IQ test: How smart is your smartwatch?

Smartwatches are the in thing at the moment, with tech manufacturers like Samsung, LG andMotorola lining up to unleash their own devices. Even Apple is looking to join in the fun! Are smartwatches actually that smart though, or are they dumber than their makers want us to think? We take a look at the features they’ve got right, and the areas they still need to improve…

Offering the information that’s relevant

Smartwatches offer a great platform to provide the information you need the most. So we love it that they can communicate with your smartphone, and offer turn-by-turn directions, for example, without needing to get your phone out. It means you’ll be able to navigate unfamiliar cities without standing out, glancing surreptitiously at your watch occasionally to see left or right arrows, rather than looking like a lost tourist as you frantically wave your phone around looking for the right street.

We also love the ability to see calendar reminders, as it’s a lot easier to glance down at your watch when you hear a ping, than it is to get your phone out of your pocket or bag. There’s no need to offer full details – they’ll alway be there on your phone if you need them, but just knowing that your next appointment is at 3:20, or you have a call coming up, or your friend is on the way, can be particularly handy.

Sync with your phone One of the features we love the most about smartwatches though, is the ability to sync with your phone and find out who’s calling before you even think about answering. Once again, it won’t change your life, but it’s great knowing whether it’s a call you need to pick up, or if you can simply ignore it and leave your phone where it is, simply by glancing at your wrist!

Because it’s connected to your smartphone, or Wi-Fi, a smartwatch can also be an incredibly clever bit of kit. You can make it do almost anything, in fact, from monitoring your home heating, to controlling electrical devices from afar. Thanks to IFTTT (If This Then That) on Android Wear, it’s easy to set triggers to turn on devices – like your home lighting or even the TV – wherever you are and whatever you’re doing. Want to wake up to a fresh cup of coffee?IFTTT can make it happen, setting things in motion from your smartwatch as soon as your alarm goes off!

Too many features

First and foremost though, a smartwatch should be a watch. It should tell the time. And it should offer some additional (smart) features that make our lives easier. But that doesn’t mean it should hurl half a million features, kitchen sink included, in our direction (Samsung Gear 2, we’re looking at you!).

Smartwatches like the Gear 2 offer arguably too many features; if we wanted a fitness tracker, we’d buy a fitness tracker (like the Gear Fit). But for lots of us, fitness tracking is simply a feature we’ll never use, we don’t particularly want our heart rate monitoring, and nor are we that obsessed with tracking our health on an hourly basis. At least, not using our watch. We’d rather companies think a little more about the tech we actually need, and spend more time making those features better.

Pointless information… It’s clear to see the latest Android Wear smartwatches offer some amazing features, but a lot of the information they display simply seems unnecessary. Like weather updates… Do we actually need weather updates on our watch? Unless you’re planning on leaving your phone tucked away from the moment you get up, the chance are you’ll see updates when you glance at the screen, so pushing updates to your smartwatch as well just seems like duplication. Plus, can’t you just look up at the sky? It’s cool, certainly, but perhaps a little pointless.

Battery life is perhaps the biggest area that smartwatches need to improve though, as less than 24 hours from a charge simply doesn’t cut it. Nobody wants to be left wearing a watch that’s not even capable of telling the time, and as above, we’d happily give up on some features in order to get a more focused, smarter watch that’s capable of lasting for several days, a week, even a month between charges.