Hacker News Reader

Comment by computer-user | Hacker News Reader

I think the problem is that everyone has their own “all I want - it’s so simple” set of features, but there are nearly limitless possibilities of feature combinations.

I wanted a long battery life (e-ink would work) minimal watch with health tracking only. In the end I just chose the Apple Watch SE, switched off all phone & message notifications and made recharging part of my daily routine. It’s easier to adapt than find the perfect device and I’ve found many useful features on the SE that I wouldn’t have chosen on my custom smart watch.

View on HN

If your goal is long battery life with health tracking, there are lots of Garmin watches that would fit that bill.

I entirely agree with your identification of the problem. Everyone thinks their desired set of features is the most reasonable set of features to want, and is confused why anyone would want anything else.

My desired features are basically yours, plus notifications. I've found the Amazfit Bip to just about fit the bill. I wish it had a bit more health tracking, but the ~month of battery life makes up for it. Watches with batteries that last a week are what confuse me; it's too regular to forget about, and too infrequent to easily remember. I could probably get used to a daily charge though.

Yeah, I feel like my Google Pixel Watch is a step back from my Fitbit Versa, because it's loaded with a million features that I will never use, and have no desire to use.

The big problem is all the menus are cluttered with buttons for features that I will never use. I'm sure every feature has someone who will use it; but I certainly won't.

(It's not like it's 1995 and half the fun of a brand new computer is figuring out how to use it.)

Probably the best way to solve the problem is to make it easier to disable (or ignore) most of the features.

Exactly. There was a very similar discussion on here a little while ago about electric cars. For me, all I want is a simple smart watch that has great battery life, navigation with maps, and high GPS accuracy. Everything else I don't care about. The Garmin Fenix fits that bill, along with 500 other features for everyone else with their simple lists.

The ultra’s battery life is substantially longer if that’s important to you.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com