I’m a firm believer in the value of smartwatches and fitness trackers. They’ve helped me get fit, and just last week I was able to use airplane boarding passes without always having to pull out paper copies or my phone. In daily life, being able to check notifications or pause podcasts from my wrist is a time-saver, not to mention better for keeping me engaged with friends and family.
If there’s something both believers and doubters of wearables can agree on, though, it’s that the charging situation is a mess. Nearly every device has a proprietary cable, dock, or puck. That includes the Galaxy Watch 4, every Fossil smartwatch, every Apple Watch, and every Fitbit. Often chargers aren’t compatible with different models from the same company, let alone competitors, which is a far cry from the world of phones.