ALLBIDS Blog

Features to Look For in a Smartwatch

Wednesday, 03 October 2018 | Mike Leano

Back in 2010, the next frontier for consumer electronics was tablets. In today's era of smart devices, the gadget must-have is smartwatches. They're not necessarily as useful as smartphones, but there are people who want them, so more and more companies rush to create more.

Like smartphones, there are many aspects to look at when picking out the right smartwatch. But this time (pun intended), it's not really about the specs but what the timepiece can do. Here are the features that we think you should consider and look for in a smartwatch.

OS and phone compatibility

When it comes to the operating system or OS, smartwatches are typically available - but are not limited to - five major options: Apple Watch, Google's Wear OS (formerly Android Wear), Samsung Tizen, Fitbit OS and Garmin devices.

Smartwatches are created to work in conjunction with smartphones; thus, phone compatibility is vital when deciding what smartwatch to buy. You should pick a smartwatch that you're sure works with your smartphone. Otherwise, you're stuck with one that doesn't.

Here's how phone compatibility currently stands:

• Apple Watch - Series 3 in particular - works only with iPhone 5S/iOS 11 or later and can't pair with any other phone OSes. Or even iPads.
• Samsung Tizen (e.g. Galaxy Watch, Gear S3), Fitbit OS, and Garmin smartwatches are compatible with both iOS and Android smartphones.
• Wear OS is compatible with Android 4.3 and higher smartphones, and some may even work with iOS. To find out whether your iPhone or Android smartphone is compatible, visit g.co/WearCheck.

Note: If you've managed to pair a Wear OS smartwatch with an iPhone, know that a number of its features won't work (e.g. connecting the device to Wi-Fi).

Interface

Current smartwatches are customarily navigated via touchscreen, physical buttons or a mix of both. Among these input options, combining touch and physical buttons is the most common. Here are some of their notable differences in interface:

• Apple Watch uses a combination of touchscreen and a "digital crown" like the ones found on mechanical timepieces. The digital crown functions like a home button on other Apple devices, and lets you scroll or zoom in.
• Wear OS uses a touchscreen as well, but differentiates itself with information cards like those used in Google Now and the option to navigate the watch through wrist gestures.
• Recent Tizen smartwatches like Samsung's Gear Sport and Gear S3 Frontier has a rotatable bezel which lets you access apps and notifications.
• Pebble smartwatches are navigated mainly through physical buttons. However, the company that makes it has shut down and the IP is now owned by Fitbit.

There are still smartwatches out there that solely use buttons for navigation, but expect the touchscreen-with-physical-buttons scheme to fully take over the market sooner or later.

Notifications

Aside from telling the time and playing music, smartwatches also serve as a means to inform users of incoming calls, text messages and emails; and alert them of app reminders. If this is important to you, then you should examine how well a prospective smartwatch handles notifications.

Essential features in this department should include:

• Reliability. Some watches have late notifications.
• The ability to check your latest notifications and scroll through them. This lets you see if you missed anything.
• The option to adjust which notifications are sent from your phone to your watch.

The ability to reply to text messages and answer calls from the smartwatch is a sought-after feature, but it's surprisingly not as common at this stage.

Devices like Galaxy Gear even comes with a "smart relay" feature which opens the associated app on your smartphone when the corresponding notification is displayed on the watch.

Apps available

Like today's mobile phones, smartwatches can now run mobile apps. Because of this, the number of apps available for a specific OS is a critical aspect to bear in mind.

According to Apple, they currently have over 20,000 apps available for their device. Some of their best include Uber (ride-sharing), Sleep++ (tracks sleep habits), Flipboard (news aggregator) and Evernote (note taking and task lists).

For Wear OS and Tizen, the selection isn't as robust. Google has yet to announce an official number, while Samsung's is said to hover around 1,400. But wear OS does have a distinct advantage: you can install the apps directly onto the watch. With Apple Watch, you have to install it on your iPhone first.

