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posted by martyb on Wednesday July 18 2018, @08:24PM   Printer-friendly
from the less-is-more dept.

El Reg:

Five years ago, a collective mania overtook the industry. Nobody could think of a clear reason why consumers needed an expensive "smart" watch when they already had a smartphone in their hand, pocket or bag. What value could it deliver? Even Google didn't seem sure: in its now notorious launch video, a punter used a watch simply to replicate features on their phone. But the industry convinced itself that wearables were another platform, and nobody wanted to be a sad second in this race. So the giants entered the market. Not because they wanted to, but as a hedge. Someone else might take a lead.

As we predicted in 2014, this was a solution looking for a problem. And an expensive one, at that.

Are wearable devices whose OS wakes up only when needed for smart features the answer?


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  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 18 2018, @08:30PM (9 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 18 2018, @08:30PM (#708979)

    ...the giants are in a race to develop the smart plug. It's the only wearable anyone really needs.

    • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Wednesday July 18 2018, @09:09PM (1 child)

      by bob_super (1357) on Wednesday July 18 2018, @09:09PM (#708997)

      IoT sex toys already exist, along with the unsurprising security oops...
      I can't wait until we get direct APIs to the broomsticks that so many people have up their asses.

      • (Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 18 2018, @09:44PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 18 2018, @09:44PM (#709018)

        Had a girlfriend who invented the first IoT sex toy when she placed one of those Nokia brick phones between her legs during a lecture. I was amused she looked shocked when I called her number and that vibrate did its thing!

    • (Score: 2) by Snow on Wednesday July 18 2018, @09:30PM (3 children)

      by Snow (1601) on Wednesday July 18 2018, @09:30PM (#709010) Journal

      Talk to Ethanol-Fuelled. There was a while there he was prety into teledildonics.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 18 2018, @09:50PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 18 2018, @09:50PM (#709024)

        Talk to Ethanol-Fuelled. There was a while there he was prety into teledildonics.

        Don't you mean they were into him?

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 18 2018, @11:25PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 18 2018, @11:25PM (#709082)

          I wrote the code for a urinary incontinence device that provided biofeedback (emg measurement) as well as optional electrical stimulation through a vaginal electrode. It was sometimes referred to as the 'electro-kegel' device. It ran on a 68hc05 processor. This was in the mid 90's.

      • (Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 18 2018, @11:29PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 18 2018, @11:29PM (#709084)

        Worst. Advice. Ever.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 18 2018, @11:51PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 18 2018, @11:51PM (#709090)

      B&H Photo Video is selling a pair of mini smart plugs with Wi-Fi for $37 with free shipping. https://slickdeals.net/f/11827243-2-pack-tp-link-hs105-wi-fi-smart-plug-mini-for-36-99-free-shipping [slickdeals.net]

    • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Thursday July 19 2018, @01:28AM (1 child)

      by Gaaark (41) on Thursday July 19 2018, @01:28AM (#709133) Journal

      Is that a smart BUTT plug???

      --
      --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
      • (Score: 4, Funny) by MostCynical on Thursday July 19 2018, @03:54AM

        by MostCynical (2589) on Thursday July 19 2018, @03:54AM (#709199) Journal

        ..it is now.

        --
        "I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
  • (Score: 4, Interesting) by DannyB on Wednesday July 18 2018, @08:46PM (11 children)

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday July 18 2018, @08:46PM (#708989) Journal

    As a nerd I was really fascinated with the idea of a smart watch. I still sometimes think about getting one.

    As a practical matter, I realized at the time that it provides very little convenience over the phone I carry. And it brings some new inconveniences.

    Yet, from time to time, I still think about getting one. Cost is not (much of) an issue. But when I get right down to the practical ways it might improve my life? I can't really find any that matter.

    Back when I had my first flip phone, my Casio Databank watch battery died. I quit wearing it -- just for a few days -- until I can get a new battery for it. And I've never done that. After a few days of, ooh, got to grab my phone from my pocket to see the time instead of look at my wrist; the habit was formed. I suddenly realized what did I need a databank for? My contacts are in my phone. And a calculator. And phones only got better and better since then.

    --
    People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
    • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday July 18 2018, @08:50PM (2 children)

      by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday July 18 2018, @08:50PM (#708990) Journal

      If I don't get a smartwatch, what could I get instead . . .

