The uncomfortable back of the Apple Watch Sport

[dyn]

Yep, wrist swell and shrink (?) during the day as temperatures vary and tissue expands or contracts (blood vessels are a good example of that). You can notice the difference between winter and summer because of things like that. Straps like the milanese are rather useful because they allow you to make very small changes.

 

[zhenya]

Then you missed the point completely. The current sensors are simply the wrong ones because they require you to do something that is entirely against the advice from doctors. And this isn't something unknown, they've been warning about this for decades.


It really helps if you look at these things from an electronic device point of view instead of a watch point of view. The problem with most of these smartwatches is that they try to be like the traditional ones. They are too different for that and allow for far more possibilities. You can see it in the discussions as well where people consider it to be a replacement for the watch they are currently wearing. This is why a lot of the normal watch-wearers do not want a smartwatch. You'll also need to have this different mindset to actually see the potential of these new devices (too many people are currently completely puzzled about the use of a smartwatch and do not see why they'd need one). If smartwatches want to succeed they really need to change the mindset.

It's not like you need to cinch down a HR based watch in order for it to work, it just needs to be tight enough that it doesn't move easily, and maintains constant contact with your skin. I think you are going a little overboard with the concerns. You are the first person I've ever seen bring this issue up about these types of watches, anywhere.

I actually think that current smartwatches, including the AW, are doing an excellent job being primarily electronic devices with just enough traditional elements to them to make them feel familiar. People need that familiarity to make the transition. I hadn't worn a watch in 25 years until watches got 'smart' enough to offer me some new value other than merely time, date, etc. If anything, smart watches are already trying to do so much that they are turning people off because they can't quite see how they offer any value. They need to do a few things really really well instead.

10-15 hours a day of wear and no issues here. The sensors do not have to be "pushed into" the skin, that's not how they work. Apple teaches employees that fit the watch when sold to secure the band with one finger under it so that proper fit is made. I have found that during the day I may need to loosen or tighten the band depending upon my activity and the ambient temperature. Fluid retention of some individuals cause their wrists (as well as ankles, etc.) to swell during activity thus tightening such things as watches, bracelets even clothes to feel snugger.

The sensors have to have good contact pressure with your skin in order to work reliably. If there is a gap between the sensor and your skin, ambient light will overwhelm the light from the LED's and you won't get a reading. The strap must be snug in order for it to work properly. If Apple is suggesting otherwise, it is a direct result of their marketing this as a casual lifestyle watch rather than a serious fitness device.

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/heart-rate-monitor,review-2885.html

Wristbands, on the other hand, are more comfortable to wear but need to be carefully placed and secured to ensure the most accurate results. "If the bands are not on exactly where they should be, tight to the wrist, so the sensors can work, then the reading will be inaccurate," Steinbaum said.

We saw how important fit is when we analyzed the Apple Watch's results. During the first reading, the Apple Watch measured my heart rate at 125 bpm, while the EKG machine registered 158. The Mio Alpha 2 was also a little off during the first reading, reporting my pulse as 143 bpm.

But after a minute of adjustment, and after tightening the Apple Watch by one notch on its band, they both were much more accurate. The watch read 157 bpm, while the Alpha 2 was nearly on point at 159. However, both were secured much tighter than an actual watch would be around my wrist - there was no give in the bands, no space between the device and my skin. At this level of tightness, both the Apple Watch and the Alpha 2 left indentations on my wrist when I took off the devices.

 

[BarracksSi]

If anything, smart watches are already trying to do so much that they are turning people off because they can't quite see how they offer any value. They need to do a few things really really well instead.

+1

Remember when everyone was sure smartwatches needed cameras? Yeah, even Samsung gave up on them.

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/techno...ngs-creepy-ad-for-the-galaxy-gear-smartwatch/

 

[TheGreenBastard]

+1

Remember when everyone was sure smartwatches needed cameras? Yeah, even Samsung gave up on them.

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/techno...ngs-creepy-ad-for-the-galaxy-gear-smartwatch/

And yet I still see people hoping for a camera for Watch 2.

 

[BarracksSi]

And yet I still see people hoping for a camera for Watch 2.

