I know this won’t be of use/interest to many of you who avoid Google products for a variety of valid reasons (as well as any ‘smart’ product) but I just wanted to share my experiences of using a Pixel Watch 3 to do the things I can’t do easily with the Kompakt.
Firstly, I have turned off all notifications on the watch and only installed apps that are useful and don’t have any potential to mindlessly scroll on (though the tiny screen would make that pretty difficult!) Overall, my goal with the watch is to be able to keep my Kompakt in my pocket as much as possible (or even in my bag).
My main uses are:
Google Maps.
I live in London and walk and use public transport a lot so I really need a map app that can do that. I’ve had no issues at all using this, it’s just a smaller version of the phone app. I prefer citymapper, but that requires a link with the phone app (and I’m not sure it’d play nice with the Kompakt) whereas Google Maps on the pixel watch is standalone. Predictably not great for cycling navigation but more on that later.
Google Wallet.
I know contactless payments aren’t essential, but they’re very convenient. One big use of Google Wallet is the loyalty cards. Lots of UK supermarkets raise the price of certain products and only give you a regular price if you scan your loyalty card (under the guise of ‘exclusive discounts’. I can take the little keyfobs with me, bit it’s just another thing to remember. Wouldn’t say this is a must have feature, but it’s very useful. I don’t know if I’d want to rely on it exclusively for things like boarding pass QR codes, but then I’d likely take my smartphone with me if I was travelling abroad.
Spotify.
I know you can sideload it onto the Kompakt, but it’s not a great experience and hard to see anything on the e-ink screen. The Spotify app on the watch is great and does exactly what I need. I still make and edit playlists on the PC app, and it updates fine on the watch as you’d expect. Obviously no headphone jack on the watch, but I use wireless earbuds anyway. Note: I did today decide to make the switch from Spotify to Qobuz for ethical reasons so this is now slightly redundant.
Telling the time!
Works as you’d hope… also means I can leave my phone in my pocket/bag.
Stopwatch.
Given the glaring absence from the Kompakt, this is very welcome for when I’m cooking!
Exercise watch.
I’ve sold my Garmin running watch as this does everything I need it for.
Things that could work better
Tethering with the Kompakt.
Obviously I’d never expect the Kompakt to be able to be used to set up and manage the watch like an android phone. I do however rely on the Kompakt for internet when I’m about, and if I need internet on my watch for navigation I turn the phone’s wifi hotspot on, which works fine. Interestingly, Bluetooth tethering for internet doesn’t seem to work, which is strange because my Kompakt can provide internet to my Pixel phone that way, just not for the watch. I’m guessing that’s more something on the Pixel Watch side than the Kompakt’s. Bluetooth tethering is far less of a battery drain than Wifi tethering, but the idea is not to be connected much, so it’s fine just for connecting occasionally when I need to get somewhere. It’s possible the Kompakt 1.4.0’s enabling of Bluetooth PAN may remedy this.
Cycling navigation
I cycle a lot in London, and while you can use Google Maps on the watch for cycling navigation, it could be better. It’s not ideal to keep looking at your wrist all the time, and the angle means it’s not the easiest to see. You also have to set the watch to keep the screen on all the time, and then turn that setting off after – you can’t just enable it for navigation, which seems like a big oversight on Google’s part.
Normally I use a Beeline device for cycling, but it requires pairing with a phone for GPS, and uses Google Maps as its base, which is presumably why it doesn’t work at all when I sideloaded the app on the Kompakt – it crashes on launch everytime, which is fair enough and I wouldn’t expect otherwise. I think I’ll have to find another solution for this. It’s fine for my daily commute as I can remember the route, but if I’m going somewhere else, I need to bring my smartphone with me.
Conclusion
I’m finding the watch a really useful companion to the Kompakt for day to day stuff. I wouldn’t expect the two to pair and work together flawlessly, but it fills in a few of the gaps for me. If you don’t have an objection to a smart watch, then it can be pretty handy, though I can’t speak to the different brands.