Weekly poll: how many of you have a smartwatch and what kind?

Time for a headcount – who here has a smartwatch or smart band? And what kind? Smart wearables are already a big business for tech companies and wearers like the convenience of having notifications or a payment system on their wrists. But we’re curious how popular they actually are.

There are full-blown smartwatches that run Apple watchOS, HarmonyOS or Google Wear OS, plus some older ones with Tizen. Those have access to a rich selection of apps from their respective app stores and tend to have more fully-featured communication options (including walkie-talkie functionality and even calls over the carrier network).

They have poor battery life, however, often lasting barely a day or only a few. There are more restricted smartwatches, that can last a week or more. Some of them have limited app capabilities as well, but do you really need apps on your watch? That’s part of the second question we want to ask, we’ll get to that.

In fact, if all you want is basic health tracking (e.g. heart rate, sleep), basic exercise tracking and at-a-glance notifications, a smart band can work just as well. They are cheaper, so you don’t feel band when you scratch it or when it comes time to upgrade.

So, who has a smart wearable and what kind?

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As to our second question, which features do you prioritize? There is some advanced functionality that arrived in recent years like ECG for more accurate and detailed heart info than a simple heart rate tracker. That tends to be reserved for the pricier models, however. Some want a built-in GPS tracker and maybe some storage for music, so they can go on a run without their phone. Having voice calling available helps with that too and mobile payments are quite convenient.

What features do you look for when considering a new smartwatch or band? Note that you can tick several options, including a custom answer by filling in the Other option.

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