Shootout: The best hybrid smartwatch that doesn’t look like a pocket calculator

Note: This article was first published on 12th October 2017.

The smart-looking smartwatch

These are the other smartwatches, the ones that don’t look like pocket calculators hanging off your wrist. They sacrifice some of the smarts, but they bring more of the watch, and won’t look out of place when dressing up. In this shootout, we have the Fossil Q Nate, Garmin Vivomove, Misfit Phase, and the Withings Steel HR.

Fossil Q Nate (Black Stainless Steel)

I grew very fond of the Fossil Q Nate (Black Stainless Steel edition) in the time I was testing it, mostly because it looks like a proper watch. While the Vivomove, Phase and Steel HR hybrids look like tech companies figuring out watches, the Q Nate looks like a watch company figuring out tech — and I’m surprised at how well it turned out.

First of all, that look. The Black Stainless Steel is handsome, manly and big. I like it, but I’ll concede that big may not be your thing. Fossil’s Q series of hybrids come in various sizes and looks, but the smallest one (for women) is still 40mm. The straps can be easily swapped around with compatible straps, which is nice.

But then again, the Black Stainless Steel doesn’t make it easy to tell the time, with its black hands on black watch face colors. And the way it tells you the date is next to useless; press the top button and the hands move to a minuscule number on the watch face. Unless you can see recognize ant faces with your bare eyes, you won’t be able to tell the date with this watch.

Pairing the watch was seamless, and I liked how the Nate Q automatically synced time to my iPhone when I tested switching time zones. The Fossil Q app is also pretty and detailed; it even comes with instructions for the watch.

Besides its good looks, what makes the Fossil Q Nate stand out is its outstanding notifications support. Now, you only get six notification slots, which is less than the Misfit Phase’s nine. But while the Phase gives you seven apps to choose from, the Q Nate supports notifications from 54 apps, the most among these four hybrids.

True, you don’t get the Steel HR’s digital screen or the Phase’s colored dot to see which app is buzzing you, but you don’t have to worry about missing a notification from your favorite app.

When it comes to activity tracking, the Nate Q only tracks steps (with calories) and sleep. Step tracking is on par with the rest of the hybrids, getting results in the general, if not specific, range.

The best way to think about the Fossil Nate Q is a nice, if big, watch that comes with very good notifications support and bare bones step tracking. You won’t be able to tell the date at all, but at least you’ll look fashionable not doing it.

Like

+ Looks most like a nice watch

+ Lots of support for notifications

+ Seamless pairing and syncing

Don’t like

- Big style isn’t for everyone

- Can’t tell the date at all

- Basic activity tracking

Garmin Vivomove

Garmin is known for making solid and extensive fitness trackers, which is odd that they made the Vivomove such a basic tracker. In fact, it’s better to think of the Vivomove as a watch instead, with a little bit of tracker thrown in, and none of the smart features that the other hybrids offer.

Do the various Vivomove editions look like good watches? Yes, I think they do, plus you can easily swap out the straps for more looks. I tested the white Sport version, but if I were going to buy one, I’d probably spring for the black Sport or the classier stainless steel Premium edition with a leather strap. It’s a steep choice though, with a US$50 price difference between the two.

But I wouldn’t buy either because there’s just so little to be had from this hybrid. It can count your steps and monitor your sleep, but it lacks notifications of any sort. Syncing with the app was finicky, you can set how often the Vivomove syncs to the app, but even opening the app doesn’t always trigger syncing — I often had to press down the crown to start a manual sync.

I have to admit though, that the way it informs you about your daily activity is pretty clever. There are two e-ink meters on the watch face, one fills up in black, the other fills up in red. The black meter shows you how far along you are for the day’s daily steps goal, while the red meter fills up when you’re inactive.

Move around a bit, and you increase the black while eliminating the red. But the problem is that when you’re inactive, you’re unlikely to look at your watch to see if you’re in the red in the first place. It’d be more useful if the Vivomove had an idle alarm like the Misfit Phase’s, which vibrates and waves its hands around to tell you to get up and move.

