Smartwatches win the consumer tech sector for Q1 2020 as locked-down folk take up fight against corona-carbs

The first quarter of 2020 proved challenging for the consumer tech sector as lockdowns prompted many to defer their luxury purchases. Except, it seems, in the smartwatch segment, where shipments actually rose year-on-year by double digits. The sector delivered 14.3 million smartwatches globally in Q1 2020, an increase of 12 …

[Christopher Reeve's Horse]

Yep

Working from home has definitely changed things, big time. It’s now trivially easy to pop out at lunchtime for a run or ride, whereas I wouldn’t have done before. I probably see more runners and cyclists than cars these days.

[Anonymous Coward]

Exactly why I went for a Garmin and not a fitbit! The Vivoactive 4 is quite good and can sync on wifi without a pesky phone

[iron]

> Samsung and Garmin have built upon Google's Wear OS foundations, but Fitbit maintains its own software ecosystem.

Wrong. Samsung use Tizen for smartwatches, not Android.

[doublelayer]

I came here to say the same thing. Since you have already done so, I thought about the other company named there. I didn't know that Garmin made Wear OS watches. From a little searching, it seems they don't either. I found an article (warning for many ads on that page) comparing their model to Google's OS back in 2018, and they were running a custom OS of their own design. I found several of their more modern watches online, and none mention Wear OS in the slightest. If they use it anywhere, they're keeping the secret well enough that several searches failed to turn it up.

[Tom 38]

My personal opinion: too expensive, not enough functionality. I re-took up running again during lockdown, and I don't want to run with my phone, so that rules out any device without actual GPS sensors. Think I'm going to stick to my £7 Casio F-91W

[TiredNConfused80]

The Amazfit BIP might be worth a look for you

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Amazfit-Real-time-Monitor-Bluetooth-Water-Resistant/dp/B07CRSK5DM

You can even make it look like a casio if you want!

[USER100]

Casio F-91W, design classic

It keeps accurate time (and is also waterproof and has alarm & stopwatch)

Smartwatch battery time before charging needed: 1 - 2 days

Casio F-91W battery life: 10+ years

No one will mug you fot it

Cheap, does the job

[logicalextreme]

Re: Casio F-91W, design classic

I successfully broke my friend's Casio F-91W by playfully mashing the buttons on it while we were snorkelling last year, so they're not always as waterproof as you'd think. Though they are still fantastic watches — I've never needed a watch personally, because I know the time is always "running late".

[hoola]

Smart?

All I require from a watch:

It tells the time without having to do anything

It is properly waterproof

Has as a sapphire glass so it does not scratch when you look at it

It does not have a battery so is kinetic or solar (aids the previous issue)

Uses the radio clock signal so you don't have to keep adjusting it when DST changes.

A smart watch fails at many of these.......

[Beeblebrox]

All I require from a watch

Have you tried a sundial / sextant combo?

[Eclectic Man]

Current situation- Garmin servers down for maintenance

Yup, as of 11.00 this morning (23 June 2020), my Garmin Forerunner 645 will not sync, my Garmin app on my phone will not display any data even of past runs / jogs as, according to the message, Garmin's servers are currently 'down for maintenance'. A phrase commonly abbreviated to "WTF" springs to mind.

As a user and occasional marathon runner, I was not expecting all my data to be held only on the watch itself and Garmin servers, and not on the actual phone I sync it with.