[LordSpymaster]

I use a GW4 but would love to go back to analog watches. The issue is that I was unable to find a good fitness tracker that would do / track everything the GW4 tracks but without notifications and that is thin (without a round bezel). Don't care much about notifications and the other stuff, but I do want proper fitness tracking, sleep tracking, etc.

Hoping to find that sometime next year when my GW4 conks off.

[airguitar]

Traditional Analog watch any day for me! I wear this : https://www.amazon.in/DieseI-Analog-.../dp/B00AK7SSOS and it isn't even a high-end watch but I find it funny when all and sundry keep staring at it. It's a big dial and is heavy and will look awkward on slender wrists, but works well for me. Seems to cost 18k now, but got it at 14k a year ago.

I have a smart watch too - but it's largely restricted to measuring elevations when I'm on a trek and mapping out my trail. I have also had to turn off some sensors - most notably the heartbeat one which burnt my wrist in a round pattern [ahem, it is from a popular maker]. At a price of 20k you are going to get a plasticky Sunday fair-ware type of watch - ugly and cheap looking, irrespective of the tech it has. Some of the recent smart watches have fared better on the looks front, but are expensive. The lower end smart watches also don't have any maps preloaded(atleast as of a year or so ago, even the high end ones didn't ) in India.

[woodstock3001]

Voted for Analog watch.

I recently bought iWatch Series 7 one that has calling feature. After using it for say 4 months, i feel i could have used 50k at something more meaningful. Plus it will get an older gen in another month.

I'm not a fitness freak & my physical activity is very minimum. Just around 7k steps in a day.

If someone can help me what more i can do with my iWatch, I'll be glad.

[sukhbirST]

Analogue any day and similarly analogue meters on cars/bikes. Somehow digital watches never had the kind of attraction, which was with analogue, though my old Casio digital watch is still working. However for the record sake (touch wood) my old analogue watch of Allwyn make is still working and has been on my wrist for 34 years.

[Maedhros]

Can't vote yet but analog would be my pick.
I wear a suit to church every sunday. Tried to pair a smartwatch with a suit every now and then. Haven't succeeded till now. Analog watches look best with a suit. Even if its just a humble Titan

[haribalram]

I can't vote and my opinion is divided.

One of my prized possessions is a 20+ years Citizen Eco drive (running well). Wife's gift, all the more sentimental value.

I always had a fascination for digital ones, the ones with bigger dials and rugged looks (GSHOCK look alikes) and have worn a few over the years.

For the last couple of years, my constant companion has been the AmazeFit T-Rex pro (smartwatch). Its an all weather watch, accompanying me, during my fitness runs (with fairly accurate results), office visits and even domestic functions.

Truth to be told, the smartwatch varieties - More than you tying them, they tie you up, to consider options beyond .

[ajayc123]

I don’t need a watch for timekeeping. Time is already there in so many devices: computer, mobile, wall clock, car, and even some appliances.

My primary use case for using a smartwatch is basic fitness, mainly two use cases: sleep ( for recovery) and exercise (for health).

I got a fitness oriented smartwatch a couple of years back. It has an adaptive trainer feature that guides with a blended variety of strength and cardio exercises. It sets a baseline by collecting key parameters like weight, height, age, training background, fitness goal (light, medium, heavy), and makes suitable recommendations.

These recommendations are progressively adjusted up or down based on your progress. On a given day it offers you a variety of options with step by step instructions. Also analyses your sleep pattern and factors that into the exercise recommendations. Also warns you for overtraining, de-training. During the running routine it gives buzzing prompts if you are going too fast ot too slow till you get back into the right heart tate zone.

Here are some pics to give you an idea about the possibilities.

Sleep analysis


Exercises ( strength and cardio)

[ringoism]

I have often considered buying a fitness/ trekking-oriented smartwatch because undeniably there are some very useful functions available there towards tracking one's progress in such realms, within the confines of specific timeframes & activities.

I would, however, NOT EVER want to be spending huge money on one, nor wearing it 24/7, for several reasons:

1) One more digital invasion/irritation, with alarms and alerts and etc, and all that now in plain view out on my wrist all the time;

2) The pains of recharging.

3) The pains (and limits) of updating.

4) reality of "planned obsolescence" for both hardware ans software - making them ultimately "use and throw" (like current phones).

5) ***PRIVACY CONCERNS***

It was bad enough having to come to the point where we MUST carry a mobile everywhere that we want to do anything in the modern age. But now info re: our heartrate & body temp are going to be integrated with things like precise location, bodily movements (via accelerometer), timings of every measurement (obviously) and probably lots of other things most of us don"t even know about / understand: How is our heartrate / body temp affected when we see a particular type of commercial product on offer? A brand of political speech? A news story about a certain religion or nation or corporation or war, etc, etc, etc... It is essentially giving "someone" the ability to read our minds, and that is barely an exaggeration!

There is no doubt at all that "they" (whether the highest bidder, a gov agency, or a wide plethora of "trusted partners") now will know exactly if and when, where (and how often) you take a bath (or a sh*t), get irritated, fight or else achieve orgasm with your spouse - or for that matter someone else's spouse - or alone... (sorry, but it's absolutely true and well within ability to analyze/ compile/ publish all these things for sale). And that's just the "legit" players, not even talking about potential hackers here.

I have this funny feeling that in the generalized lust for the latest & greatest gadgets, not too many have really thought through all the potential implications of this kind of tech, particularly in this case the body/bio sensors.

6) If that weren't enough (and it should be), I honestly think most smartwatches I've seen are truly unattractive and/or uninteresting to look at.

You might be able to alter the look of a screen on one and change the strap, but that's about it... there is simply less scope for creativity in design, considering the limitations re: screen shape / size, and those re: miniaturization of sensors, batteries, circuits.

Whereas for the cost of the latest Apple Watch I could buy literally dozens of vintage Swiss/Japanese/ Russian, whatever (also quality modern quartz of Indian origin) in a wide variety of styles that keep good time and will never make me bored.

There's a lot of unneeded redundancy between smart phones and smart watches, but honestly it's the things that are NOT redundant (point 5 above, the body / bio sensors) that I specifically don't want. If I'm going to opt to switch those off, then no point whatsoever.

Give me a good offline Casio Protrek if I feel the need for something with a few bells / whistles. I have some of those that are literally 25 years old and still look/ work great and have held their value well, too. Find me a smartwatch that'll still be working and looking good and not consigned to a mountain of digital waste somewhere even 6-7 years from now...

Btw some may not realize that there were pre-smart, offline fitness watches with step counters and heart-rate monitors. Can't do as much with them obviously, but they worked.

If you're a heart patient and you WANT "someone" monitoring your pulse / bp/ whatever all the time, then fine...

Otherwise, apart from recording & analyzing training sessions or trekking waypoints, I can't grasp why anyone would really need or want to be wearing an online set of body sensors all the time.

That's just me maybe, but these points seem worthy of consideration.

-Eric

[TwerkyC0ffee]

Voted for Analog.

I personally feel these smartwatches are just another toy - and no electronic gadget can ever have the premium feel and charm of a good old mechanical watch.

Analog watches are just so elegant. I have similar sentiments for my cars - good old analog dials rank far higher than modern digital screens.
[ Although the irony is that I own a Nexon ]

Just graduated from quartz analog watches to mechanical watch couple of months ago - and loving it to bits.

[vijaysrk]

Voted analog.

Speaking facetiously, I've always wanted my timepieces to be.. well.. timeless! :-)

But from a practical standpoint, I do want to limit the number of devices I need to charge everyday. Same reason I haven't caught the EV bug yet!

Though I share/echo the sentiments of many others here on the simple joy of wearing an analog watch (I still wear a circa 1995 Tissot my uncle gifted me many moons ago), I will switch to a smartwatch soon as soon as they make a full-featured one which needs charging no more than once every two weeks.

Ultimately, I think it all boils down to what you want: A watch that also has smart features, or a smart device that also tells you the time. I prefer the former.

[Tutenkhamen]

Of course a mechanical clock. I have been stalking and drooling on the shear complexities involved in getting minuscule gears meshing with other gear train and made of noble and rare earth metals. Advancements like GS Spring drive, Gyromax balance, Silicon main spring, peripheral rotors etc make these mini engines a beauty to hold and gives out a feeling of wearing something special.

I’ve had great experience with a Tissot Quartz for 7 years and it has seen good and bad days. Such a work horse.
Just last month, I worked with Ethos to get a special limited edition model from Lucerne.

Presenting, CF Bucherer Manero Peripheral boutique edition (one out of 188 in total)

Next up: I am rooting for a AP Royal Oak, VC Pattimony, PP Calatrava

[josephilip]

Couldn't vote, So here I am.

I would prefer an analog watch over a smart watch for myself. Mainly due to my leaner arms and aesthetic preference.
But I would like my parents to wear a smartwatch for the monitoring of vitals and other health activities. Smartwatches have come a long way from the beginning. They are really good now.

Below are the photos of my Tissot classic dream and my father's galaxy watch 46mm.
The classic dream is a very minimalist watch with pure classy looks. Not a lot of people notice it's a Tissot. Which is something I appreciate.

The Galaxy watch on the other hand get's noticed by almost everyone. But that thing does look very good. The fact that it is a smartwatch is not immediately apparent.

[Sonali Singh]

Cannot vote so posting here.

I had stopped wearing a watch except a smart watch (always Garmin, still have a 935) when I used to run. In a life being spent on a laptop, iPad and a phone, knowing the time was never an issue.

Now I have taken to wearing one regularly (in a feeble attempt to stay away from devices). And recently bought a new HMT Pilot (blue dial) to add to the only other analogue I own, a Tissot bought with my first salary (along with a Longines for my Dad) when expensive watches had become a new thing in India. Three is more than enough for me.

[narayans80]

I am a sucker for digital watches since childhood. We could wear one to school as a high schooler. I've spent a lot of money on Sakura, Timex and Casio digital watches

I don't like these massive analog chronographs. The closest I've owned is this Timex Expedition, that's because it has digital and 2 time-zone display.

I do wear analog, but much leaner versions for formal occasions.

From the watch-man I was in my teens and early 20s. I hardly wear watches for the exact reason Ajay mentions below.

Originally Posted by ajayc123

I don’t need a watch for timekeeping. Time is already there in so many devices: computer, mobile, wall clock, car, and even some appliances.

Off late I prefer wearing the Oneplus band. I can now trigger happily change watch faces. Wish these contraptions existed 30 years before. I do get the motivation for a Samsung Gear/Apple Watch from time to time. The amount of money I have spend, is what keeps me away Some day I'll take the plunge.

[Latheesh]

Analog watches but have couple of vintage Casio digital watches (old) in my collection. I got couple of smart watches as a gift from my employer but don't use them.
Analog or smart watch is individual choice, but why do some smart watch owners add analog face on their smart watch? I saw Rolex face on my friend's smart watch.