you have a smartwatch that connects to your smartphone and offers the feature of passing your phone notifications to your wrist, you’ll be able to quickly see why your phone is vibrating or beeping without having to pull it out of your pocket or handbag. Some might even let you reply to messages. Your phone, on average, can stay where it is for much more of the day.
​Pro – ​You’ll Answer More of Your Incoming Calls
The same watch that can show you your notifications can probably also show you your phone is ringing by vibrating or chiming on your wrist. If you have a high-end model, you might even be able to answer the call using the watch. If you can’t answer it right then, you can send a canned response by text to the caller to tell them you’ll call them later or request a call back later.
​Pro – ​​You Can Change Your Watch Design Easily and Often
You’re not limited to a colour scheme or watch face look with your smartwatch. Because it’s watch face is a screen, you can set it to display just about anything. That means you can set it to match your outfit colours or jazz it up for your business wear. Some of the bigger names in smartwatches will also offer accessories like watch straps to further extend what you can do with your smartwatch design.
​Pro – ​​​It’s a Workout Essential
Some smartwatches feature built-in GPS and connectivity to Bluetooth headphones, which make them an all in one wrist-based workout device. You can track your route, time, speed and heart rate while listening to your favorite pumped up playlist. They usually have pre-programmed modes for several sports or activities like running, walking, cycling, and hiking. Some are even waterproof, so you can use them for your swimming training too. Once you link them to a smartphone and pass the data on to a fitness tracking app, you can also compare your workouts with your historic data, making them essential for training for events or competitions and being able to track your progress.
The disadvantages of having a smartwatch
​​Con ​– The Screen Can Be Frustratingly Small
You’re probably going to be working with a screen that will be quite fiddly and not very comfortable to use. Sure, no smartwatch is designed to be a device you do anything too comprehensive on, but the screen size is still probably going to frustrate you – especially if you have larger fingers.
​​Con ​– ​The Battery Life Is Quite Short
If you’re using your smartwatch all day, you’ll likely have to charge it at the end of every day. If you’re doing longer sporting events, then the smartwatch battery might actually not last through the whole event. These batteries need to be small to fit into the form factor of the watch, and that can be limiting.
​​Con ​– ​​You Still Need a Smartphone
While there have been some advancements in the connectivity and standalone connectivity of the smartwatch, with innovations like eSIM cards, they still rely quite heavily on your smartphone to unlock the best features and usefulness of the smartwatch. You’re never going to completely replace your smartphone with a smartwatch. You’ll also usually need your phone close by if you want to get notifications and phone calls on your smartwatch, so while you can hit the trail or go for a run with just your smartwatch, it won’t receive phone notifications until back in range of your smartphone.
​​Con ​– ​​​The Data Isn’t Always Accurate
Particularly on the cheaper range of smartwatches, the data that the pedometer measures isn’t always the most accurate. Most comparison studies put the accuracy at around 80%, which isn’t very high. If you only want your smartwatch to be a rudimentary indicator of your activity level, that’s probably good enough, but for the more serious athlete, it might not be.
The smartwatch has become an integral part of many people’s lives, and it’s a great piece of technology if you’re realistic about what it offers you. If you’re using a GPS enabled smartwatch to track your workouts, the smartwatch comes alive and offers many great advantages, as it does if you’re using it to enable you to see your phone activity on your wrist. Consider your main use purpose before settling on a specific brand or model.
​Video explaining pros & cons of smartwatches
​Below is a good video I found on YouTube of guy explaining if he thinks owning a smartwatch is worth it.