Who owns a Smart Watch?

[MA2 317]

I have been wearing a wristwatch to track the time since I was five years old and I've been thinking about purchasing a smart watch, but not sure if I need it.

I was curious if some of the 142,00 members of this forum wore a smart watch and why it is useful.

I hate digging into my pocket for the phone, but a quick glance at my wrist seems like a winner.

I'm an Android user so no Apple Watches for me.

Thanks in advance for your opinions.

.

 

[slup]

I'm a tech freak in general & an early adopter when I find added value ... but skipped the "Smart watch" urge, didn't want one thing more to charge every day.

Have plenty (like 50 ) of mechanical watches spanning from the early 50's up to today's dive watches with a heavy bias towards the models from the 70's ... so knowing the time isn't a problem at all

 

[msinger]

I've owned several versions of the Apple Watch for ~5 years now. Love them! I most often use mine to quickly read incoming emails, text messages, and alerts from my Ring Alarm sensors/devices. Oh, and it's also super handy for checking the time

 

[Grandpa]

My wife uses her watch to find her phone.

 

[Johnmcl7]

My wife uses her watch to find her phone.

My Mum absolutely adores that feature of her smartwatch as well.

I first had the Vivoactive which was one of the early Garmin smartwatches and then went for the Fenix 5s which I've had for nearly five years now and wouldn't be without it. The primary use is exactly what you've mentioned which is to be able to quickly check a notification with a glance at my wrist rather than having to check the phone each time and I can see if it's something I need to deal with now or can wait until later. An additional bonus I didn't realise initially was that I can have the phone silent since the watch will alert me for calls for anything, a gentle vibrate on the wrist is much less intrusive than noise on the phone.

The Garmin isn't very flashy but the display is on all the time, it's readable in sunlight and the batterylife is excellent with something like 7-10 days with no GPS use. I did originally make better use of the performance metrics but less so now as I do that on the cycle computer but it is still handy as a backup.

The optical HR monitor isn't great for high stress workouts but it became very useful a couple of years ago when I developed a severe thyroid problem which I felt normal about except I felt hot and tired, no other symptoms. The watch however was reporting that normal activities were 'intense' when they shouldn't be and eventually was warning me that my heartrate was abnormal. I checked into the data and could compare a normal summer with that one and found my resting heartrate had been gradually climbing day by day from 55 until it was over 100. By that time I'd gone from being an endurance cyclist to no longer having the energy to sit up, a quick trip to hospital and I was put on medication to get back to normal and get my heartrate back down. Thyroid conditions can go all over the place and the next blood test showed I'd gone from an overactive thyroid to underactive which again the watch tracked correctly. It took a few months to resolve and the watch was so helpful in keeping an eye on how it was going.

You never know when you'll need something like that and it caught me by surprise, thankfully that's all sorted now but still find it handy to keep an eye that the HR is normal and also watch my calories since sometimes I can be burning more than I realise which I need to keep on top off.

 

[Macinfo]

I have been wearing a wristwatch to track the time since I was five years old and I've been thinking about purchasing a smart watch, but not sure if I need it.
I was curious if some of the 142,00 members of this forum wore a smart watch and why it is useful.
I hate digging into my pocket for the phone, but a quick glance at my wrist seems like a winner.
I'm an Android user so no Apple Watches for me.
Thanks in advance for your opinions.

.

Smart watches have many advantages over regular watches, I have had an Apple Watch since almost Day 1, it can send reminders for calendar events, inform of weather, incoming messages and mail, health tracking and more.. Not being familiar with what a Droid watch would do, or whether would even pair with one's phone for information, its hard to render any real opinion here without more research.

They maybe less expensive than an Apple Watch, but I think one gets far more functionality from the combo of iPhone and Apple Watch and security in the long run... Course thats IMHO...

 

[lturner241]

Bought an Apple watch last year and the ECG function turned out to be extremely useful when I started experiencing atrial fibrillation. I used the data with both my GP and the hospital to show that AF had been occurring during sleep and for prolonged periods of time.

