Hybrid smartwatches are the anti-smartwatch trend we need, but nobody’s ever done them right
Hybrid watches have always seemed like an interesting concept to me. I’m someone who loves technology, but when it comes to watches, nothing beats the aesthetics, reliability and simplicity of a traditional wristwatch. Although the idea of adding smart features to a traditional watch seems like a match made in heaven, it never really comes to fruition in reality.
Hybrid watches sound great on paper
A simple idea that promises the best of both worlds
Whether you’re in the smartwatch or traditional wristwatch camp, you can’t deny that the concept of a hybrid watch is appealing. People who can’t live without their smartwatch have the opportunity to wear something more fashionable, while watchmakers can finally delve into the world of smartwatches without giving up the design they’re used to. This seems like the perfect compromise for those who don’t want to stray too far from traditional watch design.
Before we go any further, it’s worth pointing out that there are many different ways to execute the hybrid smartwatch concept.
For example, screen-less hybrid watches like the older Fossil Q Hybrid look much more like traditional watches. They combine classic styling with a vibrating motor, predetermined hand positions for notifications or heart rate alerts, a small dial for tracking daily steps, and various other smart features. Some models also include heart rate sensors.
But most hybrid watches combine physical hands and dials to tell time with one or more small screens for smart features.
The screen can display or control many things you’d typically expect from a smartwatch, such as heart rate, blood oxygen levels, weather, notifications, workout data, and more. Since this is probably what most people imagine when they hear the term “hybrid watch,” that’s what I’m going to focus on today.
Most hybrid watches don’t have the features you actually want in a smartwatch
The “smart” part is generally insufficient
When you move from a regular smartwatch to a hybrid smartwatch, you make several sacrifices. One of the biggest issues is losing the ability to customize your watch faces. This may not matter to everyone, but if you ask me, setting up custom watch faces is one of the most fun parts of owning a smartwatch.
Replacing a boring default watch face with something like Fallout’s Pip-Boy or Starfield’s Chronomark watch adds a lot of personality. Still, replacing these artificial digital recreations of analog watches with real physical hands and dials might just be worth the sacrifice.
Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the tiny screens that often occupy hybrid watches. Whether it’s a pill-shaped cutout at the bottom or a small screen tucked near the top, hybrid watches almost never match the usability of a regular smartwatch.
In addition to severely limiting the amount of fitness data you can view at a single glance, reading a message of more than a few words quickly becomes frustrating and usually requires fiddling with the buttons or crown. In many cases, you also have to physically move the watch hands just to get a clear view of the screen.
Even if a hybrid watch has a hidden touchscreen like the Garmin Vivomove Trend, there still isn’t as much information available at a glance as on a real smartwatch.
Another major disadvantage of hybrid watches is that they are largely read-only devices. In other words, you’re severely limited in what you can actually do directly from the watch itself with this painfully slow and clunky display. You can’t dictate responses, quickly tap a canned response, or interact properly with notifications.
Most of the time, you’ll still have to take your phone out of your pocket, which defeats the whole purpose of wearing a smartwatch. Honestly, the whole experience of going from a smartwatch to a hybrid watch feels like going from a modern smartphone to a Nokia Lumia Windows Phone. If you can’t overcome that, a regular smartwatch like the Garmin Venu 4.
- Brand
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Garmin
- Heart rate monitor
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Yes
If you want a complete smartwatch and fitness experience without compromise, devices like the Garmin Venu 4 already do pretty much everything you could ask for. It combines advanced health tracking, workout tools, GPS, notifications, calling features, and excellent battery life in a package that makes hybrid compromises unnecessary.
The “watch” part should come first
Design compromises that prevent it from being a good fashionable watch
Unfortunately, in addition to providing a poor smartwatch experience, most hybrid watches simply struggle to be good watches.
Many hybrid watches rely heavily on a companion app and your phone, to the point where they don’t even let you set the time manually. And unless they’re solar powered, you still need to charge them pretty regularly. A traditional quartz watch only needs to be replaced every few years, while a typical hybrid watch often needs to be recharged at least once a month.
Some older hybrid watches were optimized around disposable button batteries, but their smart features drain them quickly enough that replacements become a hassle anyway.
Perhaps the biggest disadvantage of hybrid watches compared to traditional watches is their overall appeal. They are often quite bulky due to the sensors and circuitry, and very few of them are as high-end and stylish as a regular watch.
Lack of options is another problem. When it comes to traditional watches, there are tens of thousands of models from hundreds of brands, past and present, with an almost endless variety of dial designs, case shapes, and complications to choose from.
With hybrid watches, you’re limited to a relatively small selection of brands, models, and sizes. Not to mention, many of them are sticking with black dials to help these low-resolution screens blend in better.
Speaking of screens, another major problem with hybrid watches is that their screens come with a built-in expiration date that can make them feel outdated surprisingly quickly.
People who buy traditional watches often want something durable that creates emotional value over time. One of my favorite watches is an old hand-wound model from the 1970s, passed down from my grandfather, and it still works perfectly. Compared to something like this, hybrid watches start to look like a bad long-term investment.
Hybrid smartwatches will likely become another short-lived tech trend
All things considered, most hybrid watches offer very few practical features beyond tracking your heart rate and workouts, something a fitness ring or even a cheap fitness bracelet can already do well.
If you’re still considering purchasing a hybrid watch instead of a traditional watch or smartwatch, consider your options carefully. I recommend choosing a model that you’re sure will still work for you in five to ten years, and treating the smart feature as a small bonus rather than the main event.
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