Hybrid Watch vs Smartwatch

Hybrid watch Vs Smartwatch. Which one should I get? Or am I happy with my traditional watch and smartphone, after all, between them, they do everything these new wearable tech gizmos can.

First of all, for the foreseeable future, no watch is going to replace the smartphone. It could have all the features in the universe, but that small screen size just ain’t gonna cut it.

When it comes to watches, humans have been wearing them for centuries and that isn’t going to change anytime soon. Simply because a watch is more than just a timepiece, it’s also a fashion accessory. We’ve most likely all come across comments saying things like “People don’t wear watches anymore because our phones tell us the time”.. Comments that could be considered as a load of b*llocks.

Watches are not only a fashion statement, they also form a relationship with their owners and resonate with their personality. Pretty deep and philosophical, huh..

After getting past the fact that smartwatches won’t replace smartphones, and smartphones won’t replace watches.. On to the main point of the article..

Hybrid Watch Vs Smartwatch

Hybrid Watch

A hybrid watch is also known as hybrid smartwatch or smart analog watch. In general they offer the look of a traditional watch, and the best ones, such as the Swiss made numbers also offer a high build-quality and attention to detail.

Instead of sporting a full-color touchscreen, hybrid watches have analog displays like their traditional counterparts and use Quartz movement. There’s no swiping or shaking to control the watch, instead they use the old-fashioned button.

Hybrid watches connect with smartphones wirelessly using Bluetooth and come with companion apps. Compared with the two major smartwatch operating systems, Apple’s WatchOS and Google’s Android Wear, hybrid watch apps are pretty basic and just stick to the features that matter; mostly fitness tracking and smart notifications. Some hybrids, such as the Fossil range and their co-branded designer numbers also include remote control functions for your smartphone’s music and camera and other connected gizmos.

Hybrid watches usually have a vibration feature to notify you of incoming notifications or alarms and reminders. As far as fitness tracking, they usually have one or more sub dials built into the main dial to show your activity progress. With their limited feature set and non-touchscreen displays, hybrid watches’ battery lives normally range from 6 months to 2 years, and never need charging.

Smartwatch

Smartwatches are versatile in design, in the sense that you can download different watch faces and change up the color schemes with unlimited options. However, those digital watch faces that replicate the classic look, no matter how many pixels are being packed by the display, just don’t look anywhere near as good as the real thing.

Smartwatches, we’re talking Apple watch, Android Wear and Samsung Gear, btw, offer full-color touchscreens, buttons, digital crowns, smart bezels, voice command, and gesture control. Far more versatility than hybrids when it comes to methods of control.

Smartwatches connect with smartphones wirelessly using Bluetooth. Generally, they also offer Wi-Fi connectivity and sometimes NFC. Many smartwatches pack a GPS, heart rate monitor, a full suite of motion sensors for fitness tracking, vibrating alarms, and compatibility with thousands of apps, from Uber to Strava to SOS alerts. More smartwatches are also appearing with cellular calling.

Basically, a high end smartwatch (Apple, Android Wear or Samsung Gear) can do everything a hybrid can do plus a heck of a lot more. However, all these gadgetry luxuries plus the color touchscreen come at the expense of the battery. The average battery life for a smartwatch is around 2 days before they need a re-charge. If you’re utilizing everything they have to offer such as GPS tracking and cellular calls, expect a lot less than 2 days.

Verdict

Activity tracking and smart notifications are probably the most useful features offered by smartwatches (maybe apart from SOS alerts), and hybrids offer both. A hybrid watch isn’t trying to take over the role of your smartphone, it just wants to look good and bring the most useful connected features. For these reasons, plus the battery life and the stylish build of a traditional timepiece, the Hybrid watch wins.