STACK #182 Dec 2019

GAMES FEATURE TECH FEATURE

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a smartwatch is a match made in heaven. And it’s easy to do, too. In short, you have three options providing your smartwatch has the functionality. Stream directly: If you pick a watch with cellular connectivity, the easiest solution here is to stream music from whichever service you have a paid subscription with. All you need to do is download the appropriate music app to your watch, connect a set of Bluetooth headphones and away you go without being tethered to your smartphone. Your only limitation here is mobile coverage. Cache your music: There’s nothing quite like the old school surety of having music files

exported to your smartwatch before you leave the house – this way, wherever you go and whatever you do, you’ll have the music right there at a touch of a finger without needing celluar connectivity or a smartphone in your pocket. This will involve a little bit of manual work, but simply export the songs you want from your smartphone to your smartwatch app, hook up your Bluetooth headphones and bingo. Just keep an eye on your storage. Smartphone: Lastly, if you can’t be bothered to pull out your smartphone from a bag or pocket, you have the ability to control the music playing on the smartphone via your smartwatch. It is a lot easier to skip a song, hit repeat or shuffle a track list with a simple tap to the wrist.

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To be honest, unless you’ve got the visual acuity of an eagle, your smartwatch probably isn’t the most ideal device to binge-watch the latest season of Stranger Things . But while streaming video content is best left for, at the very least, a smartphone, streaming music and Let’s talk about music

Smartwatches worth a gander 10 STACK selects

Fitbit Charge 3 This one is surprisingly light and dispenses with

buttons on the side of the watch – everything is activated via a touchscreen. The Charge 3 is an excellent fitness tracker,

has a six-day battery and not only will it track your sleep, but will gently wake you up with a vibration

through the wrist to avoid disturbing the rest of the house.

Garmin Fenix 6 If Nathan Drake wore a watch, this would be it. With

outstanding build quality and an incredible suite of activity tracking features (there’s literally not a sport you couldn’t use this for), this durable smartwatch

Garmin Forerunner 45 If you’re a runner on a budget, look no further. Very light, a single charge

Fitbit Versa 2 The bonus here is the Versa 2’s large display. Dependent on usage, a single charge can get you up to six days. It contains all the health insights you need to maintain that active lifestyle and can hold up to 300 songs. Receive notifications, send and reply to messages and search the internet using your voice. A great all-rounder.

seven-day battery and feature-packed including GPS, heart rate and training plans, the comfortable Forerunner 45 has everything you need at a price that won’t break the bank.

prides itself on fast GPS mapping and accurate activity tracking. Touted as having 14-day battery life dependent on how you use it, this is definitely a smartwatch for the adventurer.

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DECEMBER 2019

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