Do you have an app store on the smartwatch or longer battery life? This is a key decision when choosing either type of smartwatch. Furthermore, one premise is directly proportional to the other: installing applications on the watch ends up reducing battery life. Experience made me understand this.
A smart watch remains a wrist computer, with its advantages and disadvantages. Systems like Wear OS expand the possibilities of smartwatches, but with an obvious drawback: battery life. After several years of testing dozens of watches, first with Android Wear, I ended up enjoying two days of use on a single charge. Almost a miracle. At least until I leave the majority systems circuit, since I now wear a smartwatch that disappears after two weeks.
Will I really use apps on the watch?
Amazfit Balance
I admit that I had moments of compulsive installation, those times when I would scour the app stores to download everything I saw. Regardless of the device, it doesn’t matter whether it’s a smartphone, tablet or computer. And, continuing the thread of this article, I was one of those who installed sports applications on their Wear OS, WhatsApp and dozens of watch faces.
Most software installed on a watch has an obvious counterpart: increased power consumption. Changing the watch face to a non-native watch face reduces battery life by a few hours; with the consequence that, if we hope that the majority of smart watches will come into existence, personalize them with Google Play applications capacity decreases. A lot, it all depends on the information displayed by the watch face.
Installing any software on the watch reduces its battery life. And without obtaining excessive advantages, beyond a unique and distinctive design or design. more independence from the phone. That I want to measure exercise with a specific platform? It is much better to record the practice with the native software and then share the data between services, such as Strava. A native messaging app? I make do with the phone’s own notifications. And so from the rest of the software, the watch is a device that appreciates the lightness of the software.
The more apps you load on a watch, the less battery life will last. And without any notable advantage, since the information is at the touch of a smartphone
If in the end I have to recharge the watch from time to time because I installed applications that consume more than necessary, I prefer to cut back on shortcuts and maximize the lifespan between charges as much as possible. My record under Wear OS is held by the OnePlus Watch 2, I have not had a longer watch with Google OS. Until I decided to escape its borders.
Two weeks on a charge, it’s a smart watch
OnePlus Watch 2
Anyone who knows me knows that I am passionate about smartwatches. So much so that I often wear a watch on each wrist, even when I’m not actively testing a new model. Thanks to this hobby, I can conclude that although installing apps is attractive, there is nothing like having two weeks between loads.
I currently have an Amazfit scale which not only records all the health values I need, but the sports tracking is also excellent. AND I can use the GPS for hours outdoors without having to recharge it in the afternoon, it’s a joy. I even forget where I left the charger, I get to this level.
Acid test doesn’t remind me where I left smartwatch charger, knowing where it is after two weeks
Take the watch off my wrist, place it on the base, wait for it to charge, check if it has reached 100% and put it back on, a process that the further apart the distances between repeats, the better . Once you have tried a good smartwatch with two weeks of battery life, it is very difficult to go back to Wear OS with the obligation to use the socket every day. Or for anyone else, this low battery life is not exclusive to Google’s operating system.
Not losing advanced sports functions, sleep recording, having activity alerts with automatic tracking, a good collection of positioning sensors (very important for me), that the native dials are of quality and that the battery has a long life. Two weeks on paper, for example: this is my current reference list. I’m not interested in applications: I’ve already had enough of what comes with the watch, the smartphone is already there for the rest.
Cover image | Ivan Linares
In Xataka Android | This is what I look at in a smartwatch to see if it’s worth it. And not only is it a great battery
