Smart Watches

Learning About Smart Watches

Smart watches are essentially wrist watches that come equipped with sophisticated digital functionality. They allow you to monitor your health and fitness, act as an extension of your smartphone, and offer some high-tech tools to enhance your life.

Smart watches range from basic sports/training watches with or without constant displays, to high-end units such as Apple watches that come with always-on touchscreens and a dazzling array of features and options. By putting versatile computing power right onto your wrist, smart watches can enhance your lifestyle and productivity on many levels.

When choosing a watch, be sure to consider your smartphone. If you use an iPhone, you should choose a watch such as the Apple Watch Series 4. Wear OS from Android is open source and compatible with many types of smartphones.

What's a Smart Watch Used For?

Along with offering the regular timekeeping functions including timer, stopwatch, and so on, smart watches have two main uses. The first is to serve as fitness activity trackers by measuring heart rate, steps taken, calories, and other data points. Health data can then be uploaded to your cell phone for analysis, tracking, and storage.

The second use is to enhance the scope and functionality of smartphones. Through Bluetooth pairing, smart watches can display incoming messages and control music playback, for example.

How Does a Smart Watch Check Your Heart Rate?

Most models measure your heart rate by using green light in a process known as photoplethysmography (PPG). The rear of the watch contains LED lights directed onto your wrist. As blood absorbs green light, sensors in the watch record the frequency at which blood flows, hence your heart rate. Some brands, such as Jawbone, use bioimpedance (electrical resistance of your skin) to measure heart rate, while the Apple Watch Series 4 features an electrical heart sensor. For even more data, you can find wrist watches that come with fitness sensors you attach to various parts of your body.

Do Smart Watches Need SIM Cards?

As a rule, smart watches tap into the data communications functionality of a smartphone via Bluetooth connectivity. However, certain models of smart phone, including the Apple Watch Series, can take an eSIM. This allows you to make calls and send data messages without the need for a smartphone.

Can You Send Texts on a Smart Watch?

Most units offer text notifications of varying sophistication, ranging from a simple buzz to displaying the full message. Unless you have a standalone model, you would need to type out the message on your watch and then use a linked smartphone to send it.

To keep track of your time and your health, check out the range of best-selling smart watches for men and women available at B&H Photo and Video.