The smartwatch has become a must-have gadget for many people. Not just a watch, this computer on the wrist can be a lifesaver, a health monitor, a communication device and can be used to keep track of children and add to the peace of mind of the parents. Many smartwatches come with access to apps – although they are more limited than those on a smartphone – and can pair with a smartphone for greater versatility.
They can notify you of and display emails, can forward messages, and can even measure your heartbeat, how many steps you’ve taken, and locate you or another wearer using accurate GPS. We’ll come back to the latter function soon as it is an important one, bur first we need to talk about the smartwatch battery and how long it lasts.
Why Battery Life is Important
The battery life of a smartwatch determines how long it will operate for when worn. This is important for the wearer, as well as for parents who are partly using the watch to know where their children are, or if they may be in danger.
So, how long does a smartwatch battery last? We need to explain that the battery itself is a rechargeable version – usually by USB – and it will likely take between an hour and 90 minutes to give it a full charge. How long a full charge will last depends on a variety of factors including the make and model and what it is being used for. The more use it gets in terms of apps, the more power is drained.
Most smartwatch manufacturers claim their watches will last between one and two days in normal use. If you have had experience of a smartphone, however, you will know to take such claims with a pinch of salt! We would say that a full charge will last the day and night, and then need a new charge.
This depends on the model, so here’s a few we found with battery life tested by reviewers:
Tickwatch Pro 3 achieved 5 days battery life on one charge in normal use.
Honor MagicWatch 2 lasted for 4 days on a full charge.
Garmin VivoActive, a very popular model, achieved little more than 2 days.
Don’t take the manufacturer’s word and expect to charge more often! Now, back to why battery life is important, and we think the next section should cover this.
Should You Buy a Smartwatch for a Child?
The market is god for smartwatches for kids and the simple answer to the question is yes, you should, and here’s why. Many parents do not want their children to spend all their time on a smartphone – or to access inappropriate content – yet until now it was the only way of being able to find out where they were.
A smartwatch overcomes this problem. Limited in capability compared to a phone, but suitably impressive for the child to be proud to wear one among friends, smartwatches offer excellent parental control options and accurate GPS locations. They may also include a quick touch emergency transmission for if the child is in trouble. This is why battery life is important when buying a smartwatch, as you want to be sure both yours and your child’s can communicate at all times.
Choosing the Right Smartwatch
Choosing the right one from the latest smartwatches is not the work of a moment in what is a saturated market, so we recommend you read all the reviews you can and take note of the pros and cons of different models. We hope we’ve helped you begin your search, so enjoy finding the right one.