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Ask HN: How many of you delibrately wear a watch that isn't a smart watch?

11 points by ZanyProgrammer ↗ HN
When the Apple Watch first came out, I swore I'd buy one as soon as the technology matured after a few iterations-I had always loved the idea of wearables, and the Apple Watch really seemed to hit a sweet spot.

Fast forward several years, and I'm very disgruntled with the idea of smart/wearable/IOT/etc devices-the fact that they're expensive and require replacing regularly like a phone, require regular charging, the fact that I'd sometimes like to be alone without any outside connectivity, etc just really turns me off. Also having had a few instances of natural disasters to deal with over the past few years makes me yearn for something just a lot less dependent on regular charging than a smart watch.

So, Ive gone back to (for the time being) ordering a good old Timex Ironman as a cheap standby that will last quite a while and do what it needs to do. I'll look into upgrading to something a bit fancier and possibly mechanical if the Timex experiment works out. I'm just wondering if I'm alone in this, or maybe I'm tapping into a (very slight) anti smart device sentiment that's only prevalent in really tech centric communities.

26 comments

[ 4.1 ms ] story [ 27.2 ms ] thread
CelticBard
Me, seiko presage. There’s something about mechanical watches that appeals to me. I also own an Apple Watch so sometimes I wear that but I prefer my seiko
yuppie_scum
I wear the Apple Watch as a daily driver. It’s clutch for dealing with constant MFA challenges.

It’s obviously great for workouts as well - tracking of activity and also controlling audio.

When I’m going to a social event where I will mainly be talking to people and want to be “present” I have started going back to my non smart watches.

spfzero
When I wear a watch it is mechanical.

While I like the idea of the Apple watch etc., it would be taking on another thing that involves regular upgrades, learning about new/changes features, keeping track of what the new hardware can do, etc. That's a lot of time commitment. And as someone else said, recharging it every night, packing up the charger on trips, etc.

I will say that I feel there is less friction wearing a wrist watch of any type, vs. using my phone. Sometimes the phone is in my pocket, and checking the time involves getting it out of there, vs. just looking at my wrist. Or on the charger, or I left it somewhere else.

uberman
I wear a watch that explicitly showcases the movement.

I have a smartphone and I think smartwatches look ugly.

That is just me though and if you like em, power to you.

ksaj
Skeleton watches are among my favourite style. I have one from Swatch.

I don't like that its lens is plastic, so it scratches much too easily. But it looks really nice otherwise.

al_borland
I have an old Apple Watch (Series 4) that I just wear to the gym to keep an eye on my heart rate. Other than that if I wear a watch it's generally a mechanical watch that just tells the time. For weekends/vacation I have one with a single hand on a 24 hour dial, so I know roughly what time it is, but without worrying about the details.

Although I have noticed that as technology pushes its way into more areas of life, I'm becoming more of a luddite. Not everything needs to be "smart" or "connected". My toaster doesn't need Bluetooth, my grill doesn't need an app. The whole idea of making these things "smart" takes what would be a product that could last for decades, and makes it one that can become obsolete in just a few years. With all the talk about climate change and reducing our impact, this is the wrong direction to go.

vivegi
I used to wear a handwound mechanical watch for the most of '80s and '90s and quartz watches in the '00s. Never liked smartwatches. Stopped wearing watches the past 8 years or so.

The smartphone killed the watch for me although if I should ever wear one again, it would be a regular quartz/mechanical watch.

robthebrew
I own about a dozen mechanical watches and no electronic ones. It is not about time keeping. It is aesthetics and making a statement. Note that apart from 2 (which I actually don't particularly like) they are all vintage and not that expensive.
retrocryptid
i often wear a [non-smart] watch. usually one with a 24 hour face. it's cheap, doesn't require recharging (but i have to remember to rewind it) and in never makes noise.

i have a generic 12 hour face watch i bought off amazon for $18 and an 80s era soviet 24 hour face watch i bought off etsy for $65. i love both.

