Smart watches

TK4

TK4

Well-known member
Question for the GTA technophiles.
What realistically priced athletic type smart watches out there that would be suitable for teenagers ?
I've got three to buy for. TIA.
 
I am partial to garmin. I have had an instinct for years. It looks similar to a gshock and if you are not using GPS it can go more than a week between charges. Newer instincts can come with solar built in so charging may never be required. Instinct prices are way too high imo. When I got mine, a friend that worked at running room picked it up as an employee deal at ~50% of MSRP.

My wife currently has a Suunto 5 Peak. It's fine. MSRP was $400 but we got it from Sportchek for $100 on clearance. The battery on her previous Garmin had degraded so she couldn't even run 5K without it dying (probably 3-5 years old at the time).

Some friends have apple (expensive but does some cool stuff) and Coros and like them.

I like real buttons and not touch screens. They work better with gloves or when wet.

EDIT:
I have gone through a lot of bands on my instinct. The silicone is comfy but not durable. My latest band is webbing. Appears to be much more durable. Buzz is now much louder as silicone damped the pins and the webbing doesn't.
 
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I have an old Garmin vivoactive 3, which is still going, but needs charging every day like the apple watches.
Looking between the Instinct 3's and Venu 3. But they're all close to $500.
I think the Forerunner 165 was a good entry level running watch at $279.
I had a fit bit step counter, but the band disintegrated.
 
Evoex said:
Iphone or android?

I'd go with a current or last gen galaxy watch personally.
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I think an important question is how often are they willing to charge. If the kids are fine with daily charging, there are a lot of options with a ton of features. If the kids want to charge twice a week or less, the pool is much smaller. If you are using GPS for long, almost all will appreciate charging after (typically 8 hours with GPS on smokes most of them).

I laugh at some smart watches advertising sleep tracking and then they need to charge daily. Yes, it is possible to charge while you are having a shower or something but many of the daily charge devices end up charging while you sleep as it's convenient.
 
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GreyGhost said:
I think an important question is how often are they willing to charge. If the kids are fine with daily charging, there are a lot of options with a ton of features. If the kids want to charge twice a week or less, the pool is much smaller. If you are using GPS for long, almost all will appreciate charging after (typically 8 hours with GPS on smokes most of them).

I laugh at some smart watches advertising sleep tracking and then they need to charge daily. Yes, it is possible to charge while you are having a shower or something but many of the daily charge devices end up charging while you sleep as it's convenient.
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This is exactly why I gave up on smartwatches with a screen. Even with giving up sleep data, having to charge yet another device daily just wasn't worth the headache for the minimal benefits of a smartwatch to me, at least if you're also carrying your phone with you.

I have a Citizen smartwatch with physical hands and an e-ink screen that lasts about 15 days between charges, often more, and it's far more useful than the Samsung one I had before. But my love for old-school watches trumps my need for heart rate data or blood oxygen levels, so I haven't worn it in months...
 
GreyGhost said:
That's a way better price than most of the established brands. Based on the price and battery life, I'm guessing it does not have GPS. That may be insignificant or a deal killer depending what the kids want to use it for.
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Yes, no GPS. I was skeptical when I bought it but it works perfectly and can go a few days without charging if you keep screen off until required. I use it for reading msgs from the wife and audio controls as I listen to audiobooks while working. I use it with an iPhone for reference.
 
The question I would ask is what do they want.
Teenagers rarely want things for function.
If this is a style thing to fit in with their friends, having the wrong watch means it will sit at home and just be money put on the fire.

Charging, GPS, functions are all secondary to this in my experience with teenagers.
 
Soulcatcher668 said:
The question I would ask is what do they want.
Teenagers rarely want things for function.
If this is a style thing to fit in with their friends, having the wrong watch means it will sit at home and just be money put on the fire.

Charging, GPS, functions are all secondary to this in my experience with teenagers.
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Exactly. I found some online that are fairly basic with just enough bells and whistles to keep them entertained.
 
TK4 said:
Exactly. I found some online that are fairly basic with just enough bells and whistles to keep them entertained.
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This is kind of the exact opposite of what I was saying.

If they are expecting 'Apple watch' to fit in. Only 'Apple watch' will be acceptable.

It's usually not about having the thing, it's about having the right thing.
 
Soulcatcher668 said:
This is kind of the exact opposite of what I was saying.

If they are expecting 'Apple watch' to fit in. Only 'Apple watch' will be acceptable.

It's usually not about having the thing, it's about having the right thing.
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I'm not buying them thousand dollar watches for Christmas. If they don't like what I get them the gifts can live in a drawer. I'm okay with that.
 
TK4 said:
I'm not buying them thousand dollar watches for Christmas. If they don't like what I get them the gifts can live in a drawer. I'm okay with that.
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but but 'think of the children'
 
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