So SportPursuit had the Veho smar****ch (t-wat is about right) on sale, £50ish - I thought, mostly that'd be good to have a reliable timer for rugby matches and I can get an idea of what sort of thing it's doing to my heart, running about on the rugby field (refereeing).
Additional measuring of commutes and just keeping a general check on my dicky heart would be bonus features.
I use it a few times for the commute, interesting stats.
Then I go to use it for the intended purpose. Rugby. About to start, get the stopwatch functio... get the... screen is wet due to a bit of rain, and won't operate. Won't scroll.. . eugh .. Players are waiting, and eventually, I get it going, so measure the exercise levels... nope, only one function at a time! I stick with the timer, blow the whistle, press frantically to get it started. This is a watch described on the website as for outdoor use. Well, long as it's dry eh.
Stop during the game for an injury and go to pause the stopwatch... screen has changed back to the default watchface. Maybe the button got pressed by my jacket cuff. So scroll through (luckily it's stopped raining) to find the stopwatch to stop it and.. it's stopped running. Doesn't run in the background. Brilliant.
I did turn on notifications for Whatsapp messages and stuff when I got it, but that's not happening anymore for some reason.
What a piece of junk. Still on sale on the website for THREE HUNDRED QUID!!
Anyone got a decent 'smart'watch?
You can buy a stopwatch, with big buttons, for under £5.
My Garmin (possibly a forerunner 55 ) seems to do all that you want . Had it a year and all is fine. Way to complicated for my liking but it was the cheapest "name" product that I could find and got it on an Amazon prime day. Buttons not scroll. Actually looking for something even cheaper and simpler for the wife as all she wants is to record distance walked and I don't have much faith in non GPS pedometers. If you are going to measure it should be fairly accurate.
Anyone got a decent 'smart'watch?
Garmin Instinct. No colour or touch screen so the battery lasts for weeks.Physical buttons. Hard as nails.
Yet it still does all your tracking, apps, health stuff, steps, heart rate, HRV, notifications, etc etc.
Think of it as a G-Shock with Garmin software inside. It even looks like a G-shock!
I have a Fenix now but it's overkill for me, compared to the Forerunner 55 it replaced. Which is a really good bit of kit.
So not all crap, but you bought some cheaparse rubbish and got, much to your surprise, cheaparse results
Apple Watch Ultra 3, works perfectly and never glitches
Amazfit T-rex, now like 4? 5? years old, id happily by something amazfit again if looking at the cheaper end
Every single review of that Veho watch says its rubbish. Did you not wonder why there are loads left and why its so cheap?
Anyone got a decent 'smart'watch?
Garmin Instinct. No colour or touch screen so the battery lasts for weeks.Physical buttons. Hard as nails.
Yet it still does all your tracking, apps, health stuff, steps, heart rate, HRV, notifications, etc etc.
Think of it as a G-Shock with Garmin software inside. It even looks like a G-shock!
I have an Instinct Solar and can echo your thoughts.
I paid £50ish for it off ebay a while back, turned up in decent nick and has been a wonderful addition to my kit list. I think I will upgrade to a slightly newer one later this year - maybe try and get one with a colour screen? Definitely going to be sticking with Garmin as their apps are pretty easy to use, and I can redo my navigation on the fly with them very quickly.
I've got an Instinct that I bought back in 2018. It's still working fine, although the battery life isn't what it was - I need to make sure it's fully charged before I embark on any GPS tracked activity and even then it's a bit marginal for longer hikes. I'm considering replacing it and I'm torn between an Instinct 3 and a Fenix 7.
I have a galaxy watch 6, works in the rain, battery does 2 days. I use it as much as my phone. In fact it's pretty much a satellite phone screen/button set.
My partner has an older garmin FR55, battery lasts for a week or so. Just gives a buzz when messages etc arrive, i could have probably got one instead. But the Samsung was 40% off... (So only about 30 quid more than the garmin at the time.)
Did you not test anything out before using it?
I bought a Xiaomi Redmi Watch 5 Lite last summer for just under £40, mainly for the health data.
The sleep monitor is flawed, there's been numerous times I've been in bed awake and it's counted that awake time as sleep time!
The optic HRM sensor is hopeless to monitor exercise, nowhere near as good as my Coospo chest strap HRM.
It does allow me to easily log my weight manually most days, which is useful.
