Many times before, we have talked about one of the downsides of wearing a smartwatch from the perspective of a classic watch enthusiast. Namely, you have to pick one or the other. Or do you?
Well, kind of, yes. It's ingrained in our minds and cultures that wearing more than one classic timepiece at a time (no pun intended) is excessive, redundant, and makes us look rather silly.
But I don't believe this should be the case when combining a watch and a smartwatch. Think about it. The Galaxy Watch is much more of an advanced health, fitness, and location tracker than a time tracker on your wrist.
By that description, we should be able to easily double-wrist and wear our favorite classic watch on one wrist and a Galaxy Watch smartwatch on the other. Get the best of both worlds without feeling silly. But that's not what's happening for most smartwatch users.
Fitness band users already double-wrist without feeling weird about it, so why are we Galaxy Watch wearers reluctant to double-wristing our smartwatch and favorite classic watch?
Well, I can't help but feel most of it is Samsung's fault. And maybe the Galaxy Watch hardware and software design betrays an ambition Samsung shouldn't have.
Has Samsung been looking at the Galaxy Watch the wrong way all along?
I don't think a smartwatch will ever have a chance of replacing the classic timepiece in the minds of watch lovers. Smartwatches are fantastic for what they are, but unlike classic watches, they lack the history, brand power, intricacy, build quality, and potential to become collectibles. They're mass-produced consumer electronics. Cool ones, granted, but still, that's what they are.
Here's the kicker. I don't think Samsung should be thinking of its Galaxy Watches as classic watch replacements. Most smartwatch manufacturers appear to be falling into this trap, but I feel like that's always been the wrong approach.
Instead, I think Samsung should have presented the smartwatch as a new category of wearable devices focused on fitness and health, first and foremost — but one that could complement the classic watch if desired, rather than a metal-plastic-rubber contraption with an identity crisis and dreams of replacing classic watches entirely.
Watch faces give away how Samsung views smartwatches
Judging by past designs and software decisions, I get the feeling from Samsung that it's instinctively thinking of its Galaxy Watches as timepieces first and fitness & health trackers second. When, in fact, the time-keeping element of a smartwatch is almost insignificant next to everything else it does.
Why do I feel this way? Well, aside from some exterior design decisions (like having a round screen with a circular rotating bezel), I feel this way because all of Samsung's watch faces tell the time. No exceptions! There's no way to have a watch face on your Galaxy Watch that doesn't tell the time (at least, not a 1st-party one).
Needless to say, this really puts a damper on the idea of double-wristing and combining your classic watch with a smartwatch. It forces that feeling of redundancy on the user — the same feeling that keeps us from wearing more than one classic watch at a time.
All of Samsung's watch faces have a time-telling element whether you want it or not. And if you ask me, this betrays the fact that, deep down, Samsung really thinks of its Galaxy Watch as a timepiece first and a fitness & health tracker second when it should totally be the other way around. I'm not even suggesting Samsung does this consciously, but maybe more at a subconscious level.
The story continues after the video
Here's the bottom line. I want to double-wrist my classic watch and Galaxy Watch, but because every watch face can tell time, it feels redundant and takes me back to what I said at the beginning of this article. And I can't help but blame Samsung for it.
I want to wear the analog watch as a fashion statement and a beautiful purpose-built tool made to track time. And I want to wear the Galaxy Watch on my other wrists for all the other great features I get from it, like health and fitness tracking, without the time-keeping element.
The main thing that keeps me from double-wristing is that Samsung hasn't created a single watch face that ignores time-tracking, and I think that's a huge oversight. At the very least, Samsung should consider the possibility that treating smartwatches like complementary wearables rather than classic watch replacements could boost sales. Don't force us to choose one over the other, and who knows? You might find more people willing to buy a Galaxy Watch.
If you want to go against the grain and double-wrist your watch and smartwatch, you might find this other article useful. It explains how you can change the orientation of the Galaxy Watch to be usable on either hand. Hit the link for more information.
