
Smartwatches Are Dying Because They Are Worthless - sounds
http://gizmodo.com/smartwatches-are-dying-because-they-are-worthless-1790001341
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X-Istence
The Apple watch and its health application which gamifies trying to close some
rings has led to me losing 3 pant sizes (46 -> 40), and almost 40 lbs. I've
put on a lot of extra muscle mass and spend a lot more time being healthy.

Is that worth $250? It absolutely is to me, and I wear it on a daily basis.
The extra features are nice to have, I use Apple Pay on my watch quite a bit,
and the notifications are nice to remind me of meetings.

~~~
RandyRanderson
First, congrats on the wt loss!

However, I think you might want to do some calculations on the weight loss.

Consider that running for 30 minutes is about the same number of calories as
one big mac(300 Cals), depending on a lot of things.

Apple watch was released ~1.5 years ago. To lose 40 lbs in say 80 weeks that's
0.5 lbs/wk. If apple watch was, in fact, the cause it would have to induce
about the equivalent a 30 minute minute run every day. So if you miss a day
the next you have to do a crushing 60 mins.

Maybe I'm projecting but even if the device gave me an extreme shock for not
running I expect i'd miss a lot of days.

My guess is that likely your wt loss is due _mostly_ to changes in diet. Maybe
the watch made you more concious of meal choices?

. See some numbers here: [http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/lose-1-kg-weight-
per-week-74...](http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/lose-1-kg-weight-per-
week-7442.html)

~~~
aniro
You might want to consider that human behavior can be difficult to calculate
on an abacus.

Beginning to realize success toward a goal with a single behavior change
(changes due to an increase in exercise) will having reinforcing effects on
other behaviors (such as dietary choices).

By gamifying a key factor that likely led to a cascade of behavior changes,
the watch played a critical role in improving his chance of success toward a
goal.

Whether accurate or not, your point does not negate nor diminish the value of
the watch as the critical factor.

~~~
RandyRanderson
So you're advocating:

. gym memberships

. fitness products

. supplements

. etc?

Because all those could fit into your gamification argument. How well _in
general_ do those work? My points are:

1 Again congrats to that person on the wt loss.

2 Likely it was _their_ focus on changing their behaviour that was
responsibile and not the watch. Probably a journal would suffice.

Also your statement "...the watch as _the_ critical factor" is surprising,
emphasis mine. I think only if I knew that person really well and had
witnessed the transformation personally could I make that statement.

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alkonaut
I have asked this before in various contexts but never got a good answer - why
are smart watches so smart (but in return clumsy, expensive, power hungry
etc)?

I don't need another smartphone I might need a companion device. It should
just display a few things from my phone, e.g display navigation,
notifications. My phone already has a big arm CPU and a GPS receiver, I don't
want to carry another one!

It should cost peanuts and have weeks of battery.

Do these exist? If not, why? Because they can't be made? Because no one apart
from me wants one?

~~~
adambrenecki
The closest the industry came to what you're describing, unfortunately, was
Pebble. They were cheap (IIRC the OG Pebble was around $99); while they didn't
last _multiple_ weeks you could get 7-10 days out of a charge depending on
model.

I use my Pebble Time Steel pretty much exactly how you're describing; to
glance at the time, weather, and notifications, so I can keep my phone on
silent in my pocket.

Apparently nobody except you and I want that, though :(

~~~
alkonaut
I'd want it to have the kind of integration and polish that e.g Apple could
pull off if it was their product. I think it could be a thing, especially if
it could work reasonably well on its own (watch, fitness features etc).

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rcarmo
I have mixed feelings about the article, partly because of Gizmodo (which
loves clickbaity titles to an extreme) and because I find my Apple watch
actually useful in daily life - meeting reminders, discrete messaging, street
directions and the ability to dictate replies - much easier than unlocking the
phone and typing them out when on the go.

(It can actually cope with both languages I speak/write daily, and got me
using Siri and dictation more, with very reasonable accuracy).

I had a Pebble and a Sony Smartwatch previously, and it was an exponential
improvement \- although my ideal smartwatch would be something like the Pebble
Round with full Apple integration and fitness features.

They're not for everyone, they're expensive (all of mine were eBay or discount
purchases) and they might not make for a sizable business volume, but they are
useful - but, again, not for everyone.

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nullnilvoid
I was looking for a watch for running a few months ago. I waited for the new
Apple Watch 2. After looking at it, I decided to go with Garmin. It is a lot
cheaper and does exactly the things I want: tracking time, distance, steps,
heart rate etc. I can see the value of smartwatches as fitness trackers. For
other things, a smartphone does it better.

