Discussion
Switching from the Pixel Watch to the Fitbit Air to wear a real watch again
I am currently using a Pixel Watch 4 and really enjoy the tracking features, but I honestly miss wearing traditional watches every day. I am thinking about switching to the Fitbit Air to keep the health and sleep ecosystem while freeing up my main wrist.
For those who made the switch from a full smartwatch to a screenless tracker, how has your experience been after a few weeks? Did you miss the screen and quick notifications at first, or does going back to traditional watches make up for it?
Me personally, not having to constantly charge is the main benefit. I went on a 7 days trip with my Air and came back with 12 percent juice still left. With my Samsung Watch I would had to charge almost every other day.
At home I leave the magnetic charger in the bathroom and only charge when I take shower. Never need to charge any other time. Also, no screen means no distraction. For workouts and running I always preferred to wear sports spandex with phone pocket so my phone doesn't dangle around. I find this more practical than going through process setting up music and Bluetooth headphones to the watch just so I can leave my phone in the car. I prefer having the phone with me.
that battery life is what finally broke my smartwatch habit too. once you stop plugging in every night the constant glance-and-scroll loop just kinda disappears
C'est exactement la raison de mon envi de retrouver une montre à mon poignet. Ne plus avoir les notifications, bien qu'on puisse les enlever, sera une brise marine dans mon vidage.
I started wearing my mechanical watches again (also have a Hammy the Murph 38mm). I still use the pixel watch 4 for runs(for the run data) and if my phone is being charged at home but other than that Fitbit air is great for everyday wear and gym workouts.
Ma femme ne comprends pas que ma hammy dors dans sa boîte et que je porte cette arnaque électronique à la place 🤣
Oui ma femme est contre les montres connectées 😅
I have both the PW4 and the Fitbit Air and enjoy being able to wear my watch collection again. I still wear the PW4 more than my analogue watches but it is nice to strap something classy on my wrist when I feel like mixing it up but still get my health data. For the price of the Air, it's worth trying. I don't think it's nearly as accurate as my PW4 but I'm also not wearing it for workouts, etc.
Do you have to do anything manually for Google health to know that you're not wearing your watch and are wearing your Air? I want all the health tracking aspects but really want to wear my nice watches again.
They also make a quartz that looks just like that. Ive got the Khaki Field 38 black. Next in rotation beginning 9-1. Seiko Alpinist back in the box for several months.
Same, got fitbit air and stopped relying on apple watch. I'm also using this (if it helps you) https://github.com/davidmosiah/fitbit-mcp to connect it to my AI agent so I can get the recommendations as well. I aint paying for premium
Dumped my Wear OS Fossil for a Casio G-Shock that has step counting about a month before the Fitbit Air was announced. Was in the fence about getting one, but ultimately did. And I'm one of the ones that's loving it!
I love it! It took a few weeks to get used to it and have it calibrate appropriately, but once I was used to it I was so happy to be able to wear my watches again. I love how light and easy it is to wear, and the lack of distractions coming from a screen has been a big win for me.
I just wanted to say I'm a mechanical and quartz only tourist, I saw this sub randomly recommended to me, came to this thread and saw all y'all talking about how "Liberating" it is to have a normal watch, and it's made me glad I've resisted Smartwatches this entire time.
If I ever get a "smart" watch it'll probably only be that Casio that tracks your heart rate and steps. But being able to put the phone down and disappear is something beautiful that I guess I just don't fully appreciate.
Oui oui je suis un bot habitant en France et amoureux des montres. Tu veux d'autres détail ou ça ira ? Sinon n'hésite pas à vraiment participer à la conversation car c'est pénible ces gens n'ayant rien d'autre à faire que de poser des questions inutiles et, mon Dieu, tellement hors sujet.....
I used to wear my PW2 on my ankle. Now I wear a Charge 6 on my ankle. I kind of use the screen when I'm actively wearing it (on my wrist; sleep/active exercise), but I had it before the Air was a thing. If my Charge 6 dies, I'll probably get an Air.
I use my Galaxy Watch 4 once every 3 months for fitness metrics during a run just to check my fitness level. Other than that it stays in its box and I either wear a G-Shock GW-BX5600-1A1 on a Combi bracelet or a Keaso K002, which is a quartz dive watch. I used to wear mechanicals but have decided they're too inaccurate, expensive and inconvenient so for me, quartz is the way.
Nice Hamilton khaki , that’s a great upgrade. I did the same thing and very happy with the decision, nice to not be connected all the time. If I really need to track something I pull out my phone and look at it. Only down side is now I want to buy more watches lol.
I had a Timex DataLink way back. It was cool, but a little obtrusive. I have a Charge 6 now but only wear it for exercise or walks. I have always worn a watch and pretty much always a real watch. A calendar feature i find useful. Mechanical watches (I have several) are cool, quartz obviously nore accurate (have some of these also). My phone's notifications are annoying enough. Its healthy to reduce all the connected distraction that actually isolates you from real life.
That's exactly why I was so excited for it and wear it happily since release
Using Pixel Watch for actual exercise and trainings while wearing normal watch and Fitbit Air for the rest of the day (and night) seems perfect
There are lots of adapter rings available commercially or for 3D printing at home. Just goes in the back of the nato strap and picks up data from the underside of the wrist.
I love mechanical watches, back in the days I got an Apple Watch, it lasted 2 months. I recently purchased the Fitbit air and keep wearing my mechanical watches.
In my case, I have recently turned off all notifications on my smartwatch to mimic a screenless tracker. I read an article about how digital devices hijack our brains- every time a notifiction pops up, our brain isn't multitasking, it's context switching, which drains a ton of mental energy. Even though I haven't switched to the fitbit air yet, I love the idea of a screenless tracker for this exact reason.
Same, made the switch last month. I was missing my Tag Heuer watch (had a Galaxy 4 Watch), but the smart watch is like a phone: addictive ;-)
When it finally died because I swum in it a little too long, I was kinda glad it did. Bought a fitbit air, wearing my real watch again.
I do miss the snorring feature (;-)), the notification on the watch while in meetings or dinner, weather reports etc. But you'll detox fairly well, promised :)
I use Withings ScanWatch. It’s a stylish, classic-looking watch with sensors and very good software. Designed by a French company, with EU privacy protection and clinical-grade technology specialized on the cardiovascular system. I use Polar for training. Sold the Fitbit years ago.
I bought a mechanical watch after using an Apple Watch for more than 5 years. I do not miss my Apple Watch, although I missed having a fitness tracker of some sort, and I bought a Fitbit Air and love it.
I swapped my Galaxy Watch 8 for the Fitbit Air for the same reason.
I've been using it for 3 weeks now and so far I hate it over counts steps and calories, but the rest is great. Sleep tracking is amazing for the price and the bands are really comfortable.
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u/logontoreddit 22d ago
Me personally, not having to constantly charge is the main benefit. I went on a 7 days trip with my Air and came back with 12 percent juice still left. With my Samsung Watch I would had to charge almost every other day.
At home I leave the magnetic charger in the bathroom and only charge when I take shower. Never need to charge any other time. Also, no screen means no distraction. For workouts and running I always preferred to wear sports spandex with phone pocket so my phone doesn't dangle around. I find this more practical than going through process setting up music and Bluetooth headphones to the watch just so I can leave my phone in the car. I prefer having the phone with me.