Varadkar's watch

zell12

What type of watch is Varadkar and also Biden wearing?

Looks like a Fitbit Sense or Apple Watch to me.

banie01

I know Biden has a Rolex Datejust and an Omega Speedy amongst others.

Varadkar's looks like an Apple watch.

o1s1n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120473175#Comment_120473175

Yep, absolutely zero style 😄

scwazrh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120473198#Comment_120473198

Thats the nicest thing I would say about him .

scwazrh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120473190#Comment_120473190

He seems to have a good watch collection .Also has a lovely corvette stingray .Poor man probably doesn’t remember how to drive or that he even has a watch collection but I’m sure he enjoyed them at some stage .

NIMAN

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120473198#Comment_120473198

It's the way the world's heading folks, get used to it. Smart watches will be 99% of the watches being worn in 20 or 30yrs.

Clareman

My daily is a smart watch, I'd be lost without it, but if I'm going to an event I'd definitely take out the "good watch", I would classify meeting the President of America as an event.

Saying that, surely have the Taoiseach use a smart watch is a security risk with all the data on it, put the wrong display/notifications it'd be easy to spot messages flash up, heart rate or whatever

Cienciano

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120473175#Comment_120473175

Thank god, though another watch would be ruined for me

o1s1n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120475014#Comment_120475014

In 20 to 30 years I doubt people will even be wearing smart watches, we'll probably all have retinal implants or some other dystopian madness 😄

yaknowski

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120473198#Comment_120473198

The men trading their Rolexes for plastic sports watches | Financial Times (ft.com)

Stealth wealth.

Cienciano

I tried a smart watch but it didn't have any features I found useful. The time was the only thing, but the fact that it kept turning off annoyed me. But crazy popular now.

o1s1n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120476908#Comment_120476908

I don't like people being able to contact me 24/7 with my phone at the best of times, not a chance I'd have something on my arm that would send texts and communications through!

Happily running nice analog automatic watches. Mainly as I like the look of them and it's a bit of a hobby thing but there's definitely a 'not connected to anything' factor in it that I really appreciate too.

NIMAN

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120476968#Comment_120476968

Yeah a good point, but how often do you actually go anywhere WITHOUT your phone?

Deep Thought

You can shut all that down if desired.

CiDeRmAn

I was an early smart watch adopter, owning several Pebble watches, still do!

I wear them mostly for the aesthetics these days, but I've entirely moved away from wearables because they just became intrusive.

These days it analogue and digital watches in the small collection, with a decent Tissot for good occasions and a couple of Casios and a Luminox for the rest.

I have a decent phone, Pixel 7 Pro, and if I need to keep an eye on things the always on display takes care of that, even if on silent.

Deep Thought

I hear ya. I got a eufy doorbell and get notifications sent to phone and watch.. it’s a pain in the ass these days. Have switched off some stuff.. find the watch useful for training though and wear a standard watch when not training.

H_Lime

Wore one for a couple days, didn't appeal. I dunno why. I prefer watches from, or that hark back to when I was a kid. Seiko Divers were it for me then are still it now. I have my phone in my pocket, don't need it on my wrist.

Must dig up my old casio calculator watch and see can I ressurect it, that's as smart as I want.

o1s1n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120479471#Comment_120479471

Ugh, not nearly as much as I should. It's really, really annoying. I I could press a big switch that would make us all go back to Nokia 3310s tomorrow I would.

Especially hate how it's linked in with work now. All this two factor authentication to get into work accounts going through your phone, it's becoming practically impossible to be without one.

Deep Thought

That’s what I have 2 phones.. one work and one personal.. I shutoff the work one

scwazrh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120488325#Comment_120488325

That’s probably the number one thing that made the most difference to my work / life balance was getting a phone for personal use. My work one goes into my home office at 4 in the evening and not touched again till 7:30 the next morning. Recommend it to everyone even if your an employee of a company.

Cienciano

100% on the 2 phones.

Chiparus

Surprised that Varadkar wears a smart watch, mobile phones are banned from cabinet meetings due to security risks , presumable smart phones could be used in a similar fashion?

Myself I have a smart watch that I wear a bit now as I get more than a week use out of it before it has to be recharged, I swap it for one of my "smarter" high end Swiss watches when socialising or whenever the mood takes me.