      A Yamaha Reface DX
      Makeblock
      Mindstorms
      Insteon modules

      (still have the DX7 I bought in 1986)

      --
      People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
      • (Score: 1) by anubi on Thursday July 19 2018, @02:59AM (1 child)

        by anubi (2828) on Thursday July 19 2018, @02:59AM (#709176) Journal

        I ended up tossing my Timex Datalink watches.

        I got turned onto those from an article in BYTE magazine...and thought for sure that sooner or later the protocol specs would show up, along with LED driver code for our 8080 processors, as those things required one to place the watch in the light of a monitor running a program in a certain EGA mode in order to make it work, and it required WIN 3.1 I believe. Well, when those went by the wayside, due to lack of information of how to save the watch, it got tossed.

        All that remains is the memory of the experience and the lesson of how risky it is to buy proprietary technology. Had I bought some tools instead of those watches, now I am quite sure I would still have those. So, as far as I am concerned, a nicely made power tool will ace out a smartwatch any day at the checkout register.

        Unless I am really, really, really hard up, proprietary protocol -> no sale - not even at going-out-of-business prices. I consider it was junk the day it rolled out of the production plant that made it.

        --
        "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
        • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday July 19 2018, @01:49PM

          by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Thursday July 19 2018, @01:49PM (#709373) Journal

          Yep. I too have had a few (inexpensive) proprietary devices that quickly became trash. Good thing they were bargain basement prices.

          Like you, I now value openness extremely high on my requirements checklist. At least open enough to do what I want.

          --
          People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by takyon on Wednesday July 18 2018, @08:58PM

      by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Wednesday July 18 2018, @08:58PM (#708992) Journal

      Wait until they start putting out holographic smartwatches like this one from Captain America: Civil War [youtu.be]. Bonus points if it can display a hologram in front of you while your arms are resting at your sides. Anything less is hot garbage, unless you're *truly* in need of a fitness tracker, in which case you can get cheaper and more lightweight stuff than WearOS or iWatch.

      If it takes 10-15 years to develop that kind of smartwatch, by that point we'll have run through the last of the currently planned process nodes, the thing will have triple the battery life, and the health features should be more tricorder-like.

      --
      [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
    • (Score: 1) by tftp on Wednesday July 18 2018, @09:49PM

      by tftp (806) on Wednesday July 18 2018, @09:49PM (#709022) Homepage
      Same here. I even looked through the available models online, read the reviews... and invariably the reviews are so-so. In the end I decided that I do not want yet another device to charge daily, often using cumbersome clamps. For the record, I already have a Garmin fitness tracker (an HR+) so that function in the watch is not needed.
    • (Score: 2) by sjames on Wednesday July 18 2018, @10:23PM (2 children)

      by sjames (2882) on Wednesday July 18 2018, @10:23PM (#709044) Journal

      That's the thing. Apparently to do anything vaguely useful, the smart watch has to talk to your phone. And if it can talk to my phone, that means I already have my phone on me. Just to make the justification weaker still, if I don't have a hand free to get my phone, I probably don't have a hand free to turn my wrist so I can read the watch and I definitely don't have two hands free to actually interact with the watch.

      The smart watch is clearly a solution desperately searching for a problem.

      • (Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday July 18 2018, @10:29PM (1 child)

        by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Wednesday July 18 2018, @10:29PM (#709048) Journal

        Some, including the latest Apple Watch have built-in cellular [apple.com].

        Be careful what you wish for, since all of these are non-open surveillance devices as is.

        --
        [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
        • (Score: 2) by sjames on Wednesday July 18 2018, @10:42PM

          by sjames (2882) on Wednesday July 18 2018, @10:42PM (#709059) Journal

          That is, at least, moving towards something potentially useful for somebody (assuming it has a decent battery life). Still, more than I'm ready to pay for the small convenience since I'm already used to carrying my phone.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 18 2018, @10:41PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 18 2018, @10:41PM (#709056)

      I literallly bought one for the sole purpose of being an MP3 player for the gym. That and some nice Bluetooth sport headphones. Otherwise, the things are just useless.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 19 2018, @02:17AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 19 2018, @02:17AM (#709148)

      IMHO, the problem is that there aren't many uses for them that you wouldn't want something better. Having caller ID, a calendar and maybe GPS, most other things are either impractical due to small screen size or where you'd really want more processing power.

