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Summary
My first Android Wear smartwatch was the Moto 360.
My second was the Google Pixel Watch.
I read the reviews.
Bertel King / How-To Geek
They warned me, but I didnt think it would get this bad this quickly.
We all feel differently about our watches.
Some of us will strap on a $20 digital watch because it is filled with features.
Bertel King / How-To Geek
Others will pay substantially more for a timepiece that only tells the time.
It features a stock version of Wear OS.
It doesnt require installing a companion app from an OEM different from my phones.
Justin Duino / How-To Geek
Sure, the Apple Watch is considered the gold standard, but I have never liked how it looks.
Besides, you need an iPhone to activate one, which I dont have.
If you want something Android-compatible with stock software and good software support, your options are rather limited.
Bertel King / How-To Geek
Software updates are theMobvoi TicWatchsweakness.
Plus, there are certainthings Samsung watches can only do with Samsung phones.
Motorolas smartwatch runs a different OS entirely.
Joe Fedewa / How-To Geek
TheOnePlus Watch 2 is a decent option, but it wasnt out yet.
It’s also on the big side, like most other smartwatches.
I have small wrists, and I want a thin watch.
One of my intentions from the very beginning was to replace the plastic strap.
Unfortunately, Google used a proprietary standard incompatible with most third-party watch bands.
I ordered a few bands, but the experience was rather frustrating.
I took a chance on theofficial metal mesh band from Google.
The band uses a magnetic clasp that simply does not hold a strong connection.
My watch constantly slid up my arm and needed tightening throughout the day.
I then took my chances with a cheap option from Amazon.
Though also metal, it looked and felt as cheap as its price.
I returned it, too.
Before I found a winner, my watch was already too scratched up for me to want to continue.
Why put lipstick on a pig?
In many ways,Samsung’s Galaxy watches are better Pixel watches.
Boom, you have a new watch.
Do these watch faces look better than the displays on digital watches?
Yet they also cant quite replicate the look of an analog watch.
A physical watch face has depth.
The light hits the glass differently depending on the angle.
The first generation Pixel Watch is one you better charge roughly every day if you want peace of mind.
Thats not inherently an issue.
Im fine with making charging a ritual.
I drive an electric car, and its not a big deal.
But I do want to feel that the payoff is worth it for having to make a lifestyle change.
One of the big annoyances of a smartwatch is also the ability to receive notifications.
Yet its second nature to look down at your watch when a notification arrives.
I wasnt aware I had done it until after Id done it.
Sure, there are ways tolimit which notifications arrive on your smartwatch.
you’re able to silence it for times when you dont want distractions.
Its rather weird, however, to take off my watch and leave it on the table.
As is the case with charging, notifications become something else to manage.
Lets say I loved it and wouldnt want to go back to life without it.
I can hope for two, three, maybe four years of use.
Then, once the software support expires, I need to replace it with a newer model.
A smartwatch simply does not offer a similar long-term value proposition.
I dont fundamentally dislike smartwatches, and I havent ruled out the possibility of buying another one.
