I am looking at getting a smart watch that will work with my iPhone mainly to do notifications, GPS would be useful etc…

Struggling to narrow it down or decide what I really need, I work in the outdoors and my old Protrek is past its best so something fairly hard wearing and waterproof ish would be high on the list.

Apple Watch (I’m a massive Apple fan but struggling to go for this!)
Garmin Fenix 3
Other Garmins? Vivio etc
Sony Smart Watch 3
Pebble
Fitbit Blaze
Something else?

Ive had a Fenix 3 for about 4 weeks now … Mainly because I wanted a GPS running watch with a long battery. My old Forerunner 10 just wouldn’t survive longer runs.
I must admit I’m loving the smart notifications from it and the activity tracker.
It’s such a nice watch I wear it every day.

I’d highly recommend the pebble time. Add a screen protector and mine has been bombproof and of course it’s fully waterproof. The battery lasts about 5 days but if I’ve forgotten to charge it, 15 mins will get it charged to easily last a day.

It doesn’t do GPS though so you use the phone for that.

Any good deals out there?

I’ve nearly bought the Fenix a couple of times but it’s costly and I need a new helmet sooner rather than later so struggling to justify it.

Pebble time looks good and is £200 cheaper

It’s worth noting that the pebble time 2 is on kickstarter at the moment so the current one may drop in price soon.

Had a garmin 235 for about a week now. Looks relatively normal, a bit smaller and lighter than the fenix and significantly cheaper than the HR version if you want 24/7 HR tracking.

You really need to work out what you want it for first as they are all a bit different. The garmins/Fitbit are fitness devices designed to give you running metrics but do notifications as well (at least the Vivoactive) does. The pebble will be good for notification but not fitness and the Apple will be good at lightening you wallet. I’m not sure any of them do gps for seeing where you are going, only for recording where you have been. I think the apple will let you answer calls without taking you phone out of you bag if that is what you want

They are all very different (happy Vivoactive owner)

Picked up a Sony this week for 100 quid. Just getting to grips with it but it seems a decent bit of kit so far (looks better the flesh than in photos). Haven’t really tested GPS accuracy so far but it’s cool being able to check messages, notifications, etc. without fishing my phone out constantly.

EDIT. In response to poster above, Android Wear will run Google Maps on the watch for navigation (voice activated destination search and vibrates for each new direction).

Just say NO! 🙁

What notifications?
I’ve found my Apple Watch to be excellent for texts, diary, phone call and alarm prompts. I’m not a runner, so lack of GPS not an issue for me, and take my phone to map my rides. It’s also been great for NFC payments, inc. acting as an Oyster card in that there London place.

Had a Fenix for nearly a year now after a dabble with a Moto 360. The Fenix battery life is bloody amazing in comparison. For the features/apps that I use the Fenix does all that I needed out of the 360, so easy win for it.

Reading with interest ..I’m leaning towards a vivoactive hr. Not sure then main differences to the 235.

I’m not a runner, so I suppose although I wanted GPS that was for the features on the Garmin rather than as a ‘health tracker’.

HR doesn’t bother me either as I only Look at that when on the bike and I have the Garmin linked up.

Swaying towards the Pebble as main features I need are notifications, incoming messages, emails etc to save me getting the 6+ out of my pocket.

Sony SW 3 looks much nicer than the pebble though.

Vivioactive also still interest me…. Ahhhh

Happy Fenix 3 owner here, got an Amazon bargain about 6 months ago for £200. I think it was a deal for Prime users.

I tried a Vivoactive, found it felt cheap and crap. Plus even on a normal day outside it was hard to read the screen, it must be almost impossible in the summer.

Flaky Bluetooth between sensors and phone too.

The only thing with the Fenix is its massive on my skinny little girl wrists.

Just got the new Garmin vivoactive hr at the weekend and so far I’m impressed.
Any questions just ask. I like the decent GPS & battery life.
It seems good at most things (cycling, running, notifications, general fitness/HR/sleep). It’s prob not the best at any one of those things but a very competent all rounder which is what I was after.

this thread is of interest.

Ive recently been looking at a smart watch. Initially I was trawling the gearbest site for el cheapo chinese. But they’re not compelling.

Im particularly after a watch that will pass notifications from my phone – email, hangout and text.

Im not really interested in an HRM or fitness monitor.

The pebble looks interesting. There’s some handy looking apps at the Google Play store too. Anyone with a pebble, can you confirm it will mimic All or most of the notifications on your phone?

Pretty much, yeah.

When an app produces a notification, that app automatically appears in the Pebble app on your phone. From there you can enable / disable apps on an individual basis so you get the notifications you want and silence all the guff.

Had a Vivoactive HR for about a month and I really love it. It’s no Apple Watch but with GPS, waterproof and a battery that lasts over a week it’s good.

There were a few bugs which the latest update fixed and I’m very happy with it.

You can get a few apps and watch faces from the IQ store and the iOS app it works with is pretty good. It syncs to Strava without any interaction with the app and It;s helping me keep fit with the step and stair counting.

Sleep tracking works pretty well and as far as I can tell the HR monitoring works well. Not sure how accurate the GPS is but it does support GLONASS which I have recently activated for the bike tracking.

Notifications are useful, I now no longer miss calls!

