[wojciii]

I'm still trying to figure out what exact user case having a digital watch solves.

I mean .. I have a phone which shows time, plays music and can tell me who called / sent me a signal message.

I have issues with having to charge my phone so having another device that I will have to charge will not make my life any better.

[saltcured]

You say "digital" rather than "smart". Digital or analog, a basic watch has that single advantage of being mounted on the wrist. It is always there, supporting a quick glance when you don't have time, free hands, or social context to pull a phone out.

Once you add vibration, now you open a class of discreet alerts. Even an offline watch can give you a silent alarm function, which is great to reduce disturbance to your sleepmate. And some people value the smart notification alerts when awake too. The phone may be in a bag or coat pocket where vibration isn't obvious.

Then there are all the wearable sensor platform things, which divide the population into very different use case priorities. I.e. all the accelerometer and heart-rate tracking for sports, fitness, and lifestyle modification.

Or for outdoorsy people, the wearable GPS, digital compass, and barometric altimeter. This is my reason for having a Garmin watch. I find zero value in a "smart watch" that lacks these sensors. And I don't care for the other connected-watch features, so I actually have the bluetooth link disabled almost all the time. I go back and forth on the fitness tracking. It is bundled in the watch, so I use those sensors sometimes. But, I didn't actually care for them at all when shopping. There just isn't enough market for a good GPS+compass+altimeter watch without fitness sensors, so they don't make it.

Compared to any phone app I've tried, my watch records much cleaner tracks for hiking, both in terms of all the tight turns and accurate elevation data. It also presents the real-time data in a much more convenient, wearable format. When navigating a planned route, it can also vibrate and show me a course hint as I approach a faint trail junction in the wilderness.

[wojciii]

I meant smart. I don't have an analog watch fetish. :)

[dbvn]

really the only value is for runners/cyclists/swimmers. Being able to run without a bulky device is sooo much better.

[wojciii]

I used to run a lot and used a GPS watch to plot my runs .. initially, but this got boring fast. I don't want to compare myself with other runners. I just want a distraction free half an hour and thus no phone or watch. :)

[dbvn]

I don't care about comparison. I just need to know how far I ran or it doesn't count lol

[BeetleB]

The value is being able to see the time and use timers/stop watches quickly. I use the timer on my watch many times a day, and it'd be a pain to use the phone for that.

But of course, the real benefit is that I don't want my phone on me all the time, but I do want to be able to tell time all the time. I sleep with my watch, not my phone. Occasionally when I go do errands, I prefer to keep my phone in the car. At home, I typically leave the phone in one room.