    • (Score: 2) by suburbanitemediocrity on Thursday July 19 2018, @06:05AM

      by suburbanitemediocrity (6844) on Thursday July 19 2018, @06:05AM (#709236)

      practical ways it might improve my life? I can't really find any

      Same with the whole iot hysteria. I built an internet connected coffee machine in the 90's (as an exercise to learn some tech (plip and slip), but then so what?

      Then there was the whole x-10 networking systems that came out in the 1970's (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X10_Wireless_Technology), neat, but ultimately something nobody used. I see a bunch of x10 clone devices advertised now and don't see how they will have a different fate.

  • (Score: 4, Interesting) by AndyTheAbsurd on Wednesday July 18 2018, @09:32PM (6 children)

    by AndyTheAbsurd (3958) on Wednesday July 18 2018, @09:32PM (#709013) Journal

    Or maybe smart glasses are wear it's at. Har har, I kill me. But seriously - give me a display that lives on my face - so I don't have to move to have it in view, it's just always in view - and a ring with a button and a rotary encoder to wear on my finger so that I can deal with notification unobtrusively, and then you've got something that's maybe useful. And learn from Google Glass - don't put a camera on either device.

    --
    Please note my username before responding. You may have been trolled.
    • (Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday July 18 2018, @10:14PM (2 children)

      by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Wednesday July 18 2018, @10:14PM (#709037) Journal

      And learn from Google Glass - don't put a camera on either device.

      That's bizarre. The camera is the most useful function, allowing you to quickly take video/photos while aiming with your head. It's also what would allow the device to sense objects and features in the environment in order to overlay data - augmented reality.

      What should be done is to make all of the electronics, display, and the camera as unobtrusive as possible. No Borg-like bulk, fit all of the SoC and battery into the frame of the glasses. Increase the frame size a little bit if you have to. No little display hanging off in the corner (which causes eyestrain and makes you stand out), the lenses should act as two "full" field of view displays. Camera(s) (having two could allow VR180 [soylentnews.org] recording) should blend in with the frame. Black on black. No red light to tell people you are recording, that is for wusses. You have no expectation of privacy out in public, and your ability to record surreptitiously could be very helpful to you.

      The problem with Google Glass was that it was very noticeable that you were wearing it. And it shoved everything into a corner instead of giving a HoloLens-like AR experience. HoloLens itself is too big and obtrusive to use while walking down the street, but it is at least on the right track.

      --
      [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 19 2018, @03:07AM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 19 2018, @03:07AM (#709179)

        I can tell you its about the last thing you want to see someone wearing in the privacy of the toilet.

        I have enough fits trying to get the piss out of me and into the urinal without runback and wetting my own pants in the process... and if I saw anyone filming my attempts, I simply can't express how hard I would want to put my fist right through that glasses-laden face that's filming me.

    • (Score: 2) by bzipitidoo on Wednesday July 18 2018, @10:36PM (1 child)

      by bzipitidoo (4388) on Wednesday July 18 2018, @10:36PM (#709052) Journal

      I'm holding out for the direct brain interface. An implant to put a heads up display on the inside of your eyeball, and another to scan your thoughts for the user interface.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 19 2018, @12:13AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 19 2018, @12:13AM (#709093)

        If you have a working direct brain interface, it'll be easier to simply remove your brain and slap it into a container and wire it up in there. All your "senses" will be virtual.

        Maybe they won't even tell you that they did it to you.

        Maybe they already did.... (cue horror film music)

    • (Score: 2) by suburbanitemediocrity on Thursday July 19 2018, @06:11AM

      by suburbanitemediocrity (6844) on Thursday July 19 2018, @06:11AM (#709239)
  • (Score: 2) by Snow on Wednesday July 18 2018, @09:36PM (3 children)

    by Snow (1601) on Wednesday July 18 2018, @09:36PM (#709016) Journal

    I'm not a fan of the fitbits and smart watches or wearable technology in general. I think they are tacky.

    I think a watch should be an accessory. It should be classy. Something to catch the eye.

