Not All Smartwatches Are Created Equal

My wife and I are training to climb Mt. Rainier this summer and that means we are exercising daily. I am using my smartwatch to help with my training and the more I use it, the more I like it. There are specific features I didn't know about but have now discovered and really facilitate my training. At Christmas I got my wife a smartwatch and we are discovering that not all smartwatches are created equal. Once you become accustomed to certain features, it is tough to go without them.

My smartwatch is the Suunto Baro 9 and came with a rather expensive price tag. Fortunately I could use my significant discount and I didn't have to pay the list price. I let my wife pick out her smartwatch but probably should have helped her more than I did. She decided on the Garmin Lily 2. As a sailor, I am a huge fan of Garmin products. Their GPS devices are second to none in accuracy. Unfortunately the Lily 2 smartwatch does not have a built-in GPS and relies on the Bluetooth pairing with your smartphone to get position information. While it sounds good in practice, it doesn't work very well. My wife is constantly not getting correct exercise information and is frustrated to the point she wants a new watch for Mother's Day.

This has me looking at the features of all the different smartwatches available. I know a lot of people swear by their Apple smartwatch but they lack a lot of the features that are necessary for an exercise aid, primarily battery life. They are also really expensive for what you get. Naturally I started listing out the features my wife wants in a smartwatch:

• Built-in GPS
• Built-in altimeter (not the same thing as a GPS)
• Heart-rate Monitor
• Heart-rate shown while exercising (a Garmin software update turned this off on the Lily 2 and my wife spent a lot of time with Garmin customer support turning it back on)
• Don't cost as much as a new smartphone
  
• Small watch face

The small watch face is what drew me to the Lily 2 and pretty much eliminates most of the smartwatches on the market. When you are buying a watch specifically for exercise, I think manufactures assume you won't mind the extra weight on your wrist and make watches very large. I love mine but it still won't fit under any of my long-sleeved-dress shirts.

I've searched a number of sites that claim to have reviewed all available smartwatches only to find some of the reviews are out-of-date. There is also the problem of trying to cater to everyone. If you live in Kansas, you don't need an altimeter. When you are climbing mountains, it is a critical piece of your gear. I don't know how many times I have found a watch that should work only to have my wife remind me that it doesn't include the altimeter.

Ultimately I think we have decided on the Garmin Venu 3s. The "s" means small as it has a smaller watch face than the regular Venu 3. Fortunately there is a sale for Mother's day and it is $50 less than usual. It is still an expensive watch at $400, especially since I can't return her old one I got at Christmas.

 

Mac: App is Damaged and How to Fix

It has been a long time since I have updated the software on my Suunto Baro 9 watch and so I figured I would do it last night. Something that should have taken only a minute or two took over an hour of troubleshooting thanks to lies my Mac told me. Fortunately I figured out what I needed to do. Hopefully this post helps someone else. More than likely I will use it myself for a similar problem or the next time I need to update my watch.

Suunto created a software application that you can run on either your Mac or Windows computer. Rather than go through the hoops Apple requires to put it on their App Store, you can download it from Suunto's own website. The downside to that is Apple wants to protect you from malicious software and doesn't want you to run any software they have not reviewed. Instead of telling you that, you get an error when you try to run any program not downloaded from the App Store. The error says:

Suuntolink is damaged and can't be opened. You should move it to the trash. 

That is an outright lie and Apple should be ashamed of themselves for such a poor indication of what is wrong. Instead it should read:

Suuntolink was downloaded from the Internet and we don't trust that it doesn't have a virus so we are not going to let you run it.

At least then the user would know what the real problem is and be able to find a solution. Then to compound problems, the solution provided on Apple's support site does not provide correct instructions on how to run the program. Should you run into this problem or a similar one on your Mac computer, here are the instructions on how to get it working.

First you will need to open a terminal. You would think you could find a program called "Terminal" in the Applications directory but it is found in the Utilities directory that sits in the Applications directory. If you are not used to the command-line interface (CLI) on the Mac, this is where you find it.

Next you will need to go to the Applications directory in the Terminal program. This is as easy as running the following command:

cd /Applications

Next you will need to run the "xattr" command to clear all of the extra attributes that the MacOS assigns to programs and files on your computer. When you downloaded the Suuntolink application, the operating system decided it didn't like it and assigned certain attributes to keep you from running it. To clear all of those extra attributes run the following command:

xattr -c Suuntolink.app

Now if you are using the latest version of MacOS, which is Sonoma as of the time of this post, you may get an error saying "Operation not permitted: 'Suuntolink.app'." You will also see a dialog appear on the upper right of your screen saying something along the lines of "Terminal is trying to change the attributes of an application and doesn't have permissions to do so." Fortunately there will be a drop-down list that will allow you to change that. It will open the Privacy and Security control panel and allow you to change permissions for the Terminal program. You will have to run the previous command again and it should work fine with no acknowledgement that it worked other than not printing an error message.

