How To Choose A Smartwatch (15 Killer Tips for Better Deal)
Are you going to buy a smartwatch?
If yes, then wait a while.
Do you know that there are hundreds of smartwatch models from different brands available in the Indian market?
Would it be easy for you to choose one of these smartwatches?
Not at all; even new smartwatches are being launched every week, which will make you more confused.
I have published many smartwatch guides on this blog so far, and this question has been asked many times: How do we choose a good smartwatch?
So finally, I have prepared an in-depth smartwatch buying guide by putting all those aspects in one place, after which you will not have to ask anyone which smart watch you should go for.
However, you can read this Smartwatch vs Smart Band comparison guide, which works to clear the difference between the two for you.
How To Choose A Smartwatch in India
1. OS Compatibility
Before selecting a smartwatch, you need to decide whether you will connect the smartwatch with iPhone or Android.
I am saying this because if you are an Android user, there is no point in going for Apple Watch.
After all, Apple Watch is only compatible with iPhones.
While all other smartwatches pair with iPhones and Android smartphones.
2. Budget
Whenever I have to choose a smartwatch for myself, the first thing I consider is the budget.
I give a lot of priority to money, and you must have given it too.
You first have to decide the maximum amount you can spend to buy a smartwatch.
Let’s say you have Rs 5000, but you like a smartwatch worth Rs 10000; It will be challenging to go for your favourite smartwatch.
Let me tell you that smartwatches are available in the Indian market ranging from 1500 to 50000, so if you do not decide on the budget, not only will you get confused, but you will also waste your precious time.
That is why you must set a budget and look at the smartwatches that fall under it.
You can get a good smartwatch under your comfortable budget with the following guides:
3. Design
We Indians give a lot of importance to design in every product.
Smartwatches are mainly made in two types of designs; square and circular.
i) Square/Rectangular Smartwatches
In the Indian smartwatch market, you will find most watches with a square dial as they offer a variety of designs.
Square smartwatches traditionally offer a better user experience and more space for information, which is why users can easily access the watch.
And for this reason, a brand like Apple gives more priority to square design.
But you can also feel some cons.
Such smartwatches usually come in large sizes, due to which they cause a lot of discomfort for those with thin wrists.
ii) Round Smartwatches
Many people prefer round-dial smartwatches; they are small, compact, and available in different varieties.
These smartwatches are popular among women because of their small size; they are more comfortable for them.
Round smartwatches are considered best to pair with formal attire, so this type of smartwatches would be an excellent option.
Many big brands, including Samsung, rely on this traditional design and launch excellent round-dial smart watches yearly.
However, the problem with these smartwatches is that due to the small display size, there is not enough space for information, which makes the user experience not that good.
4. Build Quality
When buying a smartwatch, you should also focus on its build quality.
Generally, two types of materials are used in smartwatches; Metal and plastic.
Smartwatches made of metal are generally preferred as they look premium, and the build quality is quite good.
But due to being metallic, the price of smartwatches increases, so those with a low budget find it difficult to afford them.
Although nowadays, metal frames are being used even on a low budget, which is good.
On the other hand, most low-budget smartwatches use plastic material that is lightweight but does not provide better build quality.
So, If you put the build quality of a smartwatch paramount, you should go for a smartwatch that uses metal.
5. Dial Size
Most people ignore the dial size while buying a smartwatch, which is where they make a mistake.
A watch enhances your look only when its size is according to your wrist.
If you have thin wrists and you are wearing a watch with a large dial, trust me, it works to diminish your look rather than enhance it.
If your wrist size is medium, 38mm to 42mm would be ideal for you, while for thick wrists, go for 44mm to 46mm.
6. Display
The betterment of any smartwatch largely depends on its display; if you spend 10000 rupees for a smartwatch, it is inevitable to expect a high-quality display in return.
There are usually two types of display used in smartwatches.; HD and AMOLED.
In low-budget smartwatches, we see HD displays, they are cheap, and their quality is decent.
While AMOLED displays are considered the best, for them, you have to spend a little more.
Smartwatches with AMOLED display have exquisite detailing and sharp image quality.
Although the resolution is essential to the quality of the display, the higher the resolution, the better the display quality.
Apart from this, you can also consider the thin bezels responsible for great looks and a more prominent display.
7. Battery
You can also use a simple watch to see the time, but a smartwatch helps with tasks such as tracking sports activities, health monitoring and measuring sleep quality; the battery is used to complete all these tasks.
The battery life of these smartwatches can range from 1 day to 14 days or more; plus, it takes a few hours to charge them.
