Ive had multiple Pebbles (OG Steel was my favorite), Apple Watches, one Android Wear Fossil watch (quickly returned), two different Samsung Galaxy Watches and a Garmin Instinct.

Through all had at least something I liked as I began to focus more on my digital data and privacy I began to switch phones, and switching phones a lot with smartwatches isnt an easy/good thing.

I settled into a (non-smart) Casio ProTrek with the feature set I found myself using the most from the smartwatches (besides notifications) - tempurature, timer/alarms, barometer (weather), waterproof; It doesn’t care what phone I have.

If I had to go back or recommend one I would focus on the Garmin lineup and opt for one that had built in GPS - I liked to track my workouts and the battery life + feature set was well suited for being “smart” without making it feel like a mini smartphone. The battery life in “standalone” mode for my model was 14 days if I recall correctly, so leaving it with no phone connection but still being able to use the GPS and features like the barometer for weather was nice when camping or the like. Also I found physical buttons to be far better than touch controls especially if you’re doing something (hiking, kayaking, wearing gloves etc).

I know Gadgetbridge for Android does some great things as far as removing third party servers from the equation, but I’m not a fan of fitness bands and don’t suggest trying to find/buy a Pebble due to age. An Amazefit Bip is OK, but I don’t like devices without physical buttons - it’s cheap and would do the job so if price is a concern I’d look there.

It’s a weird thing to step back and look at, because the longevity of a watch vs a smartwatch is not even close but the pricing and marketing for the smartwatch feels far more “present” then it does for a normal watch (unless you’re already in the watch buying/selling/collecting club).