Watch it: Five pointers to get a smartwatch that works for you
Smartwatches have come a long way and they offer more than alerts and notifications
For many of us, a smartwatch is a device we use every day. From call, message notifications to tracking health and activity, smartwatch makers are racing against each other to add more and more features to that dial on your wrist. While that gives customers lots of options, it also makes it difficult to decide what to pick. There are certain things you need to keep in mind when you choose a new smartwatch.
ANDROID OR IOS
While almost all smartwatches are compatible with
Android smartphones, the Apple Watch works only with an iPhone. You can also use smartwatches from other companies with the iPhone but some functionalities, like being able to reply to texts among others, will be limited.
DIFFERENT BRANDS ARE RACING AGAINST EACH OTHER TO ADD MORE AND MORE FEATURES TO THAT DIAL ON YOUR WRIST
HEALTH FEATURES
All smartwatches come with in-built health features such as fitness modes. While companies like Garmin and Fitbit focus intensely on these features, hence giving you a lot of activities to pick from, other brands such as Xiaomi and Realme keep the health features limited to basic.
DIAL IT UP
Smartwatch dials are usually bigger than your analog watch dials so there is enough screen real estate for the apps. Most smartwatches come with 40mm or 44mm dials, so
if you’re particular about having a small or a big dial, check out the sizes beforehand.
NOTIFY ME
Not all smartwatches allow you to take calls or reply to messages from the device itself. In most cases all you will get are notifications. If you need this feature on your smartwatch, you will have to pick something like an Apple Watch or a Samsung Galaxy
Watch.
ALL HEART
Most smartwatches come with heart rate sensors these days but not all of them come with the blood oxygen level (SpO2) monitoring support as well. If you are particular about this feature and need the SpO2 monitoring, check the smartwatch specs first.