Smartwatches are a mislabel.
They aren’t smart.
They mostly just parrot the smartphone.
On paper, the idea looks good. You keep the phone in your pocket or bag and glance at your wrist for messages or notifications. Convenient, at least in theory.
In practice, replying on a watch is a pain. Some models rely on canned replies. Because let’s be honest, you’re not fitting a proper keyboard on a tiny screen. No amount of marketing changes that.
To be fair, there are moments where it’s useful. In a meeting, for example, when your phone is on silent and you can glance at your wrist to see if something needs attention.
That’s about where the usefulness peaks.
Fragmenting the day
I’ve owned more trackers and smart bands than I can remember. Misfit. Jawbone Up. Sony. Garmin. Fitbit. Others I’ve forgotten.
Over time, I realised something odd. The more I used them, the less I wanted a display on my wrist.
I even considered the Whoop band at one point, until I realised you don’t actually own it. You subscribe to it. You pay to access your own data. That didn’t sit well with me.
Since typing on a watch is impractical, manufacturers had to find another use case.
Health tracking.
I once owned a Casio heart-rate watch. It had a small circular window on the face. To measure your heart rate, you placed your finger on it while it flashed a red light.
It worked. But I could also measure my pulse by placing a finger on my neck and counting for fifteen seconds.
Technology is fascinating. Sometimes too fascinating.
Weaning off
Health monitoring is important. I won’t deny that.
I used trackers seriously when I was morbidly obese, around 150 kg. They helped. As I gradually dropped to 110 kg, the feedback mattered. Over time, I became more aware of how my body responded to food, movement, and rest.
Eventually, that awareness made the device redundant.
I even used a continuous glucose monitor for a while. That was genuinely valuable. It taught me that hunger wasn’t always low blood sugar. Often, it was just habit.
A few months ago, my Fitbit subscription was about to expire. Normally I would just renew it without thinking. This time, I didn’t.
I took off the Fitbit Sense and put on a mechanical automatic watch instead.
It felt… lighter.
Moving differently
Around the same time, my exercise changed. I moved toward kettlebells and macebells. A watch just gets in the way when you’re swinging metal around.
I still run, cycle, and swim. I already know my distances and timings. Singapore isn’t large. East to west is doable in a day, or much less if you push.
What about heart rate?
If you feel like you’re about to explode, you stop. If you reach that point regularly, it probably means you’re no longer listening to your body.
I’m not a professional athlete. I don’t enjoy piling gadgets onto simple activities. I just want to move.
Cycling especially can turn into a gadget festival. Bike computers, power meters, sensors everywhere. I get why people like them. I just prefer to get on the bike and ride.
Adios, trackers
I’m not saying health trackers are bad. They helped me at a specific stage of my life.
That stage passed.
With it, the need to constantly measure myself passed too.
Do I still wear something on my wrist?
Yes. A mechanical automatic watch.
No software updates.
No subscriptions.
No internet connection.
It just works.
And it does what it was designed to do.
Tell the time