I have a brand new Pebble Steel for sale. Advert is in the classifieds

Actually it appears it isn’t on the classifieds, which may explain the lack of a sale! Anyway, brand new warranty replacement, £100 posted.

You might shift it a bit quicker if you rethink your asking price, given a) you’ve told everyone you got it for free and b) it’s only £2 more on Amazon.

What did you do with the faulty one, out of interest?

Sorry, that was in reply to your previous post. It is on the classifieds, listing at £110 about a month ago.

(And if it’s not clear, I was trying to be helpful, not being a dick about it.)

Awaiting delivery of a garmin 235. Will use mostly for cycling after phone app failed a few times. I find chest HR monitors restrictive. So. Will see how this watch performs.

Thanks for the advice, but it wasn’t free as I paid for the original at full rrp.

Faulty one was sent back to Pebble.

And I’m willing to negotiate on price.

I upgraded to a Pebble Time Steel hence wanting to sell the old one by the way.

pleased with mine so far.

Mia culpa, I thought you’d kept the old one and ended up with two. I sit corrected, sorry about that.

Ive had the 1st gen Vivoactive for about a year now , Basically I wanted a watch that told the time , tracked my riding /skiing/swimming etc and would tell me if its the wife or PPI ringing me so I can decide whether to pull over or not, ticks all those boxes so I’m very happy .

Have had an original Pebble and an Apple Watch. Both great in different ways.

Pluses:

Pebble – battery life, waterproof
Apple Watch – Heart Rate, build quality

Cons:

Pebble – Buggy (mine went wrong a lot and eventually was replaced by Pebble)
Apple Watch – Battery life ( fine if you charge at night but ideally would be 3x longer)

Garmin Vivosmart HR, there is a plus with GPS but not sure on battery life.

Main reasons are for tracking, HR and monitoring. Notifications etc are a bonus but can see how they are useful. Got a proper GPS for the bike but the Garmin will do HR for it apparently

Those with the Vivoactive HR, how is it compared to the original Vivoactive?
I had the original one but didn’t get onew too well with it but I really like the looks of the new one.

cheers cougar.
I think I’ll look out for a s/h one.

monkey – just seen yours, I’m afraid it’s a fair bit over what Im planning on spending. I’m going to go for the plastic one over the steel initially. And s/h prices at that, so more like £25-35.

The original Pebble is like £50 new now, so that shouldn’t be too big an ask.

Here you go.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pebble-Black-301BL/301973192671

In related news,

WTF?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/A1-Bluetooth-Smart-Watch-SIM-Slot-TF-Card-Phone-For-Android-Samsung-Sony-iPhone/381599302239

Im particularly after a watch that will pass notifications from my phone – email, hangout and text.

Im not really interested in an HRM or fitness monitor.

This is what i wanted a smart phone for.
I got a pebble steel (Original, B+W one) and love it.
When the screen broke, pebble offered me a time, but i opted for another steel.

I don’t want the watch to do ‘too much’ (if you know what I mean) – i just want to save getting my phone out my pocket. I can hang up calls, see and reply (Basic saved messages) to texts.
I love it’s simplicity.

I can also:
see calendar events, change my central heating, and change music and volume.

That’s enough for me!

DrP

Had a Vivoactive HR for about a month and I really love it. It’s no Apple Watch but with GPS, waterproof and a battery that lasts over a week it’s good.

There were a few bugs which the latest update fixed and I’m very happy with it.

You can get a few apps and watch faces from the IQ store and the iOS app it works with is pretty good. It syncs to Strava without any interaction with the app and It;s helping me keep fit with the step and stair counting.

Sleep tracking works pretty well and as far as I can tell the HR monitoring works well. Not sure how accurate the GPS is but it does support GLONASS which I have recently activated for the bike tracking.

Notifications are useful, I now no longer miss calls!

This +1

On yesterday’s ride I used both the watch & my existing Edge 800 & the figures & tracking both gave were really very close together.

It’s only been a week so far but I really am quite impressed with it.

I’ve got a pebble time, I love it. Same as others, I’ve got my garmin for on the bike, and I don’t run enough for it to be worth having a separate watch for that. I used the pebble to train for the Brum half marathon though and it was great.

It’s less buggy than my original pebble, and looks better, the time steel looks really good now.

I don’t think I could justify an apple watch unless the battery lasted longer and it was waterproof, I use my pebble as a silent alarm so charging over night is no good.

I like the look of the fenix 3, but it’s a lot of money.

time steel is a lot of money though.

Cheers DrP, that’s what I was hoping.
I might get a new one at £50ish, or as s/h for half that.

Cougar – Ive been looking over loads of watches like that at gearbest. I have drawers full of crap chinese junk like that, so Ive let my brain rule my heart this time and Just Said No. 🙂

So which would you buy your wife who likes to count steps, run a but and count calories when cycling Jnr to school? The Vivoactive HR?

I have a Fenix3HR on one wrist and an Apple Watch on the other. They’re both great but very different.

The Apple Watch puts others to shame re notifications – actually being able to reply to stuff is so good I’ve turned it off on the Fenix. Remote camera control of iPhone is good, daily fitness stuff is great too

For proper GPS / outdoor stuff, the Fenix is on another level! Just done the Cape Wrath Ultra and the Fenix was my best friend.

Decide what you want first I think.