I don't know about you, but I loved the original Pebble smartwatch. It didn't immediately grab my attention when it was first announced and released, but eventually I jumped on board that bandwagon and I rode it all the way until the bitter end. I enjoyed Pebble's smartwatch so much that even by the time Apple got around to announcing their first smartwatch, even that couldn't sway me to jump ship.
Well, not right away. But everything is eventual, right?
That's how I feel about analog watches these days, because I still feel the pull to go back to my "old ways". There was a time, years ago, when I was a pretty solid collector. Not for any particular brand or anything like that, but just for styles that caught my eye. I actually wore them and used them, rather than just keeping them in a case or something. (Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course.)
I've been using an Apple Watch off-and-on for a long while now. At first it was like the iPad for me: a great piece of technology that I wanted to use, but, ultimately, just couldn't find the need for it in my life. That's probably still the case for the smartwatch more often than not, but I've just grown accustomed to slipping it on my wrist every day even if I know that I won't use every feature I could every single day.
But every once in awhile I'll see an ad for an analog watch while I'm browsing the internet. And after I take a few minutes to try and figure out why I'm seeing an ad like that, I start to actually consider switching back. Don't get me wrong, I think the Apple Watch is great and all, but sometimes at night when I'm plugging it in, along with the other devices that need to be charged at the end of the day, I think maybe it's just one device too many.
Why did I switch away from a watch that can last me years on a single, or a couple of tiny batteries? Well, technology and features, of course. But would switching back to an analog watch really be that bad? I can't say that it would be. Especially not when there are some really sharp designs out there.
But of course this got me wondering if you prefer using an analog watch. And, if so, which model --or models-- do you like using? Did you make the switch from a smartwatch, either Apple Watch or a WearOS alternative, to an analog option? What led you down that path? Let me know!