    I kinda want a nice watch, but I need one that doesn't look comically large on my tiny girly wrists.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 18 2018, @11:30PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 18 2018, @11:30PM (#709085)

      I just buy an affordable Casio when the old one wears out.

      • (Score: 2) by PiMuNu on Thursday July 19 2018, @08:55AM

        by PiMuNu (3823) on Thursday July 19 2018, @08:55AM (#709283)

        Totally. It's a shame they didn't do something about those resin straps though which keep breaking.

    • (Score: 1) by lars on Thursday July 19 2018, @12:49AM

      by lars (4376) on Thursday July 19 2018, @12:49AM (#709112)

      The vintage ones tend to be smaller. Would recommend a seiko 5 from ebay. That or an accutron if you have more money to burn and like geeky movements.

  • (Score: 2, Troll) by realDonaldTrump on Wednesday July 18 2018, @09:48PM (1 child)

    by realDonaldTrump (6614) on Wednesday July 18 2018, @09:48PM (#709019) Homepage Journal

    I don't want cyber on my wrist. What if somebody hacks it so it zaps me? Turns into a wiretapp? Or explodes? Give me a good old regular watch anytime. I have many watches -- don't we all? One of my favorites I picked up at auction -- at a very good price. It belonged to President Reagan. To Ronald Reagan (RIP!!!). And they did the auction right next door to Trump Tower. Like they wanted to make it very convenient for me. And I thought, "wow, watches are magnificent, really great!" So I started my own line of watches, the Donald J. Trump Signature Collection. Beautiful watches, very accurate, a little bit of luxury you can wear. Which I sold at Macy's and many places. Never shop at Macy's, by the way. Terrible store, very very disrespectful!!!!

    • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 19 2018, @05:44AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 19 2018, @05:44AM (#709227)

      Ohhh, new technology! All proprietary - you won't know how it works, only what they tell you its supposed to do. It may or may not be doing other stuff too. But you can't verify, so you are left to your own imagination what it may or may not be doing, or what it may or may not be capable of. But we are supposed to embrace it?

      Funny thing, yesterday, a co-worker was leaving us ( in good graces, leaving because of illness in his family ), and brought boxes of stuff in he had accumulated but did not want to move. Just so we could pick through his "treasures" to see if there was anything in there we may want.

      In one of those boxes was an alexa. No-one dared bring it home. We kept it in a tin until we could get it in the dumpster. Although we saw what it was, nobody knew what its function really is, or trusted being around it.

      I did get several really nice boxes to keep my junk in.

      Sure brought home the old saying that one man's junk is another man's treasure. He valued that stuff enough to keep it for years... while none of us seemed to place much value on any of it. I would say 99% of what he brought in was picked over then forwarded to the dumper. Which stirred up an interesting little discussion at work regarding the stuff we have here, and what its value is. We came to the conclusion that we did not have a thing in this whole workplace that would sell for more than $20 at a swap meet... the only thing that gave the stuff its value is that *we* knew exactly how to use *our* stuff. Someone else's stuff had little meaning to us because we already knew how to do anything we want with *our* stuff. The things that had the most value were tools - whatever it is that enabled us to do the things others would pay us to do.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 18 2018, @09:50PM (5 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 18 2018, @09:50PM (#709023)

    I saw a bearded hipster wearing one as a rebellion against other hipsters' pocket watches... and we know hipsters are like a cross between cockroaches and sheep.

    • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 18 2018, @11:38PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 18 2018, @11:38PM (#709087)

      that's it, I know what they need to get the hipster market: Smart Pocket Watches.

      I know, you're welcome. Send my checks care of this station.

      • (Score: 2) by Immerman on Thursday July 19 2018, @07:08AM

        by Immerman (3985) on Thursday July 19 2018, @07:08AM (#709260)

        Sounds like a cell phone on a chain...

        Come to think of it, that might actually be handy - a compact clam-shell two-screen phone. Big enough when open to get the basics taken care of, with a USB-drive style mini-loop to attach it to a chain, lanyard, etc. to protect it from being dropped or misplaced

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 19 2018, @12:17AM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 19 2018, @12:17AM (#709094)

      I'm never around hipsters so I have to ask: where did they keep the pocket watches? Just in their regular pants pocket? Did they wear a vest and keep it in the watch pockets in the vest? Did they keep a long chain on the watch and hook the other end to something, like their belt?

