Best Smartwatches For Gamers
Mobile gaming is becoming an industry all on its own. The days of playing basic snake on your phone are gone, although snake is still a pretty fun game. Today mobile gamers expect their gaming experience to be slick, user friendly, and look great. Mobile games such as online slots have never been better than they are now, and it is all but expected that mobile games are top notch, every time. Recently, however, smartwatches have been introduced to the technology market, and many mobile games have been making an effort to be smartwatch compatible. After all, who has the time to take their phone out of their pocket these days? Gaming should be as simple as looking at your watch and jumping straight into the action. Lets take a look at how mobile games function with some of the top smartwatches currently available on the market.
Apple Watch
As far as smartwatches go, the Apple Watch is probably one of the most widely used and easily accessible. It’s relatively affordable, easy to use, and pairs exceptionally well with a dedicated iPhone. In fact, you probably can’t get a more reliable wearable companion than an Apple Watch. But, how does it fair in the gaming category? There are a growing number of games available for the Apple Watch, and many work surprisingly well, given the limitations of the watch itself. Real money slot games, multiplayer poker, and even blackjack are available, and function incredibly well. The controls are intuitive and quick to learn, and a person really couldn’t ask for much more. Unless, of course, it’s a wider selection of games they’re asking for. The one downfall of the Apple Watch as a mobile gaming companion is that all applications are gated by Apple itself, which means that the games must meet rigid specifications before becoming available to players. Given Apple’s reputation for being draconian in their demands of applications, Apple Watch users won’t be seeing the selection of games available to Android users.
Samsung Gear and Android Watches
Over to the Android side of things, we have the popular Galaxy Gear series of watches. It need not be repeated that Android naturally have a wider selection of games and applications available, given that the Android operating system is more open to third party developers. This, already, makes the Android series of smartwatches more appealing to mobile gamers. There are, however, other factors to consider before declaring Android the better choice. If its mobile gaming you’re looking to use your smartwatch for, the Apple Watch certainly has more to offer in the way of screen size and functionality. The Apple Watch is bigger, and offers more screen space, which is essential when you’re looking to play games. The Galaxy Gear series of watches are designed to be smaller and more aesthetically pleasing, which is certainly great. But, the screen size is significantly smaller than the Apple Watch. There are, however, other Android based watches with bigger screens, such as the Pebble Time watch, and Asus Zen watch. Although chunkier in design and more noticeable on a wrist, these watches utilise Android, while still offering maximum screen space. Other watch models, such as the ultra-expensive and ultra-fancy Garmin Fenix series, are both Android and iOS compatible, but are really designed more for outdoor activity and less for games. Probably not the best choice for a mobile gamer.
Battery Life
A mobile gamer would have to weigh up some serious pros and cons before deciding on the best smartwatch gaming companion. Both Apple and Android base watches have their advantages and disadvantages. So, perhaps the deciding factor would be the battery life for each smartwatch. There is, after all, very little gaming that can be done with a watch that has run out of battery. The Apple Watch has a surprisingly limited battery life, lasting a little more than a day. This isn’t great for something worn on your wrist, and a person could get quickly fed up having to constantly remove the device in order to charge it. The Samsung Gear series of watches lasts for about two days, which is a great deal better, but still not optimal for a wearable device. The Gear series was, as already said, probably not the best choice for gamers though. The Android based Pebble Time watch blows the competition out of the water by having a battery life of up to seven days, perfect for those who would rather spend more tame gaming, and less time charging the device.
Conclusions
A smartwatch is not a cheap purchase, and at the end of the day something that should be thoroughly researched. Our brief look into the matter will hopefully help guide you on the way to making an inspired purchase in the future, so that you can access casino games on the go, on your wrist!