The GPS lock is very good, but usually I'll be usuing my Lezyne Super Pro GPS unit.
It stays paired to my Poco F3 very well via the Mi Fitness app.
OLED screen is good, albeit a bit bright if activated overnight.
The battery life is excellent, it goes ~3+ weeks between charges.
Still yet to test the phonecall clarity!
So a very mixed bag.
To answer the OP, no they're not, there are loads that are really good. Pretty much anything from Garmin or Coros is good, Apple Watch is good too.
Or as said above, just buy a stop watch or a Casio F-91.
Instinct 2 Solar I bought 2 years ago is everything like the earlier Instincts mentioned above, in regards to battery life, toughness etc. But it's 1 more, so that makes it better.
Edit: A decent discount through STW Members page too
Oh, i can also control my car through an app on my watch...
Anyone got a decent 'smart'watch?
Yes thanks. But I wouldn't expect to have one from a brand I've never heard of for £50!
I would echo comments above they are not all crap, but they can be if you don't know what you really want it to do and do your research first. I've had four over the last 15 years or so and what I want it to do has evolved as they have become cleverer and I have refined (and developed new) uses for it.
They can be quite diverse in function so a lot more time spent researching does it do what I want well, before purchase was a lesson I learnt early.
I'm on a Garmin Fenix at present, awesome for my uses, I probably use 70% of what it can do, but the other 30% for me is a distraction. Battery life 20 days plus.
James
I've got a Fenix 5 that I bought in 2019 and its still going strong.
Had a bit of an issue a year or so ago, where it was refusing to sync with my phone but a couple of shut downs and it was all good again. Think there might have been a software update that it didn't got until I shut it down and restarted.....
Did you not test anything out before using it?
That would have required using it in exactly the same set of circumstances as it was intended for; difficult to imagine anyone running around in an empty field ‘miming’ refereeing a game of rugby, or whatever, just to make sure a device does what it’s supposed to do. 🤷🏼♂️
Every single review of that Veho watch says its rubbish. Did you not wonder why there are loads left and why its so cheap?
You can't believe everything you read on the internet 😆
Smart watches... are they all a bit crap?
Lots are very good. Lots are a bit crap. Most come with some frustrations. Buyer beware. Do your own research. Etc.
You generally tend to pay for what you get, and they're split into two camps. Smart watches that don't manage fitness tracking very well or fitness trackers that don't handle smart features very well.
I've got a Garmin Epix Pro 2nd gen and it is good for health metrics and sports tracking, could probably tell me when I'm next expecting a mass bowel movement with one update from the dev team but smart watch features on it are crap compared to say an apple watch. It is what it is and you mostly get what you pay for, for £50 you're probably better off buying 2nd hand from a known brand after you've decided if you want a smart watch or a fitness tracker
Anyone got a decent 'smart'watch?
Yes thanks. But I wouldn't expect to have one from a brand I've never heard of for £50!
https://veho-lifestyle.co.uk/about-veho/
Been around for ~20 years, Southampton based, I've had a Veho Muvi mini camcorder for ~16 years.
Yeah, everything I've had from Veho has been pretty decent. End of the day, I don't think I'm really a smart-watch kind of guy 😛 Certainly wouldn't pay £300+ for any kind of watch. For a stopwatch, I'll go back to the watch with the biiig face from ebay. Could've bought 20 of them for the RRP of this thing! And my heart rate can go unmeasured.
I kinda feel asa ref you should have a game watch. Then if you want something to measure fitness etc that should be an entire different device.
After various problems with smart watches of various brands over the last 8years or so I went back to a stupid watch. Citizen eco watch doesn't need charged up or wound up. More to the point it doesn't wind me up either. It'll be a long time before I even consider buying a smart watch again. So to answer the OP's question .Yes they are.
Very happy with my OnePlus watch 2. The Ohealth app is not the best though. Was over £200.
My vivoactive 4 is 5 years old and going strong. It's first use was the evening before the night my 2nd was born.
Missus just got a forerunner 55, no touch screen and buttons. She's happy with it and she sometimes needs dragged into technology
Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 - works fine. Battery upto two days, but charge it daily.
I kinda feel asa ref you should have a game watch.
I'd really like something that beeps when the stopwatch is paused. Number of times I've forgotten to restart it after injuries/stoppages..!