Right, and I don't see the point. Maybe someone would want a fecal-resistant smartwatch to analyze their colon, but is that a good idea?

Let's say that I could take a picture with my smartwatch. What next?

I'd like to share it, maybe, so then I'd have to tap into whatever social platform I use (probably Facebook, of course) and write a post about it. Oh, but there's no onscreen keyboard, so I'd have to dictate it. Do I want the other customers at Starbucks hear me say, "Having a spiced latte after the gym period hooray for me exclamation point winky face"? Hell no.

Or maybe I need to edit it, whether to just crop it or adjust the color and exposure. Or choose the pic with the sharpest focus and best composition. How am I going to do all this on a tiny screen?

Maybe I'd have to do all these things on the phone later. Or… maybe it would've been simpler to just take the shot with the phone to begin with.

------

This kind of shortsightedness is why I stopped listening to radio call-in shows.

 

[TheGreenBastard]

Right, and I don't see the point. Maybe someone would want a fecal-resistant smartwatch to analyze their colon, but is that a good idea?

Let's say that I could take a picture with my smartwatch. What next?

I'd like to share it, maybe, so then I'd have to tap into whatever social platform I use (probably Facebook, of course) and write a post about it. Oh, but there's no onscreen keyboard, so I'd have to dictate it. Do I want the other customers at Starbucks hear me say, "Having a spiced latte after the gym period hooray for me exclamation point winky face"? Hell no.

Or maybe I need to edit it, whether to just crop it or adjust the color and exposure. Or choose the pic with the sharpest focus and best composition. How am I going to do all this on a tiny screen?

Maybe I'd have to do all these things on the phone later. Or… maybe it would've been simpler to just take the shot with the phone to begin with.

------

This kind of shortsightedness is why I stopped listening to radio call-in shows.

I'm not defending a camera on the watch. I think it's a stupid idea, and you've pretty much said all that needs to be said.

 

[dyn]

It's not like you need to cinch down a HR based watch in order for it to work, it just needs to be tight enough that it doesn't move easily, and maintains constant contact with your skin. I think you are going a little overboard with the concerns. You are the first person I've ever seen bring this issue up about these types of watches, anywhere.

This isn't about these type of "watches", it applies to anything you strap to your wrist. That was one part of my point, the other is that stating that something is too tight or too loose doesn't say much. The general rule of thumb is being able to fit 1 finger between wrist and strap. If you can do that, you're fine. The third point I was trying to make is the fact that a lot of people here are going overboard with the sensor thing as well as how tight/loose the strap should be. Again, if you can fit a finger between the wrist and strap you're fine and nearly all of the sensors will work with that. If they don't then they are simply not the right ones or defective.

I actually think that current smartwatches, including the AW, are doing an excellent job being primarily electronic devices with just enough traditional elements to them to make them feel familiar. People need that familiarity to make the transition.

And one thing to do that is by not calling it something that confuses them. Smartwatch still gives people the false impression that it is like any ordinary watch. These devices are not, they are far more than that and will become far more than that. These are wearable PDA's (in the most literal meaning of the word). You'd be doing both the people and the device a disservice by calling them smartwatch.

The sensors have to have good contact pressure with your skin in order to work reliably. If there is a gap between the sensor and your skin, ambient light will overwhelm the light from the LED's and you won't get a reading. The strap must be snug in order for it to work properly. If Apple is suggesting otherwise, it is a direct result of their marketing this as a casual lifestyle watch rather than a serious fitness device.

And that advice is a bit contradictory to the medical advice to not make things fit too tightly. Let's not forget that nearly all of the companies that make smartwatches and fitness bands are manufacturers of electronics, they are getting advice on these things from the watch industry and others. So they maybe right from an electronics point of view, but are they right on the medical and watch point of view?

 

[BarracksSi]

Am I the only knucklehead here who wears the AW tighter during workouts, then loosens it for the rest of the day?

Didn't I also say this way back in… let's see… post #21?

I'm pretty sure I get more consistent readings from the sensors, and for the other 20-23 hours a day, I don't have to worry about this thrombosis nonsense, either.