The one thing that disappoints me the most about the Vivomove, however, is that it doesn’t sync time automatically with the smartphone, even though it’s already paired via Bluetooth. You have to manually turn the dial yourself to set the time, which annoys the time-keeping OCD part of me to no end — plus, there’s no way to tell the date.

The best part about the Garmin Vivomove is that it’s a good-looking watch that also happens to track your steps — but it doesn’t do much else.

Like

+ Stylish and classy design

+ E-ink meters cleverly display activity

+ Easily interchangeable straps

Don’t like

- No smartphone notifications

- App syncing is finicky

- Doesn’t sync time with smartphone

Misfit Phase

With its unmarked watch face, the Misfit Phase is a minimalist’s dream — save for its chunkiness. To be fair, at approx. 13mm it’s around the same thickness as the other three hybrids, but without a tapered back like the Steel HR and the Vivomove, the Phase just feels thicker. It’s not easy to tell the time on the Phase with its unmarked watch face and thin hands, and more importantly, there’s no way to tell the date.

One of the best things about the Phase is that the straps can be easily snapped out and changed, plus it works with any 20mm NATO-style field band. If you decide on the sports strap, you should know that the one I tested came out of its box with a rank plastic smell, which took a couple of days to dissipate.

The Phase can give you up to nine possible notifications, for basics like calls and apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. You can’t choose from as many services as the Fossil Q Nate, but you get more than the Q Nate’s six notification slots.

A small colored dot at the six o’clock position cycles through the colors which you can customize for each notification, but with only six colors, you’ll end up repeating. And I could never remember which color was supposed to represent which notification.

I wished there was a way to increase the notifications’ vibration strength, like on the Q Nate, as the Phase’s vibrations are weak enough to miss at times. The Phase handles call notifications oddly, instead of buzzing for as long as a call is coming in, it only buzzes at the start, and stops even when the phone is still ringing.

The Phase is a pretty basic activity tracker, it can track your steps, calories, sports, and sleep. Step tracking accuracy was similar to the rest; not accurate to the step but somewhere in the general area. The Phase breaks sleep down into stages, like light and restful, and was generally correct at automatically guessing when I went to sleep and got up. I liked how the Phase reminds you to move after you’ve been idle too long, by buzzing your wrist and waving the watch hands around.

The Misfit Phase is a decent hybrid, it has the second-best notification support and basic activity tracking. I also loved how it automatically adjusts the time, based on my phone’s time zone. But I could never get over how chunky it felt.

Like

+ Wide range of smart notifications

+ Straps can be easily swapped out

+  Reminds you to get up and move

Don’t like

- Looks and feels thick

- Tough to remember notification colors

- Call notification only buzzes for a short while

Withings Steel HR

Editor’s note: Since this review was written, Nokia has bought Withings, and this smartwatch is now known as the Nokia Steel HR.

The Withings Steel HR is the hybrid smartwatch I wanted to like the most. In theory, it checks a lot of the right boxes, but dig deeper and problems surface. The first obvious problem is that the classy watch face comes with anorexic watch hands, which are difficult to make out and impossible to read in the dark (I wore the black version with silver hands).

Setup was iffy; I had to reboot my iPhone 7’s Bluetooth connection to pair, and performed a factory reset when my notifications refused to vibrate. The vibrations are also weak and easy to miss. I was disappointed that the watch doesn’t automatically update the time when I switched time zones, it only did so after I launched the Withings app.

The Steel HR’s optical heart rate monitor is erratic; when resting it’d sometimes show a similar reading to my Apple Watch Series 2 (which has a good reputation for tracking heart rate), but when it came to working out, the Steel HR was slow to update or just outright wrong. After one high-intensity bout with a kettlebell, my Apple Watch showed that my heart rate rocketed to 140bpm, while the Steel HR still had my heart rate at 80bpm.

Now, the monochromatic digital screen is easily the watch’s best feature. Tap the right dial to scroll through the various displays, like date, time, and the number of steps taken. It lights up in the dark too.

Unlike the other hybrids, you can actually read what you’re being notified for — like a message or a call — and the screen displays the caller’s name or number. Plus, it’s the only hybrid to properly keep buzzing as long as the phone is ringing. Unfortunately, the Steel HR’s notifications range is weak; it can only notify you for calls, SMS and events.

