High-end smartwatch roundup - October 2023

Jan

Jan

Who's the Boss?
Staff member
Joined
May 24, 2010
Messages
14,887
Reaction score
13,574
Location
The Rabbit Hole
Most expensive smartwatches in South Africa

There are several premium smartwatches in South Africa for the most discerning buyers who want the best in design and performance.

According to Counterpoint Research, the global smartwatch industry rebounded in the second quarter of 2023 after year-on-year sales declines in the previous two quarters.
 
Yeah I am over Apple watches. I have had 3 watches from them but fell for the logic of buying a smartwatch every 2-3 years because of 1 or 2 more features that I don't really need. My last watch battery failed and no repairs for it.
Changed to Garmin watch as they make watches for what you need specifically at a better price with a weeks battery life.
 
I'm perfectly happy with my Garmmin Venu 2 .

The biggest and most off-putting thing for me with the Apple Watch is the battery life .
 
Happy with the Apple watch AFAIK it's the only smartwatch to have your loyalty cards available offline. With the Galaxy watch etc. your watch needs to be paired to the phone. Also having your focus mode synced across every device is great. Only drawback is no Whatsapp call support.
 
freematrix said:
Yeah I am over Apple watches. I have had 3 watches from them but fell for the logic of buying a smartwatch every 2-3 years because of 1 or 2 more features that I don't really need. My last watch battery failed and no repairs for it.
Changed to Garmin watch as they make watches for what you need specifically at a better price with a weeks battery life.
Click to expand...
Straight from the frying pan into the fire. Garmin sucks with firmware updates. https://www.androidcentral.com/wearables/fitness-brands-need-to-guarantee-proper-software-updates
For another example, look at 2022's Garmin Forerunner 255, an excellent running watch supplanted by the Forerunner 265 less than a year later. Aside from the brand-new AMOLED screen, the 265's one upgrade was Training Readiness, which measures your body's readiness to work out based on recovery data, training load, HRV, sleep, and stress data. The Forerunner 255 measures every single one of those metrics individually, but Garmin still hasn't given it the capacity to convert that data into Training Readiness.

Is this because Garmin gave the 255 a lesser chip that can't handle the extra work of calculating it? We don't know because Garmin doesn't advertise performance gains per generation. Or is it reserving the feature to justify the 265's $100 price bump? Again, we don't know.
Click to expand...
 
backstreetboy said:
Straight from the frying pan into the fire. Garmin sucks with firmware updates. https://www.androidcentral.com/wearables/fitness-brands-need-to-guarantee-proper-software-updates
Click to expand...
Yeah as it stands for me now.
I bought a Garmin S60 for golf. Its is a golf watch with some other plugins and widgets which are nice to haves. Some running features but does work with discovery and I am still getting my smoothies.
Apple watch GPS was not as accurate and responsive. Never has been in all versions. Always waiting for coordinates to update while on golf course.
Apple you have to subscribe to some app but Garmin has one already bundled which surprised me actually how nice it is compared to apps I have tried with Apple Watch. Always need your phone to play a round of golf (you need to app to start a round of gold which then tells the apple watch) but the Garmin you just walk onto the course and play and kick off your round.
After 18 holes Garmin watch loses around 35 - 40% of battery unlike apple watch which is around 70 - 80%.
So I will have to see long term about updates but the S60 has been around for a long time and seems pretty slick at this point. Not as user friendly I am sure for some but not a problem for me.

The lack of repair is also also annoying and actually unacceptable. The watch battery is faulty now and they refuse to repair after 2 years / or cant repair / or just want me to buy a new watch. It just seems very nonchalant. Its not repairable but hey you spent 9K on your last watch, here is a quote for a new one.
 
Last edited:
Hauwei has some really good watches for much less than an apple/garmin. I'm using the hauwei GT runner which is really nice for the price.
 
Wow those are expensive in SA now. You can pick up a Apple watch ultra still sealed off marketplace for $600 where I live. Its actually crazy how much expensive everything is getting in SA while the rest of the world is still fairly static with pricing.
 
Damn, that Garmin Marq Driver looks too good, I love that!
 
shooter69 said:
Hauwei has some really good watches for much less than an apple/garmin. I'm using the hauwei GT runner which is really nice for the price.
Click to expand...
Is the article accurate in saying tap to pay isn't supported in SA for Hauwei?
 
freematrix said:
Yeah I am over Apple watches. I have had 3 watches from them but fell for the logic of buying a smartwatch every 2-3 years because of 1 or 2 more features that I don't really need. My last watch battery failed and no repairs for it.
Changed to Garmin watch as they make watches for what you need specifically at a better price with a weeks battery life.
Click to expand...
How well does your Garmin watch work with the iPhone? I’m also thinking of options outside the walled garden
 
I know it’s not high end but how’s the Huawei GT3? I know it doesn’t have NFC or eSim but that’s not required.
 
lordnokon said:
So which would be a good first time buy?
Click to expand...
I got the Garmin Venu 2 last year on the ebucks shop. I'm very happy with it. The fitness side is not as comprehensive as the Forerunner or Fenix, but for a casual like me it works 100%

I am however looking at adding the heartrate strap, as the optical sensor borks out once or twice every couple of weeks. A restart or two fixes it, but it is a bit irritating.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X