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Trying to pick a wearable: LG G Watch R vs. Fitbit Surge...

posted 10 years ago by Ctrl-Opt-Del
3 replies | jump to latest

...those are the two I've narrowed my favoured choices down to.

They're both ~£200, which is about the most I'd be willing to spend on a wearable device. Both are quite well geared to health & fitness (although the Fitbit moreso, obviously), and the Surge does have some basic smartwatch functions - caller ID, text message display, and music player controls.

I'm leaning towards the fitness band vs. the smartwatch due to the greater battery life, and the fact that Android Wear seems to be little more than a second-screen system for phones so far; however, the G Watch R will (theoretically) receive updates to later versions of Android Wear that could flesh it out into a more useful OS in its own right, whereas the Fitbit Surge will only ever be an activity tracker with a few gimmicks...

Any thoughts, relevant experiences with the device(s) to share, suggestions of other points I've not taken into consideration, etc?

[–] ImReallyANarc 10 years ago

This is probably not the answer you want to hear, and my experience may not be the norm. I had the first generation Galaxy Gear watch for a couple days. I returned it for a number of reasons.

First, I have a watch and I have a phone, but found that using the Galaxy Gear as either of those two devices was ineffective. The camera wasn't very good, the interface was very clunky because of the small screen size, and I didn't even like it much as a watch (I had to flick my wrist a certain way just to see the time). Also, I was constantly mindful of the fact that I was wearing a $200 piece of technology on my arm that felt much more fragile than a watch that costs the same amount of money.

Ultimately, I decided that I'd rather use a watch to tell time, and my phone for communication, organization, and entertainment.

[–] Ctrl-Opt-Del 10 years ago

Soo... Are you saying that you think that I shouldn't get either, or that I should get the Fitbit? All I got for certain out of your reply was you're obviously saying definitely not to bother with the G Watch (or any other Android Wear - or similar - smartwatch); but I'm unsure if you meant to imply that you don't think *any* wearable devices, even sport/activity tracker bands, are worth bothering with...

[–] ImReallyANarc 10 years ago

I re-read my original response and you're right - I didn't exactly answer your question. My complaint was with redundant technology. I have a phone with some cool features, and no need for a watch with stripped-down versions of a half-dozen of those features.

The phone doesn't have the activity tracking abilities that the Fitbit has though. I don't do a lot of physical activity so that wouldn't appeal to me, but I can definitely see its advantage for somebody who would use those features.

On that note, I'd recommend you only buy the tech that has new features that a) your phone doesn't already have, and b) you would actually use.