Now some of the smart bands on the market are starting to support an screen, and the functions of some high-end smart bands are becoming more powerful. In other words, smart band is getting closer and closer to smart watch, so many people have no idea on whether to choose smart band or smart watch when buying. As a company that is mainly specialized in wearable devices for fitness & health, IWOWNFIT is often asked about the differences between smart bands and smartwatches. To help you figure it out, let's compare them in appearance, function, battery life and price.
• Appearance
A smartwatch and a fitness band are both worn on the wrist. The so-called smart watch is embedded with an intelligent system, which is connected to mobile phone to realize some functions of the phone. Therefore a smartwatch must support screen like regular watches, while some smart bands still have no screen now. Besides, smartwatches have a more traditional design so they can fit in everyday situations, elegant dinners or work meetings, while smart bands are more conspicuous and sometimes brightly colored, though it depends on the model.
As for the shape, some people say that the display screen of a watch must be in round or square shape and a band must be in wide or narrow circular. Actually we think that the external shape is not the essence to judge them, some smartwatches are also circular. However, whatever the shape is, it is suggested to make it comfortable for wearing.
• Functions
The most fundamental difference between a smartwatch and a smart band is its function. Smartwatches are like normal watch, but with smart features. They can use its internal intelligent system to synchronize phones via Bluetooth, which makes it easy to view and respond to emails, texts, calls and social media notifications on your wrist. Nowadays, they have many more advanced functions due to its inbuilt camera, barometer, compass, thermometer and so on.
And smart bands mainly use its intrinsic sensing chip to collect human body physiological information, which can be used to measure walking steps, running distance, calorie burned, heart rate, sleep patterns and so on. The band then transfers these data to a mobile or a computer so as to monitor the ups and downs in health and get a better picture of the user’s physical condition. Generally speaking, smart bands are more like health monitors or fitness trackers.
As you can see now, the line between smartwatches and smart bands can be blurred at times and there are a few products that straddle the fence between the two categories. There’s an increasing number of smart bands that provide more advanced notifications, and smartwatches with built-in activity-tracking capabilities.
• Price
When deciding between a fitness band or a watch, the first thing you will notice is the price difference between them. Which price is higher, smart bands or smartwatches? We think that there is no specific price line between them because the material and functions vary from products to products, then the price would also be different.
Generally speaking, a smart band is usually cheaper since it doesn’t have the same features as smartwatches do. You’ll find a lot of plastic and rubber or other material fitness bands, while smartwatches are generally made of more durable steel or metal. Of course, there are smartwatches also made of plastic, so please don’t think fitness bands are always made of cheaper materials. In addition, generally smartwatches have a watch face and band, which can also explain why smart bands are cheaper.
• Battery life
Smart bands tend to have better battery life than smartwatches due to either having no display or just a small one, and no apps or notifications to sync. Smartwatches usually need to be charged every day, like Apple Watch. So if you forget to charge it on a day, chances are that you will be wearing a dead watch on the other day. Most people take them off at bedtime and let them recharge overnight. Some smartwatches now also have longer battery life, but still short. Some bands like Mi Band 2 can last up to 20 days based on usage.
As with most things you may be looking to buy, the best option for you depends on the features you want. Smartwatch is a multipurpose device and fitness bands mainly serve a single purpose – monitoring health and fitness. If you’re looking for a device only for health and fitness, then a smart band will do just fine. But if you’re looking for more than health and fitness, you would be better choose a smartwatch.
Okay, that's all for today, welcome any comments about this topic. Follow @IWOWNFIT on Facebook or Twitter to keep up with the latest and greatest news about tech or fitness.