OPINION: There’s a headline I never thought I’d write, but after swapping out my Apple Watch 6 for the Apple Watch SE 2, the sentiment has grown to the point where I can no longer ignore it.
I should probably caveat this point by saying that I have nothing against anything with an always-on display, per se. I got plenty of use out of the feature on the Apple Watch 6 and it was handy for moments when I couldn’t perform a full swing of the wrist like during a rowing workout.
If you’re working with a wearable like the Garmin Enduro 2 or Withings ScanWatch, then a constant depiction of the time is a no brainer, but for something like the Apple Watch, or even the recent Galaxy Watch 6, I think it’s less of a necessity and more of a nice idea that doesn’t quite work in practice.
The biggest issue, and this was particularly true for Samsung’s latest watch, is that the always-on display is a killer for battery life. Luckily for Apple fans, the battery drain isn’t quite as pronounced as it is on Samsung’s device, but it wasn’t until I made the swap to the Apple Watch SE that I realised how much battery life I was missing out on.
For example, after a day and night of use, I would wake up with around 30-40% left in the tank on my Apple Watch 6, which in some instances would force me to give it a quick charge before hitting the gym. With the SE 2, which lacks an always-on display completely, I’ve woken up with just over 60% left so if I really wanted to, I could probably go for another day before needing to charge.
What this equates to is peace of mind in knowing that I don’t have to keep one eye on my Apple Watch’s battery life just to make sure that I never risk reaching an empty tank before making it home, and that has left me unencumbered to enjoy the smart features of the Apple Watch a lot more.
Smartwatches aren’t designed to be used in the same way as watches (obviously), so it’s a bit daft to expect them to operate in the same way. The caveat of being able to pay for things, search for directions, respond to messages and more is that smartwatches need to be charged regularly, and I’d much rather have the ability to use those features freely than keep the display always–on for the sake of timekeeping.
It boils down to two things: if you want to tell the time, grab an analogue, but if you want an abundance of smart features to be just a tap away, get a smartwatch. Heck, there are plenty of hybrid watches out there if you want a mix of the two (just look at the TicWatch Pro 5’s low power secondary display), but if you really want to make the most out of a smartwatch then battery life should win out every time against an always-on display.