You should now be able to double-click on the Suuntolink program in your Applications directory and run it without any difficulty. If it still doesn't run without giving you an error message, right-click on the Suuntolink icon and select the "Open" option. If your mouse only has a single button, then just hold down the Control (often abbreviated as CTRL) key and click on the icon.

It took me an hour to figure this all out last night and so I hope these instructions help you should you run into a similar problem. While I am tempted to say that Apple is to blame, the reality is that they have your best interest at heart. They really don't want you running a program that contains a Trojan Horse or Virus and so this is a safety feature. I would not use these steps on any program you do not trust absolutely. Otherwise you could really screw up your Mac.

A $49 Smartwatch Just Doesn't Cut It

Last Friday I received a nice surprise before leaving to do some hiking in Zion National Park. My replacement smartwatch arrived from Suunto even though I was told not to expect it until Monday. It showed up and I had time to charge the battery before the drive down to Cedar City, Utah. That means I left my cheap temporary replacement at home. I haven't used it since I took it off.

I will admit that I did get used to one or two features of my $49 smartwatch. First it is very thin compared to the Suunto. Of course it doesn't have a GPS and that does take up space. It also is noticeably brighter but that comes at a battery cost. It also had a tendency to light up the room in the middle of the night when I went to check the time.

The thing I missed the most on my Suunto is all of the various sport modes. We hiked around Zion on Saturday and it recorded our path. I can then go back and look at where we walked on my Smartphone app. It also recorded average and maximum heart rate. I never figured out how to do that on the temporary watch. Yesterday and today, I hiked and skied Alta. There is a ski touring setting that records all of the stats one could possible want, including time going up, time skiing down, vertical feet climbed, heart rate information, and a lot of other data that can help determine if you are getting stronger or not. I really missed not having all of that information. It may sound useless until you start to use it and then you find you can't live without it.

One nice thing about my temporary watch is that it does have an off button. I have charged the battery and will put it back in its case. Then I can use it should my Suunto have to go back to the service department in a year or two. I do hope it is longer than that though.

The Smartwatch Saga Continues

Yesterday I wrote about my temporary smartwatch while I wait for my Suunto 9 Baro to be repaired. Before posting to my blog, I checked the status on the Suunto customer service website and could see that they had received the watch but had not done anything with it. They publish they have several statuses but the fact that mine continued to say "Received" led me to believe they had not yet looked at it.

This morning I woke up to a text from DHL saying they had a package for me arriving on Monday. That's nice but I don't have any orders I am expecting and so I didn't click on the link in case it was a phishing attempt or worse. I went down to my computer and had two more messages from DHL. They also had a lot more information and so I knew they really did have a package for me. My inbox also contained a message from Suunto with an update about my watch.

It is important to note that my Suunto watch was well past the one-year warranty and so their message surprised me. They told me that they couldn't fix my watch and were sending me a new one free of charge. They also explained that they removed the band from my original watch and were sending it with the new one. I am pleased that Suunto stands behind their products and is replacing my watch at their expense. I am also confused.

The text and e-mail from DHL now made sense combined with the knowledge from Suunto so my package on Monday would be my replacement watch. What confuses me is that the replacement watch is coming from Hong Kong and my watch band is in Ogden, Utah. I would have expected some sort of an update from the service center saying they were working on the watch, couldn't repair it, and were sending it overseas for further evaluation. That would explain how my new watch is getting my old band. Maybe I will be getting 2 packages in the near future and one will contain the replacement with the other my old band. Ultimately I am happy to know I am getting a new watch and I didn't have to pay for it. I also didn't have to pay for shipping.

This experience reinforces my idea that you want to go with name brand smart devices. I am sure Apple would have done something similar. As for my inexpensive no-name temporary replacement. I'm sure I would be out the $49.99 I paid for it.

A Temporary Smartwatch

Last week my wife found a very inexpensive smartwatch at Amazon and ordered it for me. I think she got tired of listening to me complain about me not having my Suunto 9 Baro. I'd provide a link to the watch but at $49.99, I'm not sure it will be around very long. There are pages of equally inexpensive smartwatches and they probably all come from the same factory in China. The watch showed up on Saturday and I have worn it everyday since then.

