Andy Boxall/Digital Trends You’ve heard of the watch, right? And you are probably fully aware of smartwatches and their difference. But you may have also read about hybrid smartwatches. Don’t know what a hybrid watch is for? We’re here to explain everything from what a hybrid smartwatch is and what it can do, to a few examples of the best on the market.
What is a hybrid smartwatch?
A hybrid smartwatch is a combination of a regular mechanical watch and a smart watch, as it combines some related features with traditional watch mechanics. It doesn’t have a touchscreen, doesn’t usually need to be charged every day, and doesn’t look like a piece of technology. It looks like an ordinary watch. If the Apple Watch, Samsung Gear Sport or Android Wear touchscreen watches like the Emporio Armani Connected don’t appeal because they don’t really look like watches, then the hybrid is your entry into the world of smartwatches.
Show, don’t tell
The best way to understand what a hybrid smartwatch does is to see it and play with it. The photo above shows the Fossil Q Crewmaster. We chose it as an example because the design is closely based on the existing Fossil watch, which the company decided to extend with smart connected features. You can see that it has an analog dial, a traditional watch style, it’s slim and stylish.
Andy Boxall/Digital Trends
Andy Boxall/Digital Trends
It’s smart because it has a built-in Bluetooth connection and pairs with your smartphone via an app. The app is available for iOS and Android, which means there’s a good chance that whatever phone you have will work with the watch. It’s not like the Apple Watch, which only works with the iPhone.
What does a hybrid smartwatch do?
The vast majority of hybrid smartwatches share similar functionality. The hybrid watch will track your steps, while the app calculates calories burned and activity time. Some watches will also track your sleep, but this isn’t as common as most people probably won’t be wearing a watch 24/7. The watch will alert you to notifications on your phone with vibrations and some kind of visual hint about which app is alerting you.
Brenda Stolyar/Digital Trends
Brenda Stolyar/Digital Trends
The method for notification alerts varies. Fossil, for example, makes the watch’s hands spin and point to a single number, which you assign to a specific app or contact when you first set up the watch.
For example, if email notifications are associated with the number 3, the hands will move to 3 o’clock on the clock and stay there long enough for you to glance. Other watches do it differently, like the NYSW GTS Activity Tracker, which has a dedicated sub-dial for notification alerts. Guess and Martian hybrid watches have a small LCD screen for alerts.
You can also expect features like alarms, world time zones, and a programmable button that can be configured for different functions. This can include acting as a remote shutter for your phone’s camera, to control your music, or to ring your phone in case you can’t find it.
Don’t expect most hybrid smartwatches to run apps, have dials you can change, or include more complex features like heart rate sensors (although there are some like the Nokia Steel HR).
No charging?
Since most hybrid smartwatches don’t have a touchscreen, they don’t use nearly as much power as one that does. Paired with Bluetooth Low Energy, a hybrid smartwatch can usually survive on a coin-cell battery and therefore does not require overnight charging.
Steven Winkelman/Digital Trends
Steven Winkelman/Digital Trends
The battery can last up to six months before it needs to be replaced, which can be done at home, and at a very low cost. This makes hybrid smartwatches perfect for anyone who wants to avoid having to charge another device every day.
Another thing?
Since a hybrid smartwatch doesn’t deviate much from the traditional style and design of a watch, you get many of the benefits associated with mechanical watches. Almost all are water resistant and usually to at least 5ATM (underwater up to 50 meters), not just a simple IP68 rating (limited to around 1.5 meters), and the standard size lugs mean you can choose your own bands. Also, because the designs are more watch-like, there is more choice for women in the world of hybrid smartwatches.
Brenda Stolyar/Digital Trends
Brenda Stolyar/Digital Trends
Finally, because hybrid smartwatches are not as technically complex as full smartwatches, they are often much cheaper.
Where to start?
Now that you’re fully familiar with the term hybrid smartwatch, where should you start? The Fossil Group, which produces watches for a wide range of fashion brands, has an extensive catalog of hybrid watches. These range from their own models, such as the Q Crewmaster shown above and the new Q Commuter. Their portfolio includes watches from brands such as Skagen, Kate Spade, Michele, Misfit and Emporio Armani. The advantage of choosing a hybrid watch made by Fossil is that the app is nicely polished, the connectivity is simple and reliable, and you get a design from a real watchmaker.
Image used with permission of the copyright holder
There’s no need to limit yourself to Fossil, though. Nokia, after acquiring Withings, sells the stylish Steel HR hybrid smartwatch, which is similar to the Garmin Vivomove HR. Hybrid smartwatches are also produced by watch brands that don’t want to make a full smartwatch. Kronaby and New York Standard Watches are watchmakers that are into technology with their hybrid models, for example. Timex IQ+ Move is another modern alternative from the famous watch manufacturer.
If you’re happy to spend more on your hybrid watch, then Mondaine, Alpina and Frederique Constant all make hybrids. The Alpina Seastrong is a great example of a hybrid, as it looks like a dive watch — a very popular design — but still manages to deliver notifications, activity tracking, sleep tracking, and world time zones. Its face is also covered with sapphire glass, and it has a Swiss quartz movement inside. It’s a smartwatch for people who love watches and don’t want to compromise on design.
The choice of hybrids is greater than that of full touchscreen smartwatches, and there’s likely a design to suit your taste
Casio sets itself apart from others by making Bluetooth watches that allow you to connect a smart watch, without notification. The G Shock Gravitymaster GPW-2000-1A uses a flight tracking app, GPS positioning and world weather. The newly announced GBA-800 G Shock watches track your fitness and sync data with an app on your phone. Despite the lack of notice, these are still hybrid watches, but they can also be called connected watches.
As you can see, the choice of hybrid smartwatches is greater than the choice of full touchscreen smartwatches, and there is likely a design to suit your taste, whether you like a subtle, minimalist look, a classic style or something more sporty.
That’s it, consider yourself well versed with the hybrid smartwatch. We love them because we love watches, and we think you will too.
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Categories: GAMING
Source: newstars.edu.vn