Here are a few popular hybrid watches currently available in the market:
- Withings Steel HR Sport: This watch features a heart rate monitor, GPS tracking, and multi-sport tracking capabilities. It also has a long battery life of up to 25 days.
- Garmin Hybrid Smartwatch: This watch features a heart rate monitor, GPS tracking, and fitness tracking capabilities. It also has a long battery life of up to 6 months.
- Fossil Hybrid Smartwatch HR: This watch features a heart rate monitor, GPS tracking, and fitness tracking capabilities. It also has a long battery life of up to 1 year.
- Michael Kors Hybrid Smartwatch: This watch features a heart rate monitor, GPS tracking, and fitness tracking capabilities. It also has a long battery life of up to 6 months.
- Withings Steel HR: This watch features a heart rate monitor, automatic activity tracking, and sleep tracking. It also has a long battery life of up to 25 days.
All of these watches are considered hybrid smartwatches as they combine the traditional look of a watch with smart features such as fitness tracking, GPS, and notifications from your phone.
Benefits of wearing a hybrid watch
There are several benefits to wearing a hybrid watch:
- Style: Hybrid watches have a traditional watch design, making them suitable for formal occasions, while also offering smart features.
- Battery life: Hybrid watches have longer battery life compared to traditional smartwatches, as they do not have as many features that consume a lot of power. This means you can wear it for weeks or even months on a single charge.
- Notifications: Hybrid watches can display notifications from your phone, such as text messages, calls, and emails, allowing you to stay connected without needing to pull out your phone.
- Fitness tracking: Hybrid watches can track your activity levels, steps taken, and calories burned, allowing you to monitor your fitness progress.
- Convenience: Hybrid watches can be controlled through your phone, which means you can customize the watch’s face, set reminders, and control your music.
- Low-cost: Hybrid watches are more cost-effective than most smartwatches.
- Water-resistant: Some hybrid watches are water-resistant, which means that they can be worn while swimming or doing water activities.
Disadvantages of wearing a hybrid watch
Here are a few potential disadvantages of wearing a hybrid watch:
- Limited functionality: While hybrid watches offer a range of smart features, they may not have as many features as traditional smartwatches.
- Limited app support: Hybrid watches may not have as many compatible apps as traditional smartwatches, which means you may not be able to take full advantage of all the features of the watch.
- Limited display: Hybrid watches often have a small display, which can make it difficult to read notifications or view other information.
- Limited touch screen capabilities: Hybrid watches may not have a touch screen, which means you’ll have to navigate using buttons or the crown, which may not be as convenient as using a touch screen.
- Limited touchless controls: Some hybrid watches may not have touchless controls, which means you’ll have to press the button or touch the screen to interact with the watch.
- Limited software updates: The software on hybrid watches may not be updated as frequently as traditional smartwatches, which means you may miss out on new features or improvements.
- Limited customization: Some hybrid watches may not have as many customizable watch faces or options for personalizing the watch.
It’s worth noting that the disadvantages vary depending on the brand and model of the watch, some of these issues might not apply to all hybrid watches.
Best hybrid watches to buy in 2022
Some popular brands that release hybrid watches every year are Withings, Garmin, Fossil, and Michael Kors. These brands generally release new models every year with updated features and designs. It is best to check the latest reviews and compare the features of different models before making a decision on which hybrid watch to buy.