Comment by anon7000 | Hacker News Reader

Comment by anon7000 | Hacker News Reader

So I kinda hate smart watches, a lot. Mainly because they are about notifications and apps, both of which SUCK to use on my wrist. Notifications are especially horrible (looking at you Apple, not able to disable reaction notifications in iMessage…), distracting, stressful, make it hard to stay present and focused.

What I actually want:

- sleep tracking - basic health tracking - maybe basic GPS to track hikes/runs etc

And potentially an easy way to see certain pertinent info. Like if I’m doing water sports, basic tide info, or my next calendar event, or when I need to get off the bus. But I don’t want an app, and I almost never want notifications. And definitely no clunky app to be distracted by.

Plus, I don’t want a big old screen. I don’t want to charge it a lot. I like my digital Casio a lot.

Feels like this doesn’t really exist

Amazfit Bip has sleep tracking, pedometer and notifications, it has also GPOS (which will significantly shorten battery life), release in 2018, it can still last 4 weeks on single charge, you can buy used for 15-20USD here in Europe

Don't expect advanced sport features like tide info or water sports, it has calendar events and can be used with open source Gadgetbridge app in phone.

This is kind of why I’m still using a Fitbit. Google doesn’t really pay attention to them but they do the basics of fitness and sleep.

I need something basic to keep track of swimming pool laps. Is there a simple fitbit that can do it reliably and holds a charge for at least a couple of weeks?

What you want is a Garmin Instinct, or equivalent. Not sure if it does the pertinent-info bit -- mine has Bluetooth off almost all the time -- but it does the rest of what you want, and will run for over a month per charge.

I'm coming around to the possibility that I may want a Fitbit Air on one wrist and a dumb watch on the other.

Garmin literally made their highly successful wearable business around your requirements.

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