How do you find a smartwatch or sports bracelet that suits your needs? Should you buy a smartwatch or a sports bracelet? The main functions of different brands of sports watches are also different. How do you choose? In this article, we will analyze the differences!
Comparing Smart Watches and Sports Bracelets
What is the difference between a smartwatch and a sports bracelet? Simply put, it is divided into the following points for explanation:
- Appearance: Smartwatches look like ordinary watches or quartz watches. The face of smartwatches is mostly round or square with rounded corners. Sports bracelets are mainly rectangular with the same width as the strap.
- Features:
- The surface of the smartwatch is large, and the surface of the sports bracelet is small, so the information that can be displayed on the surface is relatively limited.
- Both smartwatches and sports bracelets have basic functions such as time, heart rate, and step counting. But in terms of other additional functions, smartwatches are more diversified than sports bracelets, such as SOS emergency calls, fall prevention devices, etc.
- Price: The more functions of a smartwatch, the higher the price, so the price of a sports bracelet is lower than that of a smartwatch.
| Smart Watch | Sports Bracelet | |
| Screen Size | Big | Small |
| Surface Information | Many | Streamline |
| Appearance size | Larger size (surface diameter is about 36~42mm) |
Small size and easy to wear (the surface size is about 10mm wide and about 30mm long) |
| Weight | Heavier | Lighter |
| Price | Expansive | Cheap |
Next, let’s introduce the five key points that need to be considered before choosing smartwatches and sports bracelets!
- Is it compatible with mobile phone systems?
- Bracelet and watch appearance preferences
- Battery life
- Does basic health monitoring meet the needs?
- Are there any special additional functions required?
Is The Sports Bracelet Compatible with the Mobile Phone System?
At present, smartwatches and sports bracelets on the market are mainly based on the three operating systems “watchOS”, “Wear OS by Google” and “Tizen”. It is recommended that when choosing smartwatches and sports bracelets, you must first confirm the operating system of your mobile phone, and it will be more matched in terms of functional compatibility!
The “watchOS “ such as Apple Watch basically cannot be used on mobile phones other than the iPhone; and if you often use Google’s various program services, choosing “Wear OS by Google” that supports both Android and iOS systems will be the best solution. “Tizen” is most suitable for people who use Samsung Galaxy phones, but because this operating system was developed by Samsung, there may be restrictions on devices other than Samsung phones!
Appearance Preferences of Smart Watches and Sports Bracelets
Those who like simple or basic functional needs can choose a simple and lightweight sports bracelet. Nowadays, sports bracelets on the market also have a lot of straps that can be replaced with different styles, which can be replaced according to personal preference to show personal characteristics. However, because the surface area of the sports bracelet is small, most of the surface designs are relatively simple and thin.
- Are there physical pointers?
The appearance of smartwatches is not only purely technological or a more masculine style, but also has a traditional analog design, and also has basic heart rhythm detection or message reminding functions.
- Watch Wings
Some smartwatches will have a unique watch Wing design, with a general physical watch Wing or a digital rotating watch Wing to switch functions. Those who like general mechanical watches can choose a style with this kind of watch design when choosing a smartwatch!
- Bezel
portion smartwatch also needs to follow the selection of an aluminum table frame or stainless steel bezel.
- The choice of strap
If you are a fashion wearer, you value the overall style or color matching. If there are multiple straps for smartwatches, you can choose a strap that suits your style. Now many smartwatches also have original straps of different materials, different widths, and different colors for selection or replacement, or you can choose accessories from other manufacturers to save your budget!
- Is the choice of surface rich enough or can the surface be customized?
Those with small details can also choose a smartwatch model with the function of “take a picture of your clothes and put on a new look”. They can take pictures of their own clothes through the app, and choose from the built-in different color patterns Choose among the new ones for the smartwatch face. Every day, you can match your own style according to different shapes and moods.
Battery Life of Smart Watches and Sports Bracelets
Because the surface of the sports bracelet is small and the tasks and functions that need to be processed are relatively small, the battery life is generally longer than that of a smartwatch. Take the Mi Band 4 as an example. It can be charged once in 3 to 4 weeks under normal use. However, there are many smartwatches with built-in special chips that can use algorithms to reduce the power consumption of smartwatches, but basically, smartwatches can reach up to 28 days of battery life under normal use.
Does basic health monitoring meet the needs?
Those who buy smartwatches and sports bracelets all have the same demand that they want to master the status of exercise, heart rhythm, and sleep. But even for basic functions, there will be differences between different models! We have briefly organized the following so that everyone can pay attention to whether these basic functions meet the needs:
- Motion detection
each smartwatch can record different types of sports, ranging from 4 sports modes to 30 sports modes. Some smartwatches will automatically detect your current exercise type and record it directly for you. For example exercise time, exercise distance, calories burned or the highest and lowest heart rate during exercise, the time of aerobic or anaerobic exercise, built-in exclusive fitness coach… etc.Sports are becoming more and more popular nowadays, and there are also smartwatches that specialize in professional record analysis for different sports, so you can choose according to your usual sports habits and types or professional level. If the 4 sports modes meet your needs, I suggest that you no longer need to pursue smartwatches with up to 30 sports modes.
- Information and message display
- Display messages: Current smartwatches or sports bracelets all have the function of displaying messages, but the number of words displayed is limited due to the limitation of the surface size of the sports bracelet. Such as LINE, Messenger, e-mail… etc. may not be able to display the text in full, but it can let you know that there is an important message coming in without missing it!
- Health Information: Most smartwatches and sports bracelets have built-in sensors that can automatically detect heartbeat/fitness/sleep/stress…etc. However, the surface of the sports bracelet is small, and there is not much information that can be displayed, so you need to go to the APP on your phone to view more detailed health information.