It can get a bit annoying with notifications and I make it a rule to not wear it over the weekends, otherwise I'm constantly checking emails and other stuff.

 

[Lastrexking]

I've had a few Apple Watches since they first came out. I'm currently on the latest version. I go to the gym three times a week, so I find it really helpful in tracking my workouts. It also means I don't have to take my phone in there with me for music etc, as I can play my workout playlist directly from my watch to my Airpods.
It's really handy when walking the dogs, as I can quickly glance at messages or take calls when my hands are full with dog leads etc. It's useful in work and social situations for the same reasons. I can discreetly check without seeming rude. It's also just a great watch. The option of choosing different faces and easily swapping the straps means that it can either be a casual thing, or something smart. For example, I use the Nike Loop strap day to day. If I go to a wedding or a special occasion I have a couple of nice straps, such as a a patent leather one, or a traditional link one. If I go swimming, I throw on an elasticated strap.

Could I live without it? Absolutely. Would I want to? Nope.

 

[Speshal]

As an Android user I can't fault the TickWatch Pro 3 GPS I've got, the battery in normal mode lasts as long as my phone battery so I charge them together and I've made my own watchface to show me exactly what I want.

It has a second LCD screen above the AMOLED one that shows you basic info , time, date, steps etc and in that mode the battery lasts for 45 days and it's relatively cheap

This is my current face.

 

[Macinfo]

Bought an Apple watch last year and the ECG function turned out to be extremely useful when I started experiencing atrial fibrillation. I used the data with both my GP and the hospital to show that AF had been occurring during sleep and for prolonged periods of time.

It can get a bit annoying with notifications and I make it a rule to not wear it over the weekends, otherwise I'm constantly checking emails and other stuff.

In the Apple Watch app, you can disable notifications for items you may get that you don't necessarily want. And for those weekends , enable do not disturb. Though you do have to remember to disable it when Monday comes...

 

[Speshal]

If you run Android, get the Tasker App and autoWear and your watch can do anything, I can say "DJI" to my watch and my phone opens DJI fly app.

I've got my phone to say out loud the drone battery percentage every 5 minutes, very handy.

 

[snowghost]

I always loved Swiss watches since a kid. When I got into jogging 30+ years ago, I got into the Timex Ironman to measure splits and mileage. Referred to it as my Anti-Rolex. Since IMHO a large part of a real watch is bling.

When the Apple Watch came out I had finally ditched any watch for daily activities. However, as an IT Director noticed that many of my guys were getting them. They all swore how cool it was having a smart watch.

Long story short I'm now a fan. My current one has cell service, so if I'm jogging at O'Dark Thirty, I'll have a "phone" for emergencies without having to lug the real thing. Got one for the Spousal Unit who has heart issues. She takes EKGs and sends them to her cardiologist.

 

[slozukimc]

My wife uses her watch to find her phone.

My Daughter has an Apple watch and I think this is why.

I have one for when I go riding my trials bike or hiking when there is a big risk of my phone being broken or lost.

Mike

 

[slup]

Just throwing in a completely other perspective regarding Smart watches ...

-Keep them away from your drone when powering it on ... otherwise it might upset the compass & by that create a yaw error when the IMU initializes to that disturbed compass direction.

-If you notice ghost stick inputs coming from the stick closest to your wrist with the watch ... it might be that the watch disturbs that sticks hall sensor.

 

[Lastrexking]

Just throwing in a completely other perspective regarding Smart watches ...

-Keep them away from your drone when powering it on ... otherwise it might upset the compass & by that create a yaw error when the IMU initializes to that disturbed compass direction.

-If you notice ghost stick inputs coming from the stick closest to your wrist with the watch ... it might be that the watch disturbs that sticks hall sensor.

I’ve worn an Apple Watch for every DJI flight I’ve made since 2016 and never experienced an issue. That would be across Mavic Pro, Mavic Air, Mavic Mini 2 and the Spark.

Is there any evidence for this, or is it purely anecdotal? As I see it, a smart watch holds no technology that would be any more hazardous to a drone flight than a smart phone or tablet being used to make the flight along with the controller?

