Smartwatches get smarter about health

Once a shortcut to music and messages, smartwatches can now monitor our health and wellbeing, whether it’s our stress levels or sleep patterns. It’s also believed that more than 50 per cent of people who own smartwatches exercise more and follow a healthier lifestyle.

When it comes to your health:

* A Smartwatch will warn you if you’ve spent too much time sitting down.

* It can alert you to heart irregularities and pick up restless sleep patterns.

* You can set your own exercise goals and routines, and use exercise apps.

* It can help you regulate stress levels, encouraging deep breathing and meditation.

* And soon, there will be apps that can warn you about high blood pressure and possibly even diabetes.

So how do you choose the right one for you?

“Choosing a smartwatch is like selecting a smartphone because there are countless models to choose from. While most of them are able to perform the same standard tasks such as making calls, sending texts and running apps, smartwatches offer a variety of functions and features, which makes finding the right one even harder,” writes UK tech journalist David Nield.

Whichever category you prefer and aside from the watch’s health benefits, check for a few key specs, advises Nield.

• The most important one is whether the watch works with your phone (iOS or Android), followed closely by how long the battery lasts (mechanical watches are still ahead here).
• Check that the watch has the features you want. For example, runners and sports enthusiasts might want standalone GPS while swimmers will go for waterproof smartwatches.
• Of course, if you’re going to be wearing the watch a lot of the time, you’ll want to make sure it’s comfortable. Try a few smartwatches on for size or check a selection of online reviews.

Hot off the press

If you’re looking for a watch with top health management, Huawei is launching its Band 6 smartwatch anytime soon. It’s priced at R1699 and includes features such as:

• High heart rate alert
• Sleep technology
• Stress management
• Menstrual cycle tracking
• Close on 100 exercise modes plus specific rep counting
• 14-day battery life

Other additional nifty features include music player control, granular notification control, remote control of the camera, and finding one’s phone with the watch.

* Sources: consumer.huawei.com/za/, popsci.com and gadget.co.za