The Steel HR’s battery life isn't as long as the other hybrids’, but that’s because it uses a rechargeable battery, which I prefer since you don't have to replace the battery. At up to 25 days and an additional 20 days after that in power saving mode, it still lasts far longer than a full-on smartwatch. Using the magnetic charger is a frustrating experience, however, it’s hard to align it properly to the watch.

I wanted to love the Withings Steel HR. After using it though, I can only say that I kind of like it — the watch has a lot going for it, but falls short when it comes to the execution.

Like

+  Elegantly designed

+ Digital screen is brilliant

+  Rechargeable battery

Don’t like

-  Difficult to tell the time

-  Lack of smart notifications

-  Heart-rate tracking is unreliable

In this shootout, I focused on hybrids that won’t break the bank. But if you have more coins to spare, these other smartwatches are also nice.

Alpina Seastrong Horological Smartwatch

A handsome Swiss diver based on Alpina’s Seastrong Diver 300 Automatic collection, the Seastrong Horological Smartwatch is designed with a uni-directional rotating bezel, a 44mm fiberglass case, and a water-resistance rating of up to 10 ATM. Pairs with iOS and Android for activity and sleep tracking, with notifications. Price: US$600.

Diesel On Time Hybrid Smartwatch

The large, rugged gunmetal case on this smartwatch is not for the minimalist. It pairs with iOS and Android to receive alerts, track your activities, plus automatically adjust the time and date. A customizable link button lets you snap a photo, control your music and more. Price: US$250.

Frederique Classics Horological Smartwatch

While the luxury Swiss watchmaker’s Notify collection does basic notifications, the Classics collection supports fitness tracking. Besides being able to count your steps, the beautiful WorldTimer smartwatch lets you check other time zones by pressing the crown. Works with both iOS and Android. Price: US$995.

Mondaine Helvetica 1 Smartwatch

The Swiss company’s first smartwatch marries its iconic SBB Swiss railway clock and the Helvetica font, with a second dial that tracks your activity. The watch can also track your sleep, and nudge you towards your overall goals. It pairs with both iOS and Android, but, sadly, lacks notification alerts. Price: US$950.

Movado Bold Motion

The Movado Bold Motion is a strikingly modern watch. The 12-hour markers are LED lights that illuminate to show your activity progress and alert you to incoming calls, messages, updates, and events. The Bold can also alert you through haptic feedback. Works with both iOS and Android. Price: US$695.

The best hybrid smartwatch is the Fossil Q Nate

This shootout was a difficult one to call, as each of these hybrid smartwatches is a tale of tradeoffs. They bring more of the traditional watch while sacrificing the smarts that a full-on digital smartwatch can provide.

Let’s start with the easy one; the Garmin Vivomove is the most affordable hybrid, but also the one with the least features. If you just want a nice-looking watch that also tracks your steps, you can consider it, but for just a bit more you can move up to the Misfit Phase.

The Phase gives you the most notifications, even though it doesn’t have a wide range to choose from, and vibrations are weak. It also looks chunky. Neither the Vivomove nor the Phase can show you the date.

I really wanted to like the Withings Steel HR. While I can forgive its erratic heart rate monitor, its notifications game is weak; it only supports notifications for calls, text and calendar events.

Otherwise, the digital display is a perfect way to meld the best of mechanical and digital into one — a true hybrid. Plus, it actually tells you the date! If the Steel HR ever gets updated to support app notifications, it’s the one I’d recommend.

Now we come to the Fossil Q Nate. I didn’t think Fossil, a watch company, would figure hybrids out, but they have. The Q Nate is handsomely designed, and it’s a notifications machine. You only get six notification slots, but it supports up to 54 apps at the time of this writing, and you can even set the strength of the vibrations.

True, the Q Nate is a more basic activity tracker than rest of the other hybrids. And it’s big, which might not fit your style. It doesn’t tell you the date (well), and it doesn’t tell you which notifications are coming in. But it doesn’t let you miss one, and that’s the real strength of a hybrid smartwatch for me — something that lets me keep my phone in my pocket or bag, without having to worry about staying in touch.

This article first appeared in the June 2017 issue of HWM.

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