_xerces_
I can't wear a smart watch in certain parts of my building at work and it got old taking it off constantly, so I invested in a ~$1000 mechanical watch after trying out a few ~$150 watches.
MrMan
I havent worn a watch since 2005 why would I wear a watch?
meowzor
I wear simple digital Casios because I like them :)
nradov
If you're mainly worried about regular charging, Garmin has some models with solar charging and battery life up to a month. They're not cheap though.

https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/702797

capableweb
> Garmin has some models with solar charging and battery life up to a month

Do you mean some models that are solar powered and others who have battery life up to a month? Or does the battery in the solar powered ones only last a month? Or how that works?

nradov
They have a bunch of different watches with varying battery capacities and with or without solar charging. The one I linked above could potentially run forever if you don't use the smart watch features much and expose it to a lot of sunlight. But realistically most of them can go for more than a week with normal use (including heart rate monitoring, phone notifications, GPS sports activity tracking, etc.).
mastazi
not parent but Garmin has many solar watches, some of them could be used indefinitely without ever being recharged, depending on your lifestyle and how much time you spend out in the sun, e.g. https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/775697

But in other solar models, the energy consumption is greater than the energy produced, so the solar charging feature is just a way to extend battery life. In that case you will have an indication of how long the battery lasts, for example in this model it lasts 2 weeks https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/702902

trelliscoded
I have a Citizen Skyhawk and an Apple Watch, I frequently wear them both. The Skyhawk is basically indestructible, sets it’s own time via radio, and charges using solar power, so it’s a nice complement to the Apple Watch.
FairDune
I wear a Seiko with a solar battery.
ebb_earl_co
I wear a Citizen Eco-Drive with blue Roman numerals on a white face. It was a gift for my having finished undergraduate and I wear it almost every day.
J_cst
In western countries (at least) nobody needs a watch to keep track of time. We have ultra precise time on out smartphones and devices. So wearing a watch today is more of a statement of appreciation for an item that sits in the middle of craftsmanship and art. Often those people would prefer a mechanical watch (manual winding or automatic of sort). For someone else is a status symbol useful to signal wealth. Then there are specific fields/occupations which require a precise watch on the wrist (military? aviation?) and they would probably use some sort of quartz chronograph. Personally I wear a watch which my father gave me as a present for my wedding, but recently its value grow too much and I'm worried to wear it. So I bought an automatic vintage Seiko. Now I am in the position to have to pay a bank to safely store my watch without being able to wear it. I believe the most rational thing to do is just to sell it, but I don't have the heart to do it.
Venkatesh10
Like other parts of the world have inaccurate time in our smartphone? Bruh
J_cst
I'm sorry, English is not my first language and obviously I was unable to convey my opinion clearly enough. The first sentence was referring to the fact that in western countries almost everybody has a smartphone so there's no real need of a watch to measure time. Being unsure if the above holds true for non western countries too, I have limited my statement to western countries. Basically my statement was referring to general availability of smartphones and not to the preciseness of western smartphones vs. non western smartphones. Probably I should have referred to 'first world' countries vs. non 'first world' countries. Sorry for the misunderstanding and thank you for your comment.
tomjen3
My reason to wear a simple watch was to not have to pull out my phone to see the time, not because I think the Ironman watch is particularly pretty.
entropyie
Best watch in the world, Casio F-91W
ksaj
I wear a watch, even when I walk the dogs. Why? I have always liked them. It's a creature comfort, and it only takes a quick flick and glance to know what time it is.

The watch I wear most has a built-in mentalism gimmick, so that's handy if you're into such things. My other favourite watch has a built-in satellite ntp client and is solar powered. I even have a nice modern looking pocket watch for when the occasion calls for it.

I always have my cell phone with me, so most of what a smart watch does is already happening in my pocket. Their ability to monitor heart and blood oxygen is about the only thing they do that is interesting to me, and I don't really need to be that aware of them throughout the day. Maybe when they stop looking like toys.