About 5 years ago I bought probably the last watch I'd ever need. It's a solar powered Casio with timezones, and the normal 'digital watch' accoutrements. The little energy-saving details are fantastic. It has analog hands with a small digital screen. Why waste energy on backlighting when you can use glow in the dark paint that charges with the same light as the energy source? Too dark or too still? Turn off the screen until you move the watch. There was a time when it was in a drawer for a couple months while I was traveling, and when I got it out and put it in the sun, it fired right back up, and adjusted the time itself. I've seen it drop into a low charge maybe twice. It feels like it's meant to last forever, and I believe it's probably some of the best 50 bucks I've ever spent.I've used a Fitbit and a couple friends have Apple watches, but the entire concept of charging an always connected timepiece just makes no sense to me.
gargravarr|6 years ago
However, I bought a Pebble a few years ago, and I have to say there is definitely a way to do smartwatches right. The idea of charging a watch regularly is annoying, I can't deny, but Pebble did something right when they prioritised battery life. I routinely get over a week of use out of the Pebble, and that's with an always-on LCD screen (contrary to popular belief, it's not a traditional e-ink display, but a 'memory LCD', which has a refresh rate fast enough to display animations), which for all the watch does is quite acceptable battery life. It can fully charge from USB in an hour. And the ability to have a watch face showing a large amount of information at once (just like the 'complications' on traditional watches) really helps - on the main one I use, I can see the local weather at a glance. Having certain notifications pushed from my phone is also useful. Although sometimes, I do find myself ensuring the watch is exposed to sunlight like my Casio, trying to charge it.
Waterluvian|6 years ago
gargravarr|6 years ago
jdsnape|6 years ago