Did you know that the first-ever timekeeper, which is called a clock today, was invented in 1656 by Christiaan Huygens? Yes, it was, and what he made was the pendulum clock. Until the next 300 years, his innovation was considered to be the standard for timekeeping. However, it was not portable.

Then came along the idea of a wristwatch. The first-ever wristwatch was worn by Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples in 1810. It was gifted to her by the inventor Abraham-Louis Breguet.

Both of these inventors had created the timekeeper. For just that, to keep the time for the person who wanted to know it. Never in their wildest of dreams, would they have thought that their creation could take a turn into the smart world of technology, where a watch could do perform so much more than just telling time?

THE SMARTWATCH

This gadget has changed the way we viewed watches. The first smartwatch with phone connectivity was launched in 1999 by Samsung. And then, the innovation went on upgrading and astounding the audiences with its magnificence.

A smartwatch is a watch of the digital kind. It is a watch that is as equipped in function as a smartphone is. It has a screen, can install numerous applications and needs to be charged once in a while. There is a catch, though, a smartwatch needs a smartphone to run all those applications. Still, it is an immensely appreciated innovation.

THE FEATURES

A smartwatch is jam-packed with features that never end. Here is the list;

• SEE NOTIFICATIONS

Since a smartwatch is connected to your phone, all the notifications that you receive on that device will be displayed on your wrist. This feature comes in quite handy when you are in class or a meeting or a family dinner where your mother would not allow you to touch your phone.

• TEXTING AND CALLING

Just receiving those notifications is not enough; you must get the chance to reply to them as well. You can answer calls conveniently and respond to texts without even touching your phone. The smartwatch will let you do all of that too.

• LISTEN TO MUSIC

You can listen to all sorts of music genre, from Adele to Michael Jackson, on your smartwatch. This feature does depend on the storage of your watch; the more, the merrier. Music can make everything seem better and livelier than before, especially on that morning run.

• MAKE USE OF SIRI OR GOOGLE ASSISTANT

Next on the list is the most used feature of smartphones. For android, it is the lovely voice of Google Assistant, and for the iOS, it is Siri. A smartwatch will let you talk to one of these and gain the ocean of knowledge that will never fill up. From knowing the weather to getting reminders of drinking the needed glass of water, the gadget will tell you everything through this feature.

• MONITOR HEART RATE

You would be surprised by this feature, but the smartwatch can measure and monitor your heart rate. It is because the watch is tied on your wrist. It makes use of photoplethysmography or PPG to measure the volume of blood passing through the wrist by a sensor, which then emits a green light. The unabsorbed light helps to calculate the rhythm of the heart. It sounds pretty fancy.

• GPS KEEPS YOU ON YOUR TOES

Most smartwatches are equipped with GPS. It helps the watch to track your movements and tells you the number of steps you have taken and the ones you need to take to complete your target for the day, that is if you set one.

• MAKE PAYMENTS

The last one I am going to mention is something which comes very handy in the world, which is going cashless. Smartwatches have an inbuilt NFC, which is short for Non-Field Communication. It helps the watch to store your debit and credit card information and make payments through that knowledge as and when needed.

So now you know it all. Are you not in awe of this gadget and want to thank its innovator personally? Because I certainly do.

THE SMARTEST SMARTWATCHES

There are three watches that I personally think have the best of these features and then some more to make the buyer more than happy with the purchase.

• Apple Smart Watch Series 5; priced at £399 for the 40mm and £429 for the 44mm screen size, it is the best in its class.
• Samsung Galaxy Watch; an old version but still the company’s best so far. It is priced at £260, a steal compared to Apple.
• Amazfit VergeLite; its best feature is its battery life that can last up to three weeks and maybe also the price that stands at £70.

There aren’t many differences in features for these watches. Only the valuation is varied. It is up to you to decide which is more convenient for you to buy.

WINDING UP

In the end, I want to say that I was sceptical about the smartwatches when they became all the rave. However, having used the Apple Smart Watch Series 3, my thoughts have changed. I don’t regret my approach towards guaranteed loans from the direct lender for the purchase.

A smartphone is something we cannot live without, being constantly scrolling, and tapping has become our thing. However, the smartwatch is making all that a little more convenient for us.