Activity tracking

One of the main selling points for smartwatches is its activity/fitness monitoring capabilities, which commonly include:

• A pedometer for tracking number of steps.
• A heart rate monitor.
• Calorie consumption measurement.
• An altimeter for determining altitude.
• A cadence sensor for keeping track of the number of times your foot hits the ground (typically per minute).
• GPS navigation, which enables route tracking.
• A dive computer for measuring the time and depth of dives.

If you're interested in a smartwatch for sports and outdoor activities, then keep an eye out for rugged models (more on this below). But take note that using GPS will significantly affect how long its battery lasts.

Other features

Like its "smart" mobile phone counterparts (which today has everything but the kitchen sink), later smartwatch models get features such as:

NFC
Near-field communication or NFC lets you make payments by simply waving or tapping your watch over a POS terminal's reader. The major watch OSes support NFC so you'll most likely get it no matter what model you purchase.

Network connectivity
If you want to make calls from your smartwatch, then look for built-in cellular connectivity. Bear in mind that this will cost you extra for the separate plan.

Ruggedness
Regularly go rock-climbing, backpacking or whatever outdoor activity? Then look for a smartwatch that can withstand abuse and the elements. Some have rugged features like shock protection and resistance to water and scratches. Make sure you look at their specs closely and research how well they perform in actual use.

Display

Smartwatch displays are usually either LCD, AMOLED or monochrome, although the latter isn't as common as its coloured counterparts. The watch screens are just a fraction of a smartphone display, but they're large enough to view videos, photos and apps. But bright displays like LCDs and AMOLEDs can drain a watch's battery rather quickly.

To conserve battery, some models switch off their screens (like mobile phones), which prevents you from seeing the time - from a watch, no less. Likewise, there are also newer smartwatches with an always-on display that shows standard features like date and time.

• If you want a smartwatch with a bright and coloured screen, you'll have to get used to a shorter battery life.
• If you want a better battery life but still enjoy a vivid-enough display, avoid AMOLEDs.
• The watches with the longest battery life are usually those with low-power monochrome screens.

Battery and charging

One of the major criticisms levelled against smartwatches is its relatively poor battery life. Most last about one to two days - and some even mere hours. This may vary depending on usage, which can be affected by factors like GPS usage and screen brightness.

There are also models out there that can last for months, but these come with more basic features. For instance, some have monochrome screens and button controls, and merely flash notifications on its screen and not much else.

Fortunately, most smartwatches support wireless charging. This means you can conveniently place your device on a charging pad instead of plugging it into a charger.

Bottom line: When you make your choice, see to it that you take battery into account; because a smartwatch belongs on your wrist and not on the desk.

Appearance

A smartwatch functions as a small computer in the form of a wristwatch, so when looking at features, it's easy to get wrapped up in technical details. But let's not forget that these devices are wristwatches as well, so your considerations for choosing a regular timepiece should apply too.

That means you must also think about its appearance and design. Do you prefer the functional form that's more akin to a sports timepiece? Or are you searching for something stylish and looks like a sophisticated dress watch?

Other factors to take into account:

• How comfortable is the device to wear? There are bulky models that you might find uncomfortable.
• Do you like the straps that go with the device? Are there customisation options that let you swap them out?
• How well-proportioned does the watch look when compared to your hand and wrist? Will the smartwatch look large or small when you wear it?
  
  

Price

Smartwatches cost $200 to $550 on average. The ones with fancier bells and whistles naturally cost more (e.g. Apple Watch Series 3 with GPS and cellular connectivity is worth $559); those with simpler features tend to stay on the lower end of this range.

Of course, there are exceptions. For instance, no-name smartwatches are likely even cheaper, while luxury models like the TAG Heuer Connected is currently a whopping $2400. The trick is to find your sweet spot of features you need at the price you can afford.

More options

ALLBIDS regularly runs auctions for a wide variety of smartwatches. We also provide layers of protection on each auction, which means you can bid with confidence. So find the right smartwatch for you today at ALLBIDS.

If you wish to sell your smartwatch, ALLBIDS can help. Contact us today to find out how.