      I know this probably sounds sarcastic, but I'm really asking honestly. I have a pocket watch that I keep for sentimental reasons, but it sits in a desk drawer because damned if I can figure out how to possibly wear it, other than by dressing up like an old time western train conductor.

      • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 19 2018, @01:23AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 19 2018, @01:23AM (#709129)

        Remember that hipsters are usually millennials, so the way they wear their pocket watch depends in part on their gender that day.

      • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Thursday July 19 2018, @12:06PM

        by Phoenix666 (552) on Thursday July 19 2018, @12:06PM (#709330) Journal

        I once had one that clipped to my belt loop. Got it because wrist watches were uncomfortable with long hours typing at the keyboard.

        --
        Washington DC delenda est.
  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Wednesday July 18 2018, @10:05PM (3 children)

    by MichaelDavidCrawford (2339) Subscriber Badge <mdcrawford@gmail.com> on Wednesday July 18 2018, @10:05PM (#709034) Homepage Journal

    It was a gift from my (now) ex on her wedding day. That same day I gave her Sapphire earrings.

    I wouldn't be caught dead wearing a smartwatch.

    The reason so many men are so heavily into fancy watches is to lead others to believe that we are rich and powerful.

    --
    Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
    • (Score: 4, Informative) by takyon on Wednesday July 18 2018, @10:15PM (2 children)

      by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Wednesday July 18 2018, @10:15PM (#709039) Journal

      I wouldn't be caught dead wearing a smartwatch.

      Smartwatches can be skinned to look exactly like fancy dumbwatches.

      --
      [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
      • (Score: 2) by toddestan on Friday July 20 2018, @02:21AM (1 child)

        by toddestan (4982) on Friday July 20 2018, @02:21AM (#709750)

        They are too big and bulky compared to most traditional watches. And displaying an analog display on a square screen will fool approximately no one.

        • (Score: 2) by takyon on Friday July 20 2018, @02:47AM

          by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Friday July 20 2018, @02:47AM (#709760) Journal

          IDK, I've seen big traditional watches. Some have multiple dials, constellations/moon phases. The marketing material [mobvoi.com] for the TicWatch Pro, mentioned in TFA, shows a circular watch with plenty of watch faces that could fool someone from across the room or at least not look like ass. The TicWatch Pro's thickness doesn't look like anything out of the ordinary either.

          --
          [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 18 2018, @10:51PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 18 2018, @10:51PM (#709066)

    I have the original Apple Watch and it’s definitely sufficiently useful to keep my expensive mechanical watches off my wrist.
    The most useful feature is the little what’s next display of the calendar events. It shows the time and place (ie. meeting room) of where and when I need to be next. My phone is always buried in my pocket, and the watch just vibrates and I can look down and see what’s up - like a ‘quick look’ function for calendar, SMS and emails. I don’t try to reply with it (except some yes/no one touch responses), and just pull out the phone if it’s important.
    Also handy as a parking timer. ‘Hey Siri, set timer for two hours.” Without looking down.
    Probably tracks every movement I make, but not any more than the phone it’s tethered to.

    • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday July 19 2018, @01:28AM

      by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Thursday July 19 2018, @01:28AM (#709132) Journal

      Phones have been rooted, and reinstalled, with *exactly* those features that the user wants/needs. Watches? I've not noticed any efforts to root them. As long as you don't care who is tracking your, or why, then it won't matter to you. But there are many of us who refuse to surrender to corporate tracking 24/7.

  • (Score: 2) by vux984 on Thursday July 19 2018, @02:52AM

    by vux984 (5045) on Thursday July 19 2018, @02:52AM (#709171)

    that they are not smartphones.

    Seriously. Almost everyone i know that loves their smartwatch loves it because it lets them dodge rules at work intended to curb abuse/overuse/excessive distraction with their personal phone while working.

    With a smart watch they can still get texts, and other alerts and messages etc while complying (at least with the letter) of the policies to combat cellphone abuse at work.

    In fairness, its not even a terrible compromise; because the watch is a much more limited device and much less of a distraction of a result. And it can help someone like a mom with an infant in daycare stay reachable; basically the smartwatch is kind of like a pager.

    Of course as they get more featured up, they become more of a problem.

