With the recent rise in “smartwear” technology, an increasing amount of people are beginning to see the benefits of wearing a smartwatch in day-to-day life – but are there any negatives to this technology craze?
“What are they?”
A smartwatch is the so-called “all-in-one” micro-solution to change your music, view texts, make calls, browse the internet, or effectively become your digital personal assistant!
One of the main benefits associated with wearing a smartwatch is the ability to receive health notifications regarding your daily activity levels. Everything from reminders to stand up and take regular walks to prompting you into that extra glass of water, some even going as far as to tailor the recommendations to the specific user.
“But are there any negatives?”
Despite the multitude of benefits, there are a few downsides.
Technologically speaking, battery life has been a consistent issue within the smartwatch world, limiting them to an average of 1 to 2 days per charge. Bleak, compared to the 4 years of a standard quartz watch battery. While they’re clearly achieving a lot more than your standard clock-face watch, to some – it’s just another thing to charge.
The accuracy of these watches is questionable at best. Features like step-counters are notoriously inaccurate and everyday tasks involving your hands may trigger the watch accidentally. Exercises where the watch may not have full, consistent contact with the wrist may cause imprecision. Finally, the usability of navigating undersized software buttons on a 4x4cm display is not the simplest of feats, interacting with the watch will definitely take time.
“So is it worth it?”
Although this blog mentioned efficiency-based guidelines, there is also a lot to consider in terms of security. How safe do you feel storing all that information on your wrist? Our next blog will cover the security of these watches.