Go for whichever Garmin floats your boat, Epix for the display, Lily for the small size, Instinct for the battery etc. We've got a few here and like them.
I had an Amazfit before and Epix and it was pretty good even did a couple of things better but wouldn't go back. Garmin occasionally have a Venu model at under £100 which is amazing as they are like a mini Epix.
I also tried a a Pixel watch which I really hated. Could scarcely get through a day without charging. Lots of clever but pointless features while important stuff like activity tracking was unreliable.
Another vote for the Apple Watch Ultra. My V2 will last 3 days of normal use and 2.5 days with a few hours of recorded activity. If I travel, I can charge it on Monday evening and it won’t need charged until I return home on Thursday evening and that’s including using it for boarding passes and payments.
I turn the touchscreen function off on my Garmin if I take it in the shower
Another vote for the Apple Watch Ultra. My V2 will last 3 days of normal use and 2.5 days with a few hours of recorded activity
My Garmin (older Epix 47mm with smaller battery) does a couple of weeks with some bike rides (using GPS) thrown in. Newer Epix Pro 51mm manages 3 weeks, but I've not really done any activities with it yet
I kinda feel asa ref you should have a game watch.
I'd really like something that beeps when the stopwatch is paused. Number of times I've forgotten to restart it after injuries/stoppages..!
Yeah i van see that would be handy. It wasn't really a comment on what to ise more a comment on its probably a two item problem.
Garmin are generally better for sports and data recording
Apple better for smart watch functions, messages, mails, alerts, mirroring iPhone.
Apple Ultra does all the Apple stuff and all the sports and data recording but without the long battery life of garmin
having had various models of both I settled on apple ultra 3 and it is ideal for my needs.
it replaced a garmin epix pro.
At the risk of starting this debate again, I really don't understand the fixation on battery life - except the outlier use case of multiday trips into the wilderness.
I wear my Apple Ultra watch all day and all night. It gets thrown on the charger for 10-15 mins in the morning while I take a shower, and it's back up to 100%. Typical daily usage is <25% of battery, so I could go 4 days without charging if I really wanted to.
You generally tend to pay for what you get
While I agree with this to a point, I think what a lot of folks don't really think about is that these aren't watches in the trad way of thinking about watches, they are very much disposable pieces of tech - like your phone. And the expectation from some of the companies that sell them - Garmin, Suunto, Polar for example is that you'll use it for a few years and then buy a new one. As long as you understand that and are happy to shell out a few hundred quid every 5 years or so, than they can be useful.
Currently I'm using a Decathlon one after my last experience with Garmin wasn't so great, It does what I need it to, but for the OP, while I'm pretty sure it's probably got a stopwatch on it somewhere, don't ask me to find it.
I'm quite interested to see how the folks at UNA Watch get on. They're a Scottish company new to the smart watch market The UPS claim is that it's a GPS "watch for life" I don't particularly fancy being a beta tester for them, so I'm waiting while the Decathlon watch works, and if they're still around in a few years, might give them a go.
At the risk of starting this debate again, I really don't understand the fixation on battery life - except the outlier use case of multiday trips into the wilderness.
I wear my Apple Ultra watch all day and all night. It gets thrown on the charger for 10-15 mins in the morning while I take a shower, and it's back up to 100%. Typical daily usage is <25% of battery, so I could go 4 days without charging if I really wanted to.
If someone offered a decent smartphone that you had to charge once a week instead of daily, wouldn't you want it?
Actually, the battery life on the Veho is really good - 4-5 days. And it tells the time really well 😀
If someone offered a decent smartphone that you had to charge once a week instead of daily, wouldn't you want it?
It wouldn't offer any utility to me. Would probably be annoying as I'd feel I'd need to look after battery health by putting it through reasonably regular full discharge cycles rather than just chucking it on the wireless charger every night.
If every single person in family had one of these mythical multi day phones then I guess on one camping trip a year I might not need to take powerbanks!
If someone offered a decent smartphone that you had to charge once a week instead of daily, wouldn't you want it?
not if it were a) less functional and b) the size of a brick. It'd probably be both.
Apple Watches are the best smart watches. Get it over it 🤣
Apple Watches are the best smart watches. Get it over it
Nah, you have to have a crappy iphone to go with them...
A fifty quid smart watch to play rugby in was only ever going to go one way.