  • (Score: 2) by boltronics on Thursday July 19 2018, @03:24AM (2 children)

    by boltronics (580) on Thursday July 19 2018, @03:24AM (#709190) Homepage Journal

    I purchased the Garmin Forerunner 935 [garmin.com] earlier this year. It's a sports watch with smartwatch features, but they didn't put the focus on apps or having lots of colours, etc that other smart watches have (such as the Samsung Gear).

    But it doesn't make the mistake of trying to compete with a phone, and I'm not even sure it's possible to browse the web on it. I'm pretty sure it can't play audio (other than the most basic beeps you would expect from an old x86 PC speaker). So why would anyone want one?

    When riding my bike I can throw my phone in my pannier and still record my ride to upload to Strava.

    For running I used to use my phone with an armband. Try that with an Sony Xperia Z Ultra... the thing is huge! I later upgraded to a Samsung S8+ which is a bit smaller but still quite reasonable in size. Anyway, running with a phone on your arm is really annoying to access. You basically can't access it properly on a run unless you're stuck at traffic lights or some such, so if you want to know your speed and other stats you'll need to have it announce those details over your phone speaker. Alternatively you can wear headphones, but I prefer not to use them and just focus on my running.

    So imagine you're doing a Saturday morning ParkRun [parkrun.com] and trying to compete, you probably don't want everyone else to hear "best kilometre" or whatever and give away how you're performing. Besides, it's really annoying to miss what was said, and also annoying that you need to wait until a set interval or something to trigger an announcement.

    Contrast this to my smartwatch - I get to look at it whenever I want while running which makes it much easier to pace myself correctly to achieve my best times, or to know I'm 500m from the finish so it's time to kick things up a couple of notches. I also get other stats such as heart rate and relative effort to see how I'm going during the event. Sure I could get a bluetooth heart rate chest strap and connect my phone to that, but then you'll only be able to look at that information afterwards. Every stat I care about fits onto my Garmin watch screen (I installed a custom face for running) so I don't need to touch a thing (although I might occasionally press the button to activate the backlight if running at night).

    Having a smartwatch means I can also easily press stop and start when I want to get the most accurate time. That may sound silly since phones have GPS too, but GPS usually takes at least a couple of seconds to kick in and notice you got stuck at an intersection or something - and you slow down a couple of seconds before that. It all adds up and can mess with your average times (although arguably cutting out unintentional stops are still messing with the average time, but it's up to the individual as to how they want to track such things).

    I've injured my leg and am taking some time off running for a couple of weeks, but I might hit the pool this weekend. My watch can track my performance in the pool too, such as laps and pace - even without GPS availability. Try that with a phone!

    Sleeping is better with the watch - once you get used to it. I now get detailed stats about how I slept, and was surprised how poorly I actually sleep in general and how much of an effect keeping my sleep patterns in check can make. I'm also on call 24x7 for work, and now I can have my phone on silent to not wake my spouse - my watch vibrating on my arm can wake me instead.

    For people who want to browse websites and the like on your watch - nope, I can't see that happening. A phone is a better and more practical solution there. But everyone should do sports so everyone should have a smartwatch!

    --
    It's GNU/Linux dammit!
    • (Score: 2) by PiMuNu on Thursday July 19 2018, @09:45AM (1 child)

      by PiMuNu (3823) on Thursday July 19 2018, @09:45AM (#709301)

      That's exactly my use case for a smartwatch, but when I read reviews they all said "needs to recharge every 2 days". Urg! So I have a stopwatch on my cheap casio job which is "good enough".

      • (Score: 2) by boltronics on Thursday July 19 2018, @12:34PM

        by boltronics (580) on Thursday July 19 2018, @12:34PM (#709342) Homepage Journal

        Yeah that sounds crazy. It might make sense if GPS+GLONASS is on all the time, or the backlight is permanently on a higher setting.

        My watch claims to work for 2 weeks in normal watch mode, but I've never been more than 2 days without switching to GPS tracking for a run or ride so I get a bit over a week on a charge. I just charge it each Friday night since I'll usually do longer runs over the weekend.

        --
        It's GNU/Linux dammit!
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 19 2018, @06:52PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 19 2018, @06:52PM (#709563)

    They should get Smart. Invent the SmartShoe! https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/DonAdams.jpg [wikimedia.org]

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