Sure, I just think the battery life thing is really the difference between usable and not. The Garmins are expensive, the battery life is really good, but the UI itself is pretty simple and has some of the "knockoff MP3 player" vibes that you see in the cheaper devices.
What is your current watch? Curious about what model I could confidently recommend to people who have the battery problem.
Amazfit Bip 3. Fifty bucks when I bought it, I see on Amazon that it's creeping up toward $60 now.
Honestly, my favorite watch over the past 5-10 years has been a no-name that shows up on Amazon with a search for "EURANS Smart Watch 44mm, AMOLED Fitness Watch". $20, today. Since it uses standard watch bands, it was easy to find an inexpensive steel upgrade band. The phone app for managing this watch is the best I've used, and there were enough decent-looking watch faces available to make me happy. Battery lasts 12+ days.
Unfortunately, I found that with the EURANS, Bluetooth notifications on my phone were sometimes flaky. With Amazfit, notifications are solid, but sometimes syncing steps from the native app to Apple Health can be flaky. In the ultra low-end range, you're going to deal with something, but for me the Apple Health stuff is easier fix with the occasional manual edit.
What is your current watch? Curious about what model I could confidently recommend to people who have the battery problem.