893bet

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120483261#Comment_120483261

I struggle to understand how one can wear a smart watch for “aesthetics” compared to the actually wonderful watch designs that exist at every price point.

Mick Tator

Smart watches are as aesthetic on a person as fake Georgian PVC windows are on a period house.

The Financial Times article linked above about an (alleged) switch to smart watches is nonsense and an anomaly. In that issue alone there were adverts for big makes (Audemars Piquet, Lange& Sohne, Blancpain and others) and none for a smart watch. Actually, I cannot recall when I last saw an advert in the FT for a smart watch - I recall a mention in HTSI for a Garmin gps tracker, but that was not an advert.

Weekend papers have to fill space, which is why they carry nonsense like that article and puff pieces on ‘entrepreneurs’ or CEO’s who run companies you never heard of and (usually) place an advert. Let them wear their plastic and brag about their step-count/whatever. Real people just smile at them, knowing what they, and their watches,  are.

NIMAN

I think most smart watch adverts are on websites/tv adverts from the likes of Argos, Curry's, Harvey Norman's, Power City etc.

And they are selling plenty, so you can diss them all you want, they are going to be the main thing of people's wrists going forward.

Clareman

The other thing to remember here is that smart watches in many cases are more expensive than "normal" watches. Personally I've gotten used to mine and I'm lost without it, the little notification lets me check quickly if I need to bother getting my phone out to check, I'm able to keep an eye on my steps and heart rate, as a fat f**k its also handy for me to track how lazy I am. These are all personal choices, I still much prefer my Rolex but that's only for special occassions now.

o1s1n

Do you not get sick of always being able to receive notifications though? I'd hate the idea of seeing a notification blinking on my arm whenever I looked at the time.

Clareman

I've them all set to silent so I don't get a ping or vibration, just a tiny orange dot by 9. There's also the added bonus that I can pair my headphones directly to it so if I'm going for a run I can leave the phone at home

Cienciano

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120497686#Comment_120497686

I think most of them look ok, personally wouldn't be a fan of the square ones. That's all subjective anyway, sure you get into "real" watches and you'll have to same snobbery about not being seen dead wearing a casio, a quartz or a tag or whatever.

o1s1n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120500937#Comment_120500937

That's generally one of my biggest gripes with a lot of smart watches, a blank square bit of plastic just does not look nice on the arm (as evidenced in that photo of Leo in the OP).

Looks more like a house arrest bracelet than a watch.

I generally find online watch communities to be quite accepting actually, the likes of those who look down on people for wearing specific brands of watches tend to not really be welcome.

Apart from Tag. Nobody should wear a tag. 😁

Mick Tator

 Every community is allowed something it looks down on, in boating it is jetskis.

I don’t look up or down at people because of what watch they wear or what car they drive. But if they shove it in your face, it’s hard not to categorise them. There is a difference between a watch hobby and watch wearing. The former is fine if it floats your boat and you can afford it (preferably after you have acquired other key assets). Watch wearing is all about image and association. Wearers of rugged diver-type watches want to impart an image, as do people wearing the county GAA jersey.  Real money does not shout, it whispers. Real money wears understated, classic watches; new money wears ostentation (i.e. bling brands that are recognisable by the masses) and shoves them in your face. ‘Smart’ watches are worn to sell a different image – “Look at me, I’m important, I need to be immediately contactable, read my messages, I’m modern, connected, I also care about my shape/fitness, so I’m a fit healthy individual who matters.”

Clareman

I got my wife a smart watch a few years back, I picked up a packet of straps with it, can't remember now but I think it was 10 straps for €20 on Amazon kind of thing, she changes the strap depending on her outfit, when I asked her about it recentely she said that the watch was charging anyway so it's not a big thing. The other day she couldn't find her phone, I said just use her watch, it was only then that I realised that her watch hadn't been paired to phone for ages

Treppen

I have a Garmin smart watch and just dumped it in the drawer as I got sick of charging it every day. Also it was a chore to pair it to the phone.

My regular watches aren't exactly bling but they're solid and have an aesthetic. Only change battery every year.

Each to their own as regards aesthetic but Leo's apple is more of a humble brag. Although if Leo had done it properly he would have copied Louis Theroux and his humble brag on his Casio f91w.

I think Leo is supporting the 'fitness' aspect as he's probably still 'on the scene'.

o1s1n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120555067#Comment_120555067

Edit - totally missed your point, deleted 😀