Smartwatches buying guide

 Smartwatches buying guide

When you wear a smartwatch, you can stay in touch and do more than one thing at once in a quick and easy way. Smartwatches connect to your phone and send you important information right to your wrist. Calls, texts, emails, and more are all common ways to let someone know something is happening. That means you can keep your phone out of your hands and still not miss what's important. And all of this is on top of the fact that smartwatches keep track of exercise and activity. This guide can help you figure out if a smartwatch is right for you and how to choose one.

List of what's inside

How do smartwatches work?

Getting the most out of a smartwatch

Choices in style and presentation

How a smartwatch works

Features and options that are unique

How do smartwatches work?

Smartwatches are first and foremost watches, which means they tell time. What makes them smart, though, is everything else they can do. Think of it like wearing an extension of your phone on your wrist. Your watch will let you know when you've set a reminder, alert, or alarm. You don't have to pull out your phone to look at notifications on your watch. You can see everything on your wrist, just like you look at the time.

They also have activity trackers built in, so you can keep track of how much you move and exercise every day. You could even keep track of how well you sleep each night to learn more about it. Some of them also have more detailed exercise tracking for the gym, running, cycling, hiking, swimming, and other activities.

When paired with an Android or iOS phone or tablet, smartwatches usually connect via Bluetooth to stay connected. Some also have Wi-Fi, which you can use for some functions when you need to. Others go even further by adding LTE support, which lets them work without the phone.

There are times when you can't or shouldn't reach for your phone, and that's when smartwatches really come in handy. They are more private and quiet because you can look at them quickly and easily without having to turn your whole attention away. You can keep track of what you need and act on a notification when you have time.

How wearing a smartwatch helps with some things

A smartwatch is always doing something, even when it doesn't feel like it. By connecting it to your smartphone right away, you can make it work with some of the phone's most important features. You can answer phone calls with some smartwatches, and you can even talk through the watch instead of the phone. So, you can put the phone in your pocket or bag and not have to reach for it when someone is calling.

The same is true for alerts. Many smartwatches can see the same notifications as your phone, and you can choose the most important ones to show up on your watch when they come in. Some won't let you do anything about them just from the watch, but others will, like responding to a text message.

Tracking activity works pretty much the same way. Whether you're going for a long walk or just walking around to shop, a smartwatch will count your steps and figure out how many calories you burn. The same thing is true when you go for a run, no matter how fast or slow you go. Even for a game like golf, you can find smartwatches that are made for that game and could help you do better. Some watches, like those made by Garmin, have more golf-related features than others.

When you wear a smartwatch, passive tracking still works. Over the years, health monitoring features have grown a lot, and now every model can track your heart rate. Since then, other tracking features have grown, like sensors that can measure blood oxygen, skin temperature, electrocardiogram, blood pressure, and more.

System software for smartwatches

Smartwatches have their own operating systems, just like phones and tablets. This can change how well they work with other devices and which ones they can pair with. Most smartwatches work with both Android and iOS, but sometimes they only work with one of those.

The Apple Watch is powered by watchOS, a special operating system that only works with an iPhone or iPad. Only apps that work on those devices can be used with the watch, so an Android phone or tablet can't be used with it.

Other smartwatches on the market don't work as well together as this one does. Google's Wear OS, which used to be called Android Wear, is an open platform that has been used by a number of manufacturers. It works with both Android and iOS devices, but it might not work as well with an iPhone or iPad as the Apple Watch does.

Tizen is the operating system that Samsung made for its wearables, like its smartwatches. It's made to work well with Samsung phones and tablets, but you don't have to have one of those to use it. You can use these watches with other Android devices and get a similar experience. They also work with the iPhone, though the integration isn't as good.

For the smartwatches it has made so far, Fitbit has also used its own operating system. They are mostly about tracking activity and exercise, but they also have some app support. Garmin smartwatches don't have a very complex operating system because they are more focused on tracking, but they can show you notifications and other helpful information from your phone.