I figured the moment I got a replacement watch, my primary watch would be repaired and returned. Nope, it is still at the Suunto Service Center waiting for them to replace the battery. At this point it has been 6 weeks and I wonder if I will ever see it again. I hope so. I love that watch. Just be forewarned that if you have a Suunto watch that needs service, it may take longer than the advertised 14 business days.

The first thing I noticed about my daily habits with the temporary replacement watch is that I am paying attention to my daily step count again. When I didn't have something telling me how far I walked every day, I stopped worrying about it. Now I am fighting daily to make sure I hit my goal of 10,000 steps per day. That is a lot of walking and I took it for granted before. A month off and I have gotten lazy. If you have the slightest concern about your personal fitness, I highly recommend having a smartwatch.

The other thing I noticed about the new watch is that I don't trust the manufacturer nor do I trust its software. I had to install a new app on my smartphone and it naturally wanted all sorts of access to information on my phone. I didn't give it any. I especially didn't allow it to read my location service. That sort of defeats part of the smartwatch experience as it can't track distance walked or where I am. As I really am only concerned about my step count, I can live without actual distance. The last thing I want is data from my smartphone being used for nefarious purposes. I guess that is one of the reasons my Suunto cost so much more is that it had its own GPS receiver. I never had to turn on location services for my smartphone.

One more thing about my temporary smartwatch is that I didn't think I would worry about checking my sleep data. I actually am. Lately I feel like I have been getting the right amount of sleep and so I checked it on my watch. I confirmed that I am.

I am not going to replace my Suunto 9 with this inexpensive smartwatch. The more costly watch has enough features to justify the cost and I eagerly anticipate its return. While I wait, this temporary one works well and helps my fitness level. In other words, it is doing its job.

I Miss My Smartwatch

A few weeks ago I noticed that my watch was having difficulty holding a charge for any length of time. A quick Internet search revealed that the rechargeable battery probably needed to be replaced. I boxed it up and sent it to the Suunto service center in Ogden, Utah. Suunto even provided me with a UPS label so I didn't have to pay for shipping. At least not yet.

The service center has had my watch for 3 weeks now and probably will for a few more as they have a large backlog of devices to fix. I really miss my watch. While it is helpful for telling time, it actually does so much more and so I eagerly await its return.

A lot of millennials don't wear watches because they just look at the time on their smartphones. I figured I would give that a try until my watch is sent back. All I can say is that pulling my phone out to check the time is kind of a hassle compared to looking at my wrist. I don't check it enough and find myself being late to quite a few appointments. For this reason alone, I am thinking of picking up a cheap watch to use until my Suunto 9 is returned. Fortunately a lot of the millennials that have refused to wear a watch have fallen in love with Apple's Smartwatch and have started wearing them. This doesn't explain why they are still always late but let's hope that gets better.

The second thing I have noticed is that I am not exercising as much as I did when I had my Smartwatch. I still try to get out for my daily bike ride but I have stopped taking as many evening walks. The exercise feature of most Smartwatches allows you to track distance walked, steps taken, and pulse. These are all great indicators of how much exercise I am getting and something I track daily. I really miss this information and am thinking about getting a cheap Smartwatch with these features until my primary one is returned.

I used to constantly check my sleep quality when I first started wearing my Suunto 9. Fortunately I have learned what habits contribute to good sleep and don't check it nearly as often as I am sleeping very well. When I don't have quality sleep at night, I know it and adjust my habits to fix it. I guess that is something I don't need in a temporary replacement watch.

My wife is probably tired of listening to me complain about my missing watch. Last night she suggested that I find a temporary replacement until mine is returned. I guess I had better set a budget and minimum features I can't do without. If I use the health features on my phone, I can probably just get a simple watch that is waterproof and tells time. Time to go do some research.

Diagnosing a Bad Diagnostic Tool

Yesterday I woke up early and drove the 15 miles to Alta ski area so I could do some early season skiing. We received about 25-inches of snow last week and then another foot or so on Monday evening. No the lifts are not yet running and so skiing requires hiking up the mountain. When you have the right equipment, it is a great form of exercise and fun. If you don't have the right equipment it is still a great form of exercise but not nearly as fun.

Last night I took a look at the statistics from my Suunto smartwatch and realized that it must have missed a few of my heartbeats during my hike up the mountain. The watch is generally very accurate but the readings I got yesterday are definitely low. When I go running up a hill with skis on, my average heart rate is around 120-130 beats per minute. The reading I got yesterday was a lowly 65. I know that is not right as there is always an informal competition with anyone else climbing the hill. You want to pass other people and never get passed. That means I could feel my heart beating quite noticeably by the time I got to the top of the hill. It was well past the 65 beats per minute.

