Best wearable gadgets: TOP 5 smartwatches

Pebble Time

The Pebble company originated on the Kickstarter crowdfunding platform. The first version of the smartwatch raised $ 10 million, and the necessary $ 100K were received just two hours after the start of the project. The next version of the watch, called Pebble Time, raised even more funds — a record $20 million.

It would seem that the Pebble Time smartwatch does not stand out in any way. They have a non-touch screen with a resolution of 168x144 pixels, which can transmit only 64 colours, their own OS, do not have a built-in heart sensor. But thanks to the use of coloured electronic ink, the picture on the display is visible even on the brightest sunny day, and the battery can ensure uninterrupted operation of the watch on a single charge for a week.

Navigation through the menu is carried out using mechanical keys, pressing which requires some effort. The menu itself is built intuitively and even a child will understand it. To interact the gadget with a smartphone, you need to install a utility on the latter, through which you can control all functions, as well as set the main types of notifications. Smartwatches are designed to work with Android and iOS. However, a number of functions, such as voice control and fine-tuning of notifications, are not available to owners of Apple phones.

Pebble Time receives praiseworthy reviews for its good battery life, a wide range of colour options for the case and silicone straps, as well as for its water resistance — the smartwatch can not be removed from the hand when submerged under water to a depth of 30 m.

Samsung Gear S2

Smartwatches from Samsung have a classic round shape and can boast of easy operation, as well as good responsiveness.

The innovative "chip" in the watch was the navigation ring, which greatly simplifies the management of the gadget. With its help, it is convenient to scroll through the menu and zoom in on the images on the dial. Traditional touch input is also available.

The screen of the smartwatch is made using SuperAMOLED technology. It has excellent viewing angles and stands out because black pixels do not consume energy. The total display resolution is 360x360 pixels. With a physical screen size of 1.2", the pixel density is 302 ppi — this is a good result, since the individual points from which the image is built will not be visible at all.

The heart of the watch is a 2-core Exynos 3250 processor running at a clock frequency of 1 GHz. The amount of RAM is 512 MB, the built—in memory is 4 GB. This hardware provides good responsiveness of the gadget as a whole. An important role in the brisk work is played by the operating system, which is Samsung's own platform — the Tizen OS. Its advantage is a well—thought-out interface, and the main disadvantage is a small number of compatible programs.

The watch has a brushed steel case with IP68 dust and water protection, and can also perform a huge number of functions: receive calls, messages and notifications, act as a fitness tracker and much more, for example, count the amount of coffee consumed per day. The battery life of the smartwatch reaches 2-3 days, charging is done by wireless induction technology and takes up to an hour and a half.

One of the disadvantages of the gadget is its compatibility — it only works with smartphones with Android OS version 4.4 and higher, and then not with all. Nevertheless, in terms of user-friendliness and screen quality, Samsung watches are almost the best solution on the modern market.

Asus ZenWatch 2

The second generation of smartwatches from Asus has remained true to tradition and came out in a rectangular form factor in two versions at once: for men and for women.

Both versions differ only in size. Men's watches have a 1.63-inch screen with a resolution of 320x320 pixels, and women's watches have a 1.45-inch screen with a resolution of 280x280 pixels. In terms of internal hardware, the models are identical to each other: both are equipped with a Snapdragon Qualcomm 400 processor (1.2 GHz) with 512 MB of RAM and 4 GB of internal memory. Such components are enough for stable operation of widgets, games and other programs.

The watch is compatible with both Android smartphones and the offspring of Apple Corporation. The software on board the smartwatch is represented by the Android Wear 1.3 operating system. The menu in it does not have a high level of intuitiveness, and applications can often remain running in the background, which will load the gadget. But this is not a problem of the clock, but of optimizing the resources of the OS itself.

It is unclear why, in the second version of the watch, the Taiwanese engineers of Asus abandoned the heart rate monitor, which is an important component of the fitness tracker. The gadget has only an accelerometer and a gyroscope counting the distance traveled. For notifications, you will have to be content with a vibration motor. There is a built-in speaker, but apparently it is intended for the future — audio playback is not supported yet.

But what they did not skimp on is a variety of interchangeable straps. Bracelets for watches can be either leather, rubber or metal. They are attached to the body of the gadget very quickly and simply. The watch itself is made of stainless steel and has water protection according to the IP67 standard, i.e. it can be wetted, but it cannot be submerged under water.

On a single battery charge, the smartwatch works for about one and a half to two days — at a level with its closest competitors. But they stand out with their own unique style and attractive value.

Honor Watch

The smart gadget from Huawei is the closest in appearance to the family of classic mechanical watches — Huawei Watch has a round dial enclosed in a thick and stylish stainless steel case.

In terms of the screen, the watch is one of the best solutions on the market. The 1.4-inch display with a large resolution (400x400 pixels) has a high pixel density (286 ppi) and a contrast level of 10000:1. The AMOLED matrix allows you to look at the clock from large viewing angles. You will not have to worry about the safety of the screen — it is reliably protected from mechanical influences by a strong sapphire crystal.

The set of built-in hardware practically does not differ from the solutions of competitors in the class. On board the watch is a 4-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor with a clock speed of 1.2 GHz, the amount of RAM is 512 MB, and the storage capacity is 4 GB. The internal memory can be filled with pictures, music and simple games. All this works under the Android Wear shell, which is surprisingly nimble and responsive.

The built—in 300 mAh battery is not the most capacious solution and it lasts for about a day and a half of continuous operation. Charging takes a little more than an hour. The role of the charger is performed by a metal platform, to which the watch is magnetized by the lower face.

And on board the device there are all kinds of sensors: heart rate monitor, accelerometer, barometer and gyroscope. All of them correctly determine the activity indicators assigned to them and transmit them to related applications (for example, Google Fit).

The Huawei Watch smartwatch is a stylish but expensive solution that offers uncompromising performance quality paired with good performance.

Apple Watch 1 42 mm

Apple's smartwatch is an extraordinary product. On the one hand, they stand out for their build quality and intuitive interface, and on the other hand, they are compatible exclusively with iPhone smartphones. Even paired with an iPad, the gadget will no longer work.

Smartwatches are rigidly tied to the phone and are fully revealed only next to it. First of all, they are designed to ensure that iPhone owners get their smartphone out of their pocket less often. The main notifications from the programs are displayed on the watch, they can receive calls (the sound will be relayed from an external speaker), show the weather, guide you along a given route, etc.

One of the most important components of the gadget is a fitness tracker. Instead of the classic calculation of the steps taken, the Apple Watch shows the number of calories burned, the number of minutes spent on exercises, and the total time spent on your feet. On the back wall of the gadget there is a sensor responsible for counting the pulse. As numerous reviews on the Web show, it slightly underestimates the real values of the heartbeat, which does not allow you to seriously consider the device at peak loads.

The screen is made in a square form factor. It has a resolution of 312x390 pixels with a total size of 1.65". The OLED matrix allows you to look at the clock from any angle, and its black pixels do not consume battery power. Despite this, the smartwatch only works for one day on a single charge.

The clock is controlled both by touching the screen and by means of the Digital Crown wheel, with which you can swipe the menu, zoom in or out individual elements. It will not be difficult to understand the principles of management — all applications are assembled in one place and access to them is intuitive.

Like all Apple products, smartwatches have the highest level of quality of the materials used. The gadget has a great potential for development, but for now it is an exceptionally expensive accessory for a smartphone.