Tell me about a smart watch

Anyone use one?

Primarily I would like one so I don't have to carry my phone into the gym. I would like to have some music songs on it either physically or via Google play or something. I would like to use the Samsung Pay thing so I also wouldn't have to carry a credit card if I wanted to pay for stuff. I would also like to be able to see if I get a new email, skype, slack message etc and be able to respond if I am away from my phone.

Can a smart watch do all of these things?

Just get the iImplant.

Pretty sure they can.

Know a guy that got a Samsung watch. Got it because he supervises plant installations. Has to be on the phone a lot but didn't want the guys he supervises to see him on the phone because they are not supposed to use theirs in the plant.

Well I guess you'll find out when I do. I just ordered one of the LG ones to play with.

I'm buying the Fitbit Ionic tonight. On sale plus a free $50 GC at Best Buy.

Does Bluetooth music streaming (supposedly can hold 300 songs on its internal storage), long battery life, waterproof (something I've been looking for), text/call receiving, plus NFC payments. I'll be pumped to use my watch to pay for lotion and kleenex from now on.

Old Tech

WBH, what are you going to do with your calculator watch?

Calculate stuff mostly

Red Sox used one to cheat against the Yankees. Seems like there’s a lot of untapped potential with these things.

I like the Samsung Gear S3 though it is quite expensive.

Hi keanro. I considered it but I opted for the LG one because I think the LG one has a SIM card but the S3 doesn't. Or maybe it was because of Android Wear 2.0. I think that may have been it. I can't remember. Anyway, I'll let you know how it goes. Send me your home address and we can be pen pals.

Hatch, now that you have a smart watch, do you feel like Dick Tracy?

I don't have it yet GW. I just ordered it. And then I have to activate it. And then I have to try to figure out how to use it. So no. But frankly I'm quite excited about this development. My life is so great. I can't wait to unbox this thing on Facespace and make everyone super jelly. I think most of the people in my Elementary Dads Class of 2028 group will actually be so jelly that they won't give me any likes out of spite.

WhiteBoyHatcher wrote:I don't have it yet GW. I just ordered it. And then I have to activate it. And then I have to try to figure out how to use it. So no. But frankly I'm quite excited about this development. My life is so great. I can't wait to unbox this thing on Facespace and make everyone super jelly. I think most of the people in my Elementary Dads Class of 2028 group will actually be so jelly that they won't give me any likes out of spite.

Haterz gonna hate, Hatch. Fuck em.

Agreed.

Thing about this....I despise watches. But I think I hate carrying shit around more than I hate watches. It would be so great to be able to wander about town without anything in my pockets and I could just put my hands in my pockets strictly to handle my junk while people think I'm actually trying to get my phone/wallet. It would be so great.

WhiteBoyHatcher wrote:Agreed.

Thing about this....I despise watches. But I think I hate carrying shit around more than I hate watches. It would be so great to be able to wander about town without anything in my pockets and I could just put my hands in my pockets strictly to handle my junk while people think I'm actually trying to get my phone/wallet. It would be so great.

Be careful with that. People are quite a bit more sophisticated now than they used to be. Even kids and little old ladies can tell when someone is playing pocket pool. So I've heard, anyway. Not that something that embarrassing has ever happened to me.

tGreenWay wrote:

WhiteBoyHatcher wrote:Agreed.

Thing about this....I despise watches. But I think I hate carrying shit around more than I hate watches. It would be so great to be able to wander about town without anything in my pockets and I could just put my hands in my pockets strictly to handle my junk while people think I'm actually trying to get my phone/wallet. It would be so great.

Be careful with that. People are quite a bit more sophisticated now than they used to be. Even kids and little old ladies can tell when someone is playing pocket pool. So I've heard, anyway. Not that something that embarrassing has ever happened to me.

22K, bro.

I tried the Fitbit Ionic, and didn't really care for it. It was a nice fit and didn't feel that bad on my wrist, but it was just too big. I went back to my Charge 2 and am returning it later today.

Can't you just get some velcro and wrap your phone around your arm?

Smart watches just don't offer enough value for me to justify purchasing one at this point.

I'll stick to repping MSU colors with my Steinhart watch.

I need a digital watch because I do not know how to read a clock.

Da Mayor wrote:

tGreenWay wrote:

Be careful with that. People are quite a bit more sophisticated now than they used to be. Even kids and little old ladies can tell when someone is playing pocket pool. So I've heard, anyway. Not that something that embarrassing has ever happened to me.

22K, bro.

Probably closing in on 23k, schtick.

Any different opinions here? I got my wife the Apple Watch 5 or whatever it is called. I'm interested in getting one that is golf centric. Right now looking at the Galaxy Active 2 Golf Edition, or there is a Garmin Golf watch, which is considerably more expensive. I know that the Galaxy Watch 3 just came out, but a lot of reviews seem to be telling people that the new is almost always better, but the Active 2 is a very good watch. Don't care about reviews of your Casio calculator watch.

That garmin sounds bangin if Golf is the #1 goal
https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/garmin-s62-approach


I rock a fitbit because of sleep/activity tracking + 5 day (easy) battery life. There is an exercise golf mode - but assume you want the course rangefinder info which does not come standard (there are a couple apps for that - no idea how well they work)

Just seems like another piece of useless technology.

But I'm kinda old school

Dendrobates wrote:Just seems like another piece of useless technology.

