Have one you like?

Bonus points for a >1 day battery life, not costing $texas, and a HR monitor.

These are two I'm considering atm:
https://www.amazon.com/Amazfit-Smartwatch-Monitoring-Ultra-Long-A1608/dp/B07CRSK5DM ($70)
https://www.amazon.com/Ticwatch-comfortable-Smartwatch-Shadow-Compatible-Assistant/dp/B076HQPDRF ($130)

10/2/2018 11:35:28 AM

I don't have much to contribute, but I've worn the same garmin vivofit for over 3 years on the same battery. Don't really know why fitbit couldn't do the same thing. Obviously it doesn't do as much as the newer ones can, but I'd look at garmin again since this one has done what I wanted well (basically just step counting, time, distance, calories)

10/2/2018 3:47:22 PM

What about iwatch? Looks cute.

10/2/2018 3:49:53 PM

What is your budget? I've had the following watch for about 8 months now and love it:

https://www.amazon.com/Garmin-Forerunner-735XT-Black-Grey/dp/B07146Q44F/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1538586679&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=garmin+forerunner+735xt&psc=1

It is going to have a somewhat limited use solely as a smartwatch, as there aren't many apps you can go out and download, but it has GPS, it is a great fitness tracker, and it can last for up to 7 days depending on how much you use GPS. Of course the basic smartwatch functionality is there, such as getting texts on it, getting call notifications, etc.

The reason I asked about your budget is because Garmin makes some really great smartwatches but they are pretty pricey, like the Fenix series, that start around $550.

10/3/2018 1:28:46 PM

Not that high, but I appreciate the recommendation and thoughts

10/3/2018 1:40:52 PM

The Forerunner I have was 350, and I used some credits that I got from using their CC.

The only other negative I can think of is that the body is made of plastic. I guess they made that decision to reduce weight? I don't know. I went out and ordered some kludgey protector for it, but it works.

It does have a HR monitor.

[Edited on October 3, 2018 at 8:36 PM. Reason : dadf]

10/3/2018 8:35:25 PM

My wife has a Samsung Gear Fit2 Pro she enjoys, and I have an older Garmin Vivoactive that I like. Both are around $200, have HR monitors, and last more than a day.

10/4/2018 4:29:31 PM

I switched to the Amazfit Bip after Pebble went under.

The battery life is absolutely unbelievable. The default settings will get you really close to that 45 day mark... but they're crap. The heart rate only measures ~ once/hour, tons of notifications are disabled, etc. With my configuration I'm closer to about 30 days.

Also, any task that uses the GPS taxes the battery. Tracking a walk or bike ride seems to use maybe 3-5% per hour.

Likes:
- Touchscreen is shockingly good. Responsive; animations are snappy. Everything you'd expect.
- Seems to receive regular updates.
- Permissions controls are super granular. It doesn't ask for everything up front, rather when you want to enable something it asks for appropriate permissions.
- Charges quickly. Maybe 1-2% per minute.
- No water worries for swimming, etc.

Problems/Dislikes:
- Long messages from hangouts cause it to lose its mind (think email-over-sms from mom that might be 500+ characters.) It basically goes into some kind of loop transmitting the same message to the watch over and over.
- You need to open the app on a semi-regular basis. If the battery dies you lose all the data that hasn't been synced (which might be many days.)
- Relatively few options for customization. Fairly bare bones. For me that's perfect... but if you're coming from a gear or wearos or even a pebble it's spartan in comparison.
- The silicone band irritated my skin - switched it for a leather one.


While the battery is definitely a strong selling point, I find it easier to settle into a routine. I normally put it on the charger Sunday morning and open the app to let it sync and update while showering and getting dressed. The 20-30% it takes on is more than enough for the average week. Having the option of topping it off and having zero worries on a vacation is great. One less charger to take.

10/4/2018 11:15:19 PM

I'm still with my Pebble Time. Works great so far without the Pebble servers, since fans set up their own servers to keep everything running. But, it is going to get old eventually, and it the water proofing on mine has already failed. So, I'm probably going to get an Amazfit Bip someday. I just hope that day is a long way off.

10/6/2018 8:55:51 PM

^ Time Steel has been the best smartwatch I have ever owned. Unfortunately my battery croaked

Forgot to mention the glaring omission on the bip:

No music controls. It will show you the track that's playing, but you can't control it. My headphones have a little controller so it's not awful, but if you're across the house playing it on speakers and want to pause... no bueno

10/7/2018 12:16:37 AM

I still use my pebble time steel. Still getting a full week+ of battery life and it does everything I need it to do. Pretty sweet being able to adjust my thermostat and close my garage door with a watch this old while still getting an always on screen, waterproofing, and 7+ days of battery. Hell, the thing charges over a normal usb port in about an hour and a half! I wish they (fitbit) would just come out with a refresh of this thing and stop dicking around with other watch tech. They really hit the sweet spot with the time steel.

[Edited on October 8, 2018 at 11:23 AM. Reason : ]

10/8/2018 11:22:41 AM

Great deal: https://slickdeals.net/f/12198769-amazfit-bip-smartwatch-with-free-shipping-55-99 - I paid $80

I definitely like my watch. Thanks for all the info wwwebsurfer. Battery life is awesome. Sometimes I have to turn on do not disturb for group chats, and yes, weird hangouts messages.

