This $40 device effortlessly replaced my $350 Apple Watch Series 7

I was never a watch guy, but if you intend to work out, or at the very least wish to track your health – these days getting a smartwatch appears like a worthwhile investment.

But does it have to be an Apple Watch? Well, it's the obligatory default choice for most people, and has always been the most popular smartwatch; pretty much since its first release back in 2015.

Me, however, I slept on it for a while. But finally, after using various fitness bands and smartwatches from Apple's competitors, like the Samsung Galaxy Watch 3, I've decided to try out the big boy Apple Watch Series 7 this year.

And while I had fun doing things with the Apple Watch that the Cupertino company didn't want me to, I was a bit disappointed with the watch face selection. In typical Apple fashion, there are no custom Apple Watch faces available as an option. Instead you can just customize a few presets.

So this expensive little trinket immediately failed as my fashion accessory, since all I can really go wild with is changing its band to something more fun and unique. I was stuck with watch faces I didn't particularly like.

All the Apple Watch had left to keep me as a user was its functionality. Namely its ability to track my workouts, plus show phone notifications. But here's a fun fact about that…

Even the cheapest fitness band can track your workouts and show you notifications

I've been quite the Xiaomi fan for half a decade now, so the first fitness band I tried was Xiaomi's Mi Band 4. There's a Mi Band 5, 6 and even 7 now, but the changes from generation to generation aren't huge, so I still use the 4 just fine. In addition, it's worth mentioning that there are similar, even cheaper options like the Amazfit Band out there.

In any case, the Mi Band is pretty awesome for its ultra-budget price of about $40. It provides a simple alternative to pretty much everything the $350 Apple Watch does for me. Tracks workouts, steps, heart rate, shows me my phone notifications…

It also has plenty of third party bands to choose from, and countless – and I mean countless wild, custom watch faces to choose from. You can really make this device your own, unlike the Apple Watch.



Sure, a cheap fitness band doesn't have the "I'm rich and fashionable" factor that people seem to attribute to the Apple Watch, nor would I trust its fitness or heart rate tracking accuracy as much as I would if it had a Samsung or Apple logo slapped on it. But it works well enough, and neither Samsung nor Apple's smartwatch tracking is perfect either.

On another note, and as much as I "enjoy" the Apple Watch telling me everyday that I suck at following my workout regimens, I never turned that option off, because it was actually pretty good motivation. Now that's something a cheap fitness band can't do – act like a semi-convincing coach everyday.

But, I can easily set daily Google calendar notifications and have them appear on the Mi Band. So this one edge that the Apple Watch has, I can cover myself with workout reminders.

Opinion: The Apple Watch is most worth it if you view it as premium jewelry

Although it's probably the most-wanted, perfect gift for many people, I personally don't see the same amount of value in the Apple Watch as I do in the iPad and certain iPhone models. The kind of high value that definitely justifies a price.

Really, the base iPad is the greatest budget tablet you can get, way more powerful than its price would suggest, and can be immensely useful to the right person. And most importantly – it's virtually unmatched at $329. No other competitor tablet, hilariously even premium $1,000+ ones, can match its performance.

So there's no argument that the base iPad has immense value and is completely worth the money. I can say something similar about the iPhone, but things in the smartphone world are way more subjective, not to mention controversial, so let's get back to the Apple Watch.

Like I said, there are $40 options out there that kind of do what it does, and in its price range the competition is solid from all the big names – Samsung, Garmin, Fitbit, and soon – likely Google.

So aside from its popularity and massive trend factor, the Apple Watch doesn't really have the same edge over the competition as, say, the iPad. And I don't care about trends that much, so…

How does switching from an Apple Watch to a cheap fitness band feel like? It actually has benefits, aside from a thicker wallet

Well, I bought the same kind of metal watch band for both, so they feel pretty similar on the wrist. Except the Apple Watch is more substantial, due to it being a bit heavier and a lot wider than the Mi Band.

But now I don't have to charge my fitness tracker literally every day! Unlike the Apple Watch, which in my experience has pretty weak battery life, the Mi Band that I have lasts well beyond a week. Xiaomi's seemingly insane claims of 14-day battery life are probably possible to achieve too, with sparser usage.



The interface of the Mi Band is expectedly simpler though, there's no always-on display, and the general things it can do are fewer. My particular model doesn't have virtual assistant support, which is actually a big minus for me, since I used to ask Siri to set reminders on my Apple Watch all the time. But, I guess I can give up always-on and Siri for the benefits; mainly that battery life, and pretty solid fitness tracking for 40 bucks.

In fact, I already did. My Apple Watch is on sale right now, because, like I concluded – for me personally it's very hard to justify its price for what it offers. At least when there's such aggressive and competent competition out there. Way cheaper too. So I can use this money for something I'll actually find value in, maybe throw it towards the new Sony XM5s.

What do you think – is the Apple Watch worth it, and perhaps I'm just the wrong person for it?

Or do you agree that it's just luxury jewelry for most people, and it doesn't really matter what functionality it's offering, or how better or worse it is next to the competition?