But I'm kinda old school

I don't "get" the smart home stuff...

This thread isn't about typewriters.

Dendrobates wrote:Just seems like another piece of useless technology.

But I'm kinda old school

I did a Whoop strap for a while. No watch or apps, just a straight fitness and sleep tracker. Novel for the first few weeks. Then it just seemed pointless. I worked out and my heart rate went up. I slept and it went down. Not exactly rocket science. It tracked all the data over time and was told me if I was sleeping enough or getting sick or not working hard enough. I suppose it did to an extent, but the tech is still pretty new and I would find myself getting annoyed if didn't register right. Also, your inputs also rarely change. Most people walk, workout, sleep, etc. the same everyday.

I returned it.

Whoop would be cool if it had a watch feature. I see zero point in wearing smart tech on your wrist that can't do anything human readable.

Mrs GW loved her first Apple Watch so much she got the next gen when it came out. Pretty sure she was going to get the most recent gen but then along came covid.
Also, it’s a shame da mayor stopped stalking me. It was nice getting updates on my post count.

tGreenWay wrote:Mrs GW loved her first Apple Watch so much she got the next gen when it came out. Pretty sure she was going to get the most recent gen but then along came covid.
Also, it’s a shame da mayor stopped stalking me. It was nice getting updates on my post count.

Almost 39k

InTenSity wrote:

tGreenWay wrote:Mrs GW loved her first Apple Watch so much she got the next gen when it came out. Pretty sure she was going to get the most recent gen but then along came covid.
Also, it’s a shame da mayor stopped stalking me. It was nice getting updates on my post count.

Almost 39k

Excellent. But now, can you reply with a little more hostility and derision? Thanks, InTen.

AvgMSUJoe wrote:

Dendrobates wrote:Just seems like another piece of useless technology.

But I'm kinda old school

I don't "get" the smart home stuff...

I did not.

Although I'm tempted to get one of those ring doorbells. But I also see it being a pain in the ass too. Regardless, I don't need it and I will see how I feel about them next year in the new house.

Dendrobates wrote:

AvgMSUJoe wrote:
I don't "get" the smart home stuff...

I did not.

Although I'm tempted to get one of those ring doorbells. But I also see it being a pain in the ass too. Regardless,  I don't need it and I will see how I feel about them next year in the new house.

I got one because I get a lot packages for work. Plus some kids rifled through my car. I never lock it.


I can count on one hand how many times I've checked it. Not worth it.

I use my Ring on the reg. I also got a camera for the back door. I like it, it's kind of fun to check the motion alerts, plus it helps me solve the occasional Scooby Doo type mystery.

I used the smart watch for about 2 weeks and got over it. No need now since I'll never be leaving home again as nothing will ever open.

Nordic wrote:

Dendrobates wrote:

I did not.

Although I'm tempted to get one of those ring doorbells. But I also see it being a pain in the ass too. Regardless,  I don't need it and I will see how I feel about them next year in the new house.

I got one because I get a lot packages for work. Plus some kids rifled through my car. I never lock it.


I can count on one hand how many times I've checked it. Not worth it.

My wife handles this so I don’t know, but does your home owners insurance go down with those?

I have a couple Wyze cubes... cause the teenagers are home alone during weekends occasionally and I don't want their stupid friends breaking my shit... the only time I use them.

I also have a couple wifi switches. Bought them for christmas lights.

That's it. Mostly (except for the wife's million christmas strands) I can turn on my own lights... and changing my heat/cooling every time I leave doesn't seem very practical. (...and I always thought it cost more to cool to a point then maintain a temp)

Oh wait... my garage door opener is wifi too. Which is nice.

So I guess I do have smart home stuff... Alexa/Google/whatever integration seems over the edge and evil though.

I've got the Nest thermostat, which is nice for turning the temperature up when I wake up and before I get out of bed in the winter. We set it to around 60 at night. I've got a few smart plugs for controlling various lights through Alexa. Also have a couple of wyze cams. One indoor for the front porch and a new outdoor wyze cam for keeping an eye on the back driveway and backyard. Porch lights are set up through alexa to come on at sunset and off at sunrise. All of these I can control through my Iphone and Alexa, along with getting notifications from the cameras if anyone comes to the door or drives into the driveway. Smoke/CO alarm is also connected and will send notifications if the house starts to fill with smoke.

The wife raises birds so it's nice to be able to control the lights for those as they're in two separate rooms.

I suppose Alexa is a necessary evil with all the devices and I hope whoever is reviewing whatever she records gets bored to tears.

I've got a couple smart watches that I barely use the functions for since I'm too lazy to read through the instructions. I suppose if I really need the functions I'll figure out how to use them.

Someone invent the smartass watch and then I’ll buy one.

My wife loves all types of tech so we pretty much have everything (she has the 5th generation apple watch, her third).  I am no technophobe, but I like life a bit more simple. 

Based on my observation, the only need for a smartwatch is at amusement parks and to locate your phone.

The wifi garage door opener is nice.

I like the video doorbell (FWIW, the ring brand is the worst of the lot) but do find the volume of alerts annoying at times.  It is nice to know when you get a package and nice not to have to physically answer the door when it is someone you do not want to talk to.

I like the outdoor security cams we have but I will not allow any in the house.

I have no need for smart switches, lights or the thermostat but we do have them.