11/5/2018 11:36:32 AM

We have them Samsung active 2s

11/14/2019 12:26:35 AM

Cheap deal on series 4, or super cheap deal on series 3, in that order if you need now. or if you can wait, series 6.

11/14/2019 1:37:19 AM

I moved to the Samsung Active (1st gen) a while back and really like it.

11/14/2019 2:55:41 PM

Pebble is still great

11/14/2019 6:19:49 PM

I just upgraded from a Garmin Fenix 5x to a 6x and it's great. The longer battery life and larger screen are awesome. Being able to go on runs without having to take my phone is nice too (syncing Spotify playlists). Garmin Pay is kinda of cool but I don't use it a ton. I have used it on a run when I wanted to get a drink at a gas station and didn't want to bring my wallet. It might be nice in a pinch.

I use it for multiple GPS activities a week and lifting most days and I rarely have to charge it more than once a week.

It's a pretty slick looking watch as well. https://imgur.com/a/dRfbEDN

11/15/2019 2:04:52 PM

I bought a regular watch with very low cost through lottery. After figuring out it's pretty useless nowadays besides decoration purpose I returned it back.

11/19/2019 4:40:40 PM

My wife got a free apple watch from her company. Looks pretty cool. She still needs to explorer all those features.

12/9/2019 11:04:42 AM

Quote :

"I just upgraded from a Garmin Fenix 5x to a 6x and it's great. I use it for multiple GPS activities a week and lifting most days "

How accurate is the HR on your Garmin? I bought a Garmin Vivoactive about 6 months ago, and it is terrible at capturing my HR when I lift or do any HIIT type workout.

1/3/2020 10:46:58 AM

Are you measuring heart rate with a strap or wrist monitor?

1/3/2020 4:21:58 PM

^^It is usually accurate for biking, running, or any other activity where you're not lifting anything.

I use a strap for lifting as it's not accurate at all. Something to do with your blood flow while under tension. The same is going to be true for any optical wrist based HR including the Apple Watch.

1/4/2020 12:49:09 PM

^^I had been using just the wrist monitor, because i didn't have a strap and was under the impression that the wrist monitor was relatively accurate.

I got a strap about a month ago with the treadmill that I purchased, and can tell the strap is much more accurate. I actually measured HR with the strap (connected to the treadmill) and wrist during a run last week, just to see how they compare. The wrist was about 10 bpm lower than the strap, which puts me in a different HR zone.

So not only is the vivoactive wrist HR monitor less accurate just during runs, but it is not even close to measuring HR during HIIT or lifting workouts.

1/13/2020 1:15:09 PM

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/--97520/coming_soon

1/15/2020 8:28:32 AM

Fellow BiP user here. Gets the job done but I don't use the GPS or heart rate stuff.

I broke the band and had to go a week without using it while I found a good replacement... funny thing is I had developed a habit for checking the time on my wrist without noticing it. So retro!

1/15/2020 10:45:46 AM

^^^ That's not limited to Garmin. Pretty much all wrist-based monitors are all over the place in terms of accuracy.

Stick with the strap if you need the accuracy.

1/15/2020 12:06:29 PM

Just went back to my Pebble Time Steel from my TicWatch and Galaxy Active after an 8 month hiatus. Goddamn it's still such a great watch.

1/16/2020 9:30:29 AM

I've had the Fossil Collider HR for a month or two and absolutely love it. The e-ink screen works great and I'm getting about 2 weeks of battery life out of it. A few weeks ago they finally pushed out an update that allows notification from all apps, as well as the ability to make/upload custom backgrounds.

I will say that the fitness tracker in it isn't great (although HR seems pretty accurate). But for me, I didn't really care about it. I wanted an analog watch that could show my notifications, and this does it. I swapped out the watch band for a black metal mesh and it looks super classy now.

1/16/2020 1:29:13 PM

I've had my Vivoactive HR for 3 years now. Thing still runs great and holds a charge for a week at a time.

I have not compared the heart rate to a band and I don't use the GPS a ton. Using the GPS does kill the battery a lot faster. Otherwise I have really enjoyed it and plan to keep it until it dies and then get another Garmin product.

2/2/2020 10:44:21 PM

So what's good these days? Looking for something rugged as I'm tough on equipment. In the past I've had fitbits, which were ok. Don't have a lot of needs really, HR, basic smart functions, GPS doesn't seem critical to me (I don't get out much). It would be nice to have the option of an independent device so I don't have to tote my phone, but perhaps not required.

[Edited on August 26, 2021 at 11:16 AM. Reason : and not spending texa$ eitehr]

8/26/2021 11:15:35 AM

I like my TicWatch Pro 3

8/27/2021 5:14:24 PM

When I was looking for my first smartwatch (back in March) I had ordered one of those ^ too. I ended up getting a galaxy watch active 2, which i've been pretty happy with. it's a very simple design, which makes it look kinda toyish imo, but it's whatever.

8/30/2021 10:16:56 AM