Is it worth it to purchase Sony Smartwatch 3?

We should ask first if any smart wear is worth it? All of the smart wear functionalities are limited, the answer is relative to what you need.

For the past 3 days, my only smart wear was the Fitbit Charge HR (author’s note: yes, FitBit is a fitness tracker, but Charge HR does support some notifications). Now I got a new one, Sony’s SmartWatch 3. Is it better than the Charge HR?

What’s better? Notifications.

The Sony SmartWatch 3 has Android wear onboard so you basically get all your notifications. I couldn’t imagine how useful is to be able to see who is writing you on google hangouts, WhatsApp or facebook messenger without pulling out your phone on a rainy day unless you got a water resistant phone. My Fitbit had issues with my phones after an update (a few updates ago) and was unable to send the notification to the device as it should. If you have a compatible device all is fine but I’m rocking an LG G4 and a Lumia 1020. My wife changed to Fitbit Charge 2 and rocking a Sony Z2 http://amzn.to/2k9Ms3V so all is fine.

What’s worse? No heart rate monitor.

The watch doesn’t have a heart rate monitor. A good thing is that I can connect the watch to LG Health or Google Fit, even if I don’t have a Sony Phone, Lifelog is still an option to install and use with the watch. I couldn’t find a sleep tracker but I understand that Sony’s Lifelog has that functionality.

Is it worth it? Debatable.

If you need to use it for tracking your activities, then you should go with Fitbit or even with Sony’s Smartband or some other alternative. If you need to get your notification, on any Android Phone with Android 4.4 and above you should be pleased with the Sony SmartWatch. You don’t need to throw away a lot of money for a nice experience. If you need a long battery life (Sony lasted about 1 day on heavy use, but sometimes it died faster with Bluetooth, wifi and GPS on) and don’t want to charge your device from an external battery, stay with FitBit, as it capable to last on without a charge sometimes even for a week. If you use your Sony without always on display and without always connected, the watch can last for 3 days.

The Sony SmartWatch 3 has the advantage of the Bluetooth, wifi, GPS modules being onboard and have a normal micro USB charging port, no Proprietary Charger required, though you need to get used with the silicon flap covering it on the back of the device.

I found some articles and forums post that the GPS is not very accurate but, I couldn’t test it out yet. I had an issue even with Ok Google, as the watch got an update, and now Google now is not popping when tapping on the clock, only the phrase OK Google is working but only if it followed by a request or command.

There is no such thing as a perfect device, it’s just perfect for you or not. You should ask how much money you want to throw out for a gadget because this is not a must have. For me, until now it’s been more useful during the day but I’m still using my FitBit for running on the treadmill and for sleep tracker.