You don’t want your watch to run out of battery when you sleep, and you must first charge it for sleep monitoring.
To avoid such a situation, you have to choose a smartwatch whose battery life is at least 5 to 8 days on regular use.
You can also try these battery saving tips to improve your smartwatch’s battery life.
8. Health Features
The advantage of buying a smartwatch is that we can monitor our health.
With the help of these, we can monitor our heart rate and spo2 (blood oxygen), while some smartwatches also have an additional feature of BP monitoring.
In these, sleep quality and stress monitoring are also essential features.
The accuracy of health monitoring features in a smartwatch has always been questioned, so it is suggested that you use them only for an idea.
But you cannot deny that high-end smartwatches provide us results with great accuracy.
Remember that you have to go for that smartwatch which monitors heart rate and spo2 with reasonable accuracy.
9. Sports Modes
Do you indulge in sports activities?
If yes, you should look at more sports modes in a smartwatch.
You can get from 10 to more than 200 sports modes in a smartwatch.
Apart from the sports modes’ numbers, it would be best if you also kept an eye on their data.
Often I have found that in low-budget smartwatches, we get only basic data, while in health and fitness smartwatches, we get a detailed sports report.
Therefore, it would be an excellent decision to keep sports modes in mind while choosing a smartwatch.
10. Watch Faces
I give a lot of importance to watch faces in every smartwatch because I want a new look every day, which is why I get more attracted to smartwatches that provide stylish and more watch faces.
You may have different views on this aspect, but I also find one advantage of smartwatches is that we can change their look every day with the help of new watch faces.
And I like to make full use of this feature.
11. Calling
With time, improvements are seen in every industry, and we have seen this thing in smartwatches.
Earlier, only some basic features were seen in smartwatches; over time, we introduced features like spo2 monitoring and Bluetooth calling; today, these are considered essential features.
With the help of the calling feature, we can communicate with each other, but we are offered two options; Bluetooth calling and LTE.
A Bluetooth calling smartwatch is trendy among people, we have to connect the smartwatch to the smartphone, and we can access the incoming calls directly through the smartwatch.
However, the problem is that you can do this only when the smartwatch is connected to your smartphone.
While talking about an LTE smartwatch, these watches support eSIM, which allows you to receive calls even without a smartphone.
But this feature is only offered by a few smartwatches and at a higher cost.
So choose them according to your capacity; if your budget is reasonable and you want to enjoy the calling feature without Bluetooth, then go for LTE smartwatches; otherwise, Bluetooth calling will be a good option.
12. Brand
The brand is also critical in choosing a smartwatch; you should not buy any product without considering the brand.
Local smartwatch brands like Fire-Boltt, Noise and boAt launch smartwatches with splendid features in India, so if you’re loyal to one particular brand, it’s okay to go for their smartwatch.
You can look at these best smartwatch brands that are performing very well in the smartwatch market in India.
13. GPS
Do you do running or cycling?
If yes, a GPS smartwatch would be a great option.
Due to the built-in GPS in the smartwatch, we can track the route, which proves to be very helpful while running.
If you are considering GPS, you can look at these top GPS smartwatches.
14. App Compatibility
There are a few smartwatches available in the market that come with in-built storage, which allows you to install additional apps.
But let me tell you that you will have to pay more for this feature because only high-end smartwatches provide this feature.
If you want to use third-party apps, go for these smartwatches, which come with in-built storage.
15. Other Features
We often overlook other valuable features due to mainstream features, for example, calculator.
You may not need a calculator, but it can prove to be a helpful feature for a student.
On the other hand, in some smartwatches, the feature of quick replies is given, but you are not allowed to make custom replies, and in some, this feature is missing.
If you think that the quick reply feature is helpful, you must go for a smartwatch that allows you to send custom messages.
How To Choose A Smartwatch: Bottom Line
We often see advertisements for smartwatches, get impressed and buy them in a hurry, but when we use them, we find that it has not added any value to our life.
Even there have been many times that when we see a smartwatch online, it looks exactly as per our expectations, and when we get it, it looks completely different.
Let me tell you that whether it is smartwatches or any other product, they are promoted so that every viewer is attracted to them.
So you must read their reviews before deciding just by looking at the advertisements.
The following points should be kept in mind while choosing a smartwatch:
- Platform compatibility
- Budget
- Design
- Build quality
- Display
- Battery
- Health features accuracy
- Sports modes
- Brand
- Watch faces
I hope these aspects will help you choose a smartwatch; if I find some more points useful, I will keep adding them here.