On Monday I had a different experience but one that sort of relates. Follow me for a moment and you'll see what I mean. My wife's Jeep's check-engine light came on. I pulled out my trusty OBD-II computer and connected it to the car using the port under the steering wheel. I waited for the error code but only got an error reading the Jeep's computer. I tried several more times making sure to re-seat the connecting cable with the same results. Our son came over with his OBD-II reader but it also failed to read the error code from the car. Now what do I do?

Fortunately Jeep Wranglers have a way to read the diagnostic codes without having to use an OBD-II reader. You just need to turn the car on and off 3 times without starting the vehicle. Then the code appears in the odometer. It took me a few times as you have to go quickly and I was going too slow. The car spit out the code and it told me where to start looking for the problem. Basically the thermostat was bad. I had to do more to make sure that was the problem but then I replaced the thermostat for $25 and about an hour of my time. That $25 included the new thermostat and a gallon of engine coolant.

So what do these two stories have in common? Sometimes your diagnostic tool will give you erroneous information. If I had been relying on my smartwatch to give me my heart rate, I would be mistaken. Fortunately there is an easy check you can do yourself to get your real heart rate: look at your watch for 15 seconds, count heart beats, and multiply the result by 4. With the OBD-II computers, I got worried that the car had another fault with the connection. When 1 reader doesn't work, you can guess the reader is bad. When 2 don't, you start to get really worried. Fortunately I ordered a new OBD-II reader as my old one is over a decade old and needed to be replaced anyways. The new reader arrived yesterday afternoon and I was able to access the code and reset the Jeep's computer.

Diagnostic tools generally work fairly well. You just can't trust them blindly as you may be tracking down the wrong problem. Verify the results through other means if possible. Once I had a starting point on my wife's car, I could put my hand on the coolant hoses and verify that the thermostat was stuck in the open position before starting any work on the car.

Does a Smartwatch Help You Exercise?

I have had the exact same watch for the past 15 years and never had to change the battery. The watch face contained a solar panel and I just used ambient light to keep the watch running. When I got the watch I knew that eventually the battery would need to be replaced and so it didn't surprise me when the watch finally died. Most people would be excited at the prospect of replacing 15-year-old technology but I really loved that watch and actually looked at getting another one exactly like it. I also had the option of just replacing the battery and keeping my old watch. Instead I decided to take the advice of my sons and look at some of the new smartwatches on the market and see if there is one that I liked.

One of the problems that I have with most smartwatches is that they require charging on a nightly basis. With all of the traveling that I do it means carrying the charging cradle with me on every trip. Sure I could get a second cradle but that adds expense and so I set my first requirement at having a watch last a minimum of a week before recharging. That eliminated quite a few products and brands including anything from Apple.

Next I looked at available features. There are very few smartwatches that don't integrate with your phone. In fact, that is one of the requirements for being a smartwatch and so I didn't have to worry about that. I did have to worry about built-in GPS or if I was OK using the one in my smartphone. I also needed to decide if I cared about size. I am not a fan of large watches but I do like being able to see the watch face as my eyes seem to be aging with the rest of my body. I carefully reviewed everything that matched my stringent battery requirements. Ultimately I decided on the Suunto 9 Baro.

I have had the watch since Thursday of last week and am trying to learn at least one new feature about the watch every day. Let's just say it is a bit complex. It seems to do everything. It will even tell me if a storm is quickly barrelling in so I have time to get my sailboat back in the marina (a feature I really could have used last weekend). When I start my morning ride on my indoor bicycle trainer, I tell the watch I am riding indoors and it keeps track of my time and calories burned. It also keeps track of my normal steps so I can see if I reach the suggested daily goal of 10,000. While you can, I don't recommend lowering that number.

After having my watch for just a few days over the weekend I have to say that there are a lot of features I didn't realize I was missing in my old watch. Does my new one help me exercise more? I have to say that it does. I looked at my watch last night and noticed I had yet to hit my daily step-goal. I had not and so I went for an early evening walk with my wife. Then I looked at my watch today during lunch. I was nowhere near the middle of my step goal and so I took a short walk after lunch. I also see how many calories I am burning during the day and am more conscious about how much I eat. While everyone says we burn about 2,000 calories a day, my watch is telling me I am sometimes below that number. I shouldn't need to tell you what happens when you eat more calories than you burn (hint: you get fat).

While I enjoy the Suunto 9 Baro it may not be the right smartwatch for you. I found mine on sale at 40% off for only $359.40 directly from the Suunto website. I feel that is a great price for all of the features included. Now we will see if it keeps me exercising.