There’s one feature most smartwatches include today that finally make them a worthwhile investment for everyone: GPS. Combine the normal things a watch gives you — from knowing what time it is to setting yourself an alarm — with some navigation and you’re going to pull your phone from your pocket much less. You have full control over how much or little will pop up on it, but you can display incoming text and call information, calendar invites, email previews, and so on (I love getting rain alerts on mine).
And you can get the best selling Apple Watch Series 3 for $230 now, about $80 less than what the watch normally goes for. The 42mm smartwatch has GPS (which, like I said, is great) and everything you need from a wrist-computer: heart sensor, WiFi connectivity, accelerometer, magnetic charging, and up to 18 hours of battery life — hopefully about the time you’re awake on any given day.
What’s the $400 Apple Watch Series 4 — released late last year — got that its predecessor doesn’t? Well, there’s the fall detection that alarms you (or others) that you’ve fallen, an electrical heart sensor, as opposed to the optical one, and haptic feedback (most people I know switch that off. Otherwise, the improvements are performative: faster here and faster there — good and great but not essential.
At this price, the Apple Watch Series 3 just became a great opportunity for anyone considering making the leap to finally make it.
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