~~~
Analemma_
I'm currently in the same situation as you were - currently trying to decide
between an Apple Watch 2 and a Garmin. Fitness is my main concern, though I'm
not super intense and wouldn't mind getting light notifications (just texts
and incoming calls maybe) on the watch either. Which one did you end up
getting?

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joshstrange
I really don't agree they are worthless but until about last week I was really
considering dropping my Apple Watch.... In favor of going back to a Pebble (I
had a Pebble steel). Now that Pebble is no more I'll be sticking with the
Apple Watch. I love having the time on my wrist (never knew how useful it was,
I was never a "Watch guy") but even more so I love the notifications. Pebble
had an awesome product but living in an Apple ecosystem I decided to go for
the Apple Watch and while I like the look and finish a lot more than the
pebble I'm not sure it justifies the cost in the end. My Pebble vibrate could
be heard across the room while the haptic feedback from my Apple watch is
silent. My Apple watch looks nicer than my Pebble but my Pebble blew away the
Apple watch on both battery and cost.

I agree with some of the other comments here, I want a companion device not
another smartphone on my wrist. I have used apps on my watch 1-2 times ever
because the screen is just too small to really do anything on. With one of the
new updates texting with drawing made it useful for responses again (I never
got into canned responses) but really I want the time and notifications. I has
hoped for better siri integration but it's failed me enough times I just reach
for my phone to use siri at this point.

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moxious
I think of smart watches as a product that is 2/3rds of a smartphone, targeted
at people who don't want to take a smartphone out of their pocket, with an
affinity towards people who are fashion conscious, for whom the form factor
itself is a selling point.

It's a market, but not that big of one.

~~~
themihai
You could say the same about V3 and the market was not that small. Nice things
are not only for fashion conscious. They just need to have the right price.

~~~
moxious
That's the thing...part of their identity as a fashion accessory means that a
low price would be a bad thing, like wearing a timex instead of a Rolex.

It's a bit self-limiting.

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scottkrager
I ordered a Pebble Time 2 on Kickstarter and a Core hoping to find the perfect
smartwatch and run tracking combo. When the Apple Watch 2 came out, I figured
I'd hedge my bets and get one of those, then keep whichever one I ended up
liking more. Well, the Pebble + Core is never arriving (thanks for the quick
refund!) - and I've really become found of the Apple Watch.

Built in GPS for run tracking is awesome, and with wireless airpods, I'll be
able to run and listen to music/podcast with minimal extra weight.

A few other minor things I've liked about the Apple Watch 2:

\- Setting a timer with Siri (use multiple times a day now) \- Weather on the
watchface \- Check banking balances from watch \- PagerDuty notifications on
watch vs. phone (my wife very much appreciates this!) - phone now stays out of
the bedroom

I'm sad there isn't a good open source watch OS out there (with any decent
looking hardware) - but until then, the Apple Watch 2 has been a pleasant
surprise. I did have pretty low expectations going in, so that could be part
of it.

~~~
Gaelan
Is Android Wear OSS?

~~~
themihai
AOSP is not really the same thing you run on your phone/watch.

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grammernerd
I strongly blame the Apple watch for the demise of the smart watch. People,
including this article's author, look at how unfit for purpose the Apple watch
is and draw conclusions about all smart watches. And the Apple watch is the
most visible, so that's all most people see.

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DrScump
To my eye, Apple's advertising push for the Watch tried to sell it as a
_replacement_ for other primary mobile devices rather than as _supplementary_
(you never see an iPhone in those ads).

One limiting factor that went ignored by a lot of people is that many basic
tasks (calls, texts, browsing ) that can be done with one hand with a phone
constrain _both_ hands when operating the watch.

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rappr
I guess I'm weird as I don't have my phone on me 24/7\. For people like me,
smart watches have a lot of utility.

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whoiskevin
The Apple Pay is fantastic when you are on a motorcycle and pull up to the
pump. Quick responses to texts and heart rate tracking making a smart watch a
pretty good but yes expensive gadget. So many will find it useless but many
find a lot of extra features on smart phones useless as well.

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x0x0
One big advantage the apple watch has over eg garmin is looks. For people who
either dress professionally or value their appearance, the apple watch seems
far better. This was a top concern for my partner when she wanted a fitness
tracker.

~~~
randycupertino
Agree. I had a garmin XT but it looks like a teenage gameboy on my wrist. The
apple watch does the same thing but looks sleek and professional.

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LordWinstanley
>>...big reason I’d purchased it was ... to turn my lights off and on with my
watch, but in practice, the Phillips Hue light switch app was so slow it was
easier to pull my phone out instead.

Or you could do it by getting off the sofa and using the switch. No wonder so
many people are morbidly obese these days. Spending several hundred quid so
you don't have to walk to the lightswitch!