It's an interesting question though. There does seem to be a hole in the market, if I could find a watch which notified me of phone calls, mirrored Google Maps, had NFC for Google Pay, had a couple of days of battery life and actually looked like a watch rather than strapping Big Ben to my girlie wrist then I would be very happy. I'd also expect not to get much change from £300.
There does seem to be a hole in the market, if I could find a watch which notified me of phone calls, mirrored Google Maps, had NFC for Google Pay, had a couple of days of battery life and actually looked like a watch rather than strapping Big Ben to my girlie wrist then I would be very happy
Before I switched to Garmin I had Samsung watches. Apart from the old one on the left, the others all do Google maps and can mirror your Google wallet. The two on the right would last 2-3 days
You generally tend to pay for what you get
I'm quite interested to see how the folks at UNA Watch get on. They're a Scottish company new to the smart watch market The UPS claim is that it's a GPS "watch for life" I don't particularly fancy being a beta tester for them, so I'm waiting while the Decathlon watch works, and if they're still around in a few years, might give them a go.
Interesting, thanks. I started looking at a replacement for my Polar sports watch, which was a gift, as the battery is no longer lasting as long as it did between charges. Annoyingly, no manufacturer seems to offer user-replaceable batteries. A
They've accepted a return on the Veho, so it's going back. Just got to work out how to remove all my data 🙂
Annoyingly, no manufacturer seems to offer user-replaceable batteries.
I think that's coming (possibly mandated by the EU). Newer Garmin bike computers already have replaceable batteries.
Before I switched to Garmin I had Samsung watches. Apart from the old one on the left, the others all do Google maps and can mirror your Google wallet. The two on the right would last 2-3 days
My read on a picture of a host of old Samsung smart watches - they must be been worthless or you would have traded them in. Epic resale value is another Apple plus 😉
I've got an amazfit active2 and its ok but not brilliant, the location tracking is iffy and there have been a few occasions where mid-ride or run the data has stopped tracking and dumped the info which is annoying. Theres loads of functionality, maps are not useable tho. I wouldn't recommend tbh
They've accepted a return on the Veho, so it's going back. Just got to work out how to remove all my data 🙂
There will be a factory reset function somewhere that should do that for you
Strewth what a minefield. Wife is still looking and keeps coming up with options. I then dig deep and find that all the bloody tracking needs a phone to provide the GPS. If she takes that around with her she doesn't need the watch thingy which defeats the object somewhat. Like me she doesn't want to cart the phone everywhere. MY Forerunner 55 has a few weeks of battery for non GPS use but probably less than a fortnight if the GPS is on for a walk daily. I was under the impression that that was crap and caused by the somewhat slim case giving less battery room.
My Instinct 2 Solar will get around 28-30 days out of the battery just sitting on my wrist.
If I start recording any activity, I reckon it uses about 1 days worth of battery for every hour of recorded activity. So the battery will last a shade over 2 weeks. I'm happy with that.
Same as above. I got this Garmin instinct for about £70 in the great sale 5 years ago. It records my swims, back up for a short bike ride and various other sports and only needs charging every 3 weeks. Its all I need.
Yet to come up with any real reason to buy one, to be honest. I’d rather spend the money on a new analogue mechanical watch. 🤷🏼♂️
When it comes to measuring heart rate, apple are up there with Polar.
id maybe postpone your purchase as two developments loom around the corner.
a) sodium batteries are now in production. With a lifespan in zillions, they probably won’t require replacing.
b) behind the scenes, apple have found a way to measure blood sugar levels.
they’re ironing out the kinks, but I’d expect to see the tech land in the next year.
or you could buy their current tech, and take advantage of their generous trade-in when the time comes.
apple have found a way to measure blood sugar levels.
Never had a reason to do that, for diabetics I presume. The Veho measured blood-oxygen but didn't know what that was telling me.
Another recommendation for the Garmin Instinct here.
I had a Samsung smart watch before and it was okay, it did everything but it didn't do anything particularly well if that makes sense?
I've got the Gamin Instinct 2x solar so it's quite chunky, it does everything so much better than a traditional smart watch, the battery last forever, it's indestructible and it has a built in torch (which I can even attach to my handlebars in an emergency!)
I managed to register on Perks at work (trial and error trying register by picking random companies) but I got £130 off at the time which was a crazy discount!