 

[zeusfl]

I always wear my apple watch since generation 1.

 

[slup]

...Is there any evidence for this, or is it purely anecdotal? As I see it, a smart watch holds no technology that would be any more hazardous to a drone flight than a smart phone or tablet being used to make the flight along with the controller?

Don't know what you consider to be valid evidence here but ...

When it comes to possible magnetic interference close by to the drones compass during the power on phase, it's well documented in the "Mavic Crash & FlyAway Assistance" section ... yaw errors show up there on a regular basis coming from pilots having powered on their drones on the same reinforced concrete driveway as they have done for years ... but this last time they had the drone just where the rebar's cross & was closest to the surface. We have also seen it happen on wooden decks ... when the drone unluckily had been placed right on top of a nail or screw. So this risk is really valid & not at all anecdotal. Furthermore it's easily tested by only moving an ordinary hand compass near what you want to test ... if the compass needle moves, well ... then your drones compass will also. Also bear in mind that the M2 series, as the only one, can correct a wrongly initiated IMU when it's discovered by the FC later airborne ... but this only if the M2 isn't moved after the power on.

The ghost stick input due to disturbed hall sensors then ... well, here it's not as conclusive. Have over the years seen a couple cases where magnetic objects close by to the sticks have been a likely cause to smaller erratic disturbances in the stick inputs, mostly seen just in the logs, if my memory doesn't trick me ... I think it was one case with an larger metal smart watch & one case with one of those magnetic micro usb connectors in the left side port.

But to be honest ... above issues aren't isolated to just Smart watches ... all magnetic objects will do the same

 

[scro]

I’ve worn an Apple Watch for every DJI flight I’ve made since 2016 and never experienced an issue. That would be across Mavic Pro, Mavic Air, Mavic Mini 2 and the Spark.

Is there any evidence for this, or is it purely anecdotal? As I see it, a smart watch holds no technology that would be any more hazardous to a drone flight than a smart phone or tablet being used to make the flight along with the controller?

Some smart watch straps have a magnetic clasp, which seems like a good explanation for some bad experiences. I've got a smart watch, which has a fairly small magnetic signature and have never had any compass issues as a result of it, despite often powering on the drone while holding it in my watch hand.

On the question the OP posed: I have a smart watch, which I primarily got for sports (running/hiking/biking/skiing/swimming etc) tracking. I'm not really into the constant inundation of notifications and facetwittergram checking so don't use those features. I'm quite pleased with what mine does and wear it pretty much all the time. I prefer glancing at my wrist for the time than digging out my phone.

 

[slozukimc]

I’ve worn an Apple Watch for every DJI flight I’ve made since 2016 and never experienced an issue. That would be across Mavic Pro, Mavic Air, Mavic Mini 2 and the Spark.

Is there any evidence for this, or is it purely anecdotal? As I see it, a smart watch holds no technology that would be any more hazardous to a drone flight than a smart phone or tablet being used to make the flight along with the controller?

I have to agree with this. Other than the rare magnetic clasp on a band there should be nothing in a smart watch that is different enough from the cel phone attached to the controller to make any sort of difference. I have never heard a warning to keep your controller and phone away from your drone due to possible interference. Have you guys?

Mike

 

[slup]

I have to agree with this. Other than the rare magnetic clasp on a band there should be nothing in a smart watch that is different enough from the cel phone attached to the controller to make any sort of difference. I have never heard a warning to keep your controller and phone away from your drone due to possible interference. Have you guys?

Mike

If your Smart watch creates a electromagnetic field or is made in a ferrous material it will disturb the drones compass if placed enough close ... & that is the same with your phone, Tab, RC, ordinary watch, rings, bracelets, reinforced concrete, metal garden table, nails & screws.

All this can easily be avoided & confirmed before take-off ... if you don't know anything about it, it's only a matter of time before it happens, and the proof of that is all those hundreds that have experienced a yaw error over in the "Mavic Crash & Flyaway Assistance" section.


Go here & read ... it's a splendid & well written article about drone compasses ---> A short explanation of compass function, calibration and errors. ... jump down to "Compass interference" to get right into it.