My First Smartwatch
Back in September 2021, I bought a Samsung Gear 3 Frontier smartwatch and wrote about it in I Just Bought My First Smartwatch!
I sold it a year or two later and reverted to analogue, but smart watches have improved considerably in the intervening years. I don’t think I truly appreciated the Gear 3 and what it was capable of, so back in September 2024, I bought a Xiaomi Watch 2 in a gadget superstore in Barcelona, a shop I should never have gone into, but that’s another matter. (Hint: I also bought a new phone for my wife.)
My Second Smartwatch
The Xiaomi is cheap and cheerful (about 100 euros) but has a myriad of features for health-tracking, which I never used before on the Gear 3. Anyway, in December I bought a new bicycle and naturally, me being me, I had to add a load of accessories including flashy LED lights, a more comfortable seat (the original was like sitting on a razor blade), a pump, a small tool bag with tools and puncture repair kit, new handle grips and last but not least, a bicycle computer with GPS.
The bike doesn’t move any faster, but since I now set myself targets, I can keep track of the distance covered. My current target is 15 kms/9.32 miles per day, so I feed that into the Xiaomi smart watch as well as the Samsung Health app on my phone, peruse the results with an ice-cold libation when I get home, and log my distance in a small notebook (400 kms so far). Since the smart watch also tracks my heart rate – average and maximum – I’ve noticed that in very hot weather, which we are experiencing right now, those averages and maximums increase exponentially, as expected. However, at least the results are within the correct parameters for my age and build, which is a relief.
Shiny Things Syndrome (STS) Strikes Again!
Now that I’m using many more functions on the Xiaomi than I ever did with the Samsung Gear 3, I now have a hankering for a more advanced smart watch and have decided to go for the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra, which is considered to be the best smart watch available. You see, that’s what happens when STS sets in, and being the tech nut that I am, I’m always looking for more.
I’ve watched dozens of reviews of this watch, and it strikes me as an incredible piece of kit. It will sync perfectly with my Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, so when I finally get it on my wrist, I